![]() ![]() ![]() The loss of so many tanks enraged Stalin who threatened to have Rotmistov courtmartialled. The number seemed so unbelievavble that a senior general was despatched to personally verify it. By the middle of the day the Germans were reporting 190 wrecked or deserted Soviet tanks on the battlefield, some of them still burning. The first lines of T34 fell straight into the ditch and when those following on finally saw the danger, they veered aside in panic, crashed into one another and burst into flames as the Germans opened fire. But the Soviet tank drivers, tired by three days driving and also fired up, as Red Army troops often were, by liberal doses of vodka, failed to notice a massive 4.5m deep anti-tank trench dug not long before by Soviet Pioneers as part of Zhukovs preparations for the battle. With only 186 armoured vehicles, a mere 117 of them tanks, the German forces faced total destruction. ![]() Keeping some in reserve, he sent 400 hundred of these in from the NE and another 200 from the east, against the battle weary German forces, who were taken completely by surprise. The leadings Soviet tank general Rotmistrov, sent in fresh forces, advancing up to 380 km from the rear in three days with more than 800 tanks. "Here the Soviet generals launched a counter attack with the aim of encircling and destroying the German forces. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |