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At the start of the campaign on the Eastern Front, in the earliest days of Operation Barbarossa, it was the German armour that swept all in front of it as the Wehrmacht drove eastwards in an unrelenting advance on Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad. The ill-prepared and under-resourced Russian forces were forced to retreat. Gradually, the balance of the war swung in favour of the Russian forces, whose strength both in numbers and equipment proved decisive in the ultimate defeat of the German forces in the east. Critical in the Soviet victory was its armour; tanks such as the T-34 proving the equal, if not better than, some of the tanks available to the Germans. This authoritative history of the Soviet forces before and during World War 2, reveals the development of their tactics in the early post-revolutionary era right through to the ultimate victory in Berlin in May 1945. The dramatic struggle of the tank crews against the German advance is told through some 200 contemporary photographs, many of which have never been seen before. The photographs include images of tank training in the 1920s and 1930s, on active service, and many compelling pictures from some of the major tank battles of the day. Over the past five years, aided by the opening up of archives in Russia previously closed to western experts, there has been a massive growth in interest in the events that occurred on the Eastern Front. Russian Tanks is an important addition to the literature currently available, exploring as it does, the vitally important Soviet armour of the period.
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On 25 April 1945 the powerful First, Second, Third and Fourth Guards tank armies of the Red Army consolidated the iron grip they had thrown around Berlin, capital of Adolf Hitler's Thousand Year Reich. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
On 25 April 1945 the powerful First, Second, Third and Fourth Guards tank armies of the Red Army consolidated the iron grip they had thrown around Berlin, capital of Adolf Hitler's Thousand Year Reich. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Not the definitive word on soviet armour but it is one of the best I got so far, some errors but that are not of importance for the common WW2 reader, and that addicted students on teh subject know how to correct. Only thing I miss is a good table on production, losses, recaptures, kill ratios and so on for each of the tanks.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book provides a good overview of Soviet tank development and some tabled information on organisation and numbers etc. in the appendix.
It would certainly be of use to a lot of general readers needing such a perspective; There are some errors but not enough to ruin it's value in this respect.
My only real criticism would be that the specifications for the Tanks are very cursory. It would be educational for all readers to see the gradual improvements in armour and so on and this information is not shown. It may be that the inteded broad emphasis dictated these fact were kept to a minimum but if so that decision is IMHO flawed.
There are also some errors which suggest the information is based on out of date data which in armoured circles has been superceeded for some time now.
It would certainly be of use to a lot of general readers needing such a perspective; There are some errors but not enough to ruin it's value in this respect.
My only real criticism would be that the specifications for the Tanks are very cursory. It would be educational for all readers to see the gradual improvements in armour and so on and this information is not shown. It may be that the inteded broad emphasis dictated these fact were kept to a minimum but if so that decision is IMHO flawed.
There are also some errors which suggest the information is based on out of date data which in armoured circles has been superceeded for some time now.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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5 reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Highly recommended for eastern front armour buffs
7 Mar 2003
Format:Paperback
Finally, a decent well-rounded book on the Soviet tanks of WW2. This book covers the history of the development, use in battle, and future impact of the major tank designs. Assault gun and tank destroyer variants of these tanks are also covered, which is a real bonus. There are many good pictures which I hadn't already seen myself. Captured and lend-lease tanks are also covered. In my opinion, this is the best book, to-date, on this subject. It is not an encyclopedia, like one of the books on German tanks that I have (which this book stands proudly alongside), but one must remember that the Soviets focussed on fewer designs and variants, thus avoiding many of the production, attririon, and maintenance problems that the Germans encountered with so much diversity.
A few minor nitpicks: While the main data is included, I would have liked to see more tables detailing armour thicknesses, slope, etc. Also, a lot of information is provided on the major tanks and variants, but some of the lesser known tanks are either briefly, or not, covered.
In summary, I heartily recommend this book to eastern front armour enthusiasts.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Good introduction
25 Feb 2007
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Overall a good introduction for those interested in the tanks that the Soviet Union produced as well as their design histories. A few problems persist in the fact that some errors are quite clear, for example when describing an Order of Battle instead of an artillery battalion an 'artillery division' is listed, the problem here is that artillery 'divizion' in Russian means battalion, whereas a 'divizia' is a division and at least one picture has apparently been mislabeled (as mentioned by a previous reviewer, on page 26).
Aside from these errors there are many interesting facts and the histories behind each design is quite interesting and eye opening. Many of the first tank units that were formed by the Red Army in the 1920's contained only foreign tanks. When Soviet tank production began it was helped along and mainly based on foriegn tanks that were sold to the Soviet Union through various companies from England and the US. The Germans and the Soviets signed a treaty which helped the Germans develop their tanks on the territory of the Soviet Union and that s well proved helpful to future designs. But many of the better tanks were less so influenced from 'outside' the Soviet Union, like the T-34 and KV-1 which went on to be a huge shock to German troops during the first few years after Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union.
Again, a good reference for beginners, not an expensive book and gives a good account of where the various tanks excelled and in what ways they proved inferior in in the midst of battle.
Aside from these errors there are many interesting facts and the histories behind each design is quite interesting and eye opening. Many of the first tank units that were formed by the Red Army in the 1920's contained only foreign tanks. When Soviet tank production began it was helped along and mainly based on foriegn tanks that were sold to the Soviet Union through various companies from England and the US. The Germans and the Soviets signed a treaty which helped the Germans develop their tanks on the territory of the Soviet Union and that s well proved helpful to future designs. But many of the better tanks were less so influenced from 'outside' the Soviet Union, like the T-34 and KV-1 which went on to be a huge shock to German troops during the first few years after Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union.
Again, a good reference for beginners, not an expensive book and gives a good account of where the various tanks excelled and in what ways they proved inferior in in the midst of battle.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
great reference book
3 Aug 2007
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Though the author as shown on the amazon page is different than the one I have (Tim Bean and Will Fowler), this book was a find for me. It covers the history of Soviet tanks from British, French, and American tank designs in the beginning to designs on their own by the end of WWII. The descriptions of how the tanks were designed were essential to my understanding of the Soviet tank warfare with its strengths and limitations.
A side note, on The History Channel it was noted that the steel process by which the T-34 was made came from American technology, maybe something the Soviets did not want to acknowledge. There is no mention of that in the book. The Christie suspesnion system also was of American origin for the T-34 as well as other Soviet tanks, which was in the book.
I noticed that there were no reference notes or bibliography by which facts and data could be verified and other sources acknowledged. I would have liked to see other sources for further information. There is a disclaimer regarding this on the copyright page, "The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge". Which is the only possible weakness in the book.
I use the book whenever I run across a photo in a text where I do not recognize the Soviet tank. It is very useful for this.
A side note, on The History Channel it was noted that the steel process by which the T-34 was made came from American technology, maybe something the Soviets did not want to acknowledge. There is no mention of that in the book. The Christie suspesnion system also was of American origin for the T-34 as well as other Soviet tanks, which was in the book.
I noticed that there were no reference notes or bibliography by which facts and data could be verified and other sources acknowledged. I would have liked to see other sources for further information. There is a disclaimer regarding this on the copyright page, "The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge". Which is the only possible weakness in the book.
I use the book whenever I run across a photo in a text where I do not recognize the Soviet tank. It is very useful for this.
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