The largest battles of the Great Patriotic War (tank and others)

Until now, historians argue about where the largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War occurred. It is no secret that history in many countries of the world is subject to excessive political influence. Therefore, it is not uncommon that some events are praised, while others remain undervalued or completely abandoned. So, according to the history of the USSR, the largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War occurred near Prokhorovka. It was part of the decisive battle that took place on the Kursk Bulge. But some historians believe that the most grandiose confrontation between the armored vehicles of the two opposing sides took place two years earlier between the three cities - Brody, Lutsk and Dubno. In this area, two enemy tank armies, numbering a total of 4,500 vehicles, converged.

Counterattack of the second day

This is the largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War occurred on June 23 - two days after the invasion of the fascist German invaders to the Soviet land. It was then that the mechanized corps of the Red Army, which were part of the Kiev military district, managed to inflict the first powerful counterblow on the rapidly advancing enemy. By the way, GK insisted on carrying out this operation. Zhukov.

The plan of the Soviet command was primarily to deliver a tangible blow from the flanks along the 1st Panzer Group of the Germans, which was rushing to Kiev, in order to first surround and then destroy it. The hope for victory over the enemy was given by the fact that in this sector the Red Army had a solid superiority in tanks. In addition, the Kiev military district before the war was considered one of the strongest, and therefore it was the main role of the executor of the retaliatory strike in the event of an attack by fascist Germany. It was here that first and foremost were all military equipment, and in large numbers, and the level of training of personnel was the highest.

Before the war itself, there were 3,695 tanks, while the German side was advancing only eight hundred armored cars and self-propelled artillery units. But in practice, it seemed an excellent plan with a crash failed. An ill-considered, hasty and unprepared decision duly resulted in the largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War, where the Red Army suffered its first and so serious defeat.

Confrontation of armored vehicles

When mechanized Soviet units finally got to the front line, they immediately entered into battle. I must say that the theory of wars did not allow such battles until the middle of the last century, since armored cars were considered the main tool for breaking through enemy defenses.

"Tanks with tanks do not fight" - this was the formulation of this principle, common to both the Soviet and all other armies of the world. The anti-tank artillery or well entrenched infantrymen were called to fight with armored vehicles. Therefore, the events in the Brody-Lutsk-Dubno region completely broke all the theoretical notions of military constructions. It was here that the first largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War took place, during which the Soviet and German mechanized units came together in a frontal attack.

The first reason for the defeat

The Red Army lost this battle, and there were two reasons for this. The first of them is the lack of communication. The Germans very sensibly and actively used it. Through communication, they coordinated the efforts of all arms. Unlike the enemy, the Soviet command controlled the actions of its tank divisions very badly. Therefore, those who joined the fight had to act at their own peril and risk, besides without any support.

The infantrymen had to help them in the fight against anti-tank artillery, and instead the rifle divisions, who were forced to flee behind the armored vehicles, simply could not keep up with the cars that had left ahead. The lack of general coordination led to the fact that one corps began the offensive, and another - departed from already occupied positions or at that time began to regroup.

The second reason for failure

The next factor in the defeat of the Soviet mechanized corps under Dubno is the lack of readiness for the very battle of tanks. This was the consequence of the same pre-war principle "tanks with tanks do not fight." In addition, the mechanized corps was manned for the most part by the armored vehicles of the infantry, which was launched in the early 1930s.

The largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War was lost by the Soviet side because of the specifics of Soviet military vehicles. The fact is that light tanks, which are in service with the Red Army, had either bulletproof or anti-fragmentation armor. They were perfectly suited for deep raids in the rear of the enemy, but were completely unsuited to break through the defense. Hitler's command took into account all the weaknesses and strengths of its equipment, made the appropriate conclusions and was able to hold the battle in such a way as to reduce to zero all the advantages of Soviet tanks.

It should be noted that the German field artillery also worked well in this battle. As a rule, for medium-sized T-34s and heavy KVs, it was not dangerous, but for light tanks it was a mortal threat. To exterminate Soviet technology, the Germans in this battle used 88-millimeter anti-aircraft guns, which sometimes pierced the armor even for new T-34 models. As for light tanks, they did not just stop from hitting shells, but also "partially collapsed".

Miscalculations of the Soviet command

The armored vehicles of the Red Army went into battle at Dubno absolutely naked from the air, so the German aircraft still destroyed half the mechanized columns on the march. The majority of tanks had weak armor, even queues, issued from large-caliber machine guns , pierced it . In addition, there was no radio communication, and the Red Army tankmen were forced to act according to the situation and at their own discretion. But, despite all the difficulties, they went into battle and at times even won.

In the first two days it was impossible to predict in advance who would win this largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War. First, the scales of the scales all the time fluctuated: success was on one side, then on the other side. On the 4th day the Soviet tankmen still managed to achieve significant successes, and the enemy in some areas was dropped by 25 and even 35 km. But by the end of the day on June 27, the lack of infantry units began to affect, without which the armored vehicles could not function fully in the field, and as a consequence, the advanced parts of the Soviet mechanized corps were practically destroyed. In addition, many units were surrounded and had to be defended. They did not have enough fuel, shells and spare parts. Often tankers, retreating, left almost undamaged machinery because they did not have enough time, no opportunity to repair it and take it with them.

The defeat that brought victory closer

Today there is an opinion that if the Soviet side went to the defense, it would be able to detain the German offensive and even turn the enemy back. By and large, this is just a fantasy. It must be taken into account that the Wehrmacht soldiers at that time fought much better, besides they actively interacted with other kinds of troops. But this is the largest tank battle during the Great Patriotic War, yet played a positive role. It disrupted the rapid advance of the fascist troops and forced the Wehrmacht command to introduce its reserve units intended for an offensive against Moscow, which also thwarted the grandiose Nazi plan of Barbarossa. Despite the fact that there were still a lot of heavy and bloody battles ahead, the battle at Dubno still brought the country closer to victory.

Smolensk Battle

According to historical facts, the largest battles of the Great Patriotic War occurred already in the first months after the attack of the German fascist invaders. I must say that the Smolensk battle is not a single fight, but a truly large-scale defensive-offensive operation of the Red Army against the fascist conquerors, which lasted for 2 months and passed between July 10 and September 10. Its main goals were to halt, at least for some time, the breakthrough of enemy troops towards the capital, to allow the Stavka to develop and more carefully organize the defense of Moscow, and thereby prevent the capture of the city.

Despite the fact that the Germans had both numerical and technical superiority, Soviet soldiers still managed to detain them near Smolensk. At the cost of huge losses, the Red Army suspended the rapid advance of the enemy deep into the country.

The Battle for Kiev

The largest battles of the Great Patriotic War, including battles for the Ukrainian capital, were long-term. So, the siege and defense of Kiev passed from July to September 1941. Hitler, holding his positions near Smolensk and believing in the favorable outcome of this operation, transferred some of his troops in the Kiev direction in order to capture Ukraine as soon as possible and then - Leningrad and Moscow .

The surrender of Kiev was the hardest blow for the country, since not only the city was taken, but the entire republic, which possessed strategic reserves of coal and food. In addition, the Red Army suffered considerable losses. According to estimates, about 700 thousand people were killed or captured. As you can see, the biggest battles of the Great Patriotic War, which took place in 1941, ended in a loud failure of the plans of the higher Soviet command and the loss of huge territories. The mistakes made by the leaders were too costly for a country that has lost hundreds of thousands of its citizens in such a short time.

The defense of Moscow

Such major battles of the Great Patriotic War as the Battle of Smolensk were just a warm-up for the occupation forces, which sought to seize the capital of the Soviet Union and thereby force the Red Army to capitulate. And, it should be noted that they were very close to their goal. Hitler's troops managed to come very close to the capital - they were already 20-30 km from the city.

I.V. Stalin perfectly understood the whole gravity of the situation that had been created, so he appointed G.K. Zhukov commander in chief of the Western Front. At the end of November, the fascists captured the town of Klin, and on this their successes ended. The advanced German tank brigades went far ahead, and their rear considerably lagged behind. For this reason, the front turned out to be greatly stretched, which contributed to the loss of the enemy's penetrating capability. In addition, severe frosts arose, which became the frequent reason for the refusal of German armored vehicles.

Myth is scattered

As you can see, the first major battles of the Great Patriotic War showed the extreme unpreparedness of the Red Army for military actions against such a strong and experienced enemy. But, despite the rough miscalculations, this time the Soviet command managed to organize a powerful counter-offensive, which began on the night of December 5-6, 1941. Such repulse was not expected by the German leadership. During this offensive, the fascists were thrown back from the capital for a distance of up to 150 km.

Before the battle for Moscow, all the previous major battles of the Great Patriotic War did not provoke such significant losses from the enemy. During the fighting for the capital, the Germans lost at once more than 120,000 of their servicemen. It was under Moscow for the first time that the myth of the invincibility of fascist Germany was refuted.

Plans of the warring parties

The second largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War is the operation that was part of the defensive phase of the Battle of Kursk. It was clear to both the Soviet and the fascist command that in the course of this confrontation a radical change will take place and the outcome of the whole war will be decided in effect. The Germans planned a major offensive for the summer of 1943, the goal of which was to win a strategic initiative to turn the outcome of this company to their advantage. Therefore, the headquarters of Hitler in advance developed and approved the military operation "Citadel".

At Stalin's headquarters, they knew about the enemy offensive and made up their plan for counteractions, which consisted in the temporary defense of the Kursk salient and in the maximum bleeding and exhaustion of enemy groups. After that, they calculated that the Red Army would be able to go over to the counteroffensive, and later - and to a strategic offensive.

The second largest tank battle

On July 12, near the railway station Prokhorovka, which was located 56 km from Belgorod, the advancing German tank grouping was suddenly stopped by a counterattack undertaken by Soviet troops. When the battle began, the Red Army tankmen had some advantage, that the rising sun blinded the advancing German troops.

In addition, the extreme density of combat deprived the fascist technique of its main advantage - long-range powerful weapons, which were practically useless at such short distances. And Soviet troops, in turn, were able to aim accurately to fire and get into the most vulnerable points of German armored vehicles.

Effects

In the battle of Prokhorovka , no less than 1,500 units of combat equipment participated, on both sides, apart from aviation. Only in one day of battle the enemy lost 350 tanks and 10 thousand of his servicemen. By the end of the next day, it was possible to break through the enemy's defenses and go deeper 25 km. After that, the Red Army's offensive only intensified, and the Germans had to retreat. For a long time it was believed that it was this episode of the Battle of Kursk that represented the largest tank battle.

The years of the Great Patriotic War were full of battles, which proved to be very difficult for the whole country. But, despite this, the army and the people have adequately overcome all the trials. The battles described in this article, whatever they were, successful or failed, nevertheless inexorably approached the conquest of such a long-awaited and welcome by all the Great Victory.