Red Army Weapons of the Second World War

Red Army Weapons of the Second World War
Author: Michael Green
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2022-09-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 1399095412

While the Red Army’s arsenal at the start of the Second World War included weapons dating back to the Great War or earlier, the 1930s’ modernization program had introduced the automatic Tokarev pistol and self-loading Tokarev rifle. Its small arms were soon replaced by mass-produced sub-machine guns, such as the PPSh 1941, nicknamed the ‘PePeSha,’. Supplementing the submachine guns, the Degtyarev Light Machine Gun DP-27. Fitted with a circular pan magazine, it received the not-unsurprising nickname ‘Record Player.’ New mortars and towed artillery pieces, ranging from 76mm to 203mm, entered service in the pre-war years. In addition to a wide range of towed, self-propelled and anti-tank guns, the Soviets fielded the Katyusha rocket launchers in 1941, nicknamed the ‘Stalin’s organ’ by the Germans. The 1930s saw the introduction of the BT light tank series. The iconic T-34 medium tank series came into service in late 1940, joined by the IS-2 heavy tank from early 1944, the prefix letters ‘IS’ translates to Joseph Stalin. These formidable AFVs led the Red Army to victory in May 1945 over Nazi Germany. All these weapons and more are covered with numerous images in this authoritative overview of the subject.

German Self-Propelled Artillery Guns of the Second World War

German Self-Propelled Artillery Guns of the Second World War
Author: Craig Moore
Publisher: Fonthill Media
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2019-03-19
Genre: History
ISBN:

• One of the few books that explores the design and deployment of German artillery self-propelled guns (SPGs) to support tanks and infantry during the Second World War • A great reference book for military modellers, historians and tank wargamers interested in German SPGs • A comprehensive guide to German SPGs between 1939 and 1945 in one volume for the very first time, including previously unpublished information on the little-known Hummel-Wespe proving that at least twelve units were built • Authentic camouflage suggestions for military modellers A single towed artillery gun required a team of six horses and nine men. During the Second World War, German engineers mounted an artillery gun on top of a tank chassis; this new technology reduced the amount of valuable war resources as self-propelled guns only required a four- or five-man crew. They could also be made ready to fire more rapidly. German Self-Propelled Artillery Guns of the Second World War covers the development and use of this new weapon between 1939 and 1945. One type was successfully deployed in the invasion of France in 1940 and more were used on the Eastern Front against Soviet forces from 1941 until the end of the war. The ‘Desert Fox’ (Ewin Rommel) demanded artillery guns that could keep up with his panzers in North Africa. He was sent 15-cm howitzers mounted on top of Panzer II tank chassis’ and captured French Army Lorraine 37L-tracked armoured supply vehicles. Rommel’s forces in northern France were equipped with a variety of new self-propelled guns, which were used against the Allies on the beaches of Normandy during D-Day in 1944. • Includes 81 colour photographs

Steel Thunder on the Eastern Front

Steel Thunder on the Eastern Front
Author: Stackpole Books
Publisher: Stackpole Books
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2014-11-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 0811749967

Visual history of the artillery used by both sides on the Eastern Front in World War II.

The Red Army and the Second World War

The Red Army and the Second World War
Author: Alexander Hill
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 757
Release: 2019-02-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 1316720519

In a definitive new account of the Soviet Union at war, Alexander Hill charts the development, successes and failures of the Red Army from the industrialisation of the Soviet Union in the late 1920s through to the end of the Great Patriotic War in May 1945. Setting military strategy and operations within a broader context that includes national mobilisation on a staggering scale, the book presents a comprehensive account of the origins and course of the war from the perspective of this key Allied power. Drawing on the latest archival research and a wealth of eyewitness testimony, Hill portrays the Red Army at war from the perspective of senior leaders and men and women at the front line to reveal how the Red Army triumphed over the forces of Nazi Germany and her allies on the Eastern Front, and why it did so at such great cost.

Red Army Auxiliary Armoured Vehicles, 1930–1945

Red Army Auxiliary Armoured Vehicles, 1930–1945
Author: Alexey Tarasov
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2021-07-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 1526785994

During the 1930s in the Soviet Union a remarkable range of auxiliary armoured vehicles were produced for the Red Army which have rarely had the attention they deserve, and Alexey Tarasov’s photographic history is the ideal guide to them. These innovative designs demonstrate the diversity and innovation of the Soviet arms industry. Among them were armoured flails, ambulances, bridge-layers, flame-throwers and amphibious cars which prefigure similar designs made by western engineers during the Second World War. As this selection of rare photographs shows, Soviet designers were in many ways ahead of their time and it was short-sighted internal policy and the shortcomings of Soviet industry which led to the cancellation or postponement of many of these promising projects. As a result, when faced with Operation Barbarossa in 1941 the Red Army lacked the auxiliary armour that would have helped to stem the German advance. Alexey Tarasov’s in-depth research and the rare photographs he has assembled give a fascinating insight into a little-known aspect of the history of Soviet armoured vehicles.

Panzer Destroyer

Panzer Destroyer
Author: Vasiliy Krysov
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Total Pages: 431
Release: 2010-08-19
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1848847114

In this military memoir, a Soviet Red Army officer recounts his experience fighting against Nazi Germany along the Eastern Front in World War II. The day after Vasiliy Krysov finished school, on June 22, 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union and provoked a war of unparalleled extent and cruelty. For the next three years, as a tank commander, Krysov fought against the German panzers in some of the most intense and destructive armored engagements in history, including those at Stalingrad, Kursk, and Knigsberg. This is the remarkable story of his war. As the commander of a heavy tank, a self-propelled gun—a tank destroyer—and a T-34, he fought his way westward across Russia, the Ukraine, and Poland against a skillful and determined enemy that had previously never known defeat. Krysov repeatedly faced tough SS panzer divisions, like the SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler Panzer Division in the Bruilov-Fastov area in 1943, and the SS Das Wiking Panzer Division in Poland in 1944. Krysov was at Kursk and participated in a counterattack at Ponyri. The ruthlessness of this long and bitter campaign is vividly depicted in his narrative, as is the enormous scale and complexity of the fighting. Honestly, and with an extraordinary clarity of recall, he describes confrontations with German Tiger and Panther tanks and deadly anti-tank guns. He was wounded four times, his crewmen and his commanding officers were killed, but he was fated to survive and record his experience of combat. His memoirs give a compelling insight into the reality of tank warfare on the Eastern Front.

Russian Tanks of World War II

Russian Tanks of World War II
Author: Tim Bean
Publisher: Allan
Total Pages: 186
Release: 2002
Genre: History
ISBN:

At the start of the campaign on the Eastern Front, in the earliest days of Operation Barbarossa, it was the German armour that swept all in front of it as the Wehrmacht drove eastwards in an unrelenting advance on Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad. The ill-prepared and under-resourced Russian forces were forced to retreat. Gradually, the balance of the war swung in favour of the Russian forces, whose strength both in numbers and equipment proved decisive in the ultimate defeat of the German forces in the east. Critical in the Soviet victory was its armour; tanks such as the T-34 proving the equal, if not better than, some of the tanks available to the Germans. This authoritative history of the Soviet forces before and during World War 2, reveals the development of their tactics in the early post-revolutionary era right through to the ultimate victory in Berlin in May 1945. The dramatic struggle of the tank crews against the German advance is told through some 200 contemporary photographs, many of which have never been seen before.The photographs include images of tank training in the 1920s and 1930s, on active service, and many compelling pictures from some of the major tank battles of the day. Over the past five years, aided by the opening up of archives in Russia previously closed to western experts, there has been a massive growth in interest in the events that occurred on the Eastern Front. Russian Tanks is an important addition to the literature currently available, exploring as it does, the vitally important Soviet armour of the period.

800 Days on the Eastern Front

800 Days on the Eastern Front
Author: Nikolai Litvin
Publisher:
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2007
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

Litvin's stark, candid memoir focuses on his more than two years of service in the Red Army during its war with Germany. Originally written in 1962 and recently revised through extended interviews between author and translator, the result is a gripping account--in a straightforward, matter-of-fact tone--of the trials and tribulations of being a common Soviet soldier on the Eastern Front during World War II.

German Self-propelled Artillery at War 1940–1945

German Self-propelled Artillery at War 1940–1945
Author: Ian Baxter
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2023-10-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1399068695

Despite the German Panzerwaffe’s ability to engage its foes rapidly with concentrated force, additional fire power was often required to break through enemy lines. Initially this was with towed artillery but, as the war developed, converting tanks into fast-moving self-propelled artillery carrying vehicles proved far more effective. As a result a number of weapon systems came into service including the Pz.Kpfw.I and II. Other conversions followed including the Pz.Kpfw.II Wespe with its 10.5cm gun, the Pz.Kpfw.III/IV Hummel armed with a 15cm howitzer, the Sturmpanzer Brummbar with its powerful 15cm gun and the Grille series based on the Czech Pz.Kpfw 38(t) tank chassis. These and other armored vehicles were capable of providing both close firesupport for infantry and acting as anti-tank weapons. This highly illustrated book describes the key role played by German self-propelled artillery from its introduction in 1940 in France, to North Africa, Italy, Russia and North-West Europe. It analyzes the development of the numerous variants that came into service as these formidable weapon systems were adapted and up-gunned to face the ever-increasing enemy threat. With rare and often published photographs this book provides a unique insight into German self-propelled artillery from its early triumphant war years to final defeat in 1945.