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URSS Tank losses during Great Patriotic War (22/06/1941 8/05/1945) (English Version)

Article fait par :Claude Balmefrezol

Mis en ligne le 08/11/2007 à 07:48:29



Tank losses during Great Patriotic War (22/06/1941 8/05/1945)
Рабоче
-крестьянскаяКраснаяАрмия
French version

War means losses. And during this war Soviet Union means heavy losses. The victory over Germany was well paid for by immense losses of both human life and hardware.

On June, 22, 1941 Red Army had 14.200 tanks, 3800 our of them combat ready in the troops positioned on the Western boarder. Additionally, 8.400 were in reserve. The Army had also 48.900 pieces of artillery with 63.900 more in reserve.. It should be taken into account that the German Panzerwaffe did not have heavy or medium tanks at all as well like T-34 or KV 1.

1941 (begin barbarossa Operation)
 
German Army, inflict terrifics losses  at the Red Army .Why ? absence of command and skill, collapsed communications and lack of air cover lead to the virtual annihilation of land troops but also the effect of the stalinian purges (1936 1938 ) In more one year will be executed or interned :
3 marshals/5
13 generals of army/15
8 admirals/9
50 generals of army corps/ 57
154 divisional general/186
16 political commisars/16
20 000 / 30 000 officers
98 members of the soviet supreme HQ/108
.
 However, the tanks were lost not only due to the damage in combat. Disruption of the supply lines and the absence of repair & evacuation facilities resulted in as manylost tanks as the activity of the German Army. Surprising attack launched by German Army allowed capturing many tanks at places of storage.
After the attack factories were transferred  from the European part of the USSR to Siberia. This evacuation interrupted the production severely reducing the total number of tanks in the Army due to the losses, which can not for a while being compensated.

 

 

 BT5 T40  T28 
T/3476 KV1 T35

 

 

 BT7  KV2

 

Tanks
listed
reçeived
total
lost
%
hevay
500
1000
1500
900
60
medium
900
2200
3100
2300
75
ligth
21200
2400
23600
17300
74
total
22600
5600
28200
20500
73

 


1942 

The next, 1942, was not any better. Numerous operations, such as defense of Kiev and counter-attacks, leaded to the loss of great many tanks. Notable is that the production of light tanks practically equaled to the number of medium tanks. Although it was already evident that the light tanks were not up to the demands of the modern warfare, the Red Army needed any tanks as the capacity of plants to produce T-34 and KV was limited. At the opération Braunschweig who the german advancing to Stalingrad followr two soviets opérations Uranus et Mars who take the VI th army on the trap
 

 
Tanks
listed
received
total
lost
%
heavy
600
2600
3200
1200
38
medium
800
13400
14200
6600
47
ligth
6300
11900
18200
7200
40
total
7700
27900
35600
15000
43

1943
This year see the end aof the  battle of Stalingrad with the liquidation of encircled German troops  the  De-blockade of Leningrad  and the battle of Kursk
At this greats battles we can e added a list of other offensive operations were paid by the loss of sufficient number of tanks,
But the chiefs of the Soviet supreme HQ after the  introduction of the new panzer llike Panther or Tiger decided to update the T34 .KV series were considered not worth the metal needed for it. The production of T-34 was increased. This fact is illustrated by the number of new medium tanks by times outnumbering both light and heavy. Out of 4400 self-propelled artillery pieces 110
0 (25 %) pieces were lost.

 

 

KV85  T50 
SU76   SU85

 

 

Tanks
listed
received
total
lost
%
heavy
2000
900
2900
1300
45
medium
7600
16300
23900
14700
62
ligth
17000
5700
16700
6400
39
total
26600
22900
43500
37400
84


1944 The Red army win in all of fronts
The production of medium tanks is increased , But note the negligent number of received light tanks. In 1944, 13600 pieces of self-propelled artillery were produced totaling 16900 pieces out of which 6800 pieces (40.2 %) were lost. Despite this augmentation of tanks production 23700 tanks were destroyed
.

 

 T34/85  JS1 JS 2 
SU100  SU 122  T60 

 

Tanks
listed
received
total
lost
%
heavy
1600
4000
5600
900
16
medium
9200
17000
26200
13800
52
ligth
10300
200
10500
2300
22
total
21200
21200
42300
16900
40
 
 
1945

The year of the victory, 1945, comprised big scale operations and the defeat of the Wehrmacht.  But the Cost of the Victory is very expensive
Because the Wehrmacht.   motivated by the fight in the Vaterland  resist at the Red Army. However, the employment of tanks in the hostile environment, featured by the big number of cities and villages with numerous possibilities of anti-tank warfare, resulted in the heavy losses despite the superiority in quantity and growing skill of the Red Army tankers.
Out of 15100 pieces of self-propelled artillery 33 % (5000) were lost.  

 
JS3 T60
JSU152

End may 1945
Chars
listed
received
total
lost
%
heavy
4700
1500
6200
900
15
medium
12400
6100
18500
7500
41
ligth
8200
900
9100
300
4
total
21100
8500
33900
8700
26
 
 
All pictures are from Internet


Thank to Jean Louis