What nickname did the KV 1 tank receive? How one Soviet tank fought for two days against a Wehrmacht tank division

This episode is described in detail in the memoirs of Colonel Erhard Routh, whose group tried to destroy a Soviet tank!
The 6th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht fought for 48 hours with a single Soviet KV-1 tank (Klim Voroshilov). First, the fifty-ton KV-1 shot and crushed with its tracks a convoy of 12 supply trucks that was heading towards the Germans from the captured city of Raiseniai. Then he destroyed an artillery battery with targeted shots!
The Germans, of course, returned fire, but to no avail. The anti-tank gun shells did not even leave a dent on its armor - the Germans, amazed by this, later gave the KV-1 tanks the nickname “Ghost”! Even 150-mm howitzers could not penetrate the KV-1’s armor. True, Routh's soldiers managed to immobilize the tank by exploding a shell under its track. But “Klim Voroshilov” had no intention of leaving anywhere.
He took up a strategic position on the only road leading to Raiseniai, and delayed the division’s advance for two days (the Germans could not bypass him, because the road passed through swamps where army trucks and light tanks got stuck).
Finally, by the end of the second day of the battle, Routh managed to shoot the tank with anti-aircraft guns. But, when his soldiers cautiously approached the steel monster, the tank's turret suddenly turned in their direction - apparently, the crew was still alive. Only a grenade thrown into the hatch of the tank put an end to this incredible battle...
Erhard Routh fought on the Eastern Front, passing through Moscow, Stalingrad and Kursk, and ended the war as commander of the 3rd Panzer Army and with the rank of colonel general. Of the 427 pages of his memoirs, directly describing fighting, 12 are dedicated to a two-day battle with a single Russian tank at Raseiniai. Routh was clearly shocked by this tank.
Erhard Routh: “Although the tank had not moved since the battle with the anti-tank battery, it turned out that its crew and commander had nerves of iron. They calmly watched the approach of the anti-aircraft gun, without interfering with it, since while the gun was moving, it did not pose any threat to the tank. In addition, the closer the anti-aircraft gun is, the easier it will be to destroy it.
A critical moment came in the duel of nerves when the crew began to prepare the anti-aircraft gun to fire. It was time for the tank crew to act. While the gunners, terribly nervous, were aiming and loading the gun, the tank turned the turret and fired first! Every projectile hit its target. The heavily damaged anti-aircraft gun fell into a ditch, several crew members died, and the rest were forced to flee. Machine-gun fire from the tank prevented the removal of the gun and the collection of the dead. The failure of this attempt, on which great hopes were pinned, was very unpleasant news for us. The optimism of the soldiers died along with the 88 mm gun. Our soldiers did not have the best day, chewing canned food, since it was impossible to bring hot food.”
The most amazing thing in this battle is the behavior of four tankers, whose names we do not know and will never know. They created the Germans more problems, than the entire 2nd Panzer Division, to which, apparently, the KV belonged. If the division detained German offensive for one day, then the only tank for two. And all this time the crew waited.
All five combat episodes - defeating a convoy of trucks, destroying an anti-tank battery, destroying an anti-aircraft gun, shooting at sappers, last Stand with tanks - in total it hardly took even an hour. The rest of the time (48 hours!) the KV crew wondered from which side and in what form they would be destroyed next time. Try to at least roughly imagine such an expectation.
Moreover, if on the first day the KV crew could still hope for the arrival of their own, then on the second, when their own did not come and even the noise of the battle at Raseinaya died down, it became clearer than ever: the iron box in which they had been roasting for the second day would soon enough turn into their common coffin. They took it for granted and continued to fight!
Erhard Routh: “Witnesses to this deadly duel wanted to get closer to check the results of their shooting. To their great amazement, they discovered that only 2 shells penetrated the armor, while the remaining 5 88-mm shells only made deep gouges in it. We also found 8 blue circles, marking the impact sites of 50 mm shells. The result of the sappers' sortie was serious damage to the track and a shallow gouge on the gun barrel. But we did not find any traces of hits from shells from 37-mm cannons and PzKW-35t tanks.
Driven by curiosity, our "Davids" climbed onto the defeated "Goliath" in a vain attempt to open the tower hatch. Despite all efforts, its lid did not budge. Suddenly the barrel of the gun began to move, and our soldiers ran away in horror. Only one of the sappers retained his composure and quickly shoved hand grenade into the hole made by the shell in the lower part of the turret. There was a dull explosion and the hatch cover flew off to the side. Inside the tank lay the bodies of the brave crew, who had previously only received injuries. Deeply shocked by this heroism, we buried them with full military honors. They fought until their last breath, but it was just one small drama of the great war!

The Germans, of course, returned fire, but to no avail. The anti-tank gun shells did not even leave a dent on its armor - the Germans, amazed by this, later gave the KV-1 tanks the nickname “Ghost”! Even 150-mm howitzers could not penetrate the KV-1’s armor. True, Routh's soldiers managed to immobilize the tank by exploding a shell under its track. But “Klim Voroshilov” had no intention of leaving anywhere.

He took up a strategic position on the only road leading to Raiseniai, and delayed the division’s advance for two days (the Germans could not bypass him, because the road passed through swamps where army trucks and light tanks got stuck).

Finally, by the end of the second day of the battle, Routh managed to shoot the tank with anti-aircraft guns. But, when his soldiers cautiously approached the steel monster, the tank's turret suddenly turned in their direction - apparently, the crew was still alive. Only a grenade thrown into the hatch of the tank put an end to this incredible battle...

Erhard Routh fought on the Eastern Front, passing through Moscow, Stalingrad and Kursk, and ended the war as commander of the 3rd Panzer Army and with the rank of colonel general. Of the 427 pages of his memoirs directly describing the fighting, 12 are devoted to a two-day battle with a single Russian tank at Raseiniai. Routh was clearly shocked by this tank.

A critical moment came in the duel of nerves when the crew began to prepare the anti-aircraft gun to fire. It was time for the tank crew to act. While the gunners, terribly nervous, were aiming and loading the gun, the tank turned the turret and fired first! Every projectile hit its target. The heavily damaged anti-aircraft gun fell into a ditch, several crew members died, and the rest were forced to flee. Machine-gun fire from the tank prevented the removal of the gun and the collection of the dead. The failure of this attempt, on which great hopes were pinned, was very unpleasant news for us. The optimism of the soldiers died along with the 88 mm gun. Our soldiers did not have the best day, chewing canned food, since it was impossible to bring hot food.”

Moreover, if on the first day the KV crew could still hope for the arrival of their own, then on the second, when their own did not come and even the noise of the battle at Raseinaya died down, it became clearer than ever: the iron box in which they had been roasting for the second day would soon enough turn into their common coffin. They took it for granted and continued to fight!

Erhard Routh: “Witnesses to this deadly duel wanted to get closer to check the results of their shooting. To their great amazement, they discovered that only 2 shells penetrated the armor, while the remaining 5 88-mm shells only made deep gouges in it. We also found 8 blue circles marking where 50mm shells hit. The result of the sappers' sortie was serious damage to the track and a shallow gouge on the gun barrel. But we did not find any traces of hits from shells from 37-mm cannons and PzKW-35t tanks.

Driven by curiosity, our "Davids" climbed onto the defeated "Goliath" in a vain attempt to open the tower hatch. Despite all efforts, its lid did not budge. Suddenly the barrel of the gun began to move, and our soldiers ran away in horror. Only one of the sappers retained his composure and quickly stuck a hand grenade into the hole made by the shell in the lower part of the tower. There was a dull explosion and the hatch cover flew off to the side. Inside the tank lay the bodies of the brave crew, who had previously only received injuries. Deeply shocked by this heroism, we buried them with full military honors. They fought until their last breath, but it was just one small drama of the great war!”

And here is another feat of the tanker:

Destroy 22 tanks in 30 minutes. The feat of tanker Kolobanov.

It all went like this:
In the harsh silence
Costs heavy tank,
Disguised in the fishing line,
Enemies are coming in droves
Iron idols,
But he takes the fight
Zinoviy Kolobanov.

These poems are just a small excerpt from a poem that was written in September 1941 by the poet Alexander Gitovich in honor of the commander of the 3rd tank company of the 1st tank battalion of the 1st tank division, senior lieutenant Zinoviy Kolobanov. A month before this, on August 20, 1941, the tank crew, commanded by 30-year-old Kolobanov, destroyed 22 German tank. In total, during this day, 5 tanks of Kolobanov’s company knocked out 43 enemy tanks. In addition, an artillery battery, a passenger car and up to two companies of Nazi infantry were destroyed.

This happened precisely in those days about which a strong opinion had developed: Soviet troops at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War were only retreating, without offering serious resistance to the enemy. The heroic achievements of Zinovy Kolobanov and his subordinates are designed to dispel this myth - the Red Army fought the Nazi-German invaders with all its might in the summer of 1941.

Divisional commander's order: “Fight to the death!”

At the end of August 1941, Kolobaev’s 3rd tank company defended the approaches to Leningrad in the area of the city of Krasnogvardeysk. Every day, every hour was “worth its weight in gold” - military enterprises and civilians were evacuated from the northern capital. On August 19, Z. Kolobaev received a personal order from the division commander: to block three roads that lead to the city from Luga, Volosovo and Kingisepp. Protecting three roads with five tanks - only he could cope with this. By that time, the tanker had gone through the Finnish war, burned in the tank three times, but each time returned to duty.

Kliment Voroshilov KV-1 tanks against German Pz.Kpfw.35(t)

There is a diagram of that very battle.

The position of Kolobanov's KV-1 heavy tank was at a height with clay soil, at a distance of about 150 m from a fork in the road, near which two birch trees grew, called “Landmark No. 1”, and about 300 m from the intersection marked “Landmark No. 2” " The length of the section of road being viewed is about 1000 m, 22 tanks can easily be placed on it with a traveling distance between tanks of 40 m.

The choice of a place to fire in two opposite directions (this position is called a caponier) is explained as follows. The enemy could have reached the road to Marienburg either along the road from Voyskowits or along the road from Syaskelevo. In the first case, you would have to shoot in the forehead. Therefore, the caponier was dug directly opposite the intersection in such a way that the heading angle was minimal. At the same time, I had to come to terms with the fact that the distance to the fork was reduced to a minimum.

This is the type of vehicle Kolobanov fought in.

At about 14:00 on August 20, after the aerial reconnaissance carried out by the Germans ended in vain, German reconnaissance motorcyclists followed along the seaside road to the Voyskovitsy state farm, whom Kolobanov’s crew let through without hindrance, waiting for the main enemy forces to approach. In one and a half to two minutes, while the lead tank covered the distance to the intersection, Kolobanov made sure that there were no heavy tanks in the column, finally drew up a battle plan and decided to let the entire column through to the fork (Landmark No. 1). In this case, all the tanks had time to pass the turn at the beginning of the embankment road and be within range of his gun. The Pz.Kpfw.35(t) light tanks of the German 6th Panzer Division (also called the 1st or 8th Panzer Divisions in other sources) were moving in the column.

Having knocked out tanks at the head, middle and end of the column, Kolobanov not only blocked the road at both ends, but also deprived the Germans of the opportunity to drive onto the road leading to Voyskovitsy.
A terrible panic arose in the enemy column. Some tanks, trying to hide from the destructive fire, climbed down the slope and got stuck up to their towers in the swamp. Then they too were burned. Others, trying to turn around, bumped into each other, knocking down tracks and rollers. Frightened crews, jumping out of the burning cars, rushed between them in fear. Most of them came under machine gun fire.

In 30 minutes of battle, Kolobanov’s crew knocked out all 22 tanks in the column. 98 armor-piercing rounds were used from the double ammunition load. After the battle, Zinovy Kolobanov’s KV-1 received more than a hundred hits.

Tank KV-1 with damage.

Submit for a reward!

Immediately after this tank battle which ended in complete victory Soviet weapons, a note about the feat of tanker Kolobanov appeared in the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.

And in the archives of the Ministry of Defense a unique document has been preserved - the award sheet of Zinovy Kolobanov.

Sheet 1 page.

It confirms information about the number of destroyed tanks, but, perhaps most importantly, Zinovy Kolobanov and all members of his crew were awarded the title of Hero for the courage and heroism shown in the victorious battle Soviet Union. But the high command did not consider that the tank crews’ feat deserved such high praise. Zinovy Kolobanov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, Andrei Usov was awarded the Order of Lenin, Nikolai Nikiforov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and Nikolai Rodnikov and Pavel Kiselkov were awarded the Order of the Red Star.

After the feat

For three more weeks after the battle near Voyskovitsy, the company of Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov held back the Germans on the approaches to Krasnogvardeysk in the Bolshaya Zagvozdka area. During this time, 5 Kolobanov tanks destroyed three mortar batteries, four anti-tank guns and 250 German soldiers and officers.

On September 13, 1941, Krasnogvardeysk was abandoned by units of the Red Army. Kolobanov’s company was again left at the most important line at that moment - it covered the retreat of the last military column to the city of Pushkin.

Tank KV-1

On September 15, 1941, Senior Lieutenant Kolobanov was seriously wounded. At night, in the cemetery of the city of Pushkin, where the tanks were refueling with fuel and ammunition, a German shell exploded next to Zinovy Kolobanov’s KV. The tanker received shrapnel wounds to the head and spine, concussion of the brain and spinal cord.

The war is over for Zinovy Kolobanov.

He was sent for treatment to the Leningrad Trauma Institute, to the very city that the tankman so successfully defended. Before the blockade of the northern capital, the tank hero was evacuated and until March 15, 1945 he was treated in evacuation hospitals No. 3870 and 4007 in Sverdlovsk. But in the summer of 1945, having recovered from injury, Zinoviy Kolobanov returned to duty. He served in the army for another thirteen years, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel, then lived and worked at a factory in Minsk for many years.

With my wife and son.

In the early 1980s, it was decided to erect a monument at the site of the battle near Voyskovitsy. Zinovy Kolobanov wrote a letter to the USSR Minister of Defense Dmitry Ustinov with a request to allocate a tank for installation on a pedestal, and the tank was allocated, although not the KV-1, but the later IS-2.

However, the very fact that the minister granted Kolobanov’s request suggests that he knew about the tank hero and did not question his feat.
Why not a hero? To the question: “Why was the hero tanker Kolobanov, neither during the Great Patriotic War nor after its end, awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union?” there are two answers. And both of them lie in the biography of tanker Zinovy Grigorievich Kolobanov.

The first reason is that after the war, Red Star journalist A. Pinchuk published information that Z.G. Kolobanov was allegedly responsible for breaking through the Mannerheim Line. became a Hero of the Soviet Union (in early March 1940 he received the Golden Star and the Order of Lenin) and was awarded the extraordinary rank of captain. But for the fraternization of his subordinates with Finnish military personnel after the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty of March 12, 1940, Kolobov Z.G. was deprived of both the title and the award, documentary information confirming the receipt by Kolobanov Z.G. title of Hero of the Soviet Union for participation in Finnish war, No.

The second reason - on December 10, 1951, Kolobov was transferred to the Group Soviet troops in Germany (GSVG), where he served until 1955. On July 10, 1952, Z. G. Kolobanov was awarded military rank lieutenant colonel, and on April 30, 1954, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner (for 20 years of service in the army).

At this time, he deserted from the tank battalion to the British occupation zone soviet soldier. Saving the battalion commander from a military tribunal, the army commander announced to Kolobanov Z.G. about incomplete official compliance and transferred him to the Belarusian Military District. IN Soviet era the presence in the biography of even one of the listed reasons was quite enough to refuse to award the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Zinoviy Kolobanov passed away in 1994, but veteran organizations, social activists and historians are still trying to achieve the title of Hero of Russia.

In the Gatchina region Leningrad region, where Zinoviy Kolobanov fought in 1941, a collection of signatures was organized for an appeal with a request to honor the tank hero with the high award he deserved at the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War posthumously. In the year of the 70th anniversary of the Victory, according to the public, this would be quite logical and appropriate.

It’s hard to believe, but the 6th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht fought for 48 hours with a single Soviet KV-1 tank (Klim Voroshilov).

This episode is described in detail in the memoirs of Colonel Erhard Routh, whose group tried to destroy a Soviet tank. The fifty-ton KV-1 shot and crushed with its tracks a convoy of 12 supply trucks that was heading towards the Germans from the captured city of Raiseniai. Then he destroyed an artillery battery with targeted shots. The Germans, of course, returned fire, but to no avail. The anti-tank gun shells did not even leave a dent on its armor - the Germans, amazed by this, later gave the KV-1 tanks the nickname “Ghost”. What about guns - even 150-mm howitzers could not penetrate the KV-1’s armor. True, Routh's soldiers managed to immobilize the tank by exploding a shell under its track.

But “Klim Voroshilov” had no intention of leaving anywhere. He took up a strategic position on the only road leading to Raiseniai, and delayed the division’s advance for two days (the Germans could not bypass him, because the road passed through swamps where army trucks and light tanks got stuck).
Finally, by the end of the second day of the battle, Routh managed to shoot the tank with anti-aircraft guns. But, when his soldiers cautiously approached the steel monster, the tank's turret suddenly turned in their direction - apparently, the crew was still alive. Only a grenade thrown into the tank's hatch put an end to this incredible battle.

Here is what Erhard Routh himself writes about this:
“The only road leading to our bridgehead is blocked by a KV-1 super-heavy tank. At noon on June 24, the scouts whom I sent to clarify the situation returned. They reported that apart from this tank, they found no troops or equipment that could attack us. With his fire, he had already set fire to 12 supply trucks that were coming to us from Raseinaya. We were unable to evacuate the wounded in the fighting for the beachhead, and several died as a result. All attempts to bypass this tank were unsuccessful. The vehicles either got stuck in the mud or collided with scattered Russian units still wandering through the forest.”

Erhard Routh: “Although the tank had not moved since the battle with the anti-tank battery, it turned out that its crew and commander had nerves of iron. They calmly watched the approach of the anti-aircraft gun, without interfering with it, since while the gun was moving, it did not pose any threat to the tank. In addition, the closer the anti-aircraft gun is, the easier it will be to destroy it. A critical moment came in the duel of nerves when the crew began to prepare the anti-aircraft gun to fire. It was time for the tank crew to act. While the gunners, terribly nervous, were aiming and loading the gun, the tank turned the turret and fired first! Every projectile hit its target. The heavily damaged anti-aircraft gun fell into a ditch, several crew members died, and the rest were forced to flee. Machine-gun fire from the tank prevented the removal of the gun and the collection of the dead. The failure of this attempt, on which great hopes were pinned, was very unpleasant news for us. The optimism of the soldiers died along with the 88 mm gun. Our soldiers did not have the best day, chewing canned food, since it was impossible to bring hot food.”

The most amazing thing in this battle is the behavior of four tankers, whose names we do not know and will never know. They created more problems for the Germans than the entire 2nd Panzer Division, to which, apparently, the KV belonged. If the division delayed the German offensive for one day, then the only tank delayed it for two. And all this time the crew waited. All five combat episodes - the defeat of a column of trucks, the destruction of an anti-tank battery, the destruction of an anti-aircraft gun, shooting at sappers, the last battle with tanks - in total hardly even took an hour. The rest of the time (48 hours!) the KV crew wondered from which side and in what form they would be destroyed next time. Try to at least roughly imagine such an expectation.

Suddenly the barrel of the gun began to move, and our soldiers ran away in horror. Only one of the sappers retained his composure and quickly stuck a hand grenade into the hole made by the shell in the lower part of the tower. There was a dull explosion and the hatch cover flew off to the side. Inside the tank lay the bodies of the brave crew, who had previously only received injuries. Deeply shocked by this heroism, we buried them with full military honors. They fought until their last breath, but it was just one small drama of the great war!”

The Soviet heavy tank KV-1 became a symbol of the victory of the Soviet Union in World War II, along with the T-34. When he first appeared on the battlefield, he perplexed the Germans, turning out to be completely invulnerable to their weapons.

The Achilles heel of the steel monster was its unreliability, caused by rushed production without proper quality control. However, this tank instantly made German technology almost helpless, forced the hasty development of new ones and gave impetus to Soviet tank building.

History of creation

At the end of 1938, the design bureau of the Kirov plant in Leningrad began the development of a heavy tank protected by projectile armor. Initially, it was planned to create a multi-turreted vehicle with three turrets, as was customary in world practice at that time.

The result was a multi-turret QMS, named after Sergei Mironovich Kirov. At its base A.S. Ermolaev and N.L. Spirits created an experimental tank with one turret, less weight and dimensions. It turned out to be cheaper and easier to produce than QMS, while being more secure and fast.

In August 1939, the first tank, named KV in honor of Klim Voroshilov, left the gates of the Leningrad Kirov plant. The name remained that way until the creation of the KV-2, after which the KV was renamed the KV-1.

Design and layout

The classic layout with one turret made the new product lighter and smaller compared to multi-turret heavy tanks from other countries. At the same time, the armor protection was too tough only for the German 8.8 anti-aircraft guns used as anti-tank guns.

The KV became an innovative tank, combining in its design a classic layout, an individual torsion bar suspension, a diesel engine and anti-ballistic armor. Separately, the above solutions were applied to domestic and foreign tanks, but never all came together.

Hull and turret

The hull of the Soviet tank consisted of rolled armor plates connected by welding. Armor sheets with a thickness of 75, 40, 30, 20 millimeters were used. All vertical plates had a thickness of 75 millimeters, the front plates were located at an angle to increase the reduced thickness of the armor.

The tower was also made using welded technology. From the inside, its shoulder straps were marked in thousandths, which made it possible to aim the gun in a horizontal plane for firing from a closed position.

After its introduction, the KV-1 turned out to be invulnerable to all German guns with the exception of 8.8 cm anti-aircraft guns. After reports of the first losses caused by armor penetration in the second half of 1941, engineers decided to experiment and installed 25 mm thick armor screens on the turrets and sides . Modernization brought the mass to 50 tons, which is why it was abandoned in August 1941.

In the front part of the hull there were a driver and a radio operator gunner. Above the latter there was a round hatch.

Additionally, an emergency hatch for the crew and small hatches for access to ammunition, fuel tanks and some components were located in the bottom of the hull.

The commander, gunner and loader were located inside the turret, and there was a round hatch above the commander.

Armament

Moving away from the concept of a two-turret tank, the developers combined anti-tank and anti-personnel weapons in one turret.

To combat enemy equipment, an L-11 cannon of 76.2 mm caliber was installed. Later it was replaced by the F-32, then by the ZIS-5.

To combat enemy manpower, the KV received a DT-29 machine gun of 7.62 mm caliber. One of them is paired with the gun and is located in the gun mantlet, the other is in the ball mount. They also provided an anti-aircraft machine gun, but most tanks did not receive them.

Engine, transmission, chassis

The tank was powered by a V-2K diesel engine developing 500 hp. Later the power was increased by 100 hp.

The manual transmission has become one of the main disadvantages. Very low reliability; moreover, there are frequent cases when new technology, which had just left the factory, was already found to have defects.

6 road wheels on each side received an individual torsion bar suspension, the travel of which was limited by special limiters acting on the balancers.

From above, each caterpillar rested on three support rollers. Initially they were rubberized, but later, due to a shortage of rubber, they became all-metal.

The KV's mobility turned out to be clearly insufficient, the vehicle developed 34 km/h on the highway, and noticeably less off-road due to the specific power of 11.6 hp/t.

Later, the lightweight KV-1S appeared, designed to correct the shortcomings of the KV-1 in the form of low reliability and poor mobility.

Modifications

Following the KV, tanks began to appear, created on the basis of solutions developed on it. In addition, the designers tried to reduce the number of critical flaws.

The KV-2 is a heavy tank from 1940 with a huge turret, memorable only for its appearance. Armed with a 152 mm M-10 howitzer, designed to destroy enemy engineering structures such as bunkers. The howitzer easily broke through the armor of all German tanks.
T-150 – prototype 1940 with armor increased to 90 mm.
KV-220 - a prototype from 1940 with armor increased to 100 mm.
KV-8 – flamethrower tank 1941, equipped with an ATO-41 or ATO-42 flamethrower, located in place of the ball mount for the course machine gun. Instead of the usual 76 mm caliber gun, it received a 45 mm caliber gun.
KV-1S is a 1942 tank weighing 42.5 tons with reduced armor thickness and better mobility.
KV-1K is a 1942 tank with missile weapons in the form of the KARST-1 system.

Combat use

In 1941, Soviet troops suffered defeat after defeat, suffered huge losses and retreated. However, the Klim Voroshilov tanks became an unpleasant surprise for the German troops, who were practically unable to hit them.

The invulnerability of Soviet heavy tanks allowed experienced and courageous crews to work miracles. The most famous battle took place on August 19, 1941. Then 5 KV were able to destroy 40 enemy tanks with their fire, and another 3 with a ram. The company was commanded by Z. G. Kolobanov, together with his crew he destroyed 22 tanks, while his tank received 156 hits from enemy guns.

At the same time, extreme unreliability, poor mobility and blindness of the crew caused by poor visibility were noted, which forced Soviet designers to create new tanks. With the advent of the German heavy Tiger tanks, the KV armor suddenly lost its indestructibility and the slow, clumsy, half-blind tank turned into an easy target, often unable to even snarl in response.

Epilogue

Not only Russians, but also Germans highly appreciated the characteristics of the KV at the time of its appearance. The tank became the ancestor of single-turret heavy tanks with a classic layout, both well protected and armed.

Obviously, the dominance could not continue throughout the war as more advanced technology appeared, but the KV-1 made a significant contribution to the victory in the Great Patriotic War. Patriotic War and deservedly stands next to the T-34 in the list of legendary equipment.

It’s hard to believe, but the 6th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht fought for 48 hours with a single Soviet KV-1 tank (Klim Voroshilov).

This episode is described in detail in the memoirs of Colonel Erhard Routh, whose group tried to destroy a Soviet tank. The fifty-ton KV-1 shot and crushed with its tracks a convoy of 12 supply trucks that was heading towards the Germans from the captured city of Raiseniai. Then he destroyed an artillery battery with targeted shots. The Germans, of course, returned fire, but to no avail. Anti-tank gun shells did not even leave a dent on its armor - the Germans, amazed by this, later gave the KV-1 tanks the nickname “Ghost”. What about guns? Even 150-mm howitzers couldn’t penetrate the KV-1’s armor. True, Routh's soldiers managed to immobilize the tank by exploding a shell under its track.

Here is what Erhard Routh himself writes about this:
“Nothing important happened in our sector. The troops were improving their positions, conducting reconnaissance in the direction of Siluwa and on the eastern bank of Dubissa in both directions, but mainly trying to find out what was happening on the southern bank. We met only small units and individual soldiers. During this time we established contact with patrols from Kampfgruppe von Seckendorff and the 1st Panzer Division at Lidavenai. While clearing the wooded area to the west of the bridgehead, our infantry encountered larger Russian forces still holding out in two places on the west bank of the river. Dubissa.

In violation of accepted rules, several prisoners captured in the last battles, including one Red Army lieutenant, were sent to the rear on a truck, guarded by just one non-commissioned officer. Halfway back to Raseinai, the driver suddenly saw an enemy tank on the road and stopped. At this moment, the Russian prisoners (there were about 20 of them) unexpectedly attacked the driver and guard. The non-commissioned officer was sitting next to the driver, facing the prisoners when they tried to snatch the weapons from both of them. The Russian lieutenant had already grabbed the non-commissioned officer's machine gun, but he managed to free one hand and hit the Russian with all his might, throwing him back. The lieutenant collapsed and took several more people with him. Before the prisoners could rush at the non-commissioned officer again, he freed left hand, although there were three people holding him. Now he was completely free. With lightning speed, he tore the machine gun from his shoulder and fired a burst at the rioting crowd. The effect was terrible. Only a few prisoners, not counting the wounded officer, managed to jump out of the car to hide in the forest. The car, in which there were no living prisoners, quickly turned around and rushed back to the bridgehead, although the tank fired at it.

This little drama was the first sign that the only road leading to our bridgehead was blocked by a KV-1 super-heavy tank. The Russian tank also managed to destroy the telephone wires connecting us with the division headquarters. Although the enemy's intentions remained unclear, we began to fear an attack from the rear. I immediately ordered Lieutenant Wengenroth's 3rd Battery of the 41st Tank Destroyer Battalion to take a position in the rear near the flat top of the hill near command post 6th Motorized Brigade, which also served as the command post for the entire combat group. To strengthen our anti-tank defense, I had to turn a nearby battery of 150-mm howitzers 180 degrees. The 3rd company of Lieutenant Gebhardt from the 57th tank engineer battalion was ordered to mine the road and its surroundings. The tanks assigned to us (half of Major Schenk's 65th Tank Battalion) were located in the forest. They were ordered to be ready to counterattack as soon as necessary.

Time passed, but the enemy tank, which blocked the road, did not move, although from time to time it fired in the direction of Raseinaya. At noon on June 24, the scouts whom I sent to clarify the situation returned. They reported that apart from this tank, they found no troops or equipment that could attack us. The officer commanding this unit made the logical conclusion that this was a single tank from the detachment that attacked the von Seckendorff battle group.

Although the danger of attack had dissipated, measures had to be taken to quickly destroy this dangerous obstacle or, at least, drive the Russian tank away. With his fire, he had already set fire to 12 supply trucks that were coming to us from Raseinaya. We were unable to evacuate the wounded in the fighting for the bridgehead, and as a result several people died without receiving medical care, including a young lieutenant, wounded by a point-blank shot. If we could get them out, they would be saved. All attempts to bypass this tank were unsuccessful. The vehicles either got stuck in the mud or collided with scattered Russian units still wandering through the forest.
Therefore I ordered Lieutenant Wengenroth's battery. recently received 50-mm anti-tank guns, make your way through the forest, approach the tank within effective shooting range and destroy it. The battery commander and his brave soldiers gladly accepted this dangerous task and set to work with full confidence that it would not drag on too long. From the command post at the top of the hill we watched them as they carefully made their way through the trees from one ravine to another. We weren't alone. Dozens of soldiers climbed onto the roofs and climbed into the trees, waiting intently to see how the undertaking would end. We saw how the first gun approached 1000 meters to the tank, which was sticking out right in the middle of the road. Apparently, the Russians did not notice the threat. The second gun disappeared from sight for some time, and then emerged from the ravine directly in front of the tank and took up a well-camouflaged position. Another 30 minutes passed, and the last two guns also returned to their original positions.

We watched what was happening from the top of the hill. Suddenly, someone suggested that the tank was damaged and abandoned by the crew, since it was standing completely motionless on the road, representing an ideal target. (One can imagine the disappointment of our comrades, who, dripping with sweat, spent several hours dragging the guns to firing positions, if only that were the case.) Suddenly the first of our anti-tank guns fired, a flash flashed, and the silver line ran straight into the tank. The distance did not exceed 600 meters. A ball of fire flashed and a sharp crack was heard. Direct hit! Then came the second and third hits.

The officers and soldiers shouted joyfully, like spectators at a merry performance. “We got it! Bravo! The tank is finished! The tank did not react at all until our guns scored 8 hits. Then its turret turned around, carefully found the target and began to methodically destroy our guns with single shots from an 80-mm gun. Two of our 50mm cannons were blown to pieces, the other two were seriously damaged. The personnel lost several people killed and wounded. Lieutenant Wengenroth led the survivors back to avoid unnecessary losses. Only after nightfall did he manage to pull out the guns. The Russian tank was still tightly blocking the road, so we were literally paralyzed. Deeply shocked, Lieutenant Wengenroth returned to the bridgehead with his soldiers. The newly acquired weapon, which he trusted unconditionally, turned out to be completely helpless against the monstrous tank. A feeling of deep disappointment swept through our entire battle group.

It was necessary to find some new way master the situation.
It was clear that of all our weapons, only 88-mm anti-aircraft guns with their heavy armor-piercing shells could cope with the destruction of the steel giant. In the afternoon, one such gun was withdrawn from the battle near Raseinai and began to carefully creep towards the tank from the south. The KV-1 was still turned to the north, since it was from this direction that the previous attack was carried out. The long-barreled anti-aircraft gun approached to a distance of 2000 yards, from which satisfactory results could already be achieved. Unfortunately, the trucks that the monstrous tank had previously destroyed were still burning along the side of the road, and their smoke was making it difficult for the gunners to take aim. But, on the other hand, this same smoke turned into a curtain, under the cover of which the gun could be dragged even closer to the target. Having tied many branches to the gun for better camouflage, the gunners slowly rolled it forward, trying not to disturb the tank.

Finally, the crew reached the edge of the forest, from where visibility was excellent. The distance to the tank now did not exceed 500 meters. We thought that the very first shot would give a direct hit and would certainly destroy the tank that was interfering with us. The crew began to prepare the gun for firing.
Although the tank had not moved since the battle with the anti-tank battery, it turned out that its crew and commander had nerves of iron. They calmly watched the approach of the anti-aircraft gun, without interfering with it, since while the gun was moving, it did not pose any threat to the tank. In addition, the closer the anti-aircraft gun is, the easier it will be to destroy it. A critical moment came in the duel of nerves when the crew began to prepare the anti-aircraft gun to fire. It was time for the tank crew to act. While the gunners, terribly nervous, were aiming and loading the gun, the tank turned the turret and fired first! Every projectile hit its target. The heavily damaged anti-aircraft gun fell into a ditch, several crew members died, and the rest were forced to flee. Machine-gun fire from the tank prevented the removal of the gun and the collection of the dead.

The failure of this attempt, on which great hopes were pinned, was very unpleasant news for us. The optimism of the soldiers died along with the 88 mm gun. Our soldiers did not have the best day, chewing canned food, since it was impossible to bring hot food.
However, the biggest fears have disappeared, at least for a while. The Russian attack on Raseinai was repulsed by the von Seckendorff battle group, which managed to hold Hill 106. Now there was no longer any fear that the Soviet 2nd Panzer Division would break through to our rear and cut us off. All that remained was a painful thorn in the form of a tank, which was blocking our only supply route. We decided that if we couldn’t deal with him during the day, then we’ll do it at night. The brigade headquarters discussed for several hours various options destruction of the tank, and preparations began for several of them at once.

Our sappers suggested simply blowing up the tank on the night of June 24/25. It should be said that the sappers, not without malicious satisfaction, watched the unsuccessful attempts of the artillerymen to destroy the enemy. Now it's their turn to try their luck. When Lieutenant Gebhardt called for 12 volunteers, all 12 people raised their hands in unison. To avoid offending others, every tenth person was chosen. These 12 lucky ones waited impatiently for the night to come. Lieutenant Gebhardt, who intended to personally command the operation, familiarized all sappers in detail with the general plan of the operation and the personal task of each of them individually. After dark the lieutenant set off at the head of a small column. The road went east of Height 123, through a small sandy area to a strip of trees, among which the tank was discovered, and then through sparse forest to the old concentration area.

The pale light of the stars flickering in the sky was quite enough to outline the contours of nearby trees, the road and the tank. Trying not to make any noise so as not to give themselves away, the soldiers who had taken off their shoes climbed to the side of the road and began to examine the tank at close range in order to outline the most convenient path. The Russian giant stood in the same place, its tower froze. Silence and peace reigned everywhere, only occasionally there was a flash in the air, followed by a dull rumble. Sometimes an enemy shell would fly past with a hiss and explode near the crossroads north of Raseinaya. These were the last echoes hard battle, walking in the south all day. By midnight, artillery fire on both sides finally stopped.

Suddenly, a crash and footsteps were heard in the forest on the other side of the road. Ghost-like figures rushed towards the tank, shouting something as they ran. Is this really the crew? Then there were blows on the tower, the hatch opened with a clang and someone climbed out. Judging by the muffled clinking, food had arrived. The scouts immediately reported this to Lieutenant Gebhardt, who began to be annoyed with questions: “Perhaps we should rush at them and capture them? They appear to be civilians." The temptation was great, since it seemed very easy to do. However, the tank crew remained in the turret and remained awake. Such an attack would alarm the tank crews and could jeopardize the success of the entire operation. Lieutenant Gebhardt reluctantly rejected the offer. As a result, the sappers had to wait another hour until the civilians (or were they partisans?) left.

During this time, a thorough reconnaissance of the area was carried out. At 01.00, sappers began to act, as the tank crew fell asleep in the turret, unaware of the danger. After demolition charges were installed on the track and thick side armor, the sappers set fire to the fuse and ran away. A few seconds later, a loud explosion broke the silence of the night. The task was completed, and the sappers decided that they had achieved decisive success. However, before the echo of the explosion died down among the trees, the tank’s machine gun came to life, and bullets whistled around. The tank itself did not move. Probably its caterpillar was destroyed, but it was not possible to find out, since the machine gun was furiously firing at everything around. Lieutenant Gebhardt and his patrol returned to the beachhead visibly despondent. Now they were no longer confident of success, and it also turned out that one person was missing. Attempts to find him in the dark led to nothing.

Shortly before dawn, we heard a second, weaker explosion somewhere near the tank, the cause of which we could not find. The tank machine gun came to life again and for several minutes poured lead all around. Then there was silence again.
Soon after this it began to get light. Rays morning sun They painted the forests and fields with gold. Thousands of drops of dew sparkled like diamonds on the grass and flowers, and the early birds began to sing. The soldiers began to stretch and blink sleepily as they rose to their feet. A new day was beginning.
The sun had not yet risen high when the barefoot soldier, hanging his tied boots over his shoulder, walked past the brigade command post. Unfortunately for him, it was I, the brigade commander, who noticed him first and rudely called him over. When the frightened traveler stretched out in front of me, I in clear language demanded an explanation for his morning walk in such a strange way. Is he a follower of Father Kneipp? If yes, then this is not the place to show off your hobbies. (Papa Kneipp in the 19th century created a society under the motto “Back to Nature” and preached physical health, cold baths, sleeping in the open air and the like.)

Greatly frightened, the lone wanderer began to get confused and bleat indistinctly. Every word had to be extracted from this silent intruder literally with pincers. However, with each of his answers my face brightened. Finally, I patted him on the shoulder with a smile and shook his hand in gratitude. To an outside observer who did not hear what was being said, this development of events might seem extremely strange. What could the barefoot guy say to make the attitude towards him change so rapidly? I could not satisfy this curiosity until the order for the brigade for the day was given with a report from a young sapper.

“I listened to the sentries and lay in a ditch next to a Russian tank. When everything was ready, I, together with the company commander, hung a demolition charge, which was twice as heavy as the instructions required, to the tank track and lit the fuse. Since the ditch was deep enough to provide shelter from shrapnel, I awaited the results of the explosion. However, after the explosion, the tank continued to shower the edge of the forest and the ditch with bullets. More than an hour passed before the enemy calmed down. Then I got close to the tank and examined the track in the place where the charge was installed. No more than half of its width was destroyed. I didn't notice any other damage.
When I returned to the meeting point of the sabotage group, she had already left. While searching for my boots, which I had left there, I discovered another forgotten demolition charge. I took it and returned to the tank, climbed onto the hull and hung the charge from the gun muzzle in the hope of damaging it. The charge was too small to cause serious damage to the machine itself. I crawled under the tank and blew it up.
After the explosion, the tank immediately fired at the edge of the forest and the ditch with a machine gun. The shooting did not stop until dawn, only then did I manage to crawl out from under the tank. I was sad to discover that my charge was too low after all. Having reached the collection point, I tried to put on my boots, but found out that they were too small and generally not my pair. One of my comrades put mine on by mistake. As a result, I had to return barefoot and was late.”

It was true story brave man. However, despite his efforts, the tank continued to block the road, firing at any moving object it spotted. The fourth decision, which was born on the morning of June 25, was to call in Ju-87 dive bombers to destroy the tank. However, we were refused because planes were needed literally everywhere. But even if they were found, it is unlikely that the dive bombers would be able to destroy the tank with a direct hit. We were confident that fragments of nearby explosions would not frighten the crew of the steel giant.
But now this damned tank had to be destroyed at any cost. Combat power the garrison of our bridgehead will be seriously undermined if the road cannot be unblocked. The division will not be able to complete the task assigned to it. Therefore, I decided to use the last resort we had, although this plan could lead to large losses in people, tanks and equipment, but it did not promise guaranteed success. However, my intentions were to mislead the enemy and help keep our losses to a minimum. Our intention was to divert the KV-1's attention with a feint attack from Major Schenk's tanks and bring the 88mm guns closer to destroy the terrible monster. The terrain around the Russian tank contributed to this. There it was possible to secretly sneak up on the tank and set up observation posts in the wooded area on the eastern road. Since the forest was quite sparse, our nimble PzKw-35t could move freely in all directions.

Soon the 65th Tank Battalion arrived and began firing at the Russian tank from three sides. The KV-1 crew began to become noticeably nervous. The turret was spinning from side to side, trying to catch the impudent German tanks in its sights. The Russians fired at targets flashing among the trees, but were always late. A German tank appeared, but literally disappeared at the same moment. The crew of the KV-1 tank was confident in the strength of its armor, which resembled elephant skin and reflected all shells, but the Russians wanted to destroy the enemies that were harassing them, while at the same time continuing to block the road.

Fortunately for us, the Russians were overcome by excitement, and they stopped watching their rear, from where misfortune was approaching them. The anti-aircraft gun took up a position next to the place where one of the same ones had already been destroyed the day before. Its menacing barrel aimed at the tank, and the first shot rang out. The wounded KV-1 tried to turn the turret back, but the anti-aircraft gunners managed to fire 2 more shots during this time. The turret stopped rotating, but the tank did not catch fire, although we expected it to. Although the enemy no longer responded to our fire, after two days of failure we could not believe our success. Four more shots were fired with armor-piercing shells from an 88-mm anti-aircraft gun, which ripped open the monster’s skin. Its gun rose helplessly, but the tank continued to stand on the road, which was no longer blocked.

Witnesses to this deadly duel wanted to get closer to check the results of their shooting. To their great amazement, they discovered that only 2 shells penetrated the armor, while the remaining 5 88-mm shells only made deep gouges in it. We also found 8 blue circles marking where 50mm shells hit. The result of the sappers' sortie was serious damage to the track and a shallow gouge on the gun barrel. But we did not find any traces of hits from shells from 37-mm cannons and PzKW-35t tanks. Driven by curiosity, our “Davids” climbed onto the defeated “Goliath” in a vain attempt to open the tower hatch. Despite all efforts, its lid did not budge.

PzKw-35-t

The 6th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht was part of the 41st Panzer Corps. Together with the 56th tank corps he formed the 4th Panzer Group - the main striking force of Army Group North, whose task was to capture the Baltic states, capture Leningrad and link up with the Finns. The 6th Division was commanded by Major General Franz Landgraf. It was armed mainly with Czechoslovak-made PzKw-35t tanks - light, with thin armor, but with high maneuverability and maneuverability. There were a number of more powerful PzKw-III and PzKw-IV. Before the start of the offensive, the division was divided into two tactical groups. The more powerful one was commanded by Colonel Erhard Routh, the weaker one by Lieutenant Colonel Erich von Seckendorff.

In the first two days of the war, the division's offensive was successful. By the evening of June 23, the division captured the Lithuanian city of Raseiniai and crossed the Dubissa River. The tasks assigned to the division were completed, but the Germans, who already had experience of campaigns in the west, were unpleasantly surprised by the stubborn resistance of the Soviet troops. One of the units of Routh's group came under fire from snipers who were occupying positions on fruit trees growing in the meadow. Snipers killed several German officers, delayed the advance of German units for almost an hour, preventing them from quickly encircling Soviet units. The snipers were obviously doomed, since they found themselves inside the location of German troops. But they completed the task to the end. The Germans had never encountered anything like this in the West.

How the only KV-1 ended up in the rear of Routh’s group on the morning of June 24 is unclear. It is possible that he simply got lost. However, in the end, the tank blocked the only road leading from the rear to the group’s positions.

This episode is described not by regular communist propagandists, but by Erhard Routh himself. Routh then fought the entire war on the Eastern Front, passing through Moscow, Stalingrad and Kursk, and ended it as commander of the 3rd Panzer Army and with the rank of colonel general. Of the 427 pages of his memoirs directly describing the fighting, 12 are devoted to a two-day battle with a single Russian tank at Raseiniai. Routh was clearly shocked by this tank. Therefore, there is no reason for mistrust. Soviet historiography ignored this episode. Moreover, since it was first mentioned in the domestic press by Suvorov-Rezun, some “patriots” began to “expose” the feat. I mean, this is not a feat, but so-so.

The KV, whose crew is 4 people, “exchanged” itself for 12 trucks, 4 anti-tank guns, 1 anti-aircraft gun, possibly for several tanks, as well as for several dozen Germans killed and dying from their wounds. This in itself is an outstanding result, given the fact that until 1945, in the vast majority of even victorious battles, our losses were higher than the German ones. But these are only direct losses of the Germans. Indirect - losses of the Zeckendorf group, which, while repelling the Soviet attack, could not receive help from the Routh group.

Accordingly, for the same reason, the losses of our 2nd Panzer Division were less than if Routh had supported Zeckendorff.

However, perhaps more important than the direct and indirect losses of people and equipment was the loss of time by the Germans. On June 22, 1941, the Wehrmacht had only 17 tank divisions on the entire Eastern Front, including 4 tank divisions in the 4th Panzer Group. KV held one of them alone. Moreover, on June 25, the 6th Division could not advance solely due to the presence of a single tank in its rear. One day of delay by one division is a lot in conditions when German tank groups were advancing in high tempo, tearing apart the defenses of the Red Army and creating many “cauldrons” for it. After all, the Wehrmacht actually completed the task set by Barbarossa, almost completely destroying the Red Army that opposed it in the summer of ’41. But due to such “incidents” as an unexpected tank on the road, he did it much slower and with much big losses than planned. And in the end he ran into the impassable mud of the Russian autumn, the deadly frosts of the Russian winter and the Siberian divisions near Moscow. After which the war entered a hopeless protracted stage for the Germans.

And yet the most amazing thing in this battle is the behavior of four tankers, whose names we do not know and will never know. They created more problems for the Germans than the entire 2nd Panzer Division, to which, apparently, the KV belonged. If the division delayed the German offensive for one day, then the only tank delayed it for two. It was not for nothing that Routh had to take away the anti-aircraft guns from Zeckendorf, although it would seem that the opposite should have been the case.

It is almost impossible to assume that the tankers had a special task to block the only supply route for Routh’s group. We simply had no intelligence at that moment. This means that the tank ended up on the road by accident. The tank commander himself realized what an important position he had taken. And he deliberately began to hold her back. It is unlikely that the tank standing in one place can be interpreted as a lack of initiative; the crew acted too skillfully. On the contrary, standing was the initiative.

Sitting in a cramped iron box for two days without getting out, in the June heat, is torture in itself. If this box is also surrounded by an enemy whose goal is to destroy the tank along with the crew (in addition, the tank is not one of the enemy’s targets, as in a “normal” battle, but the only goal), for the crew this is already absolutely incredible physical and psychological stress. Moreover, the tankers spent almost all of this time not in battle, but in anticipation of battle, which is incomparably harder morally.

All five combat episodes - the defeat of a column of trucks, the destruction of an anti-tank battery, the destruction of an anti-aircraft gun, shooting at sappers, the last battle with tanks - in total hardly even took an hour. The rest of the time, the KV crew wondered from which side and in what form they would be destroyed next time. The battle with anti-aircraft guns is especially indicative. The tankers deliberately delayed until the Germans installed the cannon and began to prepare to fire - so that they could shoot for sure and finish the job with one shell. Try to at least roughly imagine such an expectation.

The fact remains: one tank held back the advance of the Routh battle group. And if someone thinks that only deterrence is a feat tank group, no less, then really the opposition to the “Rouse” group is not that??

Before answering this question, I will give you the composition of the Raus battle group:
II Tank Regiment
I/4th Motorized Regiment
II/76th Artillery Regiment
company of the 57th tank engineer battalion
company of the 41st tank destroyer battalion
Battery II/411th Anti-Aircraft Regiment
6th Motorcycle Battalion.

against 4 people.