The Road to Berlin

8/13/2019 The Road to Berlin

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---- - - THE ROAD TO

BERLINSte ven J Z log a n d

Ja m es rands e n

Front cover illustration :Panthers on the Eastern Front ;see illustration 16.

Back cov :Top: An SU-76M in Prague, May1945; see illustration 64 .

BoHom : T-34-85s in Berlin; seeillustration 81.


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1 t is often forgotten that tileWehrmacht on the Eastern Fr-ontwas supported by allied,Hungarian, Roumanian, andFin nish forces in the 1944,fighting. liere a HungarianTuran tank and Csaba armouredcar of the 2nd Armoured Divisionpass a German Panzerjaeger

38(t) 7.5cm tank destroyerduring joint operations in Galiciain the Ukraine in the late springearly summer of 1944. In 1944,the allied armies were a greatworry to the Germans because ofthe possibilityof their switchingsides. However, Hungarianarmoured units continued toserve with the Germans well into1945, long after the Roumaniansand Bulgarians had joined theSoviets. (Ivan Bajtos)


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, . >

THE RO D TO

Steven J Zalog a andJa me s rand sen


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2.During the course of the warthe United States supplied theUSSR with nearly 2,000 M4A2

75mm) medium tanks. Thesebegan to be committed inheaviest numbers in the finalyears of the war , like this M4A2knocked out in the Ukraine in thesummer of 1944. NationalArchives)

S. A column of LendLease M4A2medium tanks in a town inByelorussia in the early summerof 1944. Operation Bagrationwas the heaviest commitment ofthe Soviet mechanized forces in

the war , including twelve tankand mechanized corps with some5,200 tanks and self-propelledguns.


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IINTRODUCTION I

~ = _:llished in Gre a t Britain in-=: : = ~ r s and Armour Press,

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= o:-=. e n J._= : : Be rlin. - (Military

: : I ax): ... c r 2. Eastern

-; ; - : am paigns

Grand sen, Jame s .

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The aim of this book is to provide a photograp hic account of the final year oftank fighting on the Eastern Front, from the cataclysmic destruction ofGerman Army Group Centre in Byeloru ssia in the summe r of 1944 throughto the final fighting a round Berlin and Prague in May 1945. In preparing this

book, the autho rs encounte red the opposit e problem faced in the earlier bookOperatio n Barbarossa (Tanks Illustrated No. 16)_ Photographic coverage of the1944--5 fighting from the German perspective is quite limited, while Soviet coverage ismuch more extensive and available. Many of the German photos included here arefrom collections from friends in Eastern E urope who were able to locate German filesleft beh ind during the retreat of 1944--5, and they are seen here in print for the firsttime.

Tank battles of 1944--5 in Eastern Eur ope were the largest armoured clashes eve,to occur - far larger in size and scope than such bette r known battles as the KurskOrel salient in 1943. Although these battles are well known to the Russians, they havebeen largely ignored by Weste rn historian s, who have been preoccupied with the greatbattles taking place in Western Europe at the time, especially the Normandy invasionand the battle for the Ardennes. The summer 1944 fighting on the Zastern ?rontstarted in earnest in June , in Byelorussia. By means of strategic deception, the Sovietsbluffed the Germ ans into believing that the main thrust would come from theUkrainian salient, aimed at Germany s wavering allies such as Roumania andBulgaria. The Germans str ipped their forces in Byelorussia in favour of units oppositethe Ukraine. When the Soviet offensive hi t Army Group Centre in June 1944, theWehrmacht and Waffen SS had only about 550 tanks and assault guns in the area, onlyabout 4 per cent of the ir holdin gs at the tim e. The Soviets massed40 per cent of theirtanks and assault guns, numbering 5,200 vehicles, opposite Army Group Centre_Army Group Centr e was su rrounded and smashed, with Soviet forces pouring intoPoland and East Pruss ia. With the centre of the front penet rated, the Soviets launchedattacks on the flanks as well, penetrat ing into Roum ania and the western Ukraine inthe late summ er and clear ing most of the eastern Baltic coast during the autumnfight ing. By the early autu mn , th e force of th e Soviet offensive was largely spent.Casualties h ad been very high , and supplies of fuel and ammunition had beenexhausted.

During 1944 , the Sov iets manufacture d nearly 29,000 new armoured veh icles yetlost nea rly 25,000 due to battle fi eld attrition or mecha nical exhaust ion. Sovietarmoure d vehicle producti on in late 1944 shift ed towards heavier vehicles such as theIS-2 heavy tank and its associate d assault guns, the ISU-122 and ISU-152. This waslargely in response to the German Panther tank , undoubtedly the finest German tankdesign of the war_ n terms of technic al quality, Soviet and German forces were moreevenly matche d t han they had been earlier . While the Panther tank was superior to themuch smaller T-34-85, a faire r comparison can be made between the Panther and theIS-2 Sta lin heavy tank. German tank gun and tank ammu niti on tech nology wasgenerally superior to Soviet guns of similar calibre, but the Soviets compensated forthis by employing larger guns on smaller and lighte r vehicles, th us redressing thebalance.


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Fighting continue d all along th e fron t durin g the aut umn of 1944, but theSoviets conserved m ost of their new arm oured forces for the fi nal counter -offensive iTJanua ry 1945. They carefully massed their new armoured forces, and bu ilt up It.rgereserves of fuel and ammu nition . The main thru st towards Berlin, called the VistulaOder offensive by the Soviets , involved over 7,000 Soviet tank s and assaul t gun sopposed by about 1,200 German tanks and assault guns. By th is stage in the war theSoviets had significant nume rical advantages over the Germans, and th e dispari ty in

tactical s kill between Soviet and German forces had narro wed. Although German tankunits still enjoyed some advantages over their Soviet count erpart s in terms of trainingand exper ience, th is was not u niformly the case. Nor was th e German advantage asgreat as in 1941- 2. Some German units, such as the hastily raised Panther brigades,were not much bett er trained than their Soviet coun terparts . The Germans alsosuffered from extrem e supply problem s, especially fuel supplies owing t o the loss ofthe Roumanian o ilfields in the autumn of 1944 and a vigorous Anglo-American andSoviet air bombing campaign . The supply problem s severely limited the tactica lmob ility of German un its in late 1944 and early 1945 and sapped the ir combat power.

By the time of the final drive on Berlin in April 1945, the outco me ofthewar was aforegone conclus ion . The Vistula- Oder offensive had shatt ered most of the

experienced German f orces. The Soviet Army had over 214 divisions opposed byGerm an un its numbering 48 infantry , 6 tank and 8 motorize divisions. The Sov etsmassed 6,250 tanks and assault guns for the final operation, opposed by about 1,500German tanks and self-propelled guns enfeebled by a lack of fuel or ammuniti on. TheSoviets had a special advanta ge in artillery , with 41,600 guns and mortar s and amplesLpplies of ammuni tion. The assault on Berlin took place in th ree stages, beginni ngon 16 April and last ing unt il the second week of May. Even after t he surrender hadtaken place, tank fight ing continued with isolated German uni ts in Czechoslovakiauntil 11 May...

4 The Germans suffered massivelosses of equipment during theByelorussian summer offensiveof 1944: here a 75cmSturmgeschii tz 40 Ausf G withth e later styl e saukopf gunm antlet and, in the background ,a 105cm Sturmhaubitze 42.(Sovfoto)


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- ; ,c .mnans were bluffed: C \ g that the main

r u st in the summer of

_.lld be in the Ukraine,-- ~ l if te d their armour- .-_ the time of Operation

_ :H the Germans had: .: = cri 550 tanks and

. . : 'ehicles with Army:: : l t re only 18 per cent

onn our on the Eastern. i only 4 per cent of

tan k and self- - gu n holdings. In

: :1 Soviets committed~ ~ r cent of their tanks:-; -rope lled guns to the

O\ 'crwhelming the; fac tors of over

-. : ~ a pz Kpfw rv Ausf- : ;00 out in the~ ? ~fighting. From 30

... .., :.:l 31 July 1944, the_ _ _ _ -=-..: lost 256 pz Kpfw IV

.:2:,-: rn Front, mainly in~ ~ o _ 50v(oto)

56 By July, Soviet forces had cam paign in Poland in August onto the ramp with a Lend-Leasecrossed into Poland. Polish 1944, the Polish 1st Armoured jeep lashed to its rear deck toforces raised by the Soviet Union Brigade was ferried across the conserve deck space.

fought alongside Soviet troops. river by ferry . Here a T 34 ModelDuring the V istula river 43 of the 2nd Regiment drives


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7

7. During the fighting in ~Studzianki bridgehead on t h ~River Vistula, the Polish o rc ~there had fifteen T-70 lighttanks which were used mfor scouting and liaison. rwith only a 45mm gun the T-- _was of little use in tank gh t ir

8. The Germans made vigorousefforts to smash the Sovietbridgeheads on the Vistula,especially at the Sandomierzbridgehead. here a disabled pzKpfw VI Ausf B Royal Tiger anda StuG III have been left behindon the battlefield with a SovietMaxim 7.62mm machine-gun inthe foreground. The Germanslost at least five of these heavytanks during the fighting there .

9. The Hungarian Honvedremained allied to Germanythrough the summer fighting .This Nimrod was one ofseventeen serving with the 52nd

Tank Destroyer Battalion of 2ndHungarian Armoured Division inGalicia, south-eastern Poland, inthe summer of 1944. The Nimrodwas a licence-built derivative ofa Swedish Landsverk design. Bythis stage of the war, its 40mmgun was hopelessly inadequateagainst Soviet armour. IvanBajtos)


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10 One of the odder armouredvehicles to see service on theEastern Front was the GermanLadungstraeger B IV, a remotelycontrolled engineer vehicle usedto carry and deposit largebreeching charges againstheavily protected enemyfortifications. These were used insignificant numbers during the

August 1944 Warsaw Uprising,where they were used to blastaway street barricades erected bythe Polish insurgents. They wereusually controlled by specialradio equipped StuG III assaultguns .

1: A rather strange tank to findin Poland in 1944 this ex-Italian M14/41 was being used bya German anti partisan unit in:he Warsaw area when captured

by the Polish Home Army during:.he Warsaw Uprising in August1944.


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12 The Polish Home Armycaptured several Germanarmoured vehicles during theuprising including at least twoPanther tanks . They wereattached to the armouredplatoon of the Radoslaw groupand took part in the fightingduring the second week ofAugust. The Poles also capturedand used a Hetzer and an Sd Kfz251 AusfD; the latter is currentl ypreserved at the Polished ArmedForces Museum in Warsaw.

13 In late July 1944, the 1stUkrainian Front seized the cityof Lwow. Here being examinedby civilians is a disabled PantherAusfA, one of some 219 Pantherslost on the Eastern Front in July1944. (Sovfoto)

12 ' 1 3


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- ~ ~ .

- _..e PT-34 mine-clearing-: consisted of the T 34 tank- ;- case a Model 43 and a

c \ mine roller. These were_ d by special engineerreg iments with 22 T-34- and 18 mine trawls each._: five of these regiments~ n service in 1944 5 for

.~ e l breaching operations.

__Panther Ausf A tank-, d out during fighting in

mer of 1944_A single hit- :- seen at the lip of the hull

::E>\:ructure and a glancing_ ; -. the upper left edge of the

- - an tle t.

t of Panther Ausf Aperations on the

;-ront in the summer of:. th is time, the Panther

- - most numerous Germangh tly outnumbering the

: rll ess effective pz Kpfw


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17 A Panther AusfA in action i nPoland in the late summer of1944. At this stage of the war thePanther outclassed the smallerand lighter T 34-85 but was moreevenly matched against the IS-2tank. Although the Germansclassified the Panther as amedium tank and the Sovietsclassed the IS-2 as a heavy tank ,they were comparable in bothweight and size.

18 A Hungarian Turan tank ofthe 2nd Hungarian ArmouredDivision in eastern Poland,summer 1944. By this stage ofthe war, the Turan s 40mm gunwas inadequate for tank fighting,but newer designs were not yetready. n front of the Turan is aGerman pz Kpfw N IvanBajtos)

19 Armour encountered bySoviet forces in Hungaryincluded Hungarian assault gunslike this Zrinyi II assault gunarmed with a 105mm howitzer.The Turan lIs saw combat actionin Galicia, eastern Poland, fromthe spring of 1944 and later inthe fierce fighting in Hungaryand Czechoslovakia. Thisparticular Zrinyi II, namedRenke, is fitted with skirt armourand spare track to supplement itsinadequate protection. Thisparticular vehicle was capturedby the Soviets and is currentlypreserved at the Kubinkaprovinggrounds outside Moscow.


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_ . , Hungarian armoured forces, . c dependent on domestic

~ uction for the majority of= -~ r equipment. The Turan III

~ : here in prototype form was,;ttempt to uparm the Turan a long 75mm tank gun to

it the capability of dealing the Soviet T-34. It was never~ p r o d u c e dand Hungarian

were forced to rely on more: y armed versions . (Ivan)

_ . . On 20 August 1944, the 2nd: 3rd Ukrainian Fronts

~ .;;


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23. Apair SU-152 assault gunsof the 2nd Baltic Front wadeacross a river in Latvia in August1944 during the assaults againstArmy Group North. The Balticfighting was given less priority bythe Soviets than the drives intoPoland and Roumania butbecame the scene of bitterfighting as the Soviets firstcrossed into German soil in EastPrussia during the autumn of

1944. Sovfoto)24. ASoviet Valentine Mk VIIIscout tank of the 3rdByelorussian Front crossesCathedral Square in Vilno.Britain and Canada provided theSoviets with 3,782 of these tanks.By 1944 they were nearlyworthless for tank fighting butthe Soviets found them veryuseful for scouting and othertasks. Sovfoto)


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- :nlumn of Panther Ausf G: >e rating in the autumn

- o ' 1944, probably in Easthese vehicles are

- 7 : in a type of speckle _ .age seen only during the- Qnths of the war.

._- '5 -2 heavy tank of the 2nd :'ront passes through a

: . th e east of Riga in- :..Jer 1944. The IS-2 tank

extensively used in-: in the summer fighting

........ . It was the most powerful2. . ,k of the war and the

:._ ~ e t tank that could. challenge the highly

~ Panther . (Sovfoto)

> ~ t he r Ausf C tank in_ ring the fighting in- - th is time, Army Group- ' d about 110 Panthers: -. C 730 tanks and assault. ~ r t in g there.


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-. ATiger I tank carries":"r;:)an airborne troops into--' _n somewhere in East

-=-.:..:.sia in the autumn of 1944.- . -Te were about 80 Tiger I and

cd tanks with Army Group: - ' at the time, mainly with

== Y Tank Battalion 502._ A knocked out T-34-85 is

=. . l1i ned by German infantry in3 : Prussia during the autumn

, :944 , Although Soviet forces- X d the German frontier

' :1g the 1944 fighting, there"" a re lative lull in the Baltic:: " n in December 1944 as the

.;: , ets prepared for their'5 ' 'e January 1945 offensive.

. ..\ T-34-85 tank captured by- forces in East Prussia in- - aut umn of 1944 and

r essed into their service. The- J[ the T 34-85 by German,-,, ; was uncommon, as few

_ captured intact at this stage7-:e ar

_ German troops examine a= : o ughly destroyed ISU-152

ult gun during the autumn: ?M The vehicle presumably- ?red an internal explosion,

~ - ripped off the right side of- : superstructure and roof

. ' Pan ther Ausf G seeks outsc :S s m ~ h rin Hungary

autumn of 1944. To the_ : is a Sd Kfz 250/8 75mm_ -: assault gun, used mainly in

- : armoured scout01J1 ies.


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6 34 ' 35

33 . A pair of 15cm Panzerwerfer42 auf Sf abandoned during thefighting in the winter of 1944.These multiple rocket launchershave apparently been boggeddown in a swamp.

34 . A T-34 Model 43 in EastPrussia in the winter of 1944/5.Although out of production bythe end of 1944 the older models

of the T 34 still appeared inaction until eventually lostthrough attrition.

35. A Panther tank being used totransport German infantrysomewhere on the EasternFront in the winter of 1944/5.German armoured units reachedtheir peak strength in the East inNovember 1944 but graduallylost strength as vehicles weretransferred west for the Ardennesoffensive in December 1944.


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36. T

hi s Panther was one of 32" and assault guns knocked

- :7.Jring the fighting for- n in January-February

-. From the two large: :Tations in the hull front, it

; likely that it was a victim-", of the IS-2 tanks used by:st Guards Tank Army in the= (30vfoto)

_\ 3d fz 25 2 anti-aircraft- -:e abandoned by ':;erman

: ;:s in the battle for Festung_ u (currentl y Wroclaw,

--:d), one of 40 armoured- ".es lost by German forces

=_The fighting for the citys.2;\-age, and the German;(In did not finally surrenderoMay 1945. (Sovfoto)


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-

-

~

A Polish T-34-85 of the 1st: a r ed Brigade reaches the

; : in February 1945, and the~ symbolically dips its tracks

: - sea as one of its crew. :s the national flag. This. :ook part in the liberation

s k and Gdynia.

. . Tiger I heavy tank knocked

_ r i n gfighting in Poland,c knocked out Tiger. it. The Tiger I and Tiger

~ e both respected by their?: opponents, and

= : i tu ted a major reason forSoviet shift in 1944 to thelcti on of more heavily

vehicles such as the :S-2,


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43 n ISU-152 assault gun crewtakes a breather during theJanuary 1945 offensive. Thisassault gun, based on the chassisof the ;3-2 Stalin heavy tank,proved to be a popular vehicleduring street fighting in 1945because of its heavy armour and

the heavy high-explosive shell itcould fire.4 4 Soviet troops advancethrough the streets of Tolkemiton the Baltic in the spring of1945. They pass the charredwreck of a pz ll pfw 38 t). This oldtank is af'. odd vehicle to see stillin action n 1945, and it wasprobably attached to an antipartisan unit or school ratherthan to a regular tank unit.(Sovfoto)

45 A battery of SU-76m assaultguns of Konev's 1st UkrainianFront move through the town ofNeisse following the VistulaOder offensive of JanuaryFebruary 1945. The SU-76 wasthe second most commonarmoured vehicle in Sovietservice in 1945, and wasexceeded in numbers only by theT-34 tank. It was mostcommonly used to providedirect-fire support to infantryunits. (Sovfoto)


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3C OOs enter the town of: , erg during the spring

righting. The SU100 firstc.. qensive fighting in the

.I-February offensives. It,- tended as a medium tank

s;:::: Jyer, and was probably theeffective vehicle of its type

.k>;led by the Soviets during.-aI . (Sovfoto)

. )umania switched sides in< nd supported Soviet

~ in 1945 in- , )slovakia. One of the odder. ed vehicles in service was-. C.6J i T60. This was an_ ised tank destroyer built

- = ania using captured: T50 light tank hulls andcd 76.2mm F22 divisionalThe Roumanians also used

:- 2 TACAM, which consisted; imported Czechoslovak

~ :ctt er known as the pz Kpfw=, d captured Soviet

i ZiS divisional guns .. -musual Eastern Front

~ are shown in then y i n scale plans in this


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Ballic ffensive14 Sepl e mb e r-24 Nove mbe r 1 944

\rontl in e J une 944. ... . ~ ~ 0 ? \, . . . . . \

E a s lPrussia Offensive ..... IIIIIIfL Operation 'Bagralion '/ 13 Jan uary 25 Apr il 1945 / 23 Jun e -29 A u gUSI 1944

Berl ino~

- Berlin Offensive Frontlme D e c ember 19446 April-S May 1945

Prague Offensive6 11 May 1945

~ .Vistula-Oder Offens1ve \ .Lvov-sandomierz Offensiv12 January24 Februa ry 1945 j, 13 July -29 Aug sl 1944

~Vienna OffensIve Yassy-Kishniev Offensive16 Marc h 1S Ap ril 1945 20- 29 Augus1 1944

ROllmania

.. .. ~ < ,,,,. ~ 1t i tSOVIET OFFENSIVES ON THE ROAD TO BERLIN :',-:::- ::>.::> .:::- .

SOVIET T 34 85 T N KINTERIORSHull front1. Seat for co-driver2. Stowage racks for DT machine-g .ammunition3. Belly escape hatch4. Clutch5. Gear-box

6. Manual fuel lever7. Accelerator pedal8, Brake pedal9, Safety catch for brake pedals10. Driver 's seat11, Left brake pedal12 . Fire extinguisher13 , Air pressure va lve for engine s t r : ~ 14 . Lubricant pump15 . Housing for suspension spring16 . Air pressure switch17. Electrical panel18. Air pre ss ure adjustment (for e n g ~

starting)19. RRA-24F regulator::;:0. Hydraulic cylinder for front hatch21. Intercom button22. Tachometer23. Speedometer24. Brake lever25. Front hatch opening26. Hand operated air pump27, Air bottles for engine starting23. Driving control dials29, Intercom control box30. Machine-gun lock31. DTM machine-gun stock32 . DTM machine-gun ball mount33. Interior light s ocket34 , Main switch35. Main gun ammunition stowage

TECHNICAL COMPARISON OF THE GERMAN AND SOVIET TANKS OF 1 9 4 4 5pz Kpfw IV T- 34-85 Panther IS-2m pz ;(pfw IV T-34-85 Panther 15-2Ausf J Model 1944 Ausf G Ausf J Model 1944 Ausf G

Weight (tonne s ) 25 32 46 46 Engine horsepo wer 300 500 700 600Crew 5 5 5 4 HPIWeight ratio 1:12 1:15 ,6 1: 15.2 1:1:Length (cm) 702 815 886 990 Maximum road speed

Width (cm) 288 300 340 309 (km /h) 38 55 46 37Hei gll t (cm) 268 260 298 273 Maximum range (km) 320 360 200 4Main gun calibre (mm) 75 85 75 122 Turret front armourGun length in calibres 48 55 70 46 (mm) 50 90 110 16CArmour Piercin g (kg) 6.8 9.02 6.8 48.7 Turret side armourAPHE penetration at (mm) 30 75 45 11 0500m (mm) 105 111 135 145 Turret rear armourAPHE penetration at (mm) 30 60 45 1001000m (mm) 95 102 120 145 Hull glacis armourArmour Piercing (OS) (mm) 80 47 80 12 0(kg) 4.1 4.9 4.75 Hull side armourAPDS penetration at (mm) 30 60 50 95500m (mm) 130 138 190 Hull rear armourAPDS penetration at (mm) 20 47 45 301000m (mm) 105 100 160

THE ROAP TO BERLI N


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W


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C M R-2)

" ,

o 3... - ~ _ _ _ _ I - -

C M 1-60)

o 2 3~ - - - ~ - - ~ I ~


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48. A column of T 34 85 t n ~of Konev s 1st Ukrainian FrontTost, Silesia, in February 1945.The 1st Ukrainian Front's driv(Sovfoto)

49. A BA-64B armoured scoutcar of the 2nd Byelorussian Frostands guard in the town squar of Stulp in March 1945. TheBA-64 was based on the chassisof the GAZ-67 jeep and was theonly wheeled armoured vehicleproduced in any significantnumbers by the Soviets duringthe war . (Sovfoto)

50. Although not of the bestquality, this rare photo showsone of the least knowncOiobatants of the 1944--5fighting, a pz Kpfw tank of theBulgarian Armoured Brigade,during operations near DravaszaBoles in Hungary in 1944. TheBulgarians had been partiallyequipped by the Germans up tothe summer of 1944, but inSeptember 1944 they switchedsides and fought against theWehrmacht, mainly inYugoslavia. (Ivan Bajtos)51. A Polish SU-85 of the 13thAssault Gun Regiment duringthe fighting in 1945. On the walis the slogan 'Polish Soldiers ArGoing to Berlin'. The vehiclenumber '330' evident on theglacis plate identifies it as thecommand vehicle of the 3rdbattery.

52. A BA-64B armoured car withcivilians on board precedesaT 34 85 down a road in theSlovakian countryside. TheBA-64 was commonly used as acommand and liaison vehicle inSoviet armoured units . (IvanBajtos)


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I


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The enti re 1st Mechanized Corpswas equipped with AmericanLend-Lease tanks.

6 A repair yard in Viennaollowing the fighting there in

April 1945 consists of a strangeollection of tanks including

German ?anthers, ex-FrenchRenault IT light tanks, and ex

talian M 14/41 tanks. Theseaptured types were probablyeing used in the area forecurity deals.

7 . ALend-Lease M3Al scout carused by Soviet reconnaissance

nits during the fighting inVienna in March-April 1945.

Side from modest numbers ofA-64B scout cars, the Soviets

nainly used Lend-LeaseM3A1-out cars or Universal carriers

their mechanized scout units.:;ovfoto


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58. A Soviet tank crew poses with5 8 9

members of a Czechoslovakresistance group on 9 May 1945.The tank is a Lend-Lease M4A2medium tank widely used in thefinal months of the war. IvanBajtos)

59. A Ya-12 artillery tractortowing a BS-3 lOOmm Model1944 anti-tank gun near Jihlava Czechoslovakia, on9 May 1945.The Ya-12 tractor was derivedfrom the T 60rr 70 light tankseries and was used for towinglarger artillery pieces especiallyanti-tank and anti-aircraft gun s.Ivan Bajtos)


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0. A Hetzer tank destroyer inperation in Czechoslovakia onM last day of fighting, 9 May945. These small tankestroyers were relativelyevalent in the fighting inzechoslovakia in May 1945 forle obvious reason that theyere manufactured there . (Ivanajtos

1. A Hetzer tank destroyerm-ies an infantry sectionring fighting in

:c h o s l o v k ion 9 May 1945.can Bajtos)

During the fighting on 9 May,,5. several Hetzers were

ked out by Soviet Forces.-, Hetzer was very thinly

ured and no match for most of the period except from

h. (Ivan Bajtos)


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53. n SU-76M in Prague in thefirst week of May 1945. ThePrague operation involved the1st, 2nd and 4th UkrainianFronts , and 1960 tanks and selfpropelled guns. Gennanmechanized forces in the areawere quite strong , nearly equalto Soviet forces, but were notvery effective as many units werefleeing westwardto avoid capture

destroyers ambushed near Brno,Czechoslovakia, in April 1945.The vehicles lack their wheels,

benefitted As late as the 1970s

May 1945 preparing to meet the

which suggests that the localpeasant carts may have

it was possible to see small cartsin Poland and Czechoslovakiawith wheels taken from variousderelict Soviet and Gennanarmoured vehicles in 1945. (Ivan

6 6

Soviet onslaught. There was asignificant amount of fighting inthe streets of Prague between theGennans, Czech insurgents andSoviet troops. (Ivan Bajtos)

66. A column of T-34-85 tanksof the Polish 16th ArmouredBrigade in Prague in May 1945.Polish troops fought alongsideSoviet and Czechoslovakunits

I

Ii

II

II

I

during the final phases of theCzechoslovakia fighting.

\7

by the Soviets. (CTK via l rHornat

54. A column of SU-100 tank

Bajtos)

65 . A Gennan 15cm SIG 3311Grille on the streets of Prague in


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67 A German Sd Kfz 250halftrack captured by Czechinsurgents in Prague during theMay 1945 uprising. Captured

armour was usually painted witha prominent CSR, meaningCzechoslovak Republic. CTK viaJiri Homat)

68. n the shadows of the RoyalPalace, a German Hetzer tankdestroyer ambushed a T 34-85 ofthe 63rd Guards Tank Brigade,10th Guards Tank Corps,numbered 24 and commandedby Lieutenant Goncharenko . TheHetzer was then knocked out byother T-34-85s, which werefollowing. This event iscommemorated by a tankmonument in Prague - butironically the monumentconsists of an IS-2 numbered23 , even though it is supposedto represent Goncharenko stank. CTK via li r Homat)


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69. A Soviet IS-2m heavy tank::nters the town of HradecKralove in north-eastern30hemia in May 1945.Lndependent heavy tankregiments using the IS-2 were:requently employed asspearheads for Soviet armouredattacks during the last months of:he war because of their superiora mour protection andi repower. CTK via Jiri Hornat

70. AT-34-85 enters the town of3udyne in north-westernBohemia in May 1945. By thishase of the war, the German

resistance was largely collapsing


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71 A number of Bergepanzer38(t) Hetzer recovery vehiclestook part in the fighting inPrague in May 1945, and at leastone fell into the hands of Czechinsurgents. (Ivan Bajtos)

72. A column of T -34-85s of the1st Czechoslovak IndependentTank Brigade ente r the Old TownSquare in Prague, May 1945 .This was the only Czechoslovaklarge tank u nit formed underSoviet tutelage during the war.CTK via Jiri Homat)

73 A heavily decorated Hetzertank destroyer in the hands ofCzech insurgents in Prague inMay 1945 . The Hetzer wasmanufactured at the CKD facilityin the outskirts of Prague, andmany of the Hetzers used by theinsurgents were vehicles foundat the factory without their gun.The slogans painted on the sidesay Death to the Occupiers .CTK via Jiri Homat)

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6. A T-34-85 in Gennan y May45, named in honour of

adimir Moyakovskiy. Theoviets frequently painted battleIogans on their tanks , as well ashe names of famous Soviettizens or soldiers, or the names

f communities that had donatedunds for the purchase of warquipment.

7. A Soviet T 34-85 tank unitrepares for action in the earlyhase of the Berlin offensive in

May 1945. During the Berlinghting , some 1,500 Genn annnoured vehicles faced 6,250oviet tanks and assault guns .Sovfotoj


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78 A pair of T-34 Model 1943 inthe streets of Berlin in May 1945.Although the T-34 Model 43 hadgone out of production in 1944,some were still in service untilthe very end of the war. Thewhite turret band was an Alliedrecognition sign to prevent

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Anglo-American fighterbombers attacking Sovietarmoured columns.

79 A pair of T 3 4-85 on one ofBerlin's bridges during the

fighting there in May 1945 .(Sovfoto)

80 A column of T-34 -85 tanksproceed down a street in Ber linduring the iiiay 1945 battle.(Sovfoto)

8 1 Sov iet tanks like this IS-2mto the left had screening addecl.to the turret to w3xd of f the

ubiquitous erman ?anzerfaustinfantry anti-tank rockets. ' 'hescreening detonated the warheadof the rocket at a safe distancef; om the main , mour of thetank.


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82 Another example of stand-offscreening for protection againstPanzerfausts, this time on aT -34-85 near the BrandenburgGate. In this case, the screens

were macl.e by simply attachingbed springs to the tank .

83 n ISU-122 assault gunpasses a sign vainly proclaiming

that Berlin will remain German.Sovfoto)

8 4 n IS-2m Stalin heavy tankstationed near the 3randenburgGate at the conclusion of the

fighting in Berlin in May 1945.The white turret identity band isevident in this view, as is theregimental insignia, a white bearon a red star. Sovfoto)

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The Road to Berlin

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