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      But, this time, if we do not see the armored columns of the Wehrmacht, they do not cease to exist, and the mental image: Stalin before the smiling German military is becoming more real. The first orders are to “shoot”. It does not get better from that. Earlier, it was possible to establish ubiquitous deathly silence. Now the clanking of the caterpillars of German tanks is becoming more and more distinct. The commanders are getting cold hands, blood is pouring from the brain, resentment is rising in the chest – nothing more. Stalin must abandon executions, empty slogans, and work with the problem, now delving into the essence of what is happening. The control system is reconstructed into a real solution of the problems. This works from the second half of 1942, to May 45th, and, for two and a half years, allows you to get away from almost complete collapse to victory.Photo – burning T-34-76. At this stage of the war, “steel monsters” still do not impress the higher officers of the Wehrmacht. The Red Army had by this time only 60 trained crews, for these tanks. The Battle of Dubno-Lutsk-Brody, summer 1941

      Kiev strategic defensive operation, summer 1941. Retreating and somewhat demoralized Soviet soldiers

      German cars and armored vehicles follow the T-38 tank with four towers demolished from the hull (there was only one). Ukraine, August 1941

      The Soviet tank KV-1, smashed by dozens of hits. July 1941, the south of the USSR. Armament: 76 mm. gun, 90—114 shells, three 7.62 DT machine guns (course, paired with a gun, aft). Booking: the forehead, the side of the hull is 75 mm., The forehead, the side of the tower is 75 mm. (protection from an armor-piercing shell of a 50-mm German cannon further 200 meters). Crew of 5 people. Weight 48 tons. Common problems with the transmission. Speed on the highway 34 km. h, the reserve for cross-country terrain is 120 km. Specific power 11.6 hp, ground pressure 0.77 kg. see From 1939 to 1942 produced 2770 machines.

      German soldiers, the occupied territory of the USSR, summer 1941

      Captured Soviet soldiers

      Captured in the Kiev Kettle Soviet soldiers

      Neighborhoods of Kiev, 1941…

      After the battle in the Kiev Kettle. In the background, for the dead Soviet soldiers – the Soviet tank BT-7

      German armored column and burning T-34-76, Ukraine, 1941

      August 13, 1941 Odessa leaves the last railway train. The defense of a large Black Sea city is quite successful, but the Stavka makes a decision to evacuate troops to the Crimea. The losses of the Soviet and Allied German-Romanian troops are approximately equal – 18,000 men each side

      The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran (operation “Consent”) will take place on August 25, 1941. Without declaration of war, the forces of the British Empire attack the Shah army from the Persian Gulf, the Soviet units from the Transcaucasus. The main strike force of the Red Army is about a thousand T-26 tanks, the Caspian Flotilla, the British – the fire of ship artillery and the Air Force. Many large cities, including Tehran, are bombed. Hundreds of civilians die. In the time of peace, the Iranian army is densely packed with money, but it is even more corrupt. The Iranian divisions soon lose control (the higher officers try to leave the battlefields), crumble, surrender to more or less honorable captivity. Some parts intend to fight to the end, however, on August 29 the shah gives the order to lay down their arms. In the photo – the Soviet military column enters the Iranian city of Tauris

      Already on September 17, the Red Army and British units are in Tehran. A month later, having formed a loyal government (of course, now no one connected with the Germans) the allies withdraw their forces from the capital. The country is divided into Soviet and British zones of influence. According to the peace treaty, Iran is declared an ally of Britain and the USSR. The parties undertake to withdraw all troops within six months after the cessation of all hostilities. This operation has a prehistory – the occupation of Iraq by Great Britain. Action: May, 1941, landing of the expeditionary force in Basra, air force strikes against airfields, railway and other facilities. The Germans are trying to come to the aid of their allies, but, why not without due enthusiasm and scope. As a result, the British establish control over Iraq’s oil fields, and in the future – they are given the opportunity to conduct a stable corridor for military supplies to the USSR. Photo – Soviet and British officers (in characteristic shorts and cork helmets) communicate near the armored car BA-10. Iran, August 1941.

      Losses of the parties in the Anglo-Iraq war. Britain – 1200 people, 30 aircraft, Iraqis – 8,500 troops, as well as 20 German, 4 Italian aircraft. Losses during the occupation of Iran: the USSR – 50 people irretrievably, 3 aircraft. Britain – 25 people, 8 aircraft. Iran – 800 troops and 300 civilians. The outcome of the operation “Consent” is the almost unimpeded delivery of more than 5 million tons of military cargo to the belligerent USSR. A small additional bonus to the Union – a significant part of the grain harvest of Northern Iran is spent on subsistence for the army. But now, in the autumn of 1941, the seizure of a considerable country of the East seems to be only a small drop of honey in a huge barrel of tar.Photo – British correspondent Alan Michi talks to the wounded in the course of the battle with the Iranians, a Soviet officer

      The defense near Smolensk, 1941, July 10 – September 10. In the background – tanks T-26

      The offensive of the German fascist troops near Smolensk, autumn 1941. Infantry with all the equipment, mortar men and T-4 tank of the first releases

      Soviet gunners with 45 mm. gun. Surroundings of Smolensk, autumn 1941

      German military inspect the Soviet tank KV-2 with a broken chassis. Even without enemy shells, the heavily loaded chassis of the KV-1 and KV-2 tanks often fail

      Broken, probably by hitting an air bomb, the KV-1 tank. The main advantage of the Wehrmacht at this stage of the war is the high coordination between the various kinds of troops. In the composition of infantry, tank, and other combat units, there are necessarily airmen directing the Luftwaffe to the target, without additional negotiations with the commanders of the flight units

      Vyazemskaya defensive operation, October 2—13, 1941 To the west of Vyazma the forces of Army Group Center are surrounded by four Soviet armies. Irrevocable losses of the Red Army – 250 thousand people, and 600 thousand prisoners. The losses

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