The largest tank battle. The first tank battle of the second world war

The leadership of the Ukrainian SSR at the May Day parade in Kiev. From left to right: 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine NS Khrushchev, Commander of the Kiev Special Military District, Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel General MP Kirponos, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR MS Grechukha. May 1, 1941

Corps commissar N. N. Vashugin, member of the military council of the Southwestern Front. Committed suicide on June 28, 1941

The commander of the 8th mechanized corps, Lieutenant General D.I. Ryabyshev. Snapshot 1941

Caponier with a 76.2 mm gun. Similar engineering structures were installed on the "Stalin Line". Even more advanced structures were built in Western Ukraine in the fortification system of the Molotov Line. USSR, summer 1941

A German specialist examines a captured Soviet HT-26 flamethrower tank. Western Ukraine, June 1941

German tank Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.G (tactical number "721"), moving through the territory of Western Ukraine. 1st Panzer Group of Kleist, June 1941

The Soviet tank T-34–76 of the early series knocked out by the Germans. This vehicle was produced in 1940 and was equipped with the 76.2 mm L-11 cannon. Western Ukraine, June 1941

Vehicles of the 670th tank destroyer battalion during the march. Army Group South. June 1941

At the field kitchen of the 9th mechanized corps of the Red Army under the command of foreman V.M.Shuledimov. From left to right: foreman V.M.Shuledimov, cook V.M. Gritsenko, bread cutter D.P. Maslov, driver I.P. Levshin. Under enemy fire and bullets, the kitchen continued to work and delivered food to the tankers in a timely manner. Southwestern Front, June 1941

Abandoned during the retreat of the T-35 from the 8th Mechanized Corps of the Red Army. Southwestern Front, June 1941

The German medium tank Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.J shot down and abandoned by the crew. The tactical number is four-digit: "1013". Army Group South, May 1942

Before the offensive. The commander of the 23rd Panzer Corps, Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General E. Pushkin and Regimental Commissar I. Belogolovikov set tasks for the units of the formation. Southwestern Front, May 1942

A convoy of trucks of the ZiS-5 model (registration number of the vehicle in the foreground "A-6-94-70") carries ammunition to the front edge. Southern Front, May 1942

Heavy tank KV from the 6th Guards Tank Brigade. The vehicle commander, political instructor Chernov and his crew, knocked out 9 German tanks. On the KV tower there is an inscription “For the Motherland”. Southwestern Front, May 1942

Medium tank Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.J, knocked out by our troops. The spare track links, suspended in the front of the vehicle, simultaneously served to strengthen the frontal armor. Army Group South, May 1942

An improvised NP, arranged under the cover of a damaged German tank Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.H / J. On the wing of the tank, the symbols of a tank battalion and a communications platoon are visible. Southwestern Front, May 1942

The commander of the troops of the South-West direction, Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko - one of the main organizers of the Kharkov offensive operation of the Soviet troops in May 1942. Photo portrait 1940-1941

Commander of the German Army Group "South" (during the fighting near Kharkov) Field Marshal von Bock

Abandoned American-made tanks M3 medium (M3 "General Lee") from the 114th tank brigade of the Consolidated Tank Corps. Tactical numbers "136" and "147" are visible on the towers. Southern Front, May-June 1942

Infantry support tank MK II "Matilda II", abandoned by the crew due to damage to the chassis. Registration number of the tank "W.D. No. T-17761 ", tactical -" 8-R ". Southwestern Front, 22nd Panzer Corps, May 1942

The Stalingrad T-34 knocked out by the enemy. A triangle and the letters "SUV" are visible on the tower. Southwestern Front, May 1942

The BM-13 installation, abandoned during the retreat, based on the STZ-5 NATI tracked high-speed tractor from the 5th Guards Rocket Artillery Regiment. The number of the car is “M-6-20-97”. Southwest direction, end of May 1942

Lieutenant General F. I. Golikov, from April to July 1942, led the troops of the Bryansk Front. Snapshot 1942

Assembling T-34–76 tanks at Uralvagonzavod. Judging by technological features combat vehicles, the photograph was taken in April-May 1942. Massively, this modification of the "thirty-four" was first used in battles as part of the tank corps of the Red Army on the Bryansk front in the summer of 1942

The StuG III Ausf.F assault gun changes its firing position. The self-propelled gun has camouflage in the form of yellow streaks, applied to the basic gray paint, and white number "274". Army group "Weichs", motorized division "Great Germany", summer 1942

The command of the 1st Grenadier Regiment of the motorized division "Great Germany" at a field meeting. Army Group Weichs, June-July 1942

The crew of the 152-mm howitzer cannon ML-20, model 1937, fires at German positions. Bryansk Front, July 1942

A group of Soviet commanders is watching the situation from the NP located in one of the houses of Voronezh, July 1942

The crew of the KV heavy tank on alarm takes places in their combat vehicle. Bryansk Front, June-July 1942

The new commander of the 40th Army defending Voronezh, Lieutenant General M.M. Popov, at the command telegraph. On the right is the "bodyist" of the Guard, corporal P. Mironova, summer 1942

Command of the 5th Panzer Army before the outbreak of hostilities. From left to right: Commander of the 11th Tank Corps, Major General A.F. Popov, Commander of the 5th Tank Army, Major General A.I. Lizyukov, Head of the Red Army Armored Directorate, Lieutenant General Ya.N. Fedorenko, and Regimental Commissar E S. Usachev. Bryansk Front, July 1942

The T-34–76 tank, produced at the beginning of the summer at the plant number 112 "Krasnoe Sormovo", moves to the line for an attack. Bryansk Front, presumably 25th Panzer Corps, summer 1942

The Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.F2 medium tank and the StuG III Ausf.F assault gun attack the Soviet positions. Voronezh region, July 1942

The BM-8-24 rocket launcher on the chassis of the T-60 tank, abandoned during the retreat of the Soviet troops. Such systems were part of the divisions of the guards mortars of the tank corps of the Red Army. Voronezh Front, July 1942

The commander of Panzer Army Africa, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (right), awards the Knight's Cross to Grenadier Gunther Halm of the 104th Panzergrenadier Regiment of the 15th Panzer Division. North Africa, summer 1942

British military leadership in North Africa: left - General Alexander, right - Lieutenant General Montgomery. The picture was taken in the middle of 1942.

British tank crews unpacking armored vehicles that arrived from the United States. The picture shows the M7 Priest 105-mm self-propelled howitzer. North Africa, autumn 1942

American-made medium tank M4A1 "Sherman" in anticipation of the start of a counterattack. North Africa, 8th Army, 30th Army Corps, 10th Panzer Division, 1942-1943

On the march, field artillery of the 10th Panzer Division. A Canadian-made Ford all-wheel drive tractor tows a 94 mm (25 lb) howitzer cannon. North Africa, October 1942

The crew rolls out a 57-mm anti-tank gun into position. This is the British version of the six-pounder. North Africa, November 2, 1942

Tank minesweeper "Scorpion", created on the basis of the outdated tank "Matilda II". North Africa, 8th Army, Autumn 1942

On November 4, 1942, General of the Wehrmacht Panzer Forces Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma (in the foreground) was captured by British troops. The picture shows him being taken for questioning at the Montgomery headquarters. North Africa, 8th Army, Autumn 1942

The 50-mm German Pak 38 cannon left in position. For camouflage, it is covered with a special net. North Africa, November 1942

The Italian 75-mm self-propelled gun Semovente da 75/18, abandoned during the retreat of the Axis troops. In order to increase the armor protection, the SPG's cabin is lined with tracks and sandbags. North Africa, November 1942

Eighth Army commander General Montgomery (right) examines the battlefield from the turret of his M3 Grant command tank. North Africa, autumn 1942

Heavy tanks MK IV "Churchill III", which entered the 8th Army for testing in desert conditions. They were armed with a 57mm cannon. North Africa, autumn 1942

Prokhorovka direction. In the photo: Lieutenant General P.A.Rotmistrov - Commander of the 5th Guards Tank Army (left) and Lieutenant General A.S. Zhadov - Commander of the 5th Guards Tank Army (right). Voronezh Front, July 1943

Operational group of the 5th Guards Tank Army. Voronezh front, Prokhorovka direction, July 1943

The scouts-motorcyclists at the starting position for the march. Voronezh Front, forward unit of the 170th Tank Brigade, 18th Tank Corps, 5th Guards Tank Army, July 1943

The Komsomol crew of the guard of Lieutenant I. P. Kalyuzhny studying the terrain of the upcoming offensive. In the background is a T-34–76 tank with the individual name “Komsomolets Zabaikalya”. Voronezh Front, July 1943

On the march, the advanced unit of the 5th Guards Tank Army - scouts on BA-64 armored vehicles. Voronezh Front, July 1943

Self-propelled gun SU-122 in the area of ​​the Prokhorov bridgehead. Most likely the self-propelled gun belongs to the 1446th self-propelled artillery regiment. Voronezh Front, July 1943

Soldiers of a motorized tank-destroyer unit (on "Willis" with anti-tank rifles and 45-mm cannons) awaiting the start of the attack. Voronezh Front, July 1943

SS "Tigers" before the attack on Prokhorovka. Army Group South, 11 July 1943

The Sd.Kfz.10 half-track transporter with the tactical designations of the 2nd SS Panzergrenadier Division "Reich" is moving past a destroyed Soviet tank of British production MK IV "Churchill IV". Most likely this heavy vehicle belonged to the 36th Guards Breakthrough Tank Regiment. Army Group South, July 1943

The StuG III self-propelled gun knocked out by our troops from the 3rd SS Panzergrenadier Division Totenkopf. Army Group South, July 1943

German repairmen are trying to restore an overturned Pz.Kpfw.III tank from the 2nd SS Panzergrenadier Division "Reich". Army Group South, July 1943

150-mm (actually 149.7-mm) self-propelled guns "Hummel" from the 73rd artillery regiment of the 1st tank division of the Wehrmacht in firing positions in one of the Hungarian villages. March 1945

The SwS tractor tows an 88mm Pak 43/41 heavy anti-tank gun, nicknamed the "Granary Gate" by German soldiers for its sluggishness. Hungary, early 1945

Commander of the 6th SS Panzer Army Sepp Dietrich (center, hands in pockets) during the celebration of awarding the Hitler Youth with the Reich awards to the l / s 12 TD "Hitler Youth". November 1944

Tanks "Panther" Pz.Kpfw.V from the 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitler Youth" are moving to the front line. Hungary, March 1945

Infrared 600-mm searchlight "Owl" ("Uhu"), mounted on the armored personnel carrier Sd.Kfz.251 / 21. Such vehicles were used in the units "Panthers" and StuG III during night battles, including in the area of ​​Lake Balaton in March 1945

Sd.Kfz.251 armored personnel carrier with two night vision devices mounted on it: a night sight for firing from a 7.92 mm MG-42 machine gun, a device for night driving in front of the driver's seat. 1945 year

The crew of the StuG III assault gun with tactical number "111" load ammunition into their combat vehicle. Hungary, 1945

Soviet specialists inspect the wrecked German heavy tank Pz.Kpfw.VI "Royal Tiger". 3rd Ukrainian Front, March 1945

German tank "Panther" Pz.Kpfw.V, knocked out by an APCR shell. The vehicle has a tactical number "431" and its own name - "Inga". 3rd Ukrainian Front, March 1945

Tank T-34-85 on the march. Our troops are preparing to strike the enemy. 3rd Ukrainian Front, March 1945

Quite a rare photo. A completely combat-ready fighter tank Pz.IV / 70 (V), belonging to one of the German tank divisions, most likely an army one. A crew member of a combat vehicle is posing in the foreground. Army Group South, Hungary, spring 1945

Since its inception, the tank has been and remains the main threat on the battlefield. Tanks became a blitzkrieg instrument and a weapon of victory in World War II, a decisive trump card in the Iran-Iraq war; even equipped with the most modern means of destroying enemy personnel, the American army cannot do without the support of tanks. The site has selected seven of the largest tank battles since the first appearance of these armored vehicles on the battlefield until today.

Battle of Cambrai

This was the first successful episode of massive use of tanks: more than 476 tanks participated in the Battle of Cambrai, united in 4 tank brigades. Great hopes were pinned on armored vehicles: with their help, the British intended to break through the heavily fortified Siegfried Line. The tanks, mostly the newest at that time Mk IV with side armor reinforced to 12 mm, were equipped with the latest know-how of that time - fascines (75 bundles of brushwood fastened with chains), thanks to which the tank could overcome wide trenches and ditches.
On the very first day of the fighting, a resounding success was achieved: the British managed to penetrate the enemy's defenses for 13 km, capture 8,000 German soldiers and 160 officers, as well as a hundred guns. However, it was not possible to build on the success, and the ensuing counteroffensive of the German troops practically nullified the efforts of the allies.

Irrecoverable losses in tanks from the Allies amounted to 179 vehicles, even more tanks were out of order for technical reasons.

Battle of Annu

Some historians consider the Battle of Annu to be the first tank battle of World War II. It began on May 13, 1940, when Göpner's 16th Panzer Corps (623 tanks, with 125 being the newest 73 Pz-III and 52 Pz-IV, capable of fighting French armored vehicles on an equal footing), advancing in the first echelon of the 6th German army, engaged in battles with the advanced French tank units of the corps of General R. Priou (415 tanks - 239 "Hotchkiss" and 176 SOMUA).

During the two-day battle, the 3rd French Light Mechanized Division lost 105 tanks, the losses of the Germans amounted to 164 vehicles. At the same time, the German aviation had complete air supremacy.

Raseiniai tank battle

According to data from open sources, about 749 Soviet tanks and 245 German vehicles took part in the Raseiniai battle. The Germans had air superiority, good communications and organization on their side. The Soviet command threw its subunits into battle in units, without artillery and air cover. The result was predictable - an operational and tactical victory for the Germans, despite the courage and heroism of the Soviet soldiers.

One of the episodes of this battle became legendary - the Soviet KV tank was able to hold the offensive of an entire tank group for 48 hours. For a long time the Germans could not cope with a single tank, they tried to shoot it from an anti-aircraft gun, which was soon destroyed, to blow up the tank, but all in vain. As a result, a tactical trick had to be used: the KV surrounded 50 German tanks and began to fire from three directions in order to divert his attention. At this time, the 88-mm anti-aircraft gun was secretly installed in the rear of the KV. She hit the tank 12 times, and three shells pierced the armor, destroying it.

Battle of Brody

The largest tank battle at the beginning of World War II, in which 800 German tanks were opposed by 2500 Soviet vehicles (numbers vary greatly from source to source). Soviet troops attacked in the most difficult conditions: tankers entered the battle after a long march (300-400 km), and in scattered units, without waiting for the approach of combined-arms support formations. The equipment on the march was out of order, and there was no normal communication, and the Luftwaffe dominated in the sky, the supply of fuel and ammunition was disgusting.

Therefore, in the battle for Dubno - Lutsk - Brody, Soviet troops were defeated, having lost more than 800 tanks. The Germans were missing about 200 tanks.

Battle in the Valley of Tears

The battle in the Valley of Tears, which took place during the Yom Kippur War, clearly showed that victory is won not by numbers, but by skill. In this battle, the numerical and qualitative superiority was on the side of the Syrians, who prepared more than 1,260 tanks for the assault on the Golan Heights, including the newest at that time T-55 and T-62.

All that Israel had was a couple of hundred tanks and excellent training, as well as courage and high resilience in battle, the latter never had the Arabs. Illiterate fighters could leave the tank even after a shell hit it without breaking through the armor, and it was very difficult for the Arabs to cope even with simple Soviet sights.

The most spectacular was the battle in the Valley of Tears, when, according to open sources, more than 500 Syrian tanks attacked 90 Israeli vehicles. In this battle, the Israelis desperately lacked ammunition, reaching the point that the jeeps of the reconnaissance unit moved from tank to tank with 105-mm ammunition recovered from the destroyed Centurions. As a result, 500 Syrian tanks and a large number of other equipment were destroyed, the Israeli losses amounted to about 70-80 vehicles.

Battle of the Kharkhi Valley

One of the largest battles of the Iran-Iraq War took place in the Kharkhi Valley, near the city of Susangerd in January 1981. Then the 16th Panzer Division of Iran, armed with the latest British Chieftain tanks and American M60s, faced an Iraqi tank division - 300 Soviet T-62s in a meeting engagement.

The battle lasted about two days - from January 6 to 8, during which time the battlefield turned into a real quagmire, and the opponents got so close that it became risky to use aviation. The result of the battle was the victory of Iraq, whose troops destroyed or captured 214 Iranian tanks.

Also during the battle, the myth of the invulnerability of the Chieftain tanks with powerful frontal armor was buried. It turned out that the 115-mm armor-piercing sub-caliber shell of the T-62 cannon penetrates the powerful armor of the Chieftain's turret. Since then, Iranian tankers were afraid to launch a frontal attack on Soviet tanks.

Battle of Prokhorovka

The most famous tank battle in history, in which about 800 Soviet tanks collided with 400 Germans in a head-on battle. Most of the Soviet tanks were T-34s, armed with a 76mm cannon that did not penetrate the newest German Tigers and Panthers in the forehead. Soviet tankers had to use suicidal tactics: approach German vehicles at maximum speed and hit them on the side.
In this battle, the losses of the Red Army amounted to about 500 tanks, or 60%, German losses - 300 vehicles, or 75% of the original number. The most powerful strike group was bled white. Inspector General of the Wehrmacht's tank forces, General G. Guderian, stated the defeat: “The armored forces, replenished with such great difficulty, were out of order for a long time due to heavy losses in people and equipment ... and there were no more calm ones on the Eastern Front. days ".

Perhaps it will not be an exaggeration to say that the tank battles of World War II are one of its main images. How are the trenches an image of the First World War or nuclear missiles of the post-war confrontation between the socialist and capitalist camps. Actually, this is not surprising, since the tank battles of the Second World War largely determined its nature and course.

Not the least credit for this belongs to one of the main ideologists and theorists of motorized warfare, the German general Heinz Guderian. He largely originated the initiatives of the most powerful blows with a single fist of the troops, thanks to which the Nazi forces achieved such dizzying successes on the European and African continents for more than two years. Tank battles of World War II especially gave brilliant result at its first stage, in record time defeating obsolete morally Polish equipment. It was Guderian's divisions that ensured the breakthrough of the German armies at Sedan and the successful occupation of French and Belgian territories. Only the so-called "Dunker miracle" saved the remnants of the armies of the French and British from total defeat, allowing them to reorganize in the future and protect England in the sky at first and prevent the Nazis from concentrating absolutely all their military power in the east. Let's take a closer look at the three largest tank battles of this whole carnage.

Prokhorovka, tank battle

Tank battles of World War II: Battle of Senno

This episode took place at the very beginning of the German invasion of the USSR and became an integral part of the Vitebsk battle. After the capture of Minsk, German units moved towards the confluence of the Dnieper and Dvina, intending to launch an offensive on Moscow from there. On the part of the Soviet state, two combat vehicles, numbering more than 900, took part in the battle. The Wehrmacht had at its disposal three divisions and about a thousand serviceable tanks, backed up by aviation. As a result of the battle on July 6-10, 1941 Soviet forces lost more than eight hundred of their combat units, which opened up the enemy the opportunity to continue their advance without changing plans and launch an offensive towards Moscow.

The largest tank battle in history

In fact, the biggest battle took place even earlier! Already in the first days of the Nazi invasion (June 23-30, 1941) between the cities of Brody - Lutsk - Dubno, in Western Ukraine, there was a clash involving more than 3200 tanks. In addition, the number of combat vehicles here was three times more than at Prokhorovka, and the duration of the battle lasted not one day, but a whole week! As a result of the battle, the Soviet corps were literally crushed, the armies of the Southwestern Front suffered a quick and crushing defeat, which opened the way for the enemy to Kiev, Kharkov and the further occupation of Ukraine.

Battle of Dubno: a forgotten feat
When and where did the largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War actually take place?

History, both as a science and as a social instrument, alas, is subject to too much political influence. And it often happens that for some reason - most often ideological - some events are exalted, while others are forgotten or remain underestimated. Thus, the overwhelming majority of our compatriots, both those who grew up during the Soviet era and in post-Soviet Russia, sincerely consider the Battle of Prokhorovka, the largest tank battle in history, to be an integral part of the Battle of the Kursk Bulge. On this topic: The first tank battle of the Second World War | Potapov factor | |

Destroyed T-26 tanks of various modifications from the 19th Panzer Division of the 22nd Mechanized Corps on the Voinitsa-Lutsk highway

But in fairness, it should be noted that the largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War actually took place two years earlier and half a thousand kilometers to the west. Within a week, in the triangle between the cities of Dubno, Lutsk and Brody, two armored armadas with a total of about 4500 armored vehicles converged. Counteroffensive on the second day of the war

The actual beginning of the Battle of Dubno, which is also called the Battle of Brody or the Battle of Dubno-Lutsk-Brody, was June 23, 1941. It was on this day that the tank corps - at that time they were still called mechanized out of habit - of the Red Army corps stationed in the Kiev military district, inflicted the first serious counterattacks on the advancing German troops. Georgy Zhukov, a representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters, insisted on counterattacking the Germans. First, the 4th, 15th, and 22nd mechanized corps in the first echelon struck the flanks of Army Group South. And after them, the 8, 9 and 19 mechanized corps, which had moved out of the second echelon, joined the operation.

Strategically, the plan of the Soviet command was correct: to strike at the flanks of the 1st Panzer Group of the Wehrmacht, which was part of the Army Group "South" and was rushing to Kiev in order to encircle and destroy it. In addition, the battles of the first day, when some Soviet divisions - like, for example, the 87th division of Major General Philip Alyabushev - managed to stop the superior forces of the Germans, gave hope that this plan would be implemented.

In addition, the Soviet troops in this sector had a significant superiority in tanks. On the eve of the war, the Kiev special military district was considered the strongest of the Soviet districts and it was he who, in the event of an attack, was assigned the role of the executor of the main retaliatory strike. Accordingly, the technique came here in the first place and in a large number, and the training of personnel was the highest. So, on the eve of the counterattack, the troops of the district, which had already become the South-Western Front by that time, had no less than 3695 tanks. And from the German side, only about 800 tanks and self-propelled guns went on the offensive - that is, more than four times less.

In practice, an unprepared, hasty decision on an offensive operation resulted in the largest tank battle in which the Soviet troops were defeated.

Tanks fight tanks for the first time

When the tank subdivisions of the 8th, 9th and 19th mechanized corps reached the front line and entered the battle from the march, this resulted in an oncoming tank battle - the first in the history of the Great Patriotic War. Although the concept of wars in the mid-twentieth century did not allow such battles. It was believed that tanks are a tool for breaking through the enemy's defense or creating chaos on his communications. "Tanks do not fight tanks" - this is how this principle was formulated, which was common to all armies of that time. Anti-tank artillery was supposed to fight the tanks - well, and the infantry, which had carefully entrenched themselves. And the battle at Dubno completely broke all the theoretical constructions of the military. Here, Soviet tank companies and battalions went literally head-on against German tanks. And they lost.

There were two reasons for this. Firstly, the German troops were much more active and wiser than the Soviet ones, they used all types of communications, and the coordination of efforts different types and combat arms in the Wehrmacht at that moment was, unfortunately, a cut above that in the Red Army. In the battle of Dubno-Lutsk-Brody, these factors led to the fact that Soviet tanks often acted without any support and at random. The infantry simply did not have time to support the tanks, to help them in the fight against anti-tank artillery: the rifle units moved on foot and simply did not catch up with the tanks that had gone ahead. And the tank units themselves at a level above the battalion acted without general coordination, on their own. It often turned out that one mechanized corps was already rushing to the west, deep into the German defense, and the other, which could support it, began regrouping or retreating from occupied positions ...

Burning T-34 in a field near Dubno / Source: Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F016221-0015 / CC-BY-SA

Contrary to concepts and guidelines

The second reason for the mass death of Soviet tanks in the battle of Dubno, which must be mentioned separately, was their unpreparedness for a tank battle - a consequence of those very pre-war concepts "tanks do not fight tanks." Among the tanks of the Soviet mechanized corps that entered the battle of Dubno, light tanks for infantry escort and raid war, created in the early to mid-1930s, were the majority.

More precisely - almost everything. As of June 22, five Soviet mechanized corps - 8th, 9th, 15th, 19th and 22nd - had 2,803 tanks. Of these, medium tanks - 171 pieces (all - T-34), heavy tanks - 217 pieces (of which 33 KV-2 and 136 KV-1 and 48 T-35), and 2,415 light tanks of the T-26, T- 27, T-37, T-38, BT-5 and BT-7, which can be considered the most modern. And in the composition of the 4th mechanized corps, which fought just west of Brody, there were 892 more tanks, but there were exactly half of them today - 89 KV-1 and 327 T-34.

Soviet light tanks, due to the specifics of the tasks assigned to them, had bulletproof or anti-fragmentation armor. Light tanks are an excellent tool for deep raids behind enemy lines and actions on their communications, but light tanks are completely unsuitable for breaking through defenses. The German command took into account the strong and weak sides armored vehicles and used their tanks, which were inferior to ours both in quality and weapons, in defense, nullifying all the advantages of Soviet technology.

The German field artillery also had its say in this battle. And if for the T-34 and KV it, as a rule, was not dangerous, then light tanks had a hard time. And even the armor of the new "thirty-fours" was powerless against the 88-mm anti-aircraft guns of the Wehrmacht pumped out for direct fire. Only the heavy KVs and T-35s resisted them adequately. The light T-26 and BT, as stated in the reports, “were partially destroyed as a result of being hit by anti-aircraft shells,” and not just stopped. But the Germans in this direction in anti-tank defense used not only anti-aircraft guns.

Defeat that brought victory closer

And yet, Soviet tankers, even in such "unsuitable" vehicles, went into battle - and often won it. Yes, without air cover, which is why German aviation knocked out almost half of the columns on the march. Yes, with weak armor, which even large-caliber machine guns sometimes pierced. Yes, without radio communication and at your own peril and risk. But they walked.

They walked and got their way. In the first two days of the counteroffensive, the balance fluctuated: success was achieved by one side, then the other. On the fourth day, the Soviet tankmen, despite all the complicating factors, managed to achieve success, in some areas pushing the enemy back 25-35 kilometers. On the evening of June 26, Soviet tankers even took the city of Dubno with a battle, from which the Germans were forced to withdraw ... to the east!

Destroyed German tank PzKpfw II

And yet, the advantage of the Wehrmacht in the infantry units, without which tankers could fully operate in that war only in rear raids, soon began to affect. By the end of the fifth day of the battle, almost all the vanguard units of the Soviet mechanized corps were simply destroyed. Many units were surrounded and were forced to go over to the defensive on all fronts. And with each passing hour, the tankers more and more lacked serviceable vehicles, shells, spare parts and fuel. It got to the point that they had to retreat, leaving the enemy almost undamaged tanks: there was no time and opportunity to put them on the move and take them away.

Today one can come across the opinion that if then the leadership of the front, contrary to the order of Georgy Zhukov, did not give up the command to switch from offensive to defense, the Red Army, they say, would turn the Germans back under Dubno. Wouldn't turn. Alas, that summer the German army fought much better, and its tank units had much more experience in active interaction with other types of troops. But the battle of Dubno played its part in thwarting the "Barbarossa" plan fostered by Hitler. The Soviet tank counterattack forced the Wehrmacht command to bring into battle reserves, which were intended for an offensive in the direction of Moscow as part of Army Group Center. And the very direction to Kiev after this battle began to be considered as a priority.

And this did not fit into the long-agreed German plans, broke them - and broke them so much that the pace of the offensive was catastrophically lost. And although there was a difficult autumn and winter of 1941 ahead, the largest tank battle had already said its word in the history of the Great Patriotic War. It was him, the battles of Dubno, an echo two years later thundered in the fields near Kursk and Orel - and echoed in the first salvos of victorious salutes ...

Ever since the first armored vehicles began marching through the warped battlefields of World War I, tanks have become an integral part of land warfare. Over the years, there have been many tank battles, and some of them were of great importance to history. Here are 10 battles you need to know about.

Battles in chronological order.

1. Battle of Cambrai (1917)

At the end of 1917, this battle on the Western Front was the first major tank battle in military history and it was there that, for the first time, combined arms forces on a large scale were seriously deployed, marking a true turning point in military history. As historian Hugh Strachan notes, "The biggest intellectual shift in the war between 1914 and 1918 was that combined-arms battles were centered around gun capabilities rather than infantry forces." And by the word "combined arms", Strachan means the coordinated use of various types of artillery, infantry, aviation, and, of course, tanks.

On 20 November 1917, the British attacked Cambrai with 476 tanks, 378 of which were battle tanks. The frightened Germans were taken by surprise, as the offensive instantly advanced several kilometers inland along the entire front. This was an unprecedented breakthrough in the enemy's defenses. The Germans ultimately rehabilitated themselves by launching a counterattack, but this tank offensive demonstrated the incredible potential of mobile, armored warfare - a method that was only actively used a year later, during the final strike on Germany.

2. Battle on the Khalkhin-Gol River (1939)

This is the first major tank battle during World War II, where the Soviet Red Army clashed with the Imperial Japanese Army at its border. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945, Japan declared that Khalkhin Gol was the border between Mongolia and Manchukuo (the Japanese name for occupied Manchuria), while the USSR insisted on the border lying east of Nomon Khan (namely therefore this conflict is sometimes referred to as the Nomon Khan incident). Hostilities began in May 1939, when Soviet troops occupied the disputed territory.

After the initial success of the Japanese, the USSR gathered an army of 58,000 people, almost 500 tanks and about 250 aircraft. On the morning of August 20, General Georgy Zhukov launched a surprise attack after simulating preparation for a defensive position. During this harsh day, the heat became unbearable, reaching 40 degrees Celsius, causing the machine guns and cannons to melt. Soviet T-26 tanks (predecessors of the T-34) outnumbered the outdated Japanese tanks, the guns of which lacked armor-piercing ability. But the Japanese fought desperately, for example, there was a very dramatic moment when Lieutenant Sadakaya attacked a tank with his samurai sword until he was killed.

The subsequent Russian offensive made it possible to completely destroy the forces of General Komatsubara. Japan lost 61,000 people, in contrast to the Red Army, where 7,974 people were killed and 15,251 wounded. This battle marked the beginning of Zhukov's glorious military path, and also demonstrated the importance of deception, technical and numerical superiority in tank warfare.

3. Battle of Arras (1940)

Not to be confused with the Battle of Arras in 1917, this battle was during World War II, where the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) fought against the German Blitzkrieg, and gradually military operations advanced along the coast of France.

On May 20, 1940, Viscount Gort, commander of the BEF, launched a counterattack against the Germans, codenamed "Frankforce". It was attended by two infantry battalions of 2,000 people - and only 74 tanks. The BBC describes what happened next:

“The infantry battalions were split into two columns for the attack, which took place on May 21st. The right column initially advanced successfully, capturing a number of German soldiers, but they soon encountered German infantry and SS, supported by the air force, and suffered heavy casualties.

The left column also advanced successfully before clashing with the infantry unit of General Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division.
French cover that night allowed British forces to retreat to their former positions. Operation Frankforce was over, and the next day the Germans regrouped and continued their advance.

During the "Frankforce" about 400 Germans were captured, both sides suffered approximately the same losses, and a number of tanks were destroyed. The operation outdid itself - the attack was so brutal that the 7th Panzer Division believed it had been attacked by five infantry divisions. "

Interestingly, some historians believe that this ferocious counterattack persuaded the German generals to announce a respite on May 24 - a short break in the Blitzkrieg, giving the BEF some extra time to evacuate its troops during the Miracle of Dunkirk.

4. Battle of Brody (1941)

Before the Battle of Kursk in 1943, it was the largest tank battle of the Second World War and the greatest in history up to this point. It happened in the early days of Operation Barbarossa, when German forces advanced rapidly (and relatively easily) along the Eastern Front... But in the triangle formed by the cities of Dubno, Lutsk and Brody, a clash arose, in which 800 German tanks opposed 3,500 Russian tanks.

The battle lasted four grueling days, and ended on June 30, 1941 with a resounding victory for Germany and a heavy retreat of the Red Army. It was during the Battle of Brody that the Germans first seriously clashed with Russian T-34 tanks, which were practically immune to German weapons. But thanks to a series of Luftwaffe air attacks (which knocked out 201 Soviet tanks) and tactical maneuvering, the Germans won. Moreover, it is believed that 50% of Soviet losses of armored vehicles (~ 2600 tanks) were due to shortcomings in the rear, lack of ammunition, and due to technical problems... In total, the Red Army lost 800 tanks in that battle, and this is a large figure compared to 200 tanks from the Germans.

5. Second battle of El Alamein (1942)

This battle was a watershed moment in the North African campaign, and it was the only major tank battle won by the British Armed Forces without direct American involvement. But the American presence, of course, was felt in the form of 300 Sherman tanks (in total, the British had 547 tanks), hastily delivered to Egypt from the United States.

The battle, which began on October 23rd and ended in November 1942, confronted the pedantic and patient General Bernard Montgomery and Erwin Rommel, the cunning Desert Fox. Unfortunately for the Germans, however, Rommel was very ill and had to leave for a German hospital before the battle began to unfold. In addition, his interim deputy, General Georg von Stumme, died of a heart attack during the battle. The Germans also suffered from supply problems, especially fuel shortages. Which ultimately led to the disaster.

Montgomery's restructured 8th Army launched a double attack. The first phase, Operation Lightfoot, consisted of a heavy artillery bombardment followed by an infantry attack. During the second phase, the infantry cleared the way for the panzer divisions. Rommel, who returned to duty, was in despair, he realized that everything was lost, and telegraphed this to Hitler. Both the British and German armies lost about 500 tanks, but the Allied forces were unable to take the lead after the victory, which gave the Germans ample time to retreat.

But the victory was obvious, which prompted Winston Churchill to declare: "This is not the end, this is not even the beginning of the end, but this is perhaps the end of the beginning."

6. Battle of Kursk (1943)

After the defeat at Stalingrad, and the imminent counter-offensive of the Red Army on all fronts, the Germans decided to make a bold, if not reckless, offensive near Kursk, in the hope of regaining their positions. As a result, the Battle of Kursk is today considered the largest and longest battle involving heavy armored vehicles in the war, and one of the largest single armored clashes.

Although no one can say the exact numbers, Soviet tanks initially outnumbered German ones by a factor of two. According to some estimates, initially about 3,000 Soviet tanks and 2,000 German ones clashed at the Kursk Bulge. In the event of a negative development of events, the Red Army was ready to throw another 5,000 tanks into battle. And although the Germans caught up with the Red Army in terms of the number of tanks, this could not ensure their victory.

One German tank commander managed to destroy 22 Soviet tanks within an hour, but apart from the tanks there were Russian soldiers who approached the enemy tanks with "suicidal courage", getting close enough to throw a mine under the tracks. A German tanker later wrote:

"Soviet soldiers were around us, above us and between us. They pulled us out of the tanks, knocked us out. It was scary."

All German superiority in communications, maneuverability, and artillery was lost in chaos, noise and smoke.

From the memoirs of tankers:
"The atmosphere was stifling. I was out of breath, and the sweat was streaming down my face."
"We expected to be killed every second."
"Tanks rammed each other"
"The metal was burning."

The entire area on the battlefield was filled with burned-out armored vehicles, emitting columns of black oily smoke.

It is important to note that at this time not only a tank battle took place there, but also an air one. While the battle was unfolding below, planes in the sky tried to knock out tanks.

Eight days later, the attack was stopped. Although the Red Army was victorious, it lost five armored vehicles for every German tank. In terms of actual numbers, the Germans lost about 760 tanks and the USSR about 3800 (a total of 6,000 tanks and assault guns were destroyed or seriously damaged). In terms of casualties, the Germans lost 54,182 people, ours - 177847. Despite such a gap, the Red Army is considered the winner of the battle, and, as historians note, "Hitler's long-awaited dream of the Caucasus oil fields was destroyed forever."

7. Battle of Arrakour (1944)

Fought during the Lorraine Campaign led by General George Patton's 3rd Army from September to October 1944, the lesser-known Battle of Arracourt was the largest armored battle for the U.S. Army to this point. Although the Battle of the Ardennes would later prove to be larger, the battle took place over a much wider geographical area.

The battle is important in that all German tank forces were hit by American forces, mostly equipped with 75mm cannons. tank "Sherman". Thanks to the careful coordination of tanks, artillery, infantry, and air forces, the German forces were defeated.

As a result, American forces successfully defeated two tank brigades and parts of two tank divisions. Of the 262 German tanks, more than 86 were destroyed and 114 were seriously damaged. The Americans, on the other hand, lost only 25 tanks.

The Battle of Arracourt prevented a German counterattack and the Wehrmacht was unable to recover. Moreover, this area has become a launching pad from which Patton's army will launch their winter offensive.

8. Battle of Chavinda (1965)

The Battle of Chavinda became one of the largest tank battles since World War II. It occurred during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, where about 132 Pakistani tanks (as well as 150 reinforcements) collided against 225 Indian armored vehicles. The Indians had the Centurion tanks, while the Pakistanis had the Patton; both sides also used Sherman tanks.

The battle, which lasted from September 6 to 22, took place in the Ravi-Chinab section, connecting Jammu and Kashmir with the mainland of India. The Indian army hoped to cut off Pakistan's supply lines by cutting them off from the Sialkot district of the Lahore region. Events peaked on 8 September when Indian forces moved towards Chavinda. The Pakistani air force joined the battle and then a fierce tank battle ensued. A major tank battle took place on 11 September in the Fillora region. After several bursts of activity and a lull, the battle finally ended on September 21, when the Indian forces finally withdrew. The Pakistanis lost 40 tanks while the Indians lost over 120.

9. Battle in the Valley of Tears (1973)

During the Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War, Israeli forces fought a coalition that included Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq. The goal of the coalition was to drive out the Israeli forces occupying Sinai. At one key point in the Golan Heights, the Israeli brigade had 7 tanks out of 150 - and in the remaining tanks, on average, no more than 4 shells remained. But around the same time that the Syrians were about to launch yet another attack, the brigade was rescued by an accidentally assembled reinforcement consisting of 13 least damaged tanks driven by wounded soldiers who had been discharged from the hospital.

As for the Yom Kippur War itself, the 19-day battle was the largest tank battle since World War II. In fact, it was one of the largest tank battles, involving 1,700 Israeli tanks (of which 63% were destroyed) and approximately 3,430 coalition tanks (of which approximately 2,250 to 2,300 were destroyed). In the end, Israel won; The ceasefire agreement brokered by the United Nations entered into force on 25 October.

10. Battle of Easting 73 (1991)

The battle is described as "the last great tank battle of the 20th century," where more than a dozen M3 Bradley armored vehicles and nine M1A1 Abrams tanks destroyed more than 85 Iraqi tanks (including T-55 and T-72) by US forces. The ensuing battle in the Persian Gulf, which took place in the Iraqi desert, was a complete disaster for the Iraqi forces.

The United States had a number of technical advantages in comparison with the Republican Guard, including superior military tanks and GPS, which allowed them to pre-plan the direction of movement (instead of blind meeting). M1A1 tanks had a range of 2,500 meters, and Iraqi tanks had a range of 2,000 meters; the Republican Guard had no chance.

About 600 Iraqis were killed or wounded during the operation, compared with just a dozen American casualties and 57 wounded (mostly due to friendly fire).

Material prepared by Alexandra

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