6th Pz Div and THAT KV1

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Larso
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6th Pz Div and THAT KV1

#1

Post by Larso » 19 Jan 2007, 14:52

I've just got 'Panzer Operations' by Raus and I was reading his account of a KV1 that held up 6th Pz Div (or at least Raus' significant part of it) for two days in the early part of the invasion of Russia. Now, I'd come across the story elsewhere and obviously it was good to find the original source. Raus praised the Russian crew for their bravery and persistence. It certainly was an incredible act of valour by them and I was wondering whether the details of the crew were ever discovered? Perhaps they were revealed by Soviet sources later on?

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Chaotic
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#2

Post by Chaotic » 22 Jan 2007, 14:10

19 august 1941 near Krasnogvardeysk (Gatchina, near Leningrad) KV-1 by command Zinoviy Kolobanov (Çèíîâèé Êîëîáàíîâ) from ambush destroy 22 german panzers. Other 4 soviet tanks from Kolobanov's company destroy 21 panzers and lost only one.


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#3

Post by Eugene (J. Baker) » 22 Jan 2007, 15:41

Chaotic wrote:19 august 1941 near Krasnogvardeysk (Gatchina, near Leningrad) KV-1 by command Zinoviy Kolobanov (Çèíîâèé Êîëîáàíîâ) from ambush destroy 22 german panzers. Other 4 soviet tanks from Kolobanov's company destroy 21 panzers and lost only one.
Image

Portrait

Image

Battle scheme

from http://www.rustrana.ru/article.php?nid= ... ,67&crypt= (In Russian)

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TISO
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#4

Post by TISO » 22 Jan 2007, 18:22

Did you mean KV-2 from Soviet 2nd Tank Division of III Mech.Corp that stopped 6PzDiv for two days (June 24-25 1941) near Lithuanian town Raseiniai.
A modeling link:
http://www.ontheway.org.uk/gallery10/FrValerianKV-2.htm
from this link:
Image

Image

Image

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AMVAS
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#5

Post by AMVAS » 22 Jan 2007, 18:37

TISO wrote:Did you mean KV-2 from Soviet 2nd Tank Division of III Mech.Corp that stopped 6PzDiv for two days (June 24-25 1941) near Lithuanian town Raseiniai.
Im absolutely not sure it is just that KV...

Researchers even argues now what type was it, as in original I know it was named "Big Russian tank"..
Under this statement could be T-28, KV-1, KV-2

Hardly amount of ammo could permit KV-2 to stay fo so much time...

Lets wait until my friend translate documents of the 6th Pz. Div. for those days to say more....

Regards,
Alex

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Chaotic
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#6

Post by Chaotic » 23 Jan 2007, 08:09

TISO wrote:Did you mean KV-2 from Soviet 2nd Tank Division of III Mech.Corp that stopped 6PzDiv for two days (June 24-25 1941) near Lithuanian town Raseiniai.
No. We talk about another KV. Tank KV really long constrained Germans in June of 1941. The matter is that there was narrow bridge, pass on which German tanks could only on one. There crew ÊV also has adjusted fire. But German tanks were... obsolete easy tanks Pz-2 which 20-mm of a gun simply could not punch armor ÊV. Also constrained lonely ÊV completely not tank division, but light tank company (recon). Then Germans have dragged pair anti-tank guns and all has ended...
Also KV-2 gun was too short and can't fire at long range. So it was easy aim for 88 Flaks.

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#7

Post by Larso » 23 Jan 2007, 14:45

Thanks guys for your interesting contributions.

As for what happened, in my copy of Raus (pg 26), he was in charge of a bridgehead connected by only one road to Raseinai. It was the only supply route and the KV1 took up position on this road to Raus' rear. Raus ordered an attack by 3rd Battery, Panzerjaeger Battalion 41 (50 mm guns), while it was shelled by howitzers. By this time it had destroyed 12 trucks (and halted the evacuation of wounded - some of whom then died). Once in position, the four anti-tank guns opened fire and all attained hits on the KV1 (at least 8 direct hits). One by one, the KV1 knocked them all out, inflicting KIAs and wounded on the crews.

An 88 was withdrawn from the fighting and came up behind the KV1, using the shelter of some of those shot up trucks. At 800 meters, just before the 88 was ready to fire, the KV1 swung its turret around and knocked it out.

During that night, combat engineers snuck up on the KV1 and planted charges on it. Three detonated but the KV1 was not destroyed and maching-gunned away further attempts of this nature.

The next attempt to destroy the KV1, an attack by Stuka's fell through.

Finally, Raus had Pz Bn 65 with its PzKw 38ts harrass the KV1 from the forrest edges while another 88 was brought up behind it. This scored seven or more hits on the KV1. Of these only two penatrated the tanks armour. While this inspection was being undertaken, the tank stirred again! Grenades thrown in through a hatch finally killed the crew - who were buried by the Germans with full military honours.

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#8

Post by Andreas » 23 Jan 2007, 15:17

The attack by Stukas sounds fishy. AG North did not have any Stukas at the time.

Raus is not the most reliable story-teller. So while the basic story is true, confirmed e.g. by the 6. PD war diary, it may have been embellished by him.

All the best

Andreas

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TISO
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#9

Post by TISO » 23 Jan 2007, 15:58

Larso. Same story with minor diffrences (like range for 88 killed was given as 900m, didn't mentioned stukas...) was in preword of lenghty and excellent series of articles on Tiger I (magazine Hrvatski vojnik) but tank mentioned is KV-2. I belive that it was the tank in the pic's i linked to. It also seems that this tank became somewhat of a turist attraction as a lot of different photos of KV-2 with identical damage to the tank and especially track (which was destroyed by demolition charge according to the article) are floating around.

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Alex Yeliseenko
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#10

Post by Alex Yeliseenko » 23 Jan 2007, 17:44

This case is real. On it it is informed in the Diary of operations PR 11 PD 6. The information was and in former Military archive of GDR. A film 03/29063, a leaf 74.
Unfortunately, the Russian archives are silent.

Eternal memory to heroes!

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Alex Yeliseenko
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#11

Post by Alex Yeliseenko » 23 Jan 2007, 17:52

Chaotic wrote:19 august 1941 near Krasnogvardeysk (Gatchina, near Leningrad) KV-1 by command Zinoviy Kolobanov (Çèíîâèé Êîëîáàíîâ) from ambush destroy 22 german panzers. Other 4 soviet tanks from Kolobanov's company destroy 21 panzers and lost only one.
German losses this day were less. Artful German statistics of losses. They considered only incoverable losses.

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#12

Post by Larso » 24 Jan 2007, 03:31

Raus wrote that he tried to arrange a Stuka strike but they were urgently required elsewhere. And maybe, given the above, controlled by a different army group!

I'm at work and I haven't got the book in front of me but my edition was compiled by another party based on Raus' writings - the ones that could be recovered. Some are incomplete, and the original text is lost. As Raus died in the mid 50s, I gather he was not consulted for the edition I have. As for the action concerned, he wrote about observing the events closely as he tried to deal with the problem. But whether he recalled every detail correctly is of course open to question.

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