Although everyone knows for certain that the lifetime of a tank in modern combat .... Survival during World War II Tank lives in combat

Of course, the trunk is long, life is short
But artillery is far from being limited to armor-piercers.

Well, it’s clear that the artillerymen from the artillery of special power of the RGK had a much greater survival rate than the IPTAPs. It is possible that they lived longer than the rest.

As for anti-tank weapons, there are interesting recollections of one gunner on iremember.ru:

To me and, as far as I can judge from the then conversations with comrades, to my brother-soldiers, the picture of the battles seemed like this. After short but powerful artillery raids, the Germans attacked with tanks. Heavy vehicles, "Tigers" and "Ferdinands" went to the heights in the depths of the German positions and stopped at a distance of one - one and a half kilometers from our positions. Lighter and more maneuverable T-IVs continued to move along with a few infantry. It was pointless for us to fire at the vehicles behind us. Even in the case of a direct hit, the projectile could not cause serious damage at such a distance. And German tankers we waited until our anti-tank defenses were forced to open fire on advancing tanks. A gun that started firing, found itself, immediately became the victim of an accurate shot from stationary heavy vehicles. It should be noted that the "Tigers" had very accurate sights and a very accurate 88-mm gun. This explained the advice I received not to shoot until the last moment. By opening fire at "pistol distance", you can count on hitting the first or, in extreme cases, the second shell, and then, even if the gun is broken, you still get an unfavorable "exchange of pieces" for the Germans - a tank for a light gun. If you show your position prematurely, then, most likely, the gun will be lost in vain.

That is, it really turns out that the life of anti-tank guns on the battlefield was very short

But the death of the gun did not always mean the death of the calculation. In 1645 IPTAP found a way out:

This also explains the additional changes made to the typical device of the gun trench. To the right and left of the gun, near the wheels, two slots were made - one for the gunner, the second for the loader. The ZIS-3 gun practically does not require the simultaneous presence of all crew at the gun. Moreover, the simultaneous presence of only one person is quite enough. The gunner, having fired a shot, could hide in the gap while the loader drives another cartridge into the barrel. Now the gunner takes a place, points, shoots, and the loader at this time is in cover. Even with a direct hit on the gun, at least one of the two has a chance to survive. The rest of the calculation numbers are scattered over the cracks, side "pockets" of the trench. The practical experience that this regiment had accumulated since the Kursk Bulge made it possible to reduce losses to a minimum. For a month and a half of fighting on the bridgehead, the regiment changed the materiel three times, receiving new or repaired guns to replace the damaged and destroyed ones, and retained its combat capability, almost without receiving additions in people.

Of course, it was the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad that allowed the Soviet Union to make a radical change in the Great Patriotic War.

Imagine the picture: From the explosion of bombs and mines lays ears, deafeningly explode with an echo hand grenades, at a distance of 300-500 meters from each other, automatic and machine-gun bursts rumble. Snipers are constantly at work. Streets and houses turned into a huge pile of garbage and ruins. The city was shrouded in black, acrid smoke. The screams of people. The war is going on everywhere, there is no clear front. fighting are conducted near, behind you and in front of you. Everywhere destruction and death. This is how Soviet and German soldiers remember the Battle of Stalingrad.

Soviet soldiers are fighting in Stalingrad

As a result of this epic battle, 1.5 million people died on the Wehrmacht side, and approximately 1.1 million people on the Soviet side. The scale of the losses is appalling. For example, the United States for the entire Second world war lost about 400 thousand people. Do not forget about the civilian population of Stalingrad and its environs. As you know, the command forbade the evacuation of civilians, leaving them in the city, ordering them to participate in the construction of fortifications and defensive structures. According to various sources, between 4,000 and 40,000 civilians died.

Soviet gunners are shelling German positions

After the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad, the Soviet command pulled the initiative over to its side. And the victory in this battle was made by ordinary Soviet people- officers and soldiers. However, what sacrifices did the soldiers make, in what conditions did they fight, how did they manage to survive in this hellish meat grinder, what were the feelings German soldiers that fell into the Stalingrad trap was not widely known to society.

Video: Battle of Stalingrad. German look.

Into hell Battle of Stalingrad the Soviet command sent elite troops- 13th guards division. On the first day after arrival, 30% of the division died, and in general, the loss was 97% of soldiers and officers. The fresh forces of the Soviet troops made it possible to defend part of Stalingrad, despite the constant offensive actions of the Germans.

German soldiers in Stalingrad. Pay attention to the exhausted faces of people.

Order and discipline in the Red Army was very strict. All cases of non-compliance with an order or leaving a position were dealt with. All soldiers and officers who independently retreated from the front line without orders were considered cowards and deserters. The perpetrators were brought before a military tribunal, which in most cases imposed a death sentence, or it was replaced by suspended sentences or a penal battalion. In some cases, deserters leaving their positions were shot on the spot. Demonstrative executions were carried out before the formation. Also, there were detachments and secret detachments that "met" deserters who swam across the Volga, shooting them in the water without warning.

Photograph of Stalingrad taken by a German war photographer from a transport plane.

Given the superiority of the Germans in aviation, artillery and firepower, the Soviet command then chose the only correct close combat tactic, which the Germans strongly disliked. And as practice has shown, it was tactically advantageous to keep the front close to the enemy's line of defense. The German army could no longer use tanks in conditions street fight, dive bombers were also not effective, as the pilots could "work out" on their own. Therefore, the Germans, like the Soviet soldiers, used small-caliber artillery, flamethrowers and mortars.

Another shot of Stalingrad from a bird's eye view.

Soviet soldiers turned every house into a fortress, even if they occupied one floor, it turned into a defendable fortress. It was so that on the same floor were soviet soldiers, and on the other the Germans and vice versa. It is worth remembering the "Pavlov's House", which was staunchly defended by the platoon of Y. Pavlov, for which the Germans called him the name of the commander who defended him. For 6 hours, the railway station passed up to 14 times from the hands of the Germans to the Russians and back. Fighting even took place in the sewers. Soviet soldiers fought with dedication that boggles the imagination ordinary person.

The position of the Soviet Headquarters was as follows: the city of Stalingrad would be captured by the Germans if not a single defender remained alive in it. The capture of Stalingrad by the Germans was primarily ideological in nature. After all, the city bore the name of the leader of the USSR - Joseph Stalin. Also, Stalingrad stood on the Volga River, which was the largest transport artery, through which numerous cargoes, Baku oil and manpower were delivered. Later, the encircled grouping of Paulus in Stalingrad pulled back the forces of the Red Army, this was necessary for the withdrawal of German troops from the Caucasus.

The results of the Battle of Stalingrad: hundreds of thousands of dead on both sides.

The dedication of the Soviet fighters was massive. Everyone understood what the surrender of Stalingrad could turn out to be. In addition, the Soviet soldiers and officers had no illusions about the outcome of the battles, they understood that either they or the Germans would destroy the Russians.

Soviet soldiers in Stalingrad

In Stalingrad, the movement of snipers intensified, since in close combat they were the most effective. One of the most successful Soviet snipers was a former hunter - Vasily Zaitsev, who, according to confirmed data, destroyed up to 400 German soldiers and officers. He later wrote memoirs.

Two options sleeve patches"For the capture of Stalingrad." On the left is a variant of the Eigeiner patch. However, he did not like Paulus, who personally made the changes.

at the cost of great loss and great strength will, the Soviet soldiers held out until the arrival of large reinforcements. And reinforcements came in mid-November 1942, when the counteroffensive of the Red Army began during Operation Uranus. The news that the Russians first attacked from the north, then from the east instantly spread through the German army.

Soviet troops encircled the 6th army of Paulus in an iron vice, from which few managed to get out. Upon learning of the encirclement of the advanced 6th Army, Adolf Hitler flatly forbade breaking through to his own (although he later allowed this, but it was too late), and took a tough stance on the defense of the city German troops. According to the Fuhrer, the German soldiers had to defend their positions to the last soldier, which was to reward the German soldiers and officers with admiration and eternal memory of the German people. In order to preserve the honor and "face" of the encircled German army, the Fuhrer appropriated Paulus high rank field marshal. This was done on purpose so that Paulus committed suicide, since not a single field marshal in the history of the Reich surrendered. However, the Fuhrer miscalculated, Paulus surrendered and being captured, he actively criticized Hitler and his policies, after learning about this, the Fuhrer said gloomily: "The God of War has switched sides." What Hitler meant by this was that Soviet Union intercepted strategic initiative in the Great Patriotic War

... ranges from 0.1 seconds to 12 minutes according to "perfectly reliable information". And for this very reason, the tank does not need durable ones [here you can insert any part of the tank and its crew, if we are talking about it].

It's just a stupid saying. Bike. They invented it for table bragging. Say, we are such brave kamikaze, on the verge of death, but we do not lead at all, and even are proud. And that’s exactly what you need to raise for this ... There is nothing wrong with such bragging - men have always done this and are doing it, it just strengthens their morale.

But for some reason, many take it seriously and try to draw conclusions about the device military equipment. Don't do it like this :) I'll explain in a simple way why it's not necessary.

Here you have an ordinary tank battalion of 30 combat tanks. And he enters the very modern war". Immediately discard the option where the battalion is inflicted nuclear strike megaton warhead. There are not so many warheads, they will not be spent on every little thing. Also, we will not consider the brave (and suicidal) attack of the BT-7 tanks on the dug-in Acht-acht division.

Let it be a normal war. As in the 44th or as it appears today. Normal full modern army versus comparable.

Our battalion will first make marches, concentrate somewhere, march again, go to lines, go to other lines ... But sooner or later it will join the battle. Let's say that the full composition. It doesn't matter if they are in whole or in separate platoons attached to someone. AND?

And a comparable enemy will inflict heavy losses on him - a third irretrievable or under factory repair. These are very heavy losses. It will still remain a battalion, but already with greatly weakened capabilities. If the losses were 50%, then we would be talking about a defeated battalion, the rest would be about a company. And if even more, then this is a destroyed battalion.

Why do we need such gradations? - And then that you would like to achieve the goals and maintain the combat capability of your strike unit. It is unlikely that you will want to lose him for the sake of these goals - the war will not end by the evening. And will your goals be achieved if the battalion is defeated or destroyed in the process? Therefore, you will not send your battalion to such a whore. Or take him while you still have him, in case of unpleasant surprises. Therefore, a third of losses is the upper limit of losses in a “normal” “modern” battle.

OK. And the rear service works great for us and replenishes the lost materiel with just a fly. In a week you have ten brand new tanks - the composition has been restored. And you are going to a new severe battle.

Just don't think that the battles are so intense that you lose a third of your equipment and l / s can be daily. It's not Kursk Bulge we have? Yes, and in this way any division will last three days. No, if, nevertheless, the Kursk Bulge, then it is possible. But that was not the case there either. Some division disappeared as a factor in one day, others went the next day, and already everything was not so sad with them. You can’t attack enemy positions again and again every day with huge losses with the same troops. So in three attacks your army will end and you will have to stop this business. Or you still break the adversary, and then catch up, finish off, trophies ...

Briefly speaking. A hard fight every week is a very big exaggeration, but let's say, let's say.

So, we will lose 10 tanks again. Of these, 6.7 will be from the initial, and 3.3 from the replenishment. We bring new ones again and again lose a third in another week. Well, another iteration. Here's what comes out.

After a month of fierce fierce battles, the battalion has tanks with a service life of:

4 weeks - 6 pieces,

3 weeks - 3 pieces,

2 weeks - 4 pieces,

1 week - 7 pieces,

New - 10 pieces.

Purely mathematically, the oldest tanks will never run out. And all the equipment will be on average and for the most part old. And it will be necessary to fight on it until the exhaustion of the motor resource of the engine and transmission, and after their field replacement, and until the resource of the gun barrel is exhausted. That is, everything there must be strong, durable, maintainable, and the crews must be trained.

Although everyone knows for sure that the lifetime of a tank in modern combat ...

The life of a tank in modern combat ...

But for some reason, many take it seriously and try to draw conclusions about the structure of military equipment. Don't do it like this :) I'll explain in a simple way why it's not necessary.

Here you have an ordinary tank battalion of 30 combat tanks. And he enters the very "modern war". Let's immediately discard the option where a battalion is struck with a nuclear strike with a megaton warhead. There are not so many warheads, they will not be spent on every little thing. Also, we will not consider the brave (and suicidal) attack of the BT-7 tanks on the dug-in Acht-acht division.

Let it be a normal war. As in the 44th or as it appears today. A normal full-fledged modern army against a comparable one.

Just don't think that the battles are so intense that you lose a third of your equipment and l / s can be daily. This is not the Kursk Bulge with us? Yes, and in this way any division will last three days. No, if, nevertheless, the Kursk Bulge, then it is possible. But that was not the case there either. Some division disappeared as a factor in one day, others went the next day, and already everything was not so sad with them. You can’t attack enemy positions again and again every day with huge losses with the same troops. So in three attacks your army will end and you will have to stop this business. Or you still break the adversary, and then catch up, finish off, trophies ...

Briefly speaking. A hard fight every week is a very big exaggeration, but let's say, let's say.

After a month of fierce fierce battles, the battalion has tanks with a service life of:

- 4 weeks - 6 pieces,

- 3 weeks - 3 pieces,

- 2 weeks - 4 pieces,

- 1 week - 7 pieces,

- new - 10 pieces.

Purely mathematically, the oldest tanks will never run out. And all the equipment will be on average and mostly old. And it will be necessary to fight on it until the exhaustion of the motor resource of the engine and transmission, and after their field replacement, and until the resource of the gun barrel is exhausted. That is, everything there must be strong, durable, maintainable, and the crews must be trained.

Although everyone knows for sure that the lifetime of a tank in modern combat ...

But for some reason, many take it seriously and try to draw conclusions about the structure of military equipment. Don't do it like this :) I'll explain in a simple way why it's not necessary.

(note: 88 mm German anti-aircraft gun, first used against tanks during civil war in Spain. The 88 mm anti-aircraft gun was one of the most formidable guns for British and American troops in North Africa and Italy, as well as our T-34 and KV tanks. The key to understanding the success of the 88th was in a very high speed her shells. It could hit most Allied tanks even with HE rounds, and with AP rounds it was deadly.)

Let it be a normal war. As in the 44th or as it appears today. A normal full-fledged modern army against a comparable one.

Briefly speaking. A tough fight every week is a very big exaggeration, but let's say, let's say.

After a month of fierce fierce battles, the battalion has tanks with a service life of:
- 4 weeks - 6 pieces,
- 3 weeks - 3 pieces,
- 2 weeks - 4 pieces,
- 1 week - 7 pieces,
- new - 10 pieces.

Although everyone knows for sure that the lifetime of a tank in modern combat ...