Good battle scenes.
Ok for gear, lots of PZIII and IV
Very impressive presentation of period armor! The Pz IIIs look like H and J models, the Pz IVs look like E or F. Even the running gear, tracks, mufflers, and turret side-hatches all look about right to my eye (though my knowledge of the subtle details on German armor is not the best).
The infantry weaponry is also very well done. Many Mosin Nagant rifles, a few Tokarev SVT-40, SMGs a mix of PPD and PPSh, PTRD-41 AT rifles, and the Degtyarev "Maxim" MG firing from a flanking position across the front of the trenches. Although I do wonder why the Russian soldiers didn't have any DP-28 LMGs.
The options for infantry anti-tank weapons also seemed pretty spot-on for early war. Cluster grenades, and the shop-made petrol bombs with 2 friction-ignition pull-fuzes on each all looked very well researched and presented. Even the 45mm AT guns were M1932s (rather than the later M1942).
But
It seems quite far from the real fight for which it found its title.
The "real fight for which it found its title" is based on a widely debunked wartime propaganda story. There is little doubt there was a real Panfilov, and his platoon (remnants of a larger formation?) did fight a nasty battle, but any more than that is very hard to distinguish from the various accounts of the action. About the only thing that is clear is that the legend so widely told in Russia is not particularly accurate to the facts.
The Germans move like Clancy lemmings, do not know of grenades etc.Overly heroic to the point of laughing at times. Men so unconcerned about being under shelling from 150mmm hummm..
I agree that the Germans displayed something less than tactical genius. But to my observation it was rather better than Saving Private Ryan or Fury. It presented one-side of the story, no doubt, but put a lot more attention to details of how an entrenched infantry formation would have to fight to stop a combined arms attack in early WW2.
As to the grenades -- well even "offensive" grenades tend to work best when you are the side under cover, rather than the side advancing across open ground. And while I personally have never suffered under an artillery barrage, the few folks I have ever discussed it with who had first hand experience have related to me a group dynamic that does not seem too far from the forced calm and sarcastic banter while passing around communal cigarettes, with an occasional exclamation or grunt when one comes particularly close, that this film presents.
As a point of comparison, how much did you learn from SPR about infantry anti-tank close assault tactics?
- They will march their Tiger down a narrow street.
- Use axle grease to make sticky-bombs to blow off their wheels.
- Everyone jump on the tank and shoot in the hatches.
- They'll send an open-top PanzerJager Marder into the city next.
- Snipe if from the church steeple, and shoot into the open back with a bazooka.
Is that really a useful view of US Army infantry anti-tank close assault tactics?
In this movie, we saw:
- Stay in overhead shelter through the pre-bombardment.
- When the shelling stops, get out of the shelters and on to the line. Get the support weapons out of their shelters and into position. If any of the weapon positions have been destroyed, collect any remaining ammo from them to be re-distributed to the surviving weapons positions.
- Tanks are probably going to be heard before they are seen. Distribute hand-held AT weapons and remind the men of tactics for their use.
- Position your supporting weapons (MGs and ATGs) in defilade position to fire ACROSS your front.
- Anti-tank rifles must be aimed at flank armor, tracks, or other weak spots (drivers visor, for example) to be effective.
- Attack the infantry before they get within close range, to strip their support off of the tanks.
- Anti-tank close assault is a team effort. Small arms fire is needed to suppress accompanying infantry before one or two guys go for the tank.
- Use HE to disable/immobilize the tanks, and flame to get the crews to abandon them.
- If you can't stop the tanks, let them run over your trench and then continue shooting at the infantry following them.
Seems a BIT closer to what I expect the reality of WW2 was. And whether this story of these 28 men in this action is accurate or not, I expect that this kind of action took place hundreds of times each year on the Eastern Front between mid-1941 and mid-1945.
So I thought it was pretty OK and very interesting. But I DO wish I could understand more of the dialog. A version with English subtitles would indeed get my attention.
Your mileage may vary.
-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)
