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.On November 1, 1943, II Battalion, 11th SS Panzer Regiment, wasre-designated 103rd Heavy SS Panzer Battalion, and was soon sent to the traininggrounds at Wezep in the Netherlands, and later to Paderborn in northwest Germany.Just prior to the Normandy invasion in mid-1944 the battalion was ordered to transferits trained crews to 101st and 102nd Heavy SS Panzer Battalions as they would soonbe fighting in the region.For the next few months the men of 103rd Heavy SS PanzerBattalion (re-designated 503rd Heavy SS Panzer Battalion on November 14, 1944)trained a new batch of crews, which after October 19, 1944, were allocated Tiger IIs.A US Army collection pointTHE SOVIETS showcasing a variety ofweapons including an IS-2barrel and mantlet (withLike other nations, during the 1930s the Soviets attempted to find the most effectivedamage around the TSh-17organizational balance for their light, medium, and heavy tanks.Cooperation with thetelescope s viewport), and BR-German Reichswehr, and combat experience gained at Khalkin Gol and Poland471 antitank round.The table(1939), Finland (1939 40), and elsewhere, led to a reconsideration of fielding largedisplays a pair of two-pieceUS M20 3.5in rocketmixed corps formations comprised of a variety of tank types and weights.They werelaunchers ( Supersimply too large and awkward for most of their commanders to control effectively, andBazookas ), several 88mmunnecessarily taxed logistics.To address the inconsistency of vehicle types, theguns, and what looks to bewell-balanced and maneuverable T-34s were organized as homogeneous tank brigades.a 37mm FlaK 43 antiaircraftThe heavily armed and armored breakthrough tanks such as the KV-1 were gun.(DML)hamstrung by weight and mechanical unreliability, andcould not keep pace with their medium brethren.Consequently, these vehicles were structured asindependent, direct infantry support tank regiments.In February 1944 the Red Army beganre-equipping their heavy tank regiments with IS-2sand giving such units the designation of Guards, which was based on such units weapons and role,rather than any outstanding previous performance.The KV-1s, KV-85s, and British Lend/LeaseChurchills were phased out, being outdated andgenerally unsuited for breakthrough roles, and havingsuffered high losses in combat.Where the T-34 was to45retain its role of exploiting offensive penetrations by© Osprey Publishing " www.ospreypublishing.com Majors from 88th GuardsHeavy Tank Regiment standwith their commanding officer(Mzhachih, third from left)near Küstrin in early spring1945.The IS-2 pictured wasone of only two that remainedfollowing heavy lossesincurred since starting fromthe Vistula River.Note theshapka-ushanka lambswoolhats.(Courtesy MikhailZharkoy)quickly moving into the enemy s flanks and rear, as per Soviet deep penetrationdoctrine, the IS-2 units were to create the initial opening in enemy lines.In thiscapacity, they were to capture and hold key locations such as road intersections andriver crossings until larger forces moved up, at which time they would either continueto the next objective or return to reserve status for any maintenance, etc.Of the war s 123 named Guards heavy tank regiments, 58 possessed IS-2s.Theremainder retained different heavy tanks such as the KV-1, were disbanded, or werereconstituted.Nine Guards heavy tank brigades were subsequently re-fitted with IS-2regiments.In practice the component regiments were often sent into action separately,and paired with self-propelled guns that moved alongside infantry to subdue stubbornenemy defenses.TRAININGDuring the initial period of the Russo-German War the Red Army had sufferedcatastrophic materiel and personnel losses, a problem compounded by Stalin s prewarpurges of some 43,000 members of the officer corps.New formations had to becreated without the guidance of adequately experienced armor commanders, and thisresulted in an incomplete and all-too-brief training regimen.As the commanders whoremained feared failure as a consequence of deviating from established doctrine,creativity and initiative were replaced with an inflexible adherence to orders andinstitutionally optimal solutions to battlefield situations.This rigid approach totraining, while often aiding rapid combat responses by junior officers, provedineffective when encountering unforeseen situations.Where the two-man turrets of the T-34 and KV-1 forced the commander to doubleas loader, the IS-2 had enough internal space for a more effective trio.The IosefStalin was assigned two officers (commander and driver), and two sergeants (gunnerand loader/mechanic).Because of the dangerous missions these heavy tank forceswould undertake, the additional officer was seen as a way to provide command46redundancy, and lessen the chances of the crew shirking from their assigned duties.© Osprey Publishing " www.ospreypublishing.com COLONEL BORIS ROMANOVICH EREMEEVBoris Eremeev was born to a peasant family on December23, 1903, in the western Ukrainian village of Mykhalkove.At age 21 he graduated from the Uman Vocational andTechnical School and applied his training towardagriculture before being drafted into the Red Army in1925 [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]