He did not want to reveal the size of his force, so only one tank at a time engaged the enemy. Kolobanov ordered his other commanders to hold their fire and await orders. Each KV-1 tank carried twice the normal amount of ammunition, two-thirds being armour-piercing rounds. Lieutenant Kolobanov had carefully studied the situation and readied his detachment the day before. Near Noviy Uchkhoz settlement, the geography favoured the Soviet defenders as the only road in the region passed the swamp, and the defenders commanded this choke point from their hidden position. German forces attacked Krasnogvardeysk from three directions. 864 was commanded by the leader of this small force, Lieutenant Kolobanov. The vanguard of the German 8th Panzer Division was approaching Krasnogvardeysk (Gatchina) near Leningrad (St Petersburg), and the only Soviet force available to stop it consisted of five well-hidden KV-1 tanks, dug in within a grove at the edge of a swamp. During the Soviet counteroffensive there was probably open-field tank battles, as the Soviets were pressing on stuck/retreating German units, but it wasn't really the epic clashing of armor that the name "Greatest Tank Battle in History" seems to evoke.Īt the Battle of Krasnogvardeysk on 19 August 1941 (part of the Battle of Leningrad), Kolobanov's unit ambushed a column of German armour. During the primary German assault, it was concealed anti-tank weapons and mortars that did most of the work (dug-in tanks did constitute some of this), but it wasn't a massive tank battlefield like you might find in World of Tanks, at least during the German offensive. The tank part of the Soviet operation came first in the North, outside the salient, striking at Kluge's left wing and threatening Oryol, and then in the south after the collapse of von Manstein's offensive. The Soviet position was built around concentric defenses and pre-sighted fields of fire. In fact I can't say I've ever heard it imagined as such by anyone who's studied the battle. Here's your chance to vote for the greatest tanks and similar artillery vehicles that fought in World War 2, or to add your own favorite that didn't make the list.It depends on your definition of "performance." It wasn't meant to be an even-pitched battle, tank vs tank. And self-propelled assault guns and tank destroyers based on the designs of the mainstay tanks of the war played vital roles in supporting infantry and hunting enemy tanks. The T-34 especially proved to be so powerful and hard to beat that it changed the course of the war on the Eastern Front, helping turn a sure defeat into victory. These iconic vehicles captured the imagination of the public and became symbols of the struggle of the Second World War. By the end of the war, monsters like the Soviet IS-2, German Tiger II, and American Pershing would set the stage for the modern main battle tanks still used to this day. Soon, the modern T-34, Panther, and Sherman were ruling the battlefield with bigger cannons, thicker armorer, and most importantly, mass quantities. World War 2 tanks started as lightly armed "tankettes" and infantry support vehicles, but quickly gained in power and speed as the need for bigger and better tanks was revealed.
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