Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front, 1941-1942: Schwerpunkt

Polkovnik Mikhail G. Sakhno’s tanks from the Moscow Proletarian Motorized Rifle Division move to a new position in the vicinity of Naro-Fominsk, December 1941. By the time that the Winter Counteroffensive began, the Red Army only had small company and battalion-size tank units left, often with a mixture of models. (RIA Novosti)

Two overturned Matilda II tanks near Volokolamsk, 1 December 1941. Allied Lend-Lease tanks played a significant role in armoured operations on the Eastern Front in 1941–42, even though post-war Russian historians have down-played the impact of military aid from the Western Allies. (RIAN Novosti, #881048)

A T-34 tank moving at speed in deep snow. The T-34 had been developed to operate in winter conditions and could maneuver through areas that German tanks could not operate in. (Author)

The crew of a Pz.III tank from the 14.Panzer-Division watch German infantry clearing a village, mid-1942. German tank commanders were trained to operate ‘unbuttoned’ as much as possible, in order to improve situational awareness. This was feasible on the steppe, but not in cities or heavily wooded areas. (Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-748–0088–02A, Foto: Schmidt/Geyer)

The interior of Hube’s command vehicle, 16.Panzer-Division. The real secret of the panzer-division’s power was based upon the use of radios for effective command and control, which repeatedly enabled them to out-fight numerically-superior foes. (Author)

A Pz.III tank from 11.Panzer-Division in action during the opening stages of Operation Blau, 28–30 June 1942. This photo gives a good impression of a ‘tanker’s-eye’ view on the open steppe and the difficulty of spotting armoured vehicles in tall grass. (Author)

An 8.8cm flak gun employing direct fire against Soviet armour. Note that the flak gun is still limbered, which increases its height, but enables it to come into action more clearly. Unlike the British army, which eventually discovered that the best way to counter the deadly 8.8-cm flak gun was to smother it with indirect fire, Soviet armoured units had very limited organic artillery support in 1941–42. (Author)

A Pz.IV tank destroyed during the Second Battle of Kharkov in May 1942. This tank, which has suffered an internal explosion, would be listed as ‘totalausfall’, but many tanks that were knocked out were repairable. German panzer units were expert at battlefield recovery. (Ian Barter)