MEDIUM TANK BATTALION BATTALION OF HEAVY & MEDIUM TANKS Organization Chart 010/16 of June 9, 1940 Organization Chart 010/67 of August 14, 1941 HQ BATTALION COMMAND TANKS HEAVY TANK COMPANY КV TANK COMPANY (3 PER BATTALION) T-34 COMPANY COMMANDER’S TANK TANK PLATOON TANK PLATOON COMPANY COMMANDER’S TANK MAINTENANCE & RECOVERY TANK COMPANY TANK COMPANY TANK COMPANY SQUAD MEDIUM TANK COMPANY (3 PER BATTALION) T-34 COMPANY COMMANDER’S TANK TANK PLATOON TANK PLATOON TANK PLATOON 1 2 3 HQ PLATOON COMMAND & CONTROL ELEMENT 1 2 LS_WoT02_T-34_C2-C3_170119.indd 1 1/20/17 5:53 PM MEDIUM TANK BATTALION BATTALION OF HEAVY & MEDIUM TANKS Organization Chart 010/16 of June 9, 1940 Organization Chart 010/67 of August 14, 1941 HQ BATTALION COMMAND TANKS HEAVY TANK COMPANY КV TANK COMPANY (3 PER BATTALION) T-34 COMPANY COMMANDER’S TANK TANK PLATOON TANK PLATOON COMPANY COMMANDER’S TANK MAINTENANCE & RECOVERY TANK COMPANY TANK COMPANY TANK COMPANY SQUAD MEDIUM TANK COMPANY (3 PER BATTALION) T-34 COMPANY COMMANDER’S TANK TANK PLATOON TANK PLATOON TANK PLATOON 1 2 3 HQ PLATOON COMMAND & CONTROL ELEMENT 1 2 LS_WoT02_T-34_C2-C3_170119.indd 1 1/20/17 5:53 PM ©️ 2013, A. Ulanov and D. Shein, and ©️ 2017, Wargaming World, Ltd. - Published by LombardyStudios.com LS_WOT02_T-34_170119.indb 1 1/19/17 6:32 PM The T-34 Goes to War Copyright © 2013, A. Ulanov and D. Shein. English translation © 2017, Wargaming World, Ltd. PUBLISHER’S PREFACE World of Tanks is a trademark of Wargaming World, Ltd. All rights reserved. his is the second book in the World of Tanks series that has been translated from the All opinions expressed in this series are the authors’ and do not represent the views of Wargaming World, Ltd., original Russian edition and made available in English. These books are an outgrowth Wargaming.net, Lombardy Studios, or any of their staff or employees. Tof Wargaming.net’s massive, multiplayer online game World of Tanks. At the time this No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission of book was published, World of Tanks had more than 80 million registered players worldwide. the copyright holders, except in the case of brief quotations for reviews. There are two reasons why these books are important to readers interested in World Lombardy Studios War Two (the Great Patriotic War to Russians) and the armored fighting vehicles (AFV) that English Edition Series Managing Editor: Dana Lombardy were the breakthrough weapons of that conflict: English Edition Production: Mark Schumann • Russian documents, photos, and archival materials never before seen by outsiders Index: Cindy Coan were accessed to learn about the design, procurement, development, manufacturing, Wargaming.net and combat employment of Soviet AFV before and during World War Two; Director of Product Vision: Chris Keeling • English readers now get this information through the eyes and opinions of Russian Special Projects and Research Manager: Michael Buonagurio English Edition Editor: Christopher J. Parker researchers—which is why we added the obvious descriptor The Russian View to Russian to English translation services by LanguageTran.com this series. Additional Translations: Egor Buzayev There are three categories of books: Combat Service (such as this T-34 book); Con- Russian Edition struction and Development; and Military Operations. Series Development and Artistic Editor: M. Levykin Andrei Ulanov and Dmitry Shein, the authors of this book about the T-34’s pre-war de- Edited by: G. Pernavsky velopment and combat service in 1941, uncovered fascinating facts and the mystery of why Cover Design: V. Petelin Color Sidebars Authored by: A. Aksenov such a revolutionary design, far ahead of anything the invading German armies fielded, did Diagrams and Color Illustrations by: P. Shitkin so poorly in many of its first battles: Layout Editor: I. Petrovskaya • The T-34’s birth date of 19 December 1939, an advanced design intended to replace Layout: R. Yeremeyev Proofreaders: A. Baskakova and S. Kireyeva the numerous BT series as the “tank of independent mechanized units” • Trials of the first two T-34 prototypes in January 1940 and subsequent field tests The quality of some illustrations is that of the archival source material. exposed flaws in the turret, vision devices, and sights; a radio that often failed; and a The book includes documentation, photography, and illustrations from the Central Archive of the Ministry V-2 diesel engine that did not guarantee 100 hours of operational reliability of Defense of the Russian Federation (TsAMO RF), Russian State Military Archive (RGVA), the Russian State • Instead of 5–6 rounds per minute, the actual “deliverable” average rate of fire was Archive of the Economy, the private collection of Yuri Pasholok, and the Nemirov 41 project. only 2 rounds per minute, partly due to the restricted view from the tank The authors wish to express their deep gratitude for materials provided by Yu. I. Pasholok, A. Yu. Makarov, A. • Constant breakdowns occurred due to minor and major failures of the first mass- V. Isayev, and members of the military history forums RKKA and Nemirov 41—tankovyye srazheniya leta 1941 produced parts and systems goda [Nemirov 41—tank battles of the summer of 1941], and the International Military Forum, without whose • The first “thirty-fours” did not reach Red Army front line units until April 1941, barely invaluable assistance this book could not have been written. two months before the German Wehrmacht attacked the Soviet Union • Rapid expansion of the Red Army armored force and a lack of manuals and training For worldwide distribution except in the CIS (countries of the former Soviet Union) contact: time led to poorly skilled tank commanders and T-34 crews in June 1941 Casemate Book Distributors, 1950 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083-1709 610-853-9131 • The most widely used German antitank gun—the small 37 mm PAK 36—proved lethal www.casematepublishing.com to the T-34 while leaving almost no significant mark of damage This World of Tanks series provides English readers of World War Two history with First North American Edition published by: Lombardy Studios, 835 8th Avenue, Oakland, California 94606-3608 U.S.A. a much better understanding and greater appreciation of Soviet AFV development and www.WorldofTanksBooks.com operations. I am extremely fortunate to be able to offer these innovative books for the first time in English. Library of Congress Control Number 2015953843 featuring the art and graphics of ISBN (Print) 978-1-940169-03-3 Copyright ©2017 Dana Lombardy ISBN (eBook) 978-1-940169-09-5 Copyright ©2017 Lombardy Studios ® Printed in China. March 2016 iii LS_WOT02_T-34_170119.indb 3 1/19/17 6:32 PM TABLE OF CONTENTS AUTHORS’ INTRODUCTION egendary”—that is the label most often applied to the “thirty-four.” It is called, “the best tank in the world,” almost as often. Choice quotes appear Publisher’s Preface ....................................................................................................................... iii “Lin book after book. From Kleist we see “Their T-34 was the finest tank in the world;” from Mellenthin, “It was the most excellent example of an offensive weapon Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv in the Second World War;” and from von Zenger und Etterlin, “The T-34 surpassed all Authors’ Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 other tanks. Its hull shape was ideal and served as the model for many later tanks.” The West German magazine Soldat un Technik commented, “The T-34 was indisputably Chapter 1. Birth of the Legend...................................................................................................... 5 a masterpiece of military equipment.” Hearing these laudatory odes, however, people are bothered by an insidious question: why is it that in 1941 the Red Army, which had Chapter 2. The T-34: A Candid Portrait of the Tank During Development ............................ 15 1,000 of these remarkable tanks that “so surpassed the German tanks and became a 1 Chapter 3. The Complicated Path to Mass Production .......................................................... 35 real nightmare for the German army’s infantry and antitank defense,” failed to rout the enemy with “little bloodshed, on foreign soil,” but retreated to Moscow and Leningrad Chapter 4. Skillful Hands ............................................................................................................. 42 instead? Why is it that newsreels showing “thirty-fours” driving through the streets of Chapter 5. Baptism by Fire .......................................................................................................... 63 liberated cities flying red banners were only shot in 1942 and 1943, when the most acute phase of the crisis with Germany’s armored blitzkrieg was already over? In any event, in Chapter 6. Mechanism of Disaster .......................................................................................... 110 1942 Germany’s generals had not yet lost battles due to “the superiority of the Russian T-34 tanks that sharply demonstrated their superiority from the first.” 2 However, Soviet Chapter 7. Under Operation Typhoon ...................................................................................... 141 propaganda found a simple answer to this