Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front 1943-1945: Red Steamroller

• 14x Tank Regiments (40, 43, 45, 58, 84, 193, 229, 237, 240, 251, 259; 27 G, 29 G, 30 G)

• 4x SAP (1442, 1454, 1540, 1541)

• Under Front Control:

○ 9th Tank Corps (General-leytenant Semen I. Bogdanov)

○ 19th Tank Corps (General-major Ivan D. Vasil’ev)

Voronezh Front (General Nikolai F. Vatutin)

• 6th Guards Army (General-leytenant Ivan M. Chistiakov)

○ 96th Tank Brigade

○ 230th and 245th Tank Regiments

○ 1440th SAP

• 7th Guards Army (General-leytenant Mikhail S. Shumilov)

○ 27th Guards, 210th Tank Brigades

○ 148th, 167th and 262nd Tank Regiments

○ 1438th and 1529th SAP

• 1st Tank Army (General-leytenant Mikhail E. Katukov)

○ 3rd Mechanized Corps (General-major Semen M. Krivoshein)

○ 6th Tank Corps (General-major Andrei L. Getman)

○ 31st Tank Corps (General-major Dmitri Kh. Chernienko)⁵

• 38th and 40th Armies

○ 86th, 180th and 192nd Tank Brigades

○ 59th and 60th Tank Regiments

• Under Front Control:

○ 2nd Guards Tank Corps (Polkovnik Aleksei S. Burdeinyi)

○ 5th Guards Tank Corps (General-leytenant Andrei G. Kravchenko)

Southwestern Front (General Rodion Ia. Malinovsky)

• 4x Tank Brigades (11, 115, 173, 179)

• 9x Tank Regiments (52, 141, 212, 224, 243; 5 G, 9 G, 16 G, 17 G

• 1x SAP (1443)

• Under Front Control:

○ 1st Guards Mechanized Corps (General-leytenant Ivan N. Russiianov)

○ 2nd Tank Corps (General-major Aleksei F. Popov)

○ 23rd Tank Corps (General-leytenant Efim G. Pushkin)⁶

○ 9th Guards Tank Brigade

○ 10th Guards Tank Regiment

Southern Front (General-polkovnik Fedor I. Tolbukhin)

• 2nd Guards Army (General-leytenant Georgy F. Zakharov)

○ 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps (General-leytenant Karp V. Sviridov)

• 5th Shock/28th, 44th and 51st Armies

○ 4x Tank Brigades (140; 6 G, 32 G, 33 G)

○ 1x Tank Regiments (22 G)

• Under Front Control:

○ 4th Guards Mechanized Corps (General-major Trofim I. Tanaschishin)⁷

North Caucasus Front (General-leytenant Ivan E. Petrov)

• 2x Tank Brigades (63; 5 G)

• 5x Tank Regiments (85, 244, 257, 258; 6 G)

• 2x OTB (75, 132)

• 2x SAP (1448, 1449)

Stavka Reserve (RVGK)/Steppe Front (General Ivan S. Konev)

• 4th Guards Army (General-leytenant Grigoriy I. Kulik)

○ 3rd Guards Tank Corps (General-major I.A. Vovchenko)

• 5th Guards Army (General-leytenant Aleksei S. Zhadov)

○ 10th Tank Corps (General-leytenant V.G. Burkov)

• 5th Guards Tank Army (General-leytenant Pavel A. Rotmistrov)

○ 5th Guards Mechanized Corps (General-major Boris M. Skvortsov)

○ 29th Tank Corps (General-major I. F. Kirichenko)

○ 53rd Guards Tank Regiment

○ 1549 SAP

• Other forces in Steppe Military District:

○ 4th Guards Tank Corps (General-leytenant Pavel P. Poluboiarov)

○ 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps (General-major Viktor T. Obukhov)

○ 1st Mechanized Corps (General-leytenant Mikhail D. Solomatin)

○ 2nd Mechanized Corps (General-leytenant Ivan P. Korchagin)

○ 93rd Tank Brigade

○ 34th, 35th and 39th Tank Regiments

Stavka Reserve (RVGK)/Separate Armies

• 3rd Guards Tank Army (General-leytenant Pavel S. Rybalko)

○ 12th Tank Corps (General-major Mitrofan I. Zin’kovich)⁸

○ 15th Tank Corps (General-major Filipp N. Rudkin)

○ 91st Tank Brigade

• 5th Mechanized Corps (General-major Mikhail V. Volkov)

• 18th Tank Corps (General-major Boris S. Bakharov)

• 25th Tank Corps (General-major Fedor G. Anikushkin)

• Tank Regimens (126, 127, 225)

• SAP (1547, 1548)

Moscow Military District

• 6th Guards Mechanized Corps (General-major Aleksandr I. Akimov)

• 11th Tank Corps (General-major Nikolai N. Radkevich)

• 20th Tank Corps (General-leytenant Ivan G. Lazarev)

• 30th Tank Corps (General-leytenant Georgy S. Rodin)

• 6x Tank Brigades (88, 92, 118, 144; 31 G, 34 G)

Volga Military District

• 9th Mechanized Corps (General-major Konstantin A. Malygin)

• 8x Tank Brigades (41 G; 2, 10, 14, 15, 116, 207, 254)

• 5x Tank Regiments (51, 61, 104, 154, 250)

• 6x OTB (126, 249, 258, 563, 564, 608)

Reinforcements:

• August 1943

○ 7th Mechanized Corps (General-major Ivan V. Dubovoi)

○ 8th Mechanized Corps (General-major Abram M. Khasin)

Appendix III Tanks on the Eastern Front, 1943–44

Appendix IV Tank Production, 1943

Key Industrial Decisions, 1943

• Hitler is impressed with the 128-mm gun and orders it mounted on either a Panther or Tiger as a tank destroyer.

• May 1943, Hitler approves the Maus super-heavy tank (188 tons) for production, which will divert resources from Krupp and Alkett for the next two years.

• August 1943, Pz III production terminated and facilities shift to Sturmgeschütz production.

• December 1943, Hitler approves Jagdpanzer IV for production against Guderian’s objections. Krupp-Grusonwerk AG plant ceases Pz IV production in favor of Jagdpanzer IV.