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

The introduction of the Pz.III Ausf J with long 5cm gun provided the panzer-divisions with a much-needed boost in antitank firepower. However, most of these improved models were concentrated in the units sent to Stalingrad, which misused them in urban combat. (Ian Barter)

An American-built Lend-Lease M3 Lee tank, shattered by 8.8cm anti-tank fire. The Red Army did not like the high-silhouette Lee tank, which was easily spotted by German anti-tank gunners. (Ian Barter)

The Germans introduced the Tiger I heavy tank in August 1942, but it was only available in token numbers and initially had no significant impact on operations. The Tiger I began a trend of new German armoured fighting vehicles sacrificing mobility in favor of increased firepower and protection – which gradually deprived the panzer divisions of their ability to move long distances on their own tracks. (Ian Barter)

A T-34 tank moving over rough terrain with infantry in desant role. At the tactical level, the Red Army was beginning to learn and implement better tank-infantry cooperation in late 1942, although true combined arms warfare was still beyond the capability of all but Guards Armoured units. (Author)

The arrival of the Pz.IV Ausf G with long 7.5cm cannon in mid-1942 was a game-changer for armoured warfare on the Eastern Front. After a year of having a major firepower disadvantage against the T-34, the panzer-divisions finally had a tank that could engage the best Soviet armour with confidence. (Author)

A KV-1 heavy tank that overran a German reconnaissance car at the Battle of Ostrov. Soviet heavy tank units aggressively plowed into German formations, with a sense of invincibility, but often came to grief against the simplest obstacles. (Author)

A German Tauchpanzer III in testing. These diving tanks had been developed for use in Operation Sea Lion in 1940, but they were used in the assault crossing of the Bug River in the opening hours of Barbarossa. (Author)

Notes

Introduction

1. Hugh Trevor-Roper (ed.), Hitler’s War Directives 1939–1945 (London: Birlinn Ltd, 2004), p. 94.

2. Excluding machine-gun-armed Pz.I light tanks, which were no longer assigned to Panzer-Abteilungen. I also will exclude similar Soviet light tanks or tankettes such as the T-37 and T-40. By 1941 standards, these were not tanks.

3. Heinz Guderian, Panzer Leader (New York: Ballantine Books, 1957), pp. 31–4.

4. The German Campaign in Russia – Planning and Operations (1940–1942), Historical Study No. 20–261a (Washington, D: Department of the Army, March 1955), p. 42.

5. David Kahn, Hitler’s Spies: German Military Intelligence in World War II (Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 1978), pp. 428–9 and 458–9.