![]() ![]() In the course of the night 3 T-34 tanks and 1 Su-122 self-propelled gun will be repaired. The brigade and battalion of the corps are engaged in recovering the wounded and equipment. At 2400 12.07.43, the headquarters of the 29th Tank Corps reported the following information in a combat dispatch: Unfortunately, it is impossible to say the same thing about the repair work in the corps formations of the 5th Guards Tank Army. These elements managed to do 95% of all the repair work on the armored vehicles, which was performed in frontline conditions. Each panzer regiment had a well-equipped separate tank maintenance company, while a separate Tiger battalion had its own tank maintenance platoon. In contrast, the recovery and repair work in the units of Army Group South was well-organized. Mainly, however, a single T-34 or a pair of them made the recover, because the tracotrs had bulky profiles, insufficient power, and no armor protection. Kommunar tractors, and Komintern and Stalinets-2 artillery prime movers were used for this work. Usually, the crew themselves actively participated in the recovery of their damaged tanks or self-propelled guns and then performed any routine or moderately difficult repair jobs. In the Red Army, the main burden for recovering tanks and self-propelled guns and for transporting them to collection points for disabled vehicles lay on the brigades’ equipment companies and the personnel of the tank battalions. The headquarters of the 2nd Tank Corps report on 16 July 1943 “…The enemy, organizing a retreat during the night, withdrew all his forces, evacuated all the damaged equipment, and torched the remaining knocked-out tanks and vehicles on the battlefield.” The units of the II SS Panzer Corps also left behind only a scorched field and demolished equipment when they eventually withdrew. Below is text taken directly from Valeriy Zamulin’s book Demolishing the Myth, pages 447-448. ![]()
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