The T-34: How The T34 Won The War

How the T34 Won the War

After viewing the German blitzkrieg strategy used in the invasion of Poland, Russia reevaluated its armory in fear of German aggression. Recognizing the German superior tank technology, the Russian authorities commissioned a design for a new tank. Mikhail Koshkin and his team of designers engineered a tank that surpassed expectations (Tucker-Jones). The Soviet engineers designed the T-34 tank to be one of the most versatile tanks of World War II, and its use enabled key victories that enhanced the Soviet Union’s ability to defeat the German aggression.

The T-34 had many characteristics that proved it to be a great all-round tank. Its unique structure assisted its performance in battle. The T-34-76 standard version had

Two significant turret upgrades were made: the nut-bolt and oval turrets. The nut-bolt turret design had increased armor thickness. The oval turret design had increased size, armor thickness, and gun caliber capabilities. With the increased turret armor, the T-34 survived longer against the German Panther and Tiger tanks without reducing maneuverability. The previous disadvantage regarding the lack of visibility was resolved by the new turrets. The turrets had a 360 degree cupola like that of the Panzer IV, and the single large hatch was replaced with two separate hatches. The driver’s periscope was also improved giving the driver better vision when driving with the hatch down. The increased size of the turret on the T-34 eliminated the previous issues regarding the crew performance. Because the design made the crew compartment larger and allowed the commander/loader to separate into two people, the crew was more effective at spotting the enemy and reloading the main gun increasing the rate of fire. Many gun upgrades were made to the T-34, which allowed it to effectively disable the improved German opponents. Designers upgraded the L-11 cannon to the F-34 (Tucker-Jones). They added the ZiS-4 57mm anti-tank gun to a few variants of the T-34, which increased rate of fire and massively increased velocity (Military Factory). The previously mentioned larger oval turret

In the Battle of Moscow, the new KV-1 and T-34 tanks dominated a major tank battle preventing the Germans from capturing the Soviet capital. The Germans had a difficult time destroying the Soviet tanks because of the T-34’s effective armor. The short 75mm and 50mm guns on the Panzers were not capable of destroying the T-34 effectively. The T-34 out gunned the German Panzer III and IV at that time, and the German tanks lacked sufficient protection to survive against the T-34’s L-11 and F-34 76.2mm guns. The T-34 could destroy a Panzer III and IV from up to 1,100 yards away, whereas the German Panzers had to get within 110 yards to destroy a T-34 and risk being in their firing range (Tucker-Jones). This attack on Moscow took place during the month of October when ice and snow covered the ground. The T-34’s wide tracks allowed it to push the German advance back and prevent the capture of Moscow. The Soviet forces counter attacked the Germans which resulted in a loss of many thousands of infantry, 800 German tanks, and 300 guns. Regarding the T-34 tanks, the Panzer Commander F.W. von Mellenthin stated “‘These tanks were not thrown into battle in large numbers until our spearheads were approaching Moscow; they then played a great part in saving the Russian capital (Tucker-Jones).’” Eventually, Hitler called off the attack on Moscow on December 5, 1941. The Russians lost many tanks in the