This tank is the most recognizable symbol of the Great Patriotic War. The best tank of the Second World War in its class. One of the most massive tanks in the world. The machine that forms the basis of the armored armies of the USSR that have passed through all of Europe.
What kind of people were leading the thirty-fours into battle? How and where was it taught? What did the battle look like "from the inside" and what were the front-line everyday life of Soviet tank crews?
Tank crew training before …
Before the war, a career tank commander trained for two years. He studied all types of tanks that were in the Red Army. He was taught to drive a tank, to shoot from his cannon and machine guns, was given knowledge on the tactics of tank battle. A specialist with a wide profile left the school. He was not only the commander of a combat vehicle, but also knew how to perform the duties of any crew member.
In the thirties, the military enjoyed immense popularity in the USSR. First, the Red Army, its soldiers and officers, symbolized the power of the relatively young Soviet state, which in just a few years turned from a war-ravaged, impoverished, agrarian country into an industrial power capable of standing up for itself. Secondly, the officers were one of the wealthiest strata of the population.
For example, an instructor of an aviation school, in addition to full maintenance (uniforms, lunches in the canteen, transport, hostel or money for renting housing), received a very high salary - about 700 rubles (a bottle of vodka cost about two rubles). In addition, service in the army gave people from a peasant environment a chance to improve their education, to master a new, prestigious specialty.
Alexander Burtsev, the tank commander, says: “I remember that after three years of service they returned from the army with other people. The village burdock was leaving, and a literate, cultured person returned, well-dressed, in a tunic, in trousers, boots, physically stronger. He could work with technology, lead. When a serviceman came from the army, as they were called, the whole village gathered. The family was proud that he served in the army, that he became such a person."
The coming new war - the war of motors - also created new propaganda images. If, in the twenties, every boy dreamed of sabers and cavalry attacks, then by the end of the thirties this romantic image was forever supplanted by fighter pilots and tankers. Piloting a fighter plane or shooting the enemy with a tank cannon - this is what thousands of Soviet guys now dreamed of. “Guys, let's go to the tankers! It's honorable! You go, the whole country is under you! And you are on an iron horse! - phrases describing the mood of those years, recalls the platoon commander, Lieutenant Nikolai Yakovlevich Zheleznov.
… and during the war
However, during the heavy defeats in 1941, the Red Army lost almost all the tanks it had in the western districts. Most of the regular tankers were also killed. The acute shortage of tank crews became apparent in the summer of 1942, when the industry evacuated to the Urals began to produce tanks in the same volumes.
The country's leadership, realizing that it was the tankers who would play a decisive role in the 1943 campaign, ordered the fronts to send at least 5,000 of the best privates and sergeants to tank schools every month with the education of at least seven classes. In the training tank regiments, where the rank and file were trained - radio gunners, driver mechanics and loaders, 8000 best soldiers with an education of at least three classes came from the front every month. In addition to the front-line soldiers, yesterday's high school graduates, tractor drivers and combine operators sat on the school bench.
The course was reduced to six months and the program was cut to a minimum. But I still had to study 12 hours a day. Basically, they studied the material part of the T-34 tank - a chassis, a transmission, a cannon and machine guns, a radio station.
All this, as well as the ability to repair a tank, was learned both in class and in practical training. But time was sorely lacking. The platoon commander Vasily Bryukhov recalls: “After graduating from college, I fired three shells and a machine-gun disk. Is this preparation? They taught us a little driving on the BT-5. They gave the basics - to get under way, drive in a straight line. There were tactics classes, but mostly on foot in a tank way. And only at the end there was an ostentatious lesson "a tank platoon on the offensive." Everything! Our preparation was very weak. When we were let out, the head of the school said: “Well, then, sons, we understand that you quickly skipped the program. You don’t have solid knowledge, but finish your studies in battle”.
From school to the front
Freshly baked lieutenants were sent to tank factories in Gorky, Nizhny Tagil, Chelyabinsk and Omsk. A battalion of T-34 tanks rolled off the conveyors of each of these factories every day. The young commander filled out the tank acceptance form. After that, he received a penknife, a silk kerchief for filtering fuel, a revolver and a fist-sized tank clock, which were installed on the dashboard. However, tankers often carried them with them. Not everyone had a wrist or pocket watch at that time.
Ordinary crew members were trained in three-month courses in reserve tank regiments located at the factories. The commander quickly got to know the crew and made a fifty-kilometer march, which ended with live fire.
After that, the tanks were loaded onto platforms, and the echelon rushed them westward towards their fate.
Inside the T-34
The legendary medium tank, which entered service in 1940, was in many ways a revolutionary design. But, like any transitional model, it combined novelties and forced decisions. The first tanks had an outdated gearbox. The roar in the tank was incredible, and the tank intercom worked disgustingly. Therefore, the tank commander simply put his feet on the driver's shoulders and controlled him using predetermined signals.
The T-34 turret was only for two. Therefore, the tank commander performed the duties of both the commander and the gunner. By the way, the commander and loader somehow, but could talk, but most often their communication also took place with gestures. The commander thrust his fist under the loader's nose, and he already knows that he needs to load with armor-piercing, and his spread palm - with fragmentation.
Gunner-radio operator Pyotr Kirichenko recalls: “Switching gears required enormous efforts. The driver will bring the lever to the desired position and begin to pull it, and I pick up and pull with it. The transmission will live for a while and only then it turns on. The tank march consisted entirely of such exercises. During the long march, the driver lost two or three kilograms in weight: he was all exhausted. In addition, since his hands were busy, I took the paper, poured samosad or makhorka into it, sealed it, lit it and put it in his mouth. This was also my responsibility."
Battle on the T-34 (reconstruction)
There are a few minutes left before the attack starts. The commander's hands begin to shake, his teeth chatter: “How will the battle turn out? What's behind the hillock? What are the forces of the Germans? Will I live to see the evening? The gunner-radio operator nervously gnaws a piece of sugar - he always pulls it before an attack on food. The charger smokes, inhaling deeply with smoke. The cigarette in his hand is trembling. But the signal to attack sounds in the headphones of the commander's tank helmet. The commander switches to intercom, but the crackling is such that nothing is heard. Therefore, he just lightly hits the driver on the head with his boot, who is sitting directly under him - this is a conditional signal “Forward!”. The car, roaring with its engine, clanking its tracks, starts to move. The commander looks through the periscope - the entire battalion has moved to the attack.
The fear is gone. There was only a cold calculation.
The mechanic drives the car at a speed of 25-30 kilometers in a zigzag fashion, changing direction every 50 meters. The life of the crew depends on his experience. It is the mechanic who must correctly assess the terrain, find shelter, and not substitute the side under the enemy's guns. The radio operator tuned the radio to receive. He has a machine gun, but he can only aim through a hole with a diameter of the index finger, in which the earth and sky flash alternately - you can only scare the Fritzes with such shooting, there is little real sense from it. The loader in the panorama is watching the right sector. His task is not only to throw shells into the breech, but also to indicate to the commander the target on the right along the course of the tank.
The commander looks forward and to the left, looking for targets. The right shoulder rested against the breech of the cannon, the left against the turret armor. Closely. The arms are folded in a cross on a cross: the left one is on the gun lifting mechanism, the right one is on the turret swing handle. Here he caught an enemy tank in a panorama. Kicked the driver in the back - "Stop!" and just in case he shouted into the intercom: "Short!" Loader: "Armor-piercing!"
The driver selects a flat area of the terrain, stops the car, shouts: "Track!" The loader sends the projectile. Trying to shout down the roar of the engine and the clang of the bolt, he reports: "The armor-piercing is ready!"
The tank, stopping abruptly, sways for some time. Now everything depends on the commander, on his skills and just on luck. A stationary tank is a tasty target for the enemy! The back was damp from the tension. The right hand rotates the turret turning mechanism, aligning the reticle with the target in the direction. The left hand turns the gun lifting mechanism, aligning the mark in range.
"Shot!" - the commander shouts and presses the gun trigger. His voice is drowned out by the roar of the shot and the clang of the shutter. The fighting compartment is filled with powder gases that corrode the eyes. The fan, installed in the turret, does not have time to blow them out of the tank. The loader grabs the hot smoking sleeve and throws it out through the hatch. Without waiting for a command, the mechanic pulls the car off the spot.
The enemy manages to make a return shot. But the shell only ricochets, leaving a furrow on the armor, like a hot spoon in oil. From hitting the tank ringing in the ears. The scale, flying off from the armor, bites into the face, grinds on his teeth. But the fight continues!
T-34 against "Tigers"
The T-34 was superior to German medium tanks in all respects. It was a maneuverable and fast medium tank equipped with a 76 mm long cannon and a diesel engine. The tankers were especially proud of the T-34's distinctive feature - sloping armor. The effectiveness of sloped armor was confirmed by the practice of battles. Most of the German anti-tank and tank guns of 1941-42 did not penetrate the frontal armor of the T-34 tank. By 1943, the T-34 had become the main combat vehicle of the Soviet tank armies, replacing the outdated T-26 and BT.
However, by 1943 the Germans had modernized the old T-IV medium tanks and began producing the T-V Panther and T-VI Tiger heavy tanks. The long-barreled guns of 75 and 88 mm caliber installed on the new machines could hit the T-34 at a distance of 1.5-2 thousand meters, while the 76 mm gun of our medium tank could hit the Tiger only from 500 m, and the Panther from 800 meters. Using the advantage of the T-34 in maneuverability and tactical tricks, our tankers often emerged victorious from battles with a technically superior enemy. But it happened and vice versa …
If the tank is hit …
It's good if the shell hit the engine compartment - the tank simply went deaf and the crew had time to jump out. If the projectile pierced the armor of the turret or the sides of the fighting compartment, then the fragments of the armor most often wounded one of the crew members. The spreading fuel flared up - and all the tankers' hope remained only for themselves, for their reaction, strength, dexterity, because each had only two or three seconds in reserve to escape.
It was even more terrible for those whose tank was simply immobilized, but did not burn. Ion Degen, a tanker, says: “In a battle, an order from the commander to leave the burning tank was not required, especially since the commander could have already been killed. We jumped out of the tank intuitively. But, for example, it was impossible to leave the tank if you had only killed the caterpillar. The crew was obliged to fire from the spot until they were killed."
And it also happened that some trifle, sometimes even uncomfortable clothes, did not allow the tanker to leave the burning car. Tankman Konstantin Shits recalls: “Our commander of one of the companies was Senior Lieutenant Sirik, such a prominent man. Somehow they captured rich trophies at the station, and he began to wear a good, long Romanian coat, but when they were knocked out, the crew managed to jump out, and because of this coat he hesitated and burned …"
But when they were lucky, the tankers jumped out of the burning tank, crawled into the craters and immediately tried to retreat to the rear.
Having survived the battle, the "horseless" tankers entered the battalion's reserve. But it was impossible to rest for a long time. The repairmen quickly restored the unburnt tanks. In addition, the factories were constantly replenishing parts with new equipment. So literally two or three days later, the tanker was included in a new, unfamiliar crew and on a new tank they went into battle again.
It's always harder for commanders
It was even harder for the company and battalion commanders. They fought to the last tank of their unit. This means that the commanders changed from one damaged vehicle to a new one several times during one operation, or even one day.
Tank brigades "ground to zero" in two or three weeks of offensive battles. After that, they were assigned to be reorganized. There, the tankers first of all put in order the remaining equipment and only then themselves. The crew, regardless of the ranks, refueled the car with fuel, loaded it with ammunition, cleaned the gun and adjusted the sight, checked the equipment and mechanisms of the tank.
The loader cleaned the projectiles from grease - washed them in diesel fuel, and then wiped them dry with a rag. The driver-mechanic adjusted the mechanisms of the tank, poured buckets of fuel, oil and water. The radio operator and the commander helped them - no one disdained dirty work. The fate of the tank depended on the crew, but the life of the crew was also directly related to the condition and combat effectiveness of the tank.
We prepared the car for the upcoming battle or march - now you can wash, shave, eat and, most importantly, sleep. After all, the tank was not only a combat vehicle for the crew, but often also a home.
Life of tankers
A tank tarpaulin measuring 10 by 10 meters was attached to the turret of the tank. The crew covered the tank with them on the way to the front. Simple food was laid out on it. The same tarpaulin served tankers and a roof over their heads when it was not possible to stay overnight in houses.
In winter conditions, the tank froze through and became a real "refrigerator". Then the crew dug out a trench, drove a tank on top of it. A "tank stove" was suspended under the bottom of the tank, which was heated with wood. It was not very comfortable in such a dugout, but much warmer than in the tank itself or on the street.
The habitability and comfort of the thirty-fours themselves were at the minimum required level. The seats of the tankers were made rigid and, unlike American tanks, there were no armrests on them. Nevertheless, tankers sometimes had to sleep right in the tank - half-sitting. Senior Sergeant Pyotr Kirichenko, a T-34 radio operator-gunner, recalls:
“Although I was long and thin, I still got used to sleeping in my seat. I even liked it: you fold your back, lower your felt boots so that your legs do not freeze against the armor, and you sleep. And after the march it is good to sleep on a warm transmission, covered with a tarpaulin."
The tankers were forced to live in Spartan style. In the offensive, they did not even have the opportunity to wash or change their clothes. Tanker Grigory Shishkin says:
“Sometimes you don’t wash for a whole month. And sometimes it's okay, you wash yourself once every 10 days. The bath was done like this. They built a hut in the forest, covered it with spruce branches. Spruce branches are also on the floor. Several crews gathered. One drowns, another chops wood, the third carries water”.
During intense battles, even food was often delivered to tankers only at the end of the day - breakfast, lunch, and dinner at once. But at the same time, the tankers were supplied with dry rations. In addition, the crew never neglected the opportunity to carry a supply of food in the tank. In the offensive, this stock became practically the only source of food, which was replenished with trophies or thanks to the help of the civilian population. “The tankers' supplies have always been good. And, of course, food trophies were an additional ration for us … And tank NZs were always eaten even before battles - what if we burn out, so why would any good be lost? - says tanker Mikhail Shister.
In the evening after the battle it was possible to drink the "People's Commissar's hundred grams." But before the battle, a good commander always forbade his crew to drink alcohol. The commander of the crew Grigory Shishkin about this feature of the tankers: “The main thing is that everyone is drinking around. Sappers begin: "Hey you, black-bellied, what do they not give you ?!" At first, the guys were offended, and then they realized that I was trying for them. Drink as much as you want after the battle, but never before the battle! Because every minute, every second is precious. Blundered - died!"
We rested, threw off the fatigue of the past battles - and now, the tankers are ready for new battles with the enemy! And how many more of these fights were ahead on the way to Berlin …
