70 years ago: the largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War July 2nd, 2011

Usually in the USSR the biggest tank battle of the war was called the oncoming one. battle near Prokhorovka during Battle of Kursk(July 1943). But 826 Soviet vehicles fought there against 416 German ones (although a little less took part in the battle itself on both sides). But two years earlier, from June 24 to June 30, 1941, between the cities Lutsk, Dubno and Brody the battle took place much more grandiose: on pathway III The German tank group (more than 800 tanks) was joined by 5 Soviet mechanized corps (about 2,500 tanks).

The Soviet corps received orders to attack the advancing enemy and tried to fight head-on. But our command did not have a unified plan, and tank formations struck at the advancing Germans one by one. The old light tanks were not scary for the enemy, but the new tanks of the Red Army (T-34, T-35 and KV) turned out to be stronger than the German ones, so the Nazis began to evade battle with them, withdraw their vehicles, put their infantry in the way of the Soviet mechanized corps and anti-tank artillery.

(Photos taken from site waralbum.ru - there are many pictures taken by all the warring parties
Stalin's generals with their divisions under the influence of "" (where it was ordered to "capture the Lublin region", that is, to invade Poland) rushed forward, lost supply lines, and then our tankers had to abandon completely intact tanks along the roads, left without fuel and ammunition. The Germans looked at them with surprise - especially powerful vehicles with strong armor and several turrets.

The terrible massacre ended on July 2, when the Soviet units surrounded near Dubno broke through to their front, retreating in the direction of Kyiv.

On June 25, the 9th and 19th mechanized corps of generals Rokossovsky (his memories of those days) and Feklenko dealt such a powerful blow to the invaders that they drove them back Smooth, to which the German tankers were already only a few kilometers away. On June 27, an equally powerful blow to the area Dubno was inflicted by the tank division of Commissar Popel (his memories).
Trying to surround the enemy who had broken through, Soviet formations kept running into anti-tank defenses put up by the enemy on the flanks. During the assault on these lines, up to half of the tanks perished in one day, as happened on June 24 under Lutsk and June 25 under Radekhov.
There was almost no air Soviet fighters: they died on the first day of the war (many at the airfields). German pilots felt like “kings of the air.” General Ryabyshev's 8th mechanized corps, hurrying to the front, lost half of its tanks during a 500-kilometer march from enemy air strikes (Ryabyshev's emars).
The Soviet infantry could not keep up with their tanks, while the German infantry was much more mobile - it moved on trucks and motorcycles. There was a case when the tank units of the 15th mechanized corps of General Carpezo were outflanked and almost immobilized by enemy infantry.
On June 28, the Germans finally broke into Smooth. June 29 Soviet troops were surrounded by Dubno(On July 2, they were still able to escape from the encirclement). On June 30, the Nazis occupied Brody. The general retreat of the Southwestern Front began, and Soviet troops left Lvov, to avoid being surrounded.
During the days of fighting, more than 2,000 tanks were lost on the Soviet side, and either “about 200” or “more than 300” on the German side. But the Germans took their tanks, took them to the rear and tried to repair them. The Red Army was losing its armored vehicles forever. Moreover, the Germans later repainted some tanks, painted crosses on them and put their armored units into service.

Ever since the first armored vehicles began their march across the twisted battlefields of World War I, tanks have been an integral part of land warfare. Many tank battles took place over the years, 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)

Occurring in late 1917, this battle on the Western Front was the first major tank battle in military history and it was there that combined arms forces were first seriously engaged on a large scale, 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 the capabilities of guns rather than infantry forces." And by "combined arms", Strachan means coordinated use various types artillery, infantry, aviation, and, of course, tanks.

On November 20, 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 in depth along the entire front. This was an unprecedented breakthrough of the enemy's defense. The Germans eventually recovered with a counterattack, but this armored offensive demonstrated the incredible potential of mobile, armored warfare - a method that would only come into active use a year later during the final assault on Germany.

2. Battle of the Khalkhin Gol River (1939)

This was the first major tank battle during World War II, where the Soviet Red Army clashed with the Japanese imperial army at its border. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945, Japan claimed Khalkhin Gol as the border between Mongolia and Manchukuo (the Japanese name for occupied Manchuria), while the USSR insisted on the border lying further east at Nomon Khan (namely Therefore, this conflict is sometimes called 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 assembled an army of 58,000 thousand people, almost 500 tanks and about 250 aircraft. On the morning of August 20, General Georgy Zhukov launched a surprise attack after simulating preparations for a defensive position. During this harsh day, the heat became unbearable, reaching 40 degrees Celsius, causing machine guns and cannons to melt. Soviet T-26 tanks (predecessors of the T-34) were superior to the outdated Japanese tanks, whose guns lacked armor-piercing ability. But the Japanese fought desperately, for example, there was a very dramatic moment when Lieutenant Sadakai attacked the tank with his samurai sword until he was killed.

The subsequent Russian offensive completely destroyed General Komatsubara's forces. Japan suffered 61,000 casualties, in contrast to the Red Army's 7,974 killed and 15,251 wounded. This battle marked the beginning of Zhukov's glorious military career, and also demonstrated the importance of deception, technical and numerical superiority in tank warfare.

3. Battle of Arras (1940)

This battle should not be confused with the Battle of Arras in 1917, this battle was during the Second World War where the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) fought against the German Blitzkrieg, and gradually the fighting moved up the coast of France.

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

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

The left column also advanced successfully until it clashed with the infantry unit of General Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division.
French cover that night allowed the British troops to withdraw to their previous positions. Operation Frankforce was completed, and the next day the Germans regrouped and continued their advance.

During Frankforce, about 400 Germans were captured, both sides suffered approximately equal losses, and a number of tanks were also 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 convinced the German generals to call a respite on 24 May - a short break from the Blitzkrieg that bought the BEF some extra time to evacuate its troops during the "Miracle of Dunkirk".

4. Battle of Brody (1941)

Until the Battle of Kursk in 1943, it was the largest tank battle of World War II and the greatest in history up to that point. It occurred in the early days of Operation Barbarossa, when German troops advanced rapidly (and with relative ease) along the Eastern Front. But in the triangle formed by the cities of Dubno, Lutsk and Brody, a clash arose in which 800 non-military tanks opposed 3,500 Russian tanks.

The battle lasted four grueling days, and ended on June 30, 1941 with a resounding German victory and a difficult 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 armor losses (~2,600 tanks) were due to logistical deficiencies, ammunition shortages, and technical problems. In total, the Red Army lost 800 tanks in that battle, and this is a large number compared to 200 tanks from the Germans.

5. Second Battle of El Alamein (1942)

The battle marked a turning point in the North African campaign and was the only major tank battle to be won by British forces without direct American participation. But the American presence was certainly felt in the form of 300 Sherman tanks (the British had a total of 547 tanks) rushed to Egypt from the United States.

The battle, which began on October 23 and ended in November 1942, pitted the meticulous and patient General Bernard Montgomery against Erwin Rommel, the cunning Desert Fox. Unfortunately for the Germans, however, Rommel was very ill, and was forced to leave for a German hospital before the battle began to unfold. In addition, his temporary 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 disaster.

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

But victory was obvious, prompting Winston Churchill to declare: “This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is perhaps the end of the beginning.”

6. Battle of Kursk (1943)

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

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

One German tank commander managed to destroy 22 Soviet tanks within an hour, but besides the tanks were Russian soldiers who approached enemy tanks with “suicidal courage,” getting close enough to throw a mine under the tracks. A German tankman 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 terms of communications, maneuverability, and artillery was lost in the chaos, noise and smoke.

From the memories of tankers:
"The atmosphere was suffocating. I was gasping for breath and sweat was running down my face in streams."
"Every second we expected to be killed."
"Tanks rammed each other"
"The metal was burning."

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

It is important to note that at this time there was not only a tank battle taking place there, but also an air battle. While the battle unfolded below, planes in the sky tried to shoot down the tanks.

Eight days later, the attack was stopped. Although the Red Army won, it lost five armored vehicles for every German tank. In terms of actual numbers, the Germans lost about 760 tanks and the USSR about 3,800 (for a total of 6,000 tanks and assault guns destroyed or seriously damaged). In terms of casualties, the Germans lost 54,182 people, ours - 177,847. Despite this gap, the Red Army is considered the winner of the battle, and, as historians note, “Hitler’s long-awaited dream of the oil fields of the Caucasus was destroyed forever.”

7. Battle of Arracourt (1944)

Occurring during the Lorraine Campaign led by General George Patton's 3rd Army from September to October 1944, less famous battle Arracourt was the largest tank battle for the US Army up to that point. Although the Battle of the Bulge would later prove to be larger, the battle took place over a much larger geographic area.

The battle is significant in that the entire German tank force was overwhelmed by American troops, mostly equipped with 75mm cannons. Sherman tank. Thanks to careful coordination of tanks, artillery, infantry, and air force, the German forces were defeated.

As a result, American troops 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 contrary, lost only 25 tanks.

The Battle of Arracourt prevented a German counterattack and the Wehrmacht was unable to recover. Moreover, this area became the launching pad from which Patton's army would begin its winter offensive.

8. Battle of Chawinda (1965)

The Battle of Chawinda was one of the largest tank battles after World War II. It took place during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, which pitted some 132 Pakistani tanks (as well as 150 reinforcements) against 225 Indian armored vehicles. The Indians had Centurion tanks while the Pakistanis had Pattons; both sides also used Sherman tanks.

The battle, which lasted from September 6 to 22, took place in the Ravi Chenab sector connecting Jammu and Kashmir with the Indian mainland. The Indian Army hoped to cut off Pakistan's supply line by cutting them off from Sialkot district of Lahore region. Events reached their peak on 8 September when Indian forces advanced towards Chawinda. The Pakistani air force joined the battle and then a brutal tank battle ensued. A major tank battle took place on September 11 in the Fillora region. After several bursts of activity and lulls, the battle finally ended on 21 September when the Indian forces finally withdrew. The Pakistanis lost 40 tanks, while the Indians lost over 120.

9. Battle of 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 dislodge the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai. At one key point in the Golan Heights, the Israeli brigade had 7 tanks left out of 150 - and the remaining tanks had on average no more than 4 shells left. But just as the Syrians were about to launch another attack, the brigade was rescued by randomly assembled reinforcements, consisting of 13 of the least damaged tanks, driven by wounded soldiers who had been released 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; A United Nations-brokered ceasefire agreement came into force on 25 October.

10. Battle of Easting 73 (1991)

This project has been on the Internet, especially domestically, not that long ago! I would like to note that the project belongs to the Discovery Channel, which has already produced good films more than once, but this one, it seems to me, has not been fully developed properly. For all twenty-three episodes you will not see anything new or interesting! For some reason, the authors considered the great battles to be what they showed on the screen, although as everyone knows, these are completely abstract events that do not carry an important outcome. Extremely interesting, especially because in the frame we see the tank heroes themselves (I would like to note the delicate position of the authors of the series: they did not emphasize “the politics” of those times, they were primarily interested in the War itself, and how specific human soldiers fought in it , be it an American, Soviet, German, Israeli veteran... They are all in the frame, moreover, entire stories are often built on their stories! But we didn’t even know how accidentally the American Sherman tank collided through the “green fence” barrel to barrel, with a deadly “tiger”, one shot of which means inevitable death for the “Sherman”... And, with great bitterness, we have to accept and understand that both the “Shermans” in France and our “T-34-76” in In the Kursk Bulge, the Nazis were defeated only by numbers (!!!) and the ability to impose close combat on the enemy! But here’s what’s completely infuriating: the project is being carried out on behalf of real SS men, who are simply annoying, because they constantly remember about Reich equipment and so on and so forth! - Should have been hanged or shot a long time ago! - This is the SS!!! And they are right there on the screen, sharing their memories, interspersed with Soviet and American veterans... Nightmare!!! Another thing is infuriating, quietly, mournfully... Veterans of the Second World War “from the Allies” and “from the Germans!” they look on the screen and talk about the war... fresh, reasonable, sensible. Soviet veterans with their stories look like clichéd old senile... Probably because they are already accustomed to Soviet times“officially” speaking in front of pioneers and young people, telling them “what is needed,” and not what one would truly like to say (fortunately, such moments are present in the series!). I would especially like to note that the United States, England and France, and Germany deeply respect and support their veterans in every possible way, and they do not need anything. That’s why they look 60 years old, and not the real 90, like our surviving front-line soldiers! The last thing. I don’t recommend watching “Great Tank Battles” all at once. Take a break! Otherwise, you will get tired of staring at the monotonous skirmishes of Shermans (T-34-76) with Panthers or Tigers. Let me remind you: the computer graphics here (and without the “presence” of soldiers, people...) are inferior in quality to the currently popular game “Word of Tanks”.

Since World War I, tanks have been one of the most effective weapons of war. Their first use by the British at the Battle of the Somme in 1916 ushered in a new era - with tank wedges and lightning blitzkriegs.

Battle of Cambrai (1917)

After failures using small tank formations, the British command decided to launch an offensive using large number tanks. Since the tanks had previously failed to live up to expectations, many considered them useless. One British officer noted: "The infantry thinks that the tanks have not justified themselves. Even the tank crews are discouraged."

According to the British command, the upcoming offensive was supposed to begin without traditional artillery preparation. For the first time in history, tanks had to break through enemy defenses themselves.
The offensive at Cambrai was supposed to take the German command by surprise. The operation was prepared in strict secrecy. Tanks were transported to the front in evening time. The British constantly fired machine guns and mortars to drown out the roar of tank engines.

A total of 476 tanks took part in the offensive. The German divisions were defeated and suffered heavy losses. The well-fortified Hindenburg Line was broken through greater depth. However, during the German counter-offensive, British troops were forced to retreat. Using the remaining 73 tanks, the British managed to prevent a more serious defeat.

Battle of Dubno-Lutsk-Brody (1941)

In the first days of the war, a large-scale tank battle took place in Western Ukraine. The most powerful group of the Wehrmacht - "Center" - was advancing to the north, to Minsk and further to Moscow. The not so strong Army Group South was advancing on Kyiv. But in this direction there was the most powerful group of the Red Army - the Southwestern Front.

Already on the evening of June 22, the troops of this front received orders to encircle and destroy the advancing enemy group with powerful concentric attacks from mechanized corps, and by the end of June 24 to capture the Lublin region (Poland). It sounds fantastic, but this is if you don’t know the strength of the parties: in a giant oncoming tank battle 3,128 Soviet and 728 German tanks converged.

The battle lasted a week: from June 23 to 30. The actions of the mechanized corps were reduced to isolated counterattacks in different directions. The German command, through competent leadership, was able to repel a counterattack and defeat the armies of the Southwestern Front. The defeat was complete: Soviet troops lost 2,648 tanks (85%), the Germans lost about 260 vehicles.

Battle of El Alamein (1942)

The Battle of El Alamein is a key episode of the Anglo-German confrontation in North Africa. The Germans sought to cut the Allies' most important strategic highway, the Suez Canal, and were eager for Middle Eastern oil, which the Axis countries needed. The main battle of the entire campaign took place at El Alamein. As part of this battle, one of the largest tank battles in World War II took place.

The Italo-German force numbered about 500 tanks, half of which were rather weak Italian tanks. The British armored units had over 1000 tanks, among which were powerful American tanks- 170 "Grants" and 250 "Shermans".

The qualitative and quantitative superiority of the British was partly compensated by the military genius of the commander of the Italian-German troops - the famous “desert fox” Rommel.

Despite the British numerical superiority in manpower, tanks and aircraft, the British were never able to break through Rommel's defenses. The Germans even managed to counterattack, but the British superiority in numbers was so impressive that the German strike force of 90 tanks was simply destroyed in the oncoming battle.

Rommel, inferior to the enemy in armored vehicles, made extensive use of anti-tank artillery, among which were captured Soviet 76-mm guns, which had proven themselves to be excellent. Only under the pressure of the enemy’s enormous numerical superiority, having lost almost all equipment, german army began an organized retreat.

After El Alamein, the Germans had just over 30 tanks left. The total losses of the Italo-German troops in equipment amounted to 320 tanks. The losses of the British tank forces amounted to approximately 500 vehicles, many of which were repaired and returned to service, since the battlefield was ultimately theirs.

Battle of Prokhorovka (1943)

Tank battle near Prokhorovka occurred on July 12, 1943 as part of the Battle of Kursk. According to official Soviet data, 800 Soviet tanks and self-propelled guns and 700 German ones took part in it on both sides.

The Germans lost 350 units of armored vehicles, ours - 300. But the trick is that the Soviet tanks that participated in the battle were counted, and the German ones were those that were generally in the entire German group on the southern flank Kursk Bulge.

According to new, updated data, 311 German tanks and self-propelled guns of the 2nd SS Tank Corps took part in the tank battle near Prokhorovka against 597 Soviet 5th Guards Tank Army (commander Rotmistrov). The SS lost about 70 (22%), and the guards lost 343 (57%) armored vehicles.

Neither side managed to achieve its goals: the Germans failed to break through the Soviet defenses and enter the operational space, and the Soviet troops failed to encircle the enemy group.

A government commission was created to investigate the reasons for the large losses of Soviet tanks. In the commission's report fighting Soviet troops near Prokhorovka are called “an example of an unsuccessful operation.” General Rotmistrov was going to be put on trial, but by that time the general situation had developed favorably, and everything worked out.