History Bites- Ep1 part 2

History Bites Ep1 Part 2

Shock

It was a chilly morning in western Russia, the Planes are quiet in neat rows on the airfield and the sun is just coming over the horizon. A peaceful day. Then the roar of Stukas filled the air, covering the sky like a thick smoke. Then the siren started, the call of death, the dive of the stuka, the start of Operation Barbarossa. German luftwaffe had bombed Russian airfields in the ukraine, decimating the Russian air force before it could even leave the ground.

Then simultaneously German troops poured into Russia, after reports of attack from Germany Stalin collapsed,

due to the sheer shock and betrayal he felt. The Germans had correctly estimated that there were about 150 divisions in the western parts of the U.S.S.R. and reckoned that 50 more might be produced. But the Soviets actually brought up more than 200 fresh divisions by the middle of August, making a total of 360. But even with the shear numbers the Russian lines and collapsed By Day 17 of the attack, 300,000 Russians had been captured, 2,500 tanks, 1,400 artillery guns and 250 aircraft captured or destroyed. This was only in the territory attacked by Army Group Centre. To any military observer, the Russian Army was on the verge of a total collapse and Moscow seemed destined to fall.

But the German's had a shocking surprise. The German Panzer divisions at the time mainly had Pz 3 Ausf. F and the Pz 4 Ausf. F1.

Panzer 3 Tank profile

The Panzer 3 was designed at the same time as the Panzer 4 and was designed to fulfill the role of anti-tank, the F variant, which was produced from september 1939 to July 1940 was equipped with a 50mm cannon that could penetrate 60mm at 500m, and its armour was:

Hull: 30mm Front, 30mm Side, 20mm Rear

Turret: 30mm Front, 30mm Side, 20mm Rear

The Panzer 3 Ausf F was a good tank for its time.

Panzer 4 Tank Profile

The Panzer 4 was designed at the same time as the Panzer 3 and was designed to fulfill the role of infantry support, taking out bunkers and stubborn resistance, the F1 variant, which was produced from april 1940 to March 1942 was equipped with a 75mm cannon that could penetrate 50mm at 500m, and its armour was:

Hull: 50mm Front, 30mm Side, 20mm Rear

Turret: 50mm Front, 30mm Side, 20mm Rear

The Panzer 4 Ausf F1 was a good tank and was effective vs tanks even though it was designed for infantry support.

T-26 Tank Profile

The T-26 was a Prewar tank which made up a lot of the Russian tank force in early 1940, and still in active duty until 1944 even though it was very outdated. It was equipped with a 45mm cannon that could penetrate 45mm at 500m, and its armour was:

Hull: 15mm Front, 15mm Side, 10mm Rear

Turret: 15mm Front, 15mm Side, 6mm Rear

The T-26 was a poor tank and was only used until 1944 due to the numbers produced in the 1930's.

BT-7 Tank Profile

The BT-7 was a Prewar tank which made up a lot of the Russian tank force in early 1940, and still in active duty until 1944. It was equipped with a 45mm cannon that could penetrate 45mm at 500m, and its armour was:

Hull: 15mm Front, 15mm Side, 13mm Rear

Turret: 20mm Front, 15mm Side, 10mm Rear

The BT-7 was a poor tank vs other tanks but had Great speed, up to 53 km/h, making it good in scouting and fast movements.

But reports started coming in of another Tank, one superior to the German tanks, the T-34

Part 3