Tanks (WW 2) - USSR: Books - History and Models (1/2)

British Tanks of the Red Army

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This book provides a clear history of British tanks used by the Soviet Union from the Russian Civil War to the end of World War II.
It begins with the first, hostile meeting between British armoured vehicles and the Red Army, when Britain supplied surplus tanks to the White Army. After the Red victory, captured Mark V heavy tanks and medium Whippet and Hornet tanks were taken into RKKA service.
During the 1920s, the Soviet Union examined British export designs, and in 1931 began licensed production of the Vickers Mk.E as the T-26.

In 1941, the German invasion caused severe Soviet tank losses, leading the Red Army to seek foreign vehicles once more. A major aid programme began in August, and on 29 September 1941 the first shipment of 20 British tanks sailed for Arkhangelsk. They arrived in time for the Battle of Moscow, and continued deliveries ensured that British vehicles served with Soviet units until the end of the war.
Types used included Matilda, Valentine, Churchill and Tetrarch tanks.

The author, Peter Samsonov, explains their service history, battlefield performance and the views of the Red Army crews who operated them.

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Red Army Tanks of World War II : A Guide to Armoured Fighting Vehicles of the Red Army

An authoritative history of Soviet armoured forces before 1945, detailing their development, tactics and equipment from the early days of the tank arm in the 1920s, through the purges of the late 1930s and the German invasion in 1941, to the epic tank battle of Kursk, and eventual victory in the streets of Berlin.

The growth and development of Stalin's armoured might is illustrated with 170 rare black-and-white photographs, some of which have never been previously published. These include images of tank training in the 1920s and 1930s, photographs taken on active service, and pictures of the major tank battles of the war. The photographs are complemented by detailed artworks of Soviet tanks and exhaustive specifications.

A must for any enthusiast, Red Army Tanks of World War II is the definitive study of the equipment and tactics of the Soviet armoured forces that defeated the might of Hitler's Wehrmacht.

A previous edition was published with the title "Russian Tanks of World War II".

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Russian Tanks of World War II : 1939-1945 - Tanks, Self-propelled Guns

Organised chronologically by type, Russian Tanks of World War II offers a highly-illustrated guide to the main armoured fighting vehicles used by the Red Army during World War II.

The book offers a comprehensive survey of Soviet AFVs, from the pre-war T-18 light tank and BT fast tank series to the heavy Joseph Stalin tanks and self- propelled guns of the final months of the war.
All the major and many minor tanks are featured, including every significant variation of the T-26 light tank, KV series and T-34 to see action on the Eastern Front.

There are also chapters on the many types of self-propelled guns developed by Soviet industry, as well as Allied Lend-Lease AFVs, such as the British Churchill and Valentine tanks and American Sherman and Stuart tanks. Each featured profile includes authentic markings and colour schemes, while every separate model is accompanied by exhaustive specifications.

Packed with 120 newly-commissioned, full-colour artworks with exhaustive specifications, Russian Tanks of World War II is a key reference guide for military modellers and World War II enthusiasts.

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Stalin's Armour, 1941-1945 - Soviet Tanks at War

Stalin's purge of army officers in the late 1930s and disputes about tank tactics meant that Soviet armoured forces were in disarray when Hitler invaded in 1941. As a result, during Operation Barbarossa, the Wehrmacht's 3,200 panzers ran circles round the Red Army's tank force of almost 20,000 - thousands of Soviet tanks were disabled or destroyed.
Yet within two years of this disaster the Red Army's tank arm had regained its confidence and numbers and was in a position to help turn the tide and liberate the Soviet Union.

This is the remarkable story Anthony Tucker-Jones relates in this concise, highly illustrated history of the part played by Soviet armour in the war on the Eastern Front. Chapters cover each phase of the conflict, from Barbarossa, through the battles at Moscow, Stalingrad and Kursk to the massive, tank-led offensives that drove the Wehrmacht back to Berlin.
Technical and design developments are covered, but so are changes in tactics and the role of the tanks in the integrated all-arms force that crushed German opposition.

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T-60 Small Tank & Variants (Red Machines 1)

The T-60 small tank was the third most numerous tank-type built in the Soviet Union during the 1941-45 "Great Patriotic War", behind only the T-34 medium tank and the SU-76 self propelled gun in terms of production output.
Though often maligned in later years as being under-armed and weakly armoured, the T-60 performed a crucial role during the difficult years of 1941-42 when Soviet manufacturing plants struggled to replace combat losses at the front.

The history of the T-60 is the history of a single tank type, set against a background of the initial months immediately following the launch of "Operation Barbarossa" on 22nd June 1941, with staggering losses of territory, troops and equipment at the front and the consequent Soviet struggle to maintain production at a time when the main Soviet military production facilities were being evacuated on rails to the Urals and Siberia beyond.

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Die Waffen der Roten Armee - Panzer 1939-1945

The USSR was relatively late in adopting tank weapons, but then it was so consistent that by the mid-1930s it already had more tanks than the rest of the world. After the first battles, which were catastrophic for the Soviets, the Red Army finally surprised not only its enemy with modern armored fighting vehicle developments.

In the second volume on the weapons of the Red Army in World War II, Victor Schunkow provides a complete overview of the armored vehicles of the former Soviet Union - from the heavy KV-1 to the medium T-34 and the Tiger rival IS-2.

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