Description

This illustrated study pits Germany's PzKpfw III against the Soviet Union's T-34 in the wake of Hitler's 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union.

This book evaluates the PzKpfw III and T-34 medium tanks fielded by Germany and the Soviet Union during 1941. Both designs were intended to be the primary medium tanks of their respective armies, but owing to manufacturing difficulties, neither was available in quite the numbers intended. Even though both tanks were relatively new, neither was deemed entirely satisfactory, and replacements for both were already on the drawing board. Nevertheless, it was these tanks that clashed in what the Soviet Union called the Great Patriotic War.

While the T-34 rapidly established a fearsome reputation only sometimes borne out by its actual performance, the PzKpfw lII was smaller, lighter, and not as well armed as its Soviet opponent but benefited from the support of a more seasoned and better structured army. Full-colour artwork, archive photographs and authoritative text drawing upon Russian- and German-language sources combine to reveal how the Germans harnessed the advantages of combat experience and superior organization to counter the T-34's tactical strengths, but also how the PzKpfw III quickly lost relevance as it became evident that it could not carry a gun powerful enough to destroy the T-34 at range.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chronology
Design and Development
Technical Specifications
The Combatants
The Strategic Situation
Combat
Statistics and Analysis
Aftermath
Bibliography
Index

Product details

Published Jun 20 2024
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Extent 80
ISBN 9781472860941
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations Colour illustrations throughout, including profiles, technical drawings, battlescene artworks, maps and photographs.
Series Duel
Short code DUE 136
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Peter Samsonov

Peter Samsonov is a Russian–Canadian military hist…

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