That count only includes losses individually documented by the Oryx blog-meaning that the actual count is surely higher, considering the losses that didn’t get photographed. This resulted in rapid, catastrophic losses-and contributed to Russia hitting the milestone of 2,001 main battle tanks visually confirmed destroyed, captured, or abandoned by May 30, 2023. But in a classic tactical error, Russian armor lacked enough escorting infantry to detect and flush out ambushes in built-up areas.

After advancing a mere eight miles, the German attack ground to a halt.When Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it aggressively pushed its main battle tanks and lighter, but heavily-armed, BMP and BMD fighting vehicles forward on the offense.

To make matters worse, the Germans were now coming under fire from ground-attack aircraft. He had survived arrest, torture and imprisonment during Stalin’s purge of army officers in 1937. Soviet Commander of the northern sector of the Kursk salient. He was mortally wounded in an attack by Ukrainian nationalists in February 1944. Soviet Commander of the southern sector of the Kursk salient.

He committed suicide at the end of the war. Nicknamed the Führer’s Fireman, Hitler considered Model one of his best generals. He had been key in the defeat of France in 1940 and, earlier in 1943, had stabilised the front after German failure at Stalingrad.Ĭommander of the northern German pincer. Between them, these four men commanded around 2.8 million men, 8,000 tanks and 4,200 aircraft…Ĭommander of the southern German pincer.

The first tank vs tank battle