Until now, historians are arguing about where the largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War took place. 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 underestimated or completely forgotten. So, according to the history of the USSR, the largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War took place 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 three cities - Brody, Lutsk and Dubno. In this area, two enemy tank armadas converged, numbering a total of 4.5 thousand vehicles.
Counterattack of the second day
This is the largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic Warhappened on June 23 - two days after the invasion of the Nazi-German invaders on Soviet soil. It was then that the mechanized corps of the Red Army, which were part of the Kyiv Military District, managed to deliver the first powerful counterattack against the rapidly advancing enemy. By the way, G. K. insisted on carrying out this operation. Zhukov.
The plan of the Soviet command in the first place was to deliver a tangible blow from the flanks of the 1st German tank group, rushing towards Kyiv, in order to first surround and then destroy it. 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 Kyiv military district before the war was considered one of the strongest, and therefore the main role of the executor of a retaliatory strike in the event of an attack by fascist Germany was assigned to it. It was here that all military equipment went in the first place, and in large quantities, and the level of training of personnel was the highest.
Before the war itself, there were 3695 tanks here, while the German side was advancing with only eight hundred armored vehicles and self-propelled artillery installations. But in practice, the seemingly excellent plan failed miserably. A rash, hasty and unprepared decision 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
Whenthe mechanized Soviet units finally reached the front line, they immediately joined the battle. I must say that the theory of wars did not allow such battles until the middle of the last century, since armored vehicles were considered the main tool for breaking through enemy defenses.
"Tanks don't fight tanks" - that was the formulation of this principle, common to both the Soviet and all other armies of the world. Anti-tank artillery or well-entrenched infantrymen were called upon to fight armored vehicles. Therefore, the events in the region of Brody - Lutsk - Dubno completely broke all theoretical ideas about military formations. It was here that the first largest oncoming tank battle of the Great Patriotic War took place, during which Soviet and German mechanized units met each other in a frontal attack.
First reason for failure
The Red Army lost this battle, and there were two reasons for this. The first one is the lack of communication. The Germans very reasonably and actively used it. With the help of communications, they coordinated the efforts of all branches of the armed forces. Unlike the enemy, the Soviet command managed the actions of its tank units very badly. Therefore, those who entered the battle had to act at their own peril and risk, moreover, without any support.
Infantrymen were supposed to help them in the fight against anti-tank artillery, but instead, rifle units, forced to run after armored vehicles, simply could not keep up with the vehicles that had gone ahead. The lack of overall coordination led to the fact that one corps launched an offensive, andthe other was moving away from already occupied positions or starting to regroup at this time.
Second reason for failure
The next factor in the defeat of the Soviet mechanized corps near Dubno is the unpreparedness for the tank battle itself. This was a consequence of the same pre-war principle "tanks do not fight tanks." In addition, the mechanized corps were equipped for the most part with infantry escort armored vehicles, released back in the early 1930s.
The largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War was lost by the Soviet side due to the specifics of Soviet combat vehicles. The fact is that the light tanks in service with the Red Army had either bulletproof or anti-fragmentation armor. They were great for deep raids behind enemy lines, but were completely unsuitable for breaking through defenses. The Nazi command took into account all the strengths and weaknesses of their equipment, drew the appropriate conclusions and was able to conduct the battle in such a way as to nullify all the advantages of Soviet tanks.
It is worth noting that the German field artillery also worked very well in this battle. As a rule, it was not dangerous for medium T-34s and heavy KVs, but for light tanks it was a deadly threat. To destroy Soviet equipment, the Germans in this battle used 88-mm anti-aircraft guns, which sometimes pierced the armor even of new T-34 models. As for light tanks, when shells hit them, they not only stopped, but also “partiallycollapsed.”
Miscalculations of the Soviet command
The armored vehicles of the Red Army went into battle near Dubno completely uncovered from the air, so the German planes destroyed up to half of the mechanized columns on the march. Most of the tanks had weak armor, it was pierced even by bursts fired from heavy machine guns. In addition, there was no radio communication, and the tankers of the Red Army 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 foresee who would win this biggest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War. At first, the scales fluctuated all the time: success was on one side, then on the other. On the 4th day, the Soviet tankers still managed to achieve significant success, and the enemy in some areas was driven back 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 fully operate in the field, and, as a result, the advanced units of the Soviet mechanized corps were practically destroyed. In addition, many units were surrounded and forced to defend themselves. They lacked fuel, shells and spare parts. Often, tankers, retreating, left almost undamaged equipment due to the fact that they had neither the time nor the 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 on the defensive, it could delay the German offensive and even turn the enemy back. For the most part, it's just a fantasy. It must be borne in mind that the Wehrmacht soldiers at that time fought much better, besides, they actively interacted with other branches of the military. But this largest tank battle during the Great Patriotic War still played a positive role. It thwarted the rapid advance of the Nazi troops and forced the command of the Wehrmacht to bring in its reserve units intended for an attack on Moscow, which thwarted Hitler's grandiose plan "Barbarossa". Despite the fact that there were still many hard and bloody battles ahead, the battle near Dubno still brought the country much closer to victory.
Battle of Smolensk
According to historical facts, the largest battles of the Great Patriotic War took place already in the first months after the attack of the Nazi invaders. It must be said that the Battle of Smolensk was not a single battle, but a truly large-scale defensive and offensive operation of the Red Army against the fascist invaders, which lasted 2 months and took place from July 10 to September 10. Its main goals were to stop the breakthrough of enemy troops in the direction of the capital, at least for some time, to enable the Headquarters to develop and organize the defense of Moscow more carefully, and thereby prevent the capture of the city.
Even thoughthat the Germans had both numerical and technical superiority, the Soviet soldiers still managed to detain them near Smolensk. At the cost of huge losses, the Red Army h alted the enemy's rapid advance inland.
Battle for Kyiv
The biggest battles of the Great Patriotic War, including battles for the Ukrainian capital, were long-term. So, the siege and defense of Kyiv took place from July to September 1941. Hitler, holding his positions near Smolensk and believing in the favorable outcome of this operation, transferred part of his troops in the direction of Kiev in order to capture Ukraine as soon as possible, and then Leningrad and Moscow.
The surrender of Kyiv was a severe blow to the country, as not only the city was taken, but the entire republic, which had 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 largest battles of the Great Patriotic War, which took place in 1941, ended in a resounding failure of the plans of the Soviet high command and the loss of vast territories. The mistakes of the leaders were too costly for the country, which lost hundreds of thousands of its citizens in such a short time.
Defense of Moscow
Such major battles of the Great Patriotic War as the Battle of Smolensk were only a warm-up for the occupying troops, who sought to capture the capital of the Soviet Union and therebyforce the surrender of the Red Army. 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 was well aware of the gravity of the situation, so he appointed G. K. Zhukov as commander-in-chief of the Western Front. At the end of November, the Nazis captured the city of Klin, and that was the end of their successes. The advanced German tank brigades had gone far ahead, and their rears lagged far behind. For this reason, the front turned out to be greatly stretched, which contributed to the loss of the enemy's penetrating ability. In addition, severe frosts set in, which became a frequent reason for the failure of German armored vehicles.
Myth debunked
As you can see, the first major battles of the Great Patriotic War showed the extreme unpreparedness of the Red Army for military operations against such a strong and experienced enemy. But, despite gross miscalculations, this time the Soviet command managed to organize a powerful counteroffensive, which began on the night of December 5-6, 1941. The German leadership did not expect such a rebuff. During this offensive, the Nazis were thrown back from the capital at a distance of up to 150 km.
Before the battle for Moscow, all previous major battles of the Great Patriotic War did not provoke such significant losses from the enemy. During the battles for the capital, the Germans immediately lost more than 120 thousand of their troops. It was near Moscow that the myth ofinvincibility of Nazi Germany.
Plans of the warring parties
The second largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War is an 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 would occur and, in fact, the outcome of the entire war would be decided. The Germans planned a major offensive for the summer of 1943, the purpose of which was to gain a strategic initiative in order to turn the outcome of this company in their favor. Therefore, Hitler's headquarters developed and approved the military operation "Citadel" in advance.
At Stalin's Headquarters they knew about the enemy offensive and drew up their own plan of counteraction, which consisted in the temporary defense of the Kursk salient and in the maximum bleeding and exhausting of enemy groups. After that, it was hoped that the Red Army would be able to launch a counteroffensive, and later, a strategic offensive.
The second largest tank battle
On July 12, near the Prokhorovka railway station, which was located 56 km from Belgorod, the advancing German tank group was suddenly stopped by a counterattack undertaken by Soviet troops. When the battle began, the Red Army tankers had some advantage in that the rising sun blinded the advancing German troops.
In addition, the extreme density of the battle deprived the fascist equipment of its main advantage - long-range powerful guns that were practically useless onsuch short distances. And the Soviet troops, in turn, had the opportunity to fire accurately and hit the most vulnerable points of German armored vehicles.
Consequences
At least 1.5 thousand units of military equipment, not counting aviation, participated in the battle near Prokhorovka from both sides. In just one day of battle, the enemy lost 350 tanks and 10 thousand of his troops. By the end of the next day, they managed to break through the enemy defenses and go deeper by 25 km. After that, the offensive of the Red Army only intensified, and the Germans had to retreat. For a long time it was believed that this particular episode of the Battle of Kursk was the largest tank battle.
The years of the Great Patriotic War were full of battles, which turned out to be very difficult for the whole country. But, despite this, the army and the people overcame all the trials with dignity. The battles described in this article, no matter how successful or unsuccessful, were still inexorably closer to the conquest of such a coveted and long-awaited Great Victory by all.
