"Barbarosa armor question" Topic

What would be the MOST common German and Soviet armor found on the battlefield during this period of June to November 1941?
German T-38s and Russian T26s? What model numbers?
Would there be any difference between tanks at Smolensk vs. those at Kiev? (due to attrition)
Thanx for any and all help.

I think by this time Pz IIIs and IVs outnumbered Pz 35(t)s and Pz 38(t)s. So Pz IIIE-J, & Pz IV A-F1.

For the Russians, lots of BT tanks and T-26s, with a smattering of KVs and T-34/76 M1940 (I think the latter was not encountered till August IIRC).

Damon.

German strength at the start of Barbarossa:

PzKpfw I – 410
PzKpfw II – 746
PzKpfw 35(t) – 149
PzKpfw 38(t) – 623
PzKpfw III – 965
PzKpfw IV – 439

Bear in mind that the Czech tanks were essentially employed as Panzer III substitutes, so each division had either Pz IIIs or one of the Czech types as its medium tanks, IV for fire support, II for recce, and I making up the numbers where necessary. The total for Panzer Is in those numbers (Googled….) looks rather high, so I suspect it includes Befehlspanzer I command tanks, which were still widely used in '41.

Soviet is harder, and figures conflict rather more than for the Germans, but as a ballpark call it 500 KVs, 500 T-28s, 1,000 T-34s, 4,000 T-37/38/40, 6,000 BT series, and 11,000 T-26s of various marks. Of these, many weren't runners though….

BTW, a good book to pick up for all of this info is Panzer Truppen (vol 1 & 2), which not only outlines unit organizations, but also shows tank availability before major campaigns down to the division level, with rough model differentiation (i.e whether it is a Pz III 37mm, 50mm Kurz, Lang, or 75mm Kurz).

Damon.

The PzIIIj with the L60 Kwk 39 didn't enter production until December of 1941. Would imagine frontline deployment lagged a bit.

Although not tanks per se, there should also be a fair number of Sturmgeschutz III Ausf B SP assault guns I believe.

The PzIIIj with the L60 Kwk 39 didn't enter production until December of 1941. Would imagine frontline deployment lagged a bit.

IIRC the short barreled J entered production March 1941, so should be available for sometime during and after Barbarossa.

Damon.

Most common Soviet tank would be T26. Followed by BT, then T28.

IIRC the short barreled J entered production March 1941, so should be available for sometime during and after Barbarossa.

I think it was actually May of 1941. The first ones produced were used to re-equip 2nd and 5th Panzer Divisions, which lost all their tanks in a boating accident on the way back from Greece.* Production of the Pz IIIJ with the long 50 began in December, IIRC.

* – they were used in the invasion of Greece. After the campaign, they wanted to ship the divisions home by rail, but there wasn't enough rolling stock in Greece. So they sent the tanks by ship to Italy, where they were to be put on Italian trains. On the way the ships carrying the tanks ran into a British minefield and sank.

Depends on the front/formation. Some PDs used PzIIIs, others used Pz 38(t)s, but none used both. All the PDs in 3rd Pz Group used Pz 38(t)s, so no Pz IIIs.

Thanx all. Game on!