The Tank that Turned the Tide

In August, Russia remembers the 55th anniversary of the WWII victory at Kursk. Key to that victory was the participation of the Russian T-34  tank in the tank battle near the village of Prokhorovka.

Interestingly, the ÒgrandpaÓ of the legendary T-34 was the American M-1931 tank -- two of them, without weapons and turret, were bought by the Red Army via Amtorg in December 1929. Russia modernized and adapted the M-1931 by replacing its American engine with a Russian one of the same power and by substituting the 37-mm gun with a 45-mm gun. The tank’s thin armor and gasoline-based engine were its major shortcomings. This became obvious when the tank (dubbed the A-20 at this stage) was Òbroken inÓ during the Spanish Civil War by Soviet “volunteers.�

In 1937, the Kharkov plant design bureau was assigned to design, develop, manufacture and test a new machine with 10-20 mm thick armor and a 45 mm gun. The Kharkov bureau was headed by the Mikhail Koshkin. This 36-year old engineer, a graduate of the Leningrad-based Polytechnical Institute, teamed up with Alexander Morozov and Nikolai Kucherenko and concluded that the Russian army needed an entirely new tank.

Speaking at the Head Military Council (Vyshy Voenny Sovet) in August 1938, Koshkin criticized the A-20 in front of Stalin and described the tank of the future: it would have 30-40 mm thick armor (instead of 15 mm), a compact, 500 hp diesel engine able to attain speeds of 50 km/hour on a motorway, and a long-barreled 50-60 mm caliber gun to increase the range and accuracy of fire. Stalin agreed with KoshkinÕs proposals and suggested that the Kharkov plant worked on two tanks in parallel, the A-20 and the new one, then tentatively called T-32. In the fall of 1939, two tanks, a perfected A-20 and the new T-32 were presented to the state commission for comparative testing. The majority of the Soviet military command preferred the lighter, higher-speed A-20 tank, yet Stalin opted for the T-32,  as it was better suited for mass production.

On December 19, 1939, just a few months after Germany invaded Poland, the new tank became operational in the Red Army. But Koshkin changed the tank’s name to the T-34 -- in remembrance of Sergo Ordzhonikidze, the PeopleÕs Commissar of Industry and a fervent supporter of KoshkinÕs ideas (Ordzhonokidze committed suicide in 1934, hence the figure Ò34Ó).

By March 1940, the Soviet-Finnish war put pressure on the military and tank manufacturers. The Kharkov plant was informed that the government intended to review the newest tanks, but bureaucrats inside the Soviet government banned Koshkin from shipping the T-34s to the tests. Ignoring the ban and a severe cold, Koshkin personally drove the first two T-34s from Kharkov region to Moscow. Koshkin himself was at the wheel, testing the tanks during the thousand km march. In order to persuade the opponents of the T-34, Koshkin ordered the military to shell the new tank with a 45 mm canon Òto no availÓ -- the shelling did not lead to a single break in the armor.

On March 31, 1940, the Soviet government ordered the T-34 into mass production. By that time, Koshkin’s health had severely deteriorated from persistent sickness and a nerve-racking battle over the tank. Koshkin died in a sanatorium on September 26, 1940.

Koshkin’s deputy, Alexander Morozov, became chief designer of the T-34. Throughout the war, his collective of designers worked on perfecting the tank (initially, the tank had no radio, too small a cramped turret and an unsatisfactory periscope, all of which were corrected by 1943). The tanks weighed 26.8 tons, had 45 mm thick armor, two machine guns and a 74 mm gun able with a  77 round capacity. It could reach up to 51.2 kmh and had a range of  300-370 km.

From the very first hours of the German invasion the T-34s showed themselves to be superior to German tanks. On June 22, at 4:45 am, as the 18th tank division of the Wehrmacht was fording the Bug river, Nazi Chief Tank Commander Heinz Huderian was crossing to the right shore on a landing vessel. All of a sudden, he spotted a German T-III tank in flames and a new Russian tank which then fired a shot in his direction. Later, Huderian would find out that the tank was the T-34. HitlerÕs Lieutenant-General Engineer Erich Sneider wrote that Òthe T-34 tank made a sensation. This 26-ton Russian tank would perforate the armor of German tanks from a distance of 1500-2000 meters, whereas German tanks would destroy Russian tanks from a distance of no more than 500 meters.Ó

In his Memoirs of a Soldier, Huderian wrote, “On October 6, the 4th tank division was attacked by Russian tanks. The superiority of the T-34 became evident for the first time. The division was suffering huge losses. As a result, we were forced to postpone our offensive on Tula.Ó

The Germans began chasing the T-34. In November 1941 a T-34 was captured. Yet the Nazis could unable to create an analogous tank. Production of some specific components and especially the diesel engine proved impossible. Plus, the German alloy steel was inferior. Thanks on this front may be attributable to the US -- a US firm had helped the Soviets build the hearth furnaces that produced metal for the T-34.

By July 1943, the German army had introduced new, improved tanks -- the Tiger and Panther, which had thicker armor and greater firepower. They could perforate the T-34 from a distance of 2 km. At Prokhorovka on July 12, 1943, 850 Soviet tanks faced off against some 600 German tanks in what would be the largest tank battle in history. At the end of the first day, over 700 tanks on both sides had been destroyed. But the balance had been tipped to Russia’s favor. The Soviet victory at Kursk staunched the German offensive (codenamed “Citadel�) begun one week previous. It also signalled the beginning of the Soviet counter-offensive (“Kutuzov�) that led to successive victories at Oryol, Bryansk and Kharkov. Some 10,200 T-34 tanks were thrown in the counter-offensive.

In the fall of 1943, a new turret hosting an 85-mm gun was developed for the T-34. By the end of 1944, the tank was equipped with a gun which could perforate German tanks from a distance of 1 km. In terms of speed and maneuverability, the Soviet tank was the finest tank in the war.

The T-34 was also the most-produced tank in military history -- 61,000 were built. It went through all the WWII and participated in the destruction of the Japanese army. It was used in multiple post-war military conflicts (including the Korean War and the Arab-Israeli conflicts of 1956 and 1967).

In 1943, at the US’ Aberdeen Proving Grounds, comparative tests of different tanks, including the T-34, were held. American experts present said: “The designer of this tank deserves a monument during his lifetime.Ó Unfrotunately, as Koshkin had died nearly three years earlier, this was not to be. But, as early as the spring of 1942, the creators of the T-34 -- Koshkin (post mortem), Morozov and Kucherenko, were awarded a State Prize of the First Degree. As one American military historian wrote, “The T-34 was created by people who were able to picture the battlefield of the mid-20th century better than anyone in the West.Ó

No other piece of military hardware has had so many monuments dedicated to it -- in 1995, by the time the world was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the victory over Germany, 400 such monuments to the T-34 had been erected in towns and at crossroads of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, France....

In Brief

AUGUST

2 This day marks the 265th anniversary of Mikhail Shcherbatov (1733-1790), a talented publicist and historian. He argued against equality of all and advocated a strong state. He was a fervent supporter of the privileges of the Russian nobility -- thus becoming the ideologist of noble corporativism. ShcherbatovÕs most significant contribution to Russian culture was his seven-volume work, The History of Russia From Ancient Times.

5 On this day in 1943, 55 years ago, Soviet soldiers liberated the towns of Oryol and Belgorod from the Nazi invaders. On that occasion, Moscow witnessed its first ever military salute during WWII. Henceforth, the most significant victories of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War were marked in Moscow by solemn salvos.

6 Six hundred years ago another important military victory was won by Dmitry Donskoy, who, on August 6, 1378, beat the Mongols on the river Vozha (near Ryazan),  bringing Russia its first military victory after 140 years of Mongol domination. Two years later, in 1380, at the now more famous Battle of Kulikovo Field, Dmitry Donskoy again defeated the Mongols.

7 On August 7, 1803, 195 years ago, the Russian admiral, geographer and traveler Ivan Kruzenshtern began his first voyage on his vessels Nadezhda and Neva. The goal of the expedition was to deliver cargo to the Russian lands in North America and on the Kamchatka peninsula, as well as to establish trade relations with Japan and China. Kruzenshtern also sought to research the tropical part of the Pacific, to measure sea currents, temperatures, and the relative amount of ocean water. Kruzenshtern described the day-to-day life, customs and social habits of Sakhalin and Kamchatka natives. The results of the expedition were relayed in a three-volume work called World Travel in 1803, 1804, 1805, and 1806 on the Ships Nadezhda and Neva. This work was complemented by more than 100 maps and drawings.

8 On August 8, many lovers of traditional Russian music will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the poet Vasily Lebedev-Kumach, whose work with the famous composer Isaak Dunaevsky produced many 1930s film soundtracks (e.g. Volga-Volga, Circus, Cheerful Guys). Their Song of the Motherland (Pesnya o Rodine) has become something like the lyrical anthem of Russia. This is still a popular song, even though it was sung in StalinÕs years. This year, on June 12, it was sung on stage next to St. BasilÕs Cathedral during Independence Day celebrations. Lebedev-Kumach also wrote the lyrics for the song, Sacred War, the musical icon of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Its introductory lyric, ÒRise up, huge country to the deadly battle with the dark fascist force and the damned horde,” can still send tremors through Russians as they watch archive films from late 1941, when the Nazis were repulsed from Moscow.

13 August 13 is the 195th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Odoevsky (1803-1869), the Russian writer and music critic. Odoevsky was co-editor of PushkinÕs literary magazine, Sovremennik (The Contemporary), later of Moskovsky Vestnik (Moscow Journal). Later, he headed the Public Library and the Rumyantsev Museum in St. Petersburg. Odoevsky also established the charity society Visiting the Poor and created a magazine for peasants, called Rural Reading. His literary works were inspired by the ideals of enlighteners, hence his satirical stories, Princess Mimi, Princess Zizi, his philosophical and fantastic novels, and his series of stories Russian Nights. He also was an avid researcher of Russian music, songs and ancient church music, participating in the creation of the Moscow and St. Petersburg conservatories.

17 Two hundred years ago another talented Russian writer, the poet Anton Delvig (1798-1831), was born. A friend of Pushkin -- the two studied together at the Tsarskoye Selo lyceum -- his poems were the basis for many a musical master-piece. Pushkin and Delving were connected by strong friendship and together they published the journal Literary Gazette in (1830-1831). During this same period, Delvig was also publishing the literary almanac Northern Flowers (1825-1831). His songs, full of the spirit of Russian folk song traditions, were famous throughout Russia -- as popular with the nobility as with simple, illiterate peasants. Delvig’s fine lyrics inspired many composers, such as Mikhail Glinka and Alexander Dargomyzhsky. But his most famous song is undeniably the Nightingale, whose music was written by composer Alexander Alyabyev.

20 On this day 30 years ago Soviet and Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia, putting an end to the “Prague Spring.” We recount the story of the invasion beginning on page 20.

SEPTEMBER

9 On this day Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Russia’s greatest novelist, was born at Yasnaya Polyana, in the Tula province. The fourth son of Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy, he was orphaned by the age of nine, led a tempestuous early manhood in the brothels and gambling halls of Moscow, followed by heroic wartime adventures, and a storied publishing career highlighted by his novels War and Peace (1869), Anna Karenina (1878) and populated with a wealth of superb short stories and philosophical works. Our story on his life and work begins on page XX.