88-505: The BT-7 was the last of the BT series of Soviet cavalry tanks that were produced in large numbers between 1935 and 1940. It was lightly armoured, but reasonably well-armed for the time, and had much better mobility than other contemporary tank designs. The BT tanks were known by the nickname Betka from the acronym , or its diminutive, Betushka. The BT-7's successor was the famous T-34 medium tank, introduced in 1940, which replaced all of
176-657: A German invasion is controversial, and the claim that there was a warning that "Germany will attack on 22 June without declaration of war" has been dismissed as a "popular myth". However, some sources quoted in the articles on Soviet spies Richard Sorge and Willi Lehmann , say they had sent warnings of an attack on 20 or 22 June, which were treated as "disinformation". The Lucy spy ring in Switzerland also sent warnings, possibly deriving from Ultra codebreaking in Britain. Sweden had access to internal German communications through breaking
264-602: A Soviet trade organization, used their New York political contacts to persuade U.S. military and civilian officials to provide plans and specifications of the Christie tank to the Soviet Union. At least two of Christie's M1931 tanks (without turrets ) were later purchased in the United States and sent to the Soviet Union under false documentation, in which they were described as "agricultural tractors". Both tanks were delivered to
352-621: A hole in their tank, adding that the Soviet gunners were accurate too!" After the Battles of Khalkhin Gol, the Soviet military broke into two camps; one side was represented by Spanish Civil War veterans General Pavel Rychagov of the Soviet Air Force , Soviet armour expert General Dimitry Pavlov , and Stalin's favorite, Marshal Grigory Kulik , Chief of Artillery Administration. The other side consisted of
440-450: A machine-gun was unnecessary on a tank with a 3-man crew, especially as it made the assembly of the turret more complicated. Therefore, in early 1935, the tank went into production with a simpler design, incorporating the turret from the BT-5 . (However, the idea of a wheeled/tracked vehicle with a 76 mm cannon was not abandoned and the plant was commissioned to develop a new BT-7 turret from
528-623: A policy advocated by the Soviet ministry of foreign affairs under Maxim Litvinov . This, as well as the reluctance of the British and French governments to sign a full-scale anti-German political and military alliance with the USSR, led to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between the Soviet Union and Germany in late August 1939. The separate Tripartite Pact between what became the three prime Axis Powers would not be signed until some four years after
616-515: A quarter of the American Lend-Lease aid provided to other Allied countries. However, post-war negotiations to settle all the debt were never concluded, and as of date, the debt issues is still on in future American-Russian summits and talks. Prof. Dr. Albert L. Weeks concluded, "As to attempts to sum up the importance of those four-year-long shipments of Lend-Lease for the Russian victory on
704-477: A short-term war (Blitzkrieg). According to Edward Ericson, although Germany's own resources were sufficient for the victories in the West in 1940, massive Soviet shipments obtained during a short period of Nazi–Soviet economic collaboration were critical for Germany to launch Operation Barbarossa. Germany had been assembling very large numbers of troops in eastern Poland and making repeated reconnaissance flights over
792-464: A strategy similar to blitzkrieg . However, Soviet tank forces soon found the convertible option of little practical use; in a country with few paved roads, it consumed space and added needless complexity and weight. The feature was dropped from later Soviet designs. Christie, a race car mechanic and driver from New Jersey had failed to convince the U.S. Army Ordnance Bureau to adopt his Christie tank design. In 1930, Soviet agents at Amtorg , ostensibly
880-477: A typical Soviet light tank brigade in 1939 is as follows: Background: History of the tank , Tank classification , interwar period BT tank The BT tank ( Russian : Быстроходный танк/БТ , romanized : Bystrokhodnyy tank/BT , lit. "fast moving tank" or "high-speed tank") was one of a series of Soviet light tanks produced in large numbers between 1932 and 1941. They were lightly armoured, but reasonably well-armed for their time, and had
968-588: Is directed against the Russians . If the West is too stupid and blind to grasp this, then I shall be compelled to come to an agreement with the Russians, beat the West and then after their defeat turn against the Soviet Union with all my forces. I need the Ukraine so that they can't starve us out, as happened in the last war. The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact signed in August 1939 was a non-aggression agreement between Germany and
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#17330853955681056-565: The Generalplan Ost . The populations of occupied Central Europe and the Soviet Union were to be partially deported to West Siberia, enslaved and eventually exterminated; the conquered territories were to be colonised by German or "Germanized" settlers. In addition, the Nazis also sought to rid themselves of the large Jewish population of Central and Eastern Europe as part of their program aiming to exterminate all European Jews . Psychologically,
1144-400: The 45 mm 20K model 1932/38 , a long-barreled, high-velocity gun useful against tanks, but less effective than the 76 mm gun against infantry. In the rear of the turret, there was a rotating drum-type magazine for 18 45 mm shells or a radio station. The prototype underwent an extensive testing program in the summer and autumn of 1934. As a result of this testing, it was felt that
1232-735: The A-32 , was a "universal tank" to replace all the T-26 infantry tanks , BT cavalry tanks and T-28 medium tanks. Such a plan was controversial, but concerns about tank performance under the threat of the German blitzkrieg led to the approval for production of a still more heavily armoured version, the T-34 medium tank. Along the way, an important technical development was the BT-IS and BT-SW-2 testbed vehicles, concentrating on sloped armour . This proof-of-concept led directly to
1320-584: The Anti-Comintern Pact with Imperial Japan . Fascist Italy joined the Pact a year later. The Soviet Union negotiated treaties of mutual assistance with France and with Czechoslovakia with the aim of containing Germany's expansion. The German Anschluss of Austria in 1938 and the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia (1938–1939) demonstrated the impossibility of establishing a collective security system in Europe,
1408-681: The Arctic convoys and training Red Air Force pilots , as well as in the provision of early material and intelligence support. Among other goods, Lend-Lease supplied: Lend-Lease aid of military hardware, components and goods to the Soviet Union constituted to 20% percent of the assistance. The rest were foodstuff, nonferrous metals (e.g., copper, magnesium, nickel, zinc, lead, tin, aluminium), chemical substances, petroleum (high octane aviation gasoline) and factory machinery. The aid of production-line equipment and machinery were crucial and helped to maintain adequate levels of Soviet armament production during
1496-662: The Balkans . Hitler had always intended to renege on his pact with the Soviet Union, eventually making the decision to invade in the spring of 1941. Some historians say Stalin was fearful of war with Germany, or just did not expect Germany to start a two-front war , and was reluctant to do anything to provoke Hitler. Another viewpoint is that Stalin expected war in 1942 (the time when all his preparations would be complete) and stubbornly refused to believe it would come early. British historians Alan S. Milward and M. Medlicott show that Nazi Germany—unlike Imperial Germany—was prepared for only
1584-767: The Battle of Berlin (also known as the Berlin Offensive ), a strategic operation executed by the Red Army. The states that provided forces and other resources for the German war effort included the Axis Powers – primarily Romania, Hungary, Italy, pro-Nazi Slovakia, and Croatia. Anti-Soviet Finland, which had fought the Winter War against the Soviet Union, also joined the offensive. The Wehrmacht forces were also assisted by anti-Communist partisans in places like Western Ukraine, and
1672-637: The Cruiser Mk III onwards. The pointed shape of the hull front armor on the BT tank also influenced the design of the British Matilda tank . Background: History of the tank , Tank classification , interwar period Eastern Front (World War II) Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups The Eastern Front , also known as the Great Patriotic War in
1760-599: The First and Second Polish armies, were armed and trained, and would eventually fight alongside the Red Army. The Free French forces also contributed to the Red Army by the formation of the GC3 ( Groupe de Chasse 3 or 3rd Fighter Group) unit to fulfil the commitment of Charles de Gaulle , leader of the Free French, who thought that it was important for French servicemen to serve on all fronts. The above figures includes all personnel in
1848-717: The Kharkov Komintern Locomotive Plant (KhPZ). The original Christie tanks were designated fast tanks by the Soviets, abbreviated to BT (later referred to as BT-1). Based both on them and on other plans obtained earlier, three unarmed BT-2 prototypes were completed in October 1931 and mass production began in 1932. Most BT-2s were equipped with a 37 mm gun and a machine gun, but a shortage of 37 mm guns led to some early examples being fitted with three machine guns. The sloping front hull ( glacis plate) armor design of
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#17330853955681936-518: The Mongolian plains, easily caught fire when a Molotov cocktail ignited their gasoline engines. General Georgy Zhukov made it one of his "points" when briefing Joseph Stalin , that his "...BT tanks were a bit fireprone...." Conversely, many Japanese tank crews held the Soviet 45mm gun of the BT-5 and BT-7 in high esteem, noting, "...no sooner did they see the flash from a Russian gun, than they'd notice
2024-888: The Nationalist side . The Chinese Nationalist Army had four BT-5s which fought against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). During the Battles of Khalkhin Gol (also known as the Nomonhan Incident), which lasted from May to September in 1939, BT tanks were easily attacked by Japanese "close quarter" teams ( tank killer squads) which were – in lieu of anti-tank weapons – armed with petrol ( gasoline ) bottles (later called " Molotov cocktails "). The BT-5s and BT-7s, operating in temperatures greater than 100 °F (38 °C) on
2112-766: The Spanish general election brought many communist leaders into the Popular Front government in the Second Spanish Republic , but in a matter of months a right-wing military coup initiated the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. This conflict soon took on the characteristics of a proxy war involving the Soviet Union and left wing volunteers from different countries on the side of the predominantly socialist and communist-led Second Spanish Republic; while Nazi Germany , Fascist Italy , and Portugal's Estado Novo took
2200-631: The Ukraine Military District and self-taught designer. The type successfully passed field tests, but was not ordered in bulk. Another Tsyganov design was the SV-2 "Cherepakha" ( turtle , черепаха) , with a new design of hull and turret. There was also the command tank KBT-7 with a fixed superstructure, the OT-7 mounting a flamethrower , the KhBT-7 designed to protect from toxic contamination and lay smokescreens,
2288-458: The "Mongol hordes", the "Asiatic flood" and the "red beast". The vast majority of German soldiers viewed the war in Nazi terms, seeing the Soviet enemy as sub-human. Hitler referred to the war in radical terms, calling it a " war of annihilation " ( German : Vernichtungskrieg ) which was both an ideological and racial war. The Nazi vision for the future of Eastern Europe was codified most clearly in
2376-778: The "Oil Pact" with Romania, by which Germany would trade arms for oil. Romania's oil production amounted to approximately 6,000,000 tons annually. This production represents 35% of the total fuel production of the Axis, including synthetic products and substitutes, and 70% of the total production of crude oil. In 1941, Germany only had 18% of the oil it had in peacetime. Romania supplied Germany and its allies with roughly 13 million barrels of oil (about 4 million per year) between 1941 and 1943. Germany's peak oil production in 1944 amounted to about 12 million barrels of oil per year. Rolf Karlbom estimated that Swedish share of Germany's total consumption of iron may have amounted to 43% during
2464-685: The Anti-Comintern Pact. The war was fought between Germany, its allies and Finland , against the Soviet Union and its allies. The conflict began on 22 June 1941 with the Operation Barbarossa offensive, when Axis forces crossed the borders described in the German–Soviet Nonaggression Pact , thereby invading the Soviet Union. The war ended on 9 May 1945, when Germany's armed forces surrendered unconditionally following
2552-497: The Army Georgy Zhukov , that ordered (as demanded by Stalin): "do not answer to any provocations" and "do not undertake any (offensive) actions without specific orders" – which meant that Soviet troops could open fire only on their soil and forbade counter-attack on German soil. The German invasion therefore caught the Soviet military and civilian leadership largely by surprise. The extent of warnings received by Stalin about
2640-496: The BT-7M, which increased the weight of the test tank to 18 tons. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the installation of these kits to military units. Between 1935 and 1940, 5753 BT-7 tanks of all modifications were built. In June 1941, at the outset of Barbarossa, the BT-7 was used as the main cavalry tank of the Soviet army. Tank losses were high, with over 2,000 BT-7 series tanks lost in
2728-527: The Balkans. About 15–20% of total German strength were foreign troops (from allied countries or conquered territories). The German high water mark was just before the Battle of Kursk , in early July 1943: 3,403,000 German troops and 650,000 Finnish, Hungarian, Romanian and other countries' troops. For nearly two years the border was quiet while Germany conquered Denmark, Norway, France, the Low Countries , and
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2816-737: The Baltic states. Among the most prominent volunteer army formations was the Spanish Blue Division , sent by Spanish dictator Francisco Franco to keep his ties to the Axis intact. The Soviet Union offered support to the anti-Axis partisans in many Wehrmacht -occupied countries in Central Europe, notably those in Slovakia and Poland . In addition, the Polish Armed Forces in the East , particularly
2904-723: The Christie M1931 prototype was retained in later Soviet tank hull designs, later adopted for side armor as well. The BT-5 and later models were equipped with 45 mm guns. Soviet Union variants: Foreign variants: or 5000 BT tanks saw service in the Second Sino-Japanese War , Spanish Civil War , Battles of Khalkhin Gol (also known as the Nomohan Incident), the Winter War in Finland , and in World War II . In
2992-584: The Eastern Front in World War II, the jury is still out – that is, in any definitive sense of establishing exactly how crucial this aid was." Germany's economic, scientific, research and industrial capabilities were among the most technically advanced in the world at the time. However, access to (and control of) the resources , raw materials and production capacity required to entertain long-term goals (such as European control, German territorial expansion and
3080-452: The Eastern Front of World War II constituted the largest military confrontation in history. In pursuit of its " Lebensraum " settler-colonial agenda, Nazi Germany waged a war of annihilation ( Vernichtungskrieg ) throughout Eastern Europe. Nazi military operations were characterised by vicious brutality, scorched-earth tactics , wanton destruction, mass deportations, forced starvations, wholesale terrorism, and massacres. These also included
3168-724: The German Army, i.e. active-duty Heer , Waffen SS , Luftwaffe ground forces, personnel of the naval coastal artillery and security units. In the spring of 1940, Germany had mobilised 5,500,000 men. By the time of the invasion of the Soviet Union, the Wehrmacht consisted of c. 3,800,000 men of the Heer, 1,680,000 of the Luftwaffe, 404,000 of the Kriegsmarine , 150,000 of the Waffen-SS, and 1,200,000 of
3256-567: The German offensive strength and cleared the way for Soviet offensives. Its setbacks caused many countries friendly with Germany to defect and join the Allies, such as Romania and Bulgaria . The Eastern Front concluded with the capture of Berlin , followed by the signing of the German Instrument of Surrender on 8 May, a day that marked the end of the Eastern Front and the War in Europe. The battles on
3344-469: The German surge to the east in 1941 marked a high point in some Germans' feeling of Ostrausch - an intoxication with the idea of colonising the East. After Germany's initial success at the Battle of Kiev in 1941, Hitler saw the Soviet Union as militarily weak and ripe for immediate conquest. In a speech at the Berlin Sportpalast on 3 October, he announced, "We have only to kick in the door and
3432-636: The Khalkhin Gol veterans led by Generals Zhukov and Grigory Kravchenko of the Soviet Air Force. The lessons of Russia's "first real war on a massive scale using tanks, artillery, and airplanes" at Khalkhin Gol went unheeded. During the Winter War against Finland in 1939–1940, BT-2, BT-5 and BT-7 tanks had less success against Finnish Army forces than they had against the Japanese at Khalkin Gol. During
3520-409: The Replacement Army (contained 450,400 active reservists, 550,000 new recruits and 204,000 in administrative services, vigiles and or in convalescence). The Wehrmacht had a total strength of 7,234,000 men by 1941. For Operation Barbarossa, Germany mobilised 3,300,000 troops of the Heer, 150,000 of the Waffen-SS and approximately 250,000 personnel of the Luftwaffe were actively earmarked. By July 1943,
3608-404: The SBT bridgelayer and the TTBT-7 and Thubten-7 radio-controlled tanks (known at the time as Teletanks ). Finland converted 18 captured tanks into BT-42 assault guns. Shortly before Operation Barbarossa (the German invasion of the Soviet Union), the BT-7 underwent an up-armoring program. In 1940, the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol produced 50 sets of hinged homogeneous armor for
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3696-529: The Second World War in Europe, BT-5 and BT-7 tanks were used in the 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland . The Red Army planned to replace the BT tank series with the T-34 and had just begun doing so when Operation Barbarossa , the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began on 22 June 1941. BT-series tanks took part in large numbers in the battles that followed during 1941, during which thousands were abandoned or destroyed. A few remained in use in 1942, but rarely saw combat against German forces after that time. During
3784-410: The Second World War took place on the Eastern Front". The Axis forces, led by Nazi Germany, began their advance into the Soviet Union under the codename Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941, the opening date of the Eastern Front. Initially, Soviet forces were unable to halt the Axis forces, which came close to Moscow . Despite their many attempts, the Axis failed to capture Moscow and soon focused on
3872-408: The Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a theatre of World War II fought between the European Axis powers and Allies , including the Soviet Union (USSR) and Poland . It encompassed Central Europe , Eastern Europe , Northeast Europe ( Baltics ), and Southeast Europe ( Balkans ), and lasted from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945. Of
3960-435: The Soviet Union attacked Finland on 30 November 1939 in what became known as the Winter War – a bitter conflict that resulted in a peace treaty on 13 March 1940, with Finland maintaining its independence but losing its eastern parts in Karelia . In June 1940 the Soviet Union occupied and illegally annexed the three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact ostensibly provided security to
4048-464: The Soviet Union gave Germany the resources necessary to launch military operations in Eastern Europe. On 1 September 1939 Germany invaded Poland , starting World War II . On 17 September, the Soviet Union invaded Eastern Poland , and, as a result, Poland was partitioned among Germany, the Soviet Union and Lithuania. Soon after that, the Soviet Union demanded significant territorial concessions from Finland, and after Finland rejected Soviet demands,
4136-399: The Soviet Union. It contained a secret protocol aiming to return Central Europe to the pre–World War I status quo by dividing it between Germany and the Soviet Union. Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania would return to the Soviet control, while Poland and Romania would be divided. The Eastern Front was also made possible by the German–Soviet Border and Commercial Agreement in which
4224-419: The Soviet fast tanks, infantry tanks , and medium tanks then in service. The first prototypes of the BT-7 had a distinctive canted-ellipse shaped turret mounting both the main gun and a coaxial machine-gun . The specification also called for the project to allow for the installation of new guns without any significant change to the framework: the 76 mm KT-26 or PS-3 main gun (a short-barreled howitzer) and
4312-436: The Soviets in the Far East, against Japanese forces which lacked the heavy tanks of their German allies. BT-7 tanks were employed against Japanese forces in the Battles of Khalkhin Gol in 1939 and the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation in 1945. Although many BT-7 tanks were produced, as of early 2018, there is only one known remaining BT-7 in operational order, in Belarus. The Table of Organization and Equipment for
4400-401: The Soviets in the occupation both of the Baltics and of the north and northeastern regions of Romania (Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia , June–July 1940), although Hitler, in announcing the invasion of the Soviet Union, cited the Soviet annexations of Baltic and Romanian territory as having violated Germany's understanding of the pact. Moscow partitioned the annexed Romanian territory between
4488-452: The Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), a regiment of 50 BT-5's fought on the Republican side . They were manned by the members International Brigades trained in USSR and by some Soviet tankists. Their first combat on 13 October 1937 during the Zaragoza Offensive was disastrous: 13 tanks were lost due to bad tactics. Later, 12 more were lost from December 1937 to February 1938 during the Battle of Teruel . A few captured BT-5s were also used by
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#17330853955684576-405: The USSR after the fall of the British Empire or after an unacceptable ultimatum demanding German occupation of Ukraine during the German invasion of Britain. A strategic air offensive by the United States Army Air Force and Royal Air Force played a significant part in damaging German industry and tying up German air force and air defence resources, with some bombings, such as the bombing of
4664-413: The Ukrainian and Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republics . Hitler had argued in his autobiography Mein Kampf (1925) for the necessity of Lebensraum ("living space"): acquiring new territory for Germans in Eastern Europe, in particular Russia. He envisaged settling Germans there, as according to Nazi ideology the Germanic people constituted the " master race ", while exterminating or deporting most of
4752-456: The United States, and the remaining one-third, with the help from other Western nations such as Great Britain and Canada. The massive transfer of equipment and skilled personnel from occupied territories helped further to boost the economic base. Without Lend-Lease aid, Soviet Union's diminished post invasion economic base would not have produced adequate supplies of weaponry, other than focus on machine tool, foodstuff and consumer goods. In
4840-465: The Wehrmacht numbered 6,815,000 troops. Of these, 3,900,000 were deployed in eastern Europe, 180,000 in Finland, 315,000 in Norway, 110,000 in Denmark, 1,370,000 in western Europe, 330,000 in Italy, and 610,000 in the Balkans. According to a presentation by Alfred Jodl , the Wehrmacht was up to 7,849,000 personnel in April 1944. 3,878,000 were deployed in eastern Europe, 311,000 in Norway/Denmark, 1,873,000 in western Europe, 961,000 in Italy, and 826,000 in
4928-483: The armour layout of the T-34. BT tank chassis were also used as the basis for engineering support vehicles and mobility testing vehicles. A bridgelayer variant had a T-38 turret and launched a bridge across small gaps. Standard tanks were fitted as fascine carriers. The RBT-5 hosted a pair of large artillery rocket launchers, one on each side of the turret. Several designs for extremely wide tracks, including, oddly, wooden 'snowshoes' were tried on BT tanks. The KBT-7
5016-449: The best mobility of all contemporary tanks. The BT tanks were known by the nickname Betka from the acronym , or by its diminutive Betushka . The successor of the BT tanks was the famous T-34 medium tank, introduced in 1940, which would replace all of the Soviet fast tanks, infantry tanks , and light tanks in service. The BT tanks were "convertible tanks". This was a feature that was designed by J. Walter Christie to reduce wear of
5104-413: The border; the Soviet Union responded by assembling its divisions on its western border, although the Soviet mobilisation was slower than Germany's due to the country's less dense road network. As in the Sino-Soviet conflict on the Chinese Eastern Railway or Soviet–Japanese border conflicts , Soviet troops on the western border received a directive, signed by Marshal Semyon Timoshenko and General of
5192-400: The bulk of aluminium that was used in manufacture of Soviet aircraft, that had fallen in critically short supply. Soviet statistics show, that without these shipments of aluminium, aircraft production would have been less than one-half (or about 45,000 less) of the total 137,000 produced aircraft. Stalin noted in 1944, that two-thirds of Soviet heavy industry had been built with the help of
5280-421: The crypto used in the Siemens and Halske T52 crypto machine also known as the Geheimschreiber and informed Stalin about the forthcoming invasion well ahead of June 22, but did not reveal its sources. Soviet intelligence was fooled by German disinformation, so sent false alarms to Moscow about a German invasion in April, May and the beginning of June. Soviet intelligence reported that Germany would rather invade
5368-427: The design, mostly conducted at the KhPZ factory in Kharkov . The most important legacy of the BT tank was the T-34 medium tank. In 1937, a new design team was formed at the KhPZ to create the next generation of BT tanks. Initially, the chief designer was Mikhail Koshkin and after his death, Morozov . The team built two prototypes. The light one was called the A-20 . The more heavily armed and armoured BT derivative,
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#17330853955685456-406: The designation BT-7M) with the powerplants being produced in a separate plant of the Voroshilovets factory to ensure supply. The diesel tanks were more fuel efficient, and the petrol-powered tanks were soon placed into reserve. Several experimental tanks were conceived based on the BT series, for example the wheeled BT-IS, designed by N.F. Tsyganov, a platoon commander in the 4th Armoured Regiment of
5544-628: The destruction of the USSR) were limited. Political demands necessitated the expansion of Germany's control of natural and human resources, industrial capacity and farmland beyond its borders (conquered territories). Germany's military production was tied to resources outside its area of control, a dynamic not found amongst the Allies. During the war, as Germany acquired new territories (either by direct annexation or by installing puppet governments in defeated countries), these new territories were forced to sell raw materials and agricultural products to German buyers at extremely low prices. Overall, France made
5632-408: The eastern German city of Dresden , being done to facilitate specific Soviet operational goals. In addition to Germany, hundreds of thousands of tons of bombs were dropped on their eastern allies of Romania and Hungary , primarily in an attempt to cripple Romanian oil production . British and Commonwealth forces also contributed directly to the fighting on the Eastern Front through their service in
5720-414: The entire war. In addition, the USSR received wartime innovations including penicillin, radar, rocket, precision-bombing technology, the long-range navigation system Loran , and many other innovations. Of the 800,000 tons of nonferrous metals shipped, about 350,000 tons were aluminium. The shipment of aluminium not only represented double the amount of metal that Germany possessed, but also composed
5808-456: The estimated 70–85 million deaths attributed to World War II, around 30 million occurred on the Eastern Front, including 9 million children. The Eastern Front was decisive in determining the outcome in the European theatre of operations in World War II , eventually serving as the main reason for the defeat of Nazi Germany and the Axis nations. It is noted by historian Geoffrey Roberts that "More than 80 percent of all combat during
5896-419: The existing inhabitants to Siberia and using the remainder as slave labour . Hitler as early as 1917 had referred to the Russians as inferior, believing that the Bolshevik Revolution had put the Jews in power over the mass of Slavs , who were, in Hitler's opinion, incapable of ruling themselves and had thus ended up being ruled by Jewish masters. The Nazi leadership , including Heinrich Himmler , saw
5984-481: The final weeks of World War II, a significant number of BT-7 tanks took part in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945, seeing combat against Japanese occupation forces in Northeast China . This was the last combat action for the BT tanks. The BT tank series was numerous, forming the cavalry tank arm of the Red Army in the 1930s and had much better mobility than other contemporary tank designs. For these reasons, there were many experiments and derivatives of
6072-456: The first 12 months on the Eastern Front . Hundreds more had been immobilized before the invasion by poor maintenance, and these had to be abandoned as the Soviet forces withdrew eastward. The BT-7 continued to be operated by the armored and mechanized forces of the Red Army for almost the entire war, but in greatly-decreased numbers after 1941. By 1 November 1942, 32 BT-7 tanks were captured by Romanian forces. BT-7 series tanks continued in use by
6160-404: The form of the Lend-Lease program, along with naval and air support. The joint German–Finnish operations across the northernmost Finnish–Soviet border and in the Murmansk region are considered part of the Eastern Front. In addition, the Soviet–Finnish Continuation War is generally also considered the northern flank of the Eastern Front. Germany and the Soviet Union remained unsatisfied with
6248-416: The genocidal campaigns of Generalplan Ost and Hunger Plan , which aimed to the extermination and ethnic cleansing of more than a hundred million Eastern European natives. German historian Ernst Nolte called the Eastern Front "the most atrocious war of conquest, enslavement, and annihilation known to modern history", while British historian Robin Cross expressed that "In the Second World War no theatre
6336-490: The international communist revolution , and eventually leading to the dissolution of the Comintern (Third International) organisation in 1943. The Soviet Union started a process of militarisation with the first five-year plan that officially began in 1928, although it was only towards the end of the second five-year plan in the mid-1930s that military power became the primary focus of Soviet industrialisation. In February 1936
6424-557: The largest contribution to the German war effort. Two-thirds of all French trains in 1941 were used to carry goods to Germany. In 1943–44, French payments to Germany may have risen to as much as 55% of French GDP. Norway lost 20% of its national income in 1940 and 40% in 1943. Axis allies such as Romania and Italy , Hungary , Finland, Croatia and Bulgaria benefited from Germany's net imports. Overall, Germany imported 20% of its food and 33% of its raw materials from conquered territories and Axis allies. On 27 May 1940, Germany signed
6512-614: The last year of war, Lend-Lease data show that about 5.1 million tons of foodstuff left the United States for the Soviet Union. It is estimated that all the food supplies sent to Russia could feed a 12,000,000-man strong army a half pound of concentrated food per day, for the entire duration of the war. The total Lend-Lease aid provided during the Second World War had been estimated between $ 42–50 billion. The Soviet Union received shipments in war materials, military equipment and other supplies worth of $ 12.5 billion, about
6600-414: The main modification, 153 BT-7A artillery tanks were produced between 1936 and 1938. These were fitted with a larger turret and a 76 mm KT-type gun with 50 rounds of ammunition (40 in a tank with a portable radio). In 1938, four experimental BT-8 tanks mounted with V-2 diesel engines were produced. After comparative tests of the BT-7 and BT-8, the diesel tanks were put into production in 1940 (under
6688-640: The oil fields in the Caucasus . German forces invaded the Caucasus under the Fall Blau ("Case Blue") plan on 28 June 1942. The Soviets successfully halted further Axis advance at Stalingrad — the bloodiest battle in the war — costing the Axis powers their morale and regarded as one of the key turning points of the front. Seeing the Axis setback from Stalingrad, the Soviet Union routed its forces and regained territories at its expense. The Axis defeat at Kursk terminated
6776-790: The outcome of World War I (1914–1918). Soviet Russia had lost substantial territory in Eastern Europe as a result of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918), where the Bolsheviks in Petrograd conceded to German demands and ceded control of Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, and other areas, to the Central Powers . Subsequently, when Germany in its turn surrendered to the Allies (November 1918) and these territories became independent states under
6864-562: The period of 1933–43. It may also be likely that "Swedish ore formed the raw material of four out of every ten German guns" during the Hitler era'. The use of foreign forced labour and slavery in Germany and throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II took place on an unprecedented scale. It was a vital part of the German economic exploitation of conquered territories. It also contributed to
6952-509: The same, but the ammunition was increased to 44 rounds. All serving tanks now installed the DT machine gun in the rear niche. For the firing of the gun and coaxial machine gun at night, the tank was equipped with two special projector-type headlamps, and a mask placed on the gun. Subsequently, these lights were retrofitted to earlier models of the tank. Improvements were also made to the drive wheels, caterpillar tracks and gearbox by 1938. In parallel with
7040-458: The side of Spanish Nationalists , the military rebel group led by General Francisco Franco . It served as a useful testing ground for both the Wehrmacht and the Red Army to experiment with equipment and tactics that they would later employ on a wider scale in the Second World War. Nazi Germany, which was an anti-communist régime, formalised its ideological position on 25 November 1936 by signing
7128-523: The terms of the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 at Versailles , Soviet Russia was in the midst of a civil war and the Allies did not recognise the Bolshevik government, so no Soviet Russian representation attended. Adolf Hitler had declared his intention to invade the Soviet Union on 11 August 1939 to Carl Jacob Burckhardt , League of Nations Commissioner, by saying: Everything I undertake
7216-415: The turret of the T-26 -4.) In the production model, a cylindrical turret housed a 45 mm 20K gun with a DT machine gun . On some of the tanks, a model 71-TC radio with frame antenna was installed. The crew consisted of three men: the commander (who also served as the gunner); the loader and the driver. In 1937, the company launched production of the BT-7 with a conical turret. The main armament remained
7304-418: The unreliable tank tracks of the 1930s. In about thirty minutes, the crew could remove the tracks and engage a chain drive to the rearmost road wheel on each side, allowing the tank to travel at very high speeds on roads. In wheeled mode, the tank was steered by pivoting the front road wheels. According to historical researches , this feature may have been required by Stalin for planned European warfare within
7392-484: The vast " Bolshevik hordes" that were pouring into Europe. Throughout the 1930s the Soviet Union underwent massive industrialisation and economic growth under the leadership of Joseph Stalin . Stalin's central tenet, " Socialism in One Country ", manifested itself as a series of nationwide centralised five-year plans from 1929 onwards. This represented an ideological shift in Soviet policy, away from its commitment to
7480-609: The war against the Soviet Union as a struggle between the ideologies of Nazism and Jewish Bolshevism , ensuring territorial expansion for the Germanic Übermenschen (superhumans) - who according to Nazi ideology were the Aryan Herrenvolk ("master race") - at the expense of the Slavic Untermenschen (subhumans). Wehrmacht officers told their troops to target people who were described as "Jewish Bolshevik subhumans",
7568-420: The whole rotten structure will come crashing down." Thus the German authorities expected another short Blitzkrieg and made no serious preparations for prolonged warfare. However, following the decisive Soviet victory at the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943 and the resulting dire German military situation, Nazi propaganda began to portray the war as a German defence of Western civilisation against destruction by
7656-491: Was a thoroughly modern armoured command vehicle that was in the prototype stage when World War II broke out. The design was not pursued during the war. In the Kiev manoeuvres of 1936 , foreign military observers were shown hundreds of BT tanks roll by a reviewing stand. In the audience were British Army representatives, who returned home to advocate for use of Christie suspension on British cruiser tanks, which they incorporated from
7744-510: Was more gruelling and destructive than the Eastern Front, and nowhere was the fighting more bitter". The two principal belligerent powers in the Eastern Front were Germany and the Soviet Union, along with their respective allies. Though they never sent ground troops to the Eastern Front, the United States and the United Kingdom both provided substantial material aid to the Soviet Union in
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