Russian Armour In The Second World War (Images Of War - Rare Photographs From Wartime Archives)

This book by Armoured Fighting Vehicle Historian (AFV) Michael Green is not designed to be a comprehensive study of Russian AFVs as in use during the Second World War, nor is it a critic of their tactical failings, its aim is to provide a broad image based introduction to this most complicated of subjects through the use of relevant text and archival images with which to place the chosen vehicles and people into an overall historical context.Starting with almost nothing in 1919, by the time of the early 1930s, the Armoured units of the Russian Armed Forces had gone onto become one of the worlds most tactically innovative, highly trained, and well equipped forces in existence. However by the time of the late 1930s all this hard work and progress had been undone thanks to the growing paranoia and insecurities of Marshall Stalin. The Russian Army was forced into carrying out a series of bloody and debilitating purges throughout this period during which some of its best military minds had been arrested by the NKVD. After being detained these prisoners were either executed outright, interrogated needlessly and executed after being forced into making false confessions or sent to rot in the Siberian Gulags. These purges had been personally ordered by Stalin so as to clear the way for more politically reliable functionaries to be installed in their place – but those officers would later be proven to be militarily incompetent. The NKVD's murder or imprisonment of so many of Russia's most competent officers would later come back to bite Stalin badly, after his forces failures in battle during the 1941 invasion of Russia by the Wehrmacht. The inability of Russia to halt the invasion until 1942 can also be attributed almost totally to poor leadership and incompetence, and it was these shortcomings, and many others such as faulty doctrines or poorly maintained equipment, that allowed their opponents numerically smaller forces to generally prevail. This WWII pictorial history of Russia’s tanks and armored fighting vehicles provides a vivid look at the Eastern Front through rare wartime photographs. When Hitler’s armies advanced into Russia, it was Stalin’s tanks and armored fighting vehicles that finally pushed them back from the outskirts of Moscow. At the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943, the Soviet tanks and AFVs proved their effectiveness by defeating the cream of the Panzertruppen. From that point on, the tanks and armored fighting vehicles of the Red Army continued their offensive operations until they victoriously entered Berlin in April and May of 1945. In this fascinating pictorial history, military expert Michael Green provides historical images of the full range of Russian armor as well as exterior and interior color photos of preserved and restored tanks and AFVs from the period. This latest book in the Images of War series brings to life the Red Army’s efforts to repel Hitler's Panzer Armies. It was the Stalin's tanks and armoured fighting vehicles and their crews that finally pushed the German Army back from the outskirts of Moscow in late 1941 and early 1942. Proof of the Red Army tanks' and AFVs' effectiveness came at the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943 when they defeated the cream of the Panzertruppen, From that point on, the tanks and armoured fighting vehicles of the Red Army continued their offensive operations until they victoriously entered Berlin in April and May 1945. This latest book in the Images of War series paints a broad picture of Russian tanks and armoured fighting vehicles that defeated the might of Hitler's Panzer Armies. American expert Michael Green provides us not only historical images of the full range of Russian armour but also exterior and interior colour photos of preserved and restored tanks and AFVs from the period. [Elib] Acknowledgements; Introduction; Chapter One: Light Tanks; Chapter Two: Medium Tanks; Chapter Three: Heavy Tanks; Chapter Four: Self-Propelled Guns; Chapter Five: Miscellaneous Armoured FightingVehicles.;It was the Stalin's tanks and armoured fighting vehicles and their crews that finally pushed the German Army back from the outskirts of Moscow in late 1941 and early 1942. Proof of the Red Army tanks' and AFVs' effectiveness came at the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943 when they defeated the cream of the Panzertruppen, From that point on, the tanks and armoured fighting vehicles of the Red Army continued their offensive operations until they victoriously entered Berlin in April and May 1945. This latest book in the Images of War series paints a broad picture of Russian tanks and armoured. About The Author: Michael Green is a freelance writer, researcher, and photographer. He specializes in military subjects and has authored and coauthored over 90 books. In addition, Michael Green has written numerous articles for a variety of national and international military-related magazines. Mr. Green is a lifetime member of the Marine Corps Tanker’s Association and a tour guide at the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation. HISTORY / Military / World War II