Today I’d like to kick this off by doing something we rarely get to do.
Wargaming employs a fellow named Richard Cutland, the Challenger.
He's an ex British Tankie who served thirty years,
both in peace and during war,
and now he’s Wargaming's Military Specialist.
We figured why not invite him to talk about how tanks evolved…
…from the beginning of Barbarossa to the Battle of Kursk,
to discuss the types of tanks and mechanized weaponry present there,
to give us a picture of how the German and Soviet Tanks…
…fared against one another…
…and to discuss the effects of winter and weather…
…on armoured combat of the day.
So Richard Cutland, why don't you set the scene for us?
My pleasure! At the beginning of Operation Barbarossa,
the Germans weren't expecting much from their opponent's tank forces,
which were mostly composed of old T-26s and BTs.
Little did they know…
…the most advanced Soviet tank models…
– the brand new KV-1 and T-34 –
…were actually superior to all German tanks.
The German standard anti-tank weapons…
…were found to be ineffective against these new Soviet vehicles.
Still these tanks were not available in great numbers.
Their deployment was still incomplete when Barbarossa commenced.
By 1941, the Red Army had deployed…
…1000 T-34s…
…and over 500 KV tanks,
concentrated in only five of their twenty-nine mechanized corps.
Plus the Soviet numerical advantage in heavy equipment…
…was thoroughly offset by the superior training…
…and organisation of the Wehrmacht.
Soviet tank units were rarely well equipped.
They lacked training and logistical support.
Units were sent into combat with no arrangements for refueling,
ammunition, resupply, or personnel replacement.
Often, after a single engagement,
units were destroyed or rendered ineffective.
But on the German side,
their few encounters with the powerful Soviet KV-1s and T-34s…
…raised clear warning signs.
They sent a special Panzerkommision to the Eastern Front…
…on 20 November 1941…
…to study and learn from the superior Russian T-34s.
The Germans now realized the advantages of sloped armour,
which either deflected or reduced the impact of armour-piercing shells.
They introduced longer guns for the Panzer IV,
and added side skirts to protect the vehicles…
…from anti-tank rifles.
By the summer of 1943, right in time for the Battle of Kursk,
the Wehrmacht was being equipped with the fruits of this research.
The Tiger and Panther tanks were introduced…
…as was the new Ferdinand tank destroyer.
Hitler focused heavily on these new designs,
which he believed were the key to victory,
and matched them with increasing manpower.
By the summer of 1943,
two-thirds of the German Army were based in Russia.
That belief paid early dividends.
When the Panther first appeared on the Eastern Front,
the Soviets did not have an effective weapon to counter it.
During the Battle of Kursk, it demonstrated that it could destroy…
…any Soviet armoured fighting vehicle from long distance.
As a result, it had a very high overall kill ratio…
…despite making up less than 7%…
…of the estimated 2400 to 2700…
…total armoured fighting vehicles deployed by the Germans in this battle.
But it had been rushed to the field unready.
Many units failed due to mechanical problems,
and the Panther alone could not punch through…
…the Soviet’s layered defenses at Kursk.
Even heavier tank designs like the Tiger…
…were not a total win for Nazi Germany.
While superior engineering-wise,
they weren't easy to manufacture,
which made them not suitable for war time economics.
Heavy tanks aren't that hard to make,
you just add more of everything.
But they're expensive,
and hard to maintain, and they bog down.
So they're only useful in certain situations.
Indeed, the Soviets had tanks comparable to the Tiger,
the IS-2 (plenty used),
and they were also similar:
big, deadly, and not really worth it.
On the Soviet side, the research had focused…
…on a new medium tank called the T-43,
but it had been commissioned back in 1942…
…to counter the Panzer IV,
and it didn't have enough firepower or armour portection…
…to go up against Germany’s new Panther.
Many within the Soviet High Command believed the war effort…
…would be better served by simply making more of the same T-34s…
…they had introduced at the start of the war.
T-34s was faster and nimbler than the larger German tanks.
The Soviets used this advantage...
...by massing tanks and running them at full speed against German positions.
The Germans could destroy a Soviet tank before the Soviet tank got into range.
About 2km vs. 1km.
The tanks of both countries wound up being pretty comparable.
No one nation had clearly superior tank technology.
What the Soviet Union did have, however,
was a clearly superior industrial force.
They out produced the Germans.
So the biggest difference by far between Soviet and German tanks...
...is that more of the former existed.
Their home terrain also gave the Soviets an advantage.
The Kursk region was famous for its black earth,
which produced considerable dust when dry.
The huge dust clouds would cut off the German air support...
...and since the Soviet defenders were stationary,
they were able to set up better outposts to scout and target their enemies.
Even when it rained, storms turned the ground into a quagmire...
...that halted the German offensive where speed was essential.
The home ground advantage combined with preparation time...
...had clearly played in the favour of the defenders.
Now I’ll kick it back to Dan, huge thanks to the Extra History Team.
It has been a privilege to work with you and be part of this animated journey.
To all the viewers I wish you well...
...and hope you find this series both entertaining and informative.
A final comment from the Royal Tank Regiments motto:
“Fear Naught!”
Awesome! Thank you very much.
Now that we’re more familiar with the hardware involved,
let's round this episode out with a little more of the run up...
...to what would so famously be known as the battle of Kursk.
German forces had been pushed back from Stalingrad,
the Wehrmacht 6th army had been surround and destroyed,
and the Soviets had taken the offensive.
But, reeling from this defeat,
Hitler finally gave full operational control...
...to his general in charge of Army Group South,
Erich von Manstein.
Manstein decided to trade territory for time...
...and accept retreat on a scale Hitler never would have the year before.
His plan was to lure the Soviets forward...
...until there was ideal time and place to hit an over-extended Soviet line.
He found that opportunity at Kharkov.
As the Soviets pushed forward past the city...
...Manstein's reorganized and reinforced panzer divisions fell on their flanks.
They rapidly encircled and cut off pockets of the Red Army.
Soon the city of Kharkov was back in their hands.
The Soviet losses were nothing like they were at the outset of the war,
but losing 85,000 soldiers in a matter of weeks...
...at the cost of a mere 10,000 German casualties...
...seemed like it might signal the possibility...
...of the initiative falling back into German hands.
But 85,000 on a front of nearly 2,000,000 men...
...wasn't enough to change the flow of the war.
The Soviets didn't lose their nerve or pull back after these losses.
They were on a grim march forward to Berlin.
Something else, something much more drastic,
would have to be done to put Germany back on the offensive.
But as the battle lines evened out after the rapid German assault,
everyone noticed one thing,
there was a 100 mile long and 160 mile deep salient,
or bulge, in the Russian lines around the town of Kursk.
Cutting off this salient would strengthen the German position,
deal a real blow to the Soviet army in the South.
If it could be done swiftly and decisively,
return the initiative to the German forces.
An attack on the Kursk salient was inevitable,
it was just a matter of 'when'.
So join us next time,
for Operation Citadel,
when the battle for Kursk begins. Subtitles by Wargaming.net