Robert Forczyk - Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front, 1943-1945 - Red Steamroller

New tank models (4):

• July 1943, the T-80 light tank entered service as an improved T-70 with a two-man turret, improved armored protection and better horsepower, but was cancelled three months later.

• September 1943, the KV-85 heavy tank entered service as an interim design until the IS-1/2 heavy tanks were ready for production. Based upon a KV-1S hull, but using a new turret designed for the IS-series tank and armed with the 85-mm D-5T gun, a total of 148 KV-85s were built.

• October 1943, the IS-1 (or IS-85) heavy tank entered service, armed with the 85-mm D-5T gun, but these tanks were later re-equipped with the 122-mm D-25T gun.

• December 1943, the IS-2 heavy tank entered service, armed with the 122-mm D25T gun.

New SP/Assault gun models (3):

• February 1943, the SU-152 self-propelled gun entered service as a replacement for the KV-2. Originally designated as the KV-14, it mounted the 152-mm ML-20S gun-howitzer on the chassis of a KV-1S.

• August 1943, the SU-85 tank destroyer entered service, armed with the 85-mm D-5T gun on a T-34 hull.

• December 1943, the ISU-152 assault gun entered service as an improved replacement for the SU-152. It used the same ML-20S howitzer, but substituted the new IS tank chassis.

German

Heeresgruppe Nord (Generaloberst Georg Lindemann)

16.Armee (General der Artillerie Christian Hansen)

18.Armee (General der Artillerie Herbert Loch)

Armee-Abteilung Narwa (General der Infanterie Johannes Frießner)

• III. SS-Panzerkorps (SS-Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner)

○ schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 103

○ SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Division Nordland (SS-Gruppenführer Fritz Scholz)

○ 20.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (estnische Nr. 1) (Brigadeführer Franz Augsberger)

○ 4.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Brigade Nederland (SS-Brigadeführer Jürgen Wagner)

Under Heeresgruppe Nord control:

• 12.Panzer-Division (Generalmajor Gerhard Müller)

Heeresgruppe Mitte (Generalfeldmarschall Ernst Busch)

3.Panzerarmee (Generaloberst Georg-Hans Reinhardt)

2.Armee (Generaloberst Walter Weiss)

4.Armee (General der Infanterie Kurt von Tippelskirch)

• XII Armeekorps (Generalleutnant Vinzenz Müller)

○ 18.Panzergrenadier-Division (Generalleutnant Karl-Ludwig Zutavern) {1}

• XXVII Armeekorps (General der Infanterie Paul Volkers)

○ 25.Panzergrenadier-Division (Generalleutnant Paul Schürmann)

• Under Army Control: s.Pz.Abt. 501 (Tiger), s.Pzjr.Abt. 655 (Nashorn)

9.Armee (General der Infanterie Hans Jordan)

Under Heeresgruppe Mitte control:

○ 20.Panzer-Division (Generalleutnant Mortimer von Kessel)

○ Panzer-Grenadier-Division Feldherrnhalle (Generalmajor Friedrich-Carl von Steinkeller)

○ 5.SS-Panzer-Division Wiking (Gruppenführer Herbert Otto Gille)

Heeresgruppe Nordukraine (Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model)

1.Panzerarmee (Generaloberst Erhard Raus)

• III. Panzerkorps (General der Panzertruppe Dietrich von Saucken)

○ 1.Panzer-Division (Generalmajor Werner Marcks)

○ 7.Panzer-Division (Generalmajor Gerhard Schmidhuber)

○ 8.Panzer-Division (Generalmajor Werner Friebe)

○ 17.Panzer-Division (Generalleutnant Karl-Friedrich von der Meden)

○ 20.Panzergrenadier-Division (Generalleutnant Georg Jauer)

• XXIV Panzerkorps (General der Panzertruppen Walther Nehring)

○ schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 653 (Ferdinand)

4.Panzerarmee (Generaloberst Josef Harpe)

• LVI Panzerkorps (General der Infanterie Johannes Block)

○ 4.Panzer-Division (Generalleutnant Clemens Betzel)

○ 5.Panzer-Division (General der Panzertruppe Karl Decker)

○ s.Pz.Abt.505 (Tiger)

○ Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 237

1st Army [Hungary] (Lieutenant General Károly Beregfy)

○ 2nd Armored Division [Hungarian] Brigadier General Zoltán Zsedényi

Under Heeresgruppe Nordukraine Control:

○ 2.SS-Panzer-Division Das Reich

○ 9.SS-Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen

○ 10.SS Panzer-Division Frundsberg

○ 16.Panzer-Division (General-major Hans-Ulrich Back)

Heeresgruppe Südukraine (Generaloberst Ferdinand Schörner)

6.Armee (General der Artillerie Maximilian de Angelis)

• XXX. Armeekorps (General der Artillerie Maximilian Fretter-Pico)

○ 13.Panzer-Division (Generalleutnant Hans Tröger) {2}

• XXXXIV Armeekorps (General der Artillerie Maximilian de Angelis)

○ 10.Panzergrenadier-Division (Generalleutnant August Schmidt)

• LII Armeekorps (General der Infanterie Erich Buschenhagen)

○ schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 93 (Nashorn)

• Army Reserve:

○ 3.Panzer-Division (Generalleutnant Wilhelm Philipps)

8.Armee (General der Infanterie Otto Wöhler)

• LVII Panzerkorps (General der Panzertruppen Friedrich Kirchner)

○ 14.Panzer-Division (Generalleutnant Martin Unrein)

○ Panzergrenadier-Division Großdeutschland (Generalleutnant Hasso von Manteuffel)

○ 24.Panzer-Division (General der Panzertruppe Maximillian Reichsfreiherr von Edelsheim)

○ 3.SS-Panzer-Division Totenkopf (Gruppenführer Hermann Priess)

• IV Armeekorps (General der Infanterie Friedrich Mieth)

○ 23.Panzer-Division (Generalleutnant Joseph von Radowitz)

• Romanian 4th Army

Under Heeresgruppe Südukraine control:

• 1 Rumania Mare Armored Division (Brigadier General Radu Korne)

Reinforcements:

July 1944:

• Fallschirm-Panzer-Division Hermann Göring from Italy

• 6.Panzer-Division from Germany

• S.Pz.Abt. 510 [Tiger]

August 1944:

• 19.Panzer-Division from Holland

• Panzer-Brigaden 101, 102, 103, 104 [Panther]

September 1944:

• Panzer-Brigaden 109, 110 [Panther]

• Fuhrer-Grenadier Brigade [Panther]

Soviet

Leningrad Front (General Leonid A. Govorov)

• 4x Tank Brigades (30 G; 1, 152, 220)

• 14x Tank Regiments (26 G, 27 G, 31 G, 46 G, 260 G; 27, 45, 82, 98, 124, 185, 221, 222, 226)

• 12x SAP (394 G, 396 G, 397 G; 806, 938, 952, 1198, 1222, 1238, 1439, 1495, 1811)

3rd Baltic Front (General Ivan I. Maslennikov)

• 3x Tank Brigades (7 G; 16, 122)

• 4x Tank Regiments (33 G; 51, 258, 511)

• 3x SAP (750, 768, 1433)

2nd Baltic Front (General Andrei I. Eremenko)

• 3x Tank Brigades (29 G; 78, 118)

• 6x Tank Regiments (37, 47, 81, 227, 239, 249)

• 4x SAP (991, 1199, 1453, 1539)

• Under Front Control:

○ 5th Tank Corps (General-major Mikhail G. Sakhno)

1st Baltic Front (General Ivan Bagramyan)

• 5x Tank Brigades (10 G, 34 G, 39 G; 143, 171)

• 2x Tank Regiments (2 G; 105)

• 1x SAP (1203)

○ 43rd Army (General-leytenant Afanasy P. Beloborodov)

○ 1st Tank Corps (General-leytenant Vasily V. Butkov)

3rd Byelorussian Front (General-polkovnik Ivan D. Chernyakovskiy)

• 5x Tank Brigades (2G; 28 G; 120, 153, 213)

• 1x Tank Regiment (63 G)

• 10x SAP (735, 926, 927, 953, 954, 957, 958, 959, 1435, 1445)

○ 11th Guards Army (General-leytenant Kuzma N. Galitskiy)

○ 2nd Guards Tank Corps (General-leytenant Aleksei S. Burdeyniy)

○ 5th Tank Army (Marshal Pavel A. Rotmistrov)