T-34 Tank
- Episode aired 2000
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
6
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Best Medium Tank Of The War.
At the time of the Nazi invasion, 1941, the Soviet Union was a vast country of 180 million people, stretching from Europe to the Pacific and into the Arctic. But militarily it was in a sorry state. Stalin's ruthless purges had eliminated all of his potential rivals and left his general staff and designers a shadow of their former selves.
It was obvious from the start that tanks would have to play an important part in Russia's defenses. They'd already begun working on a medium tank. The designs for the tank had been developed by an American named Christie, "a genius of the first order," whose plans had been rejected by the U. S. Army. Why? Because the Army hadn't designed them. Some OUTSIDER had put the pieces together.
The site of origin didn't bother the Russians who copied Christie's designs with their innovative features, like each wheel having its own spring. The T-34s were simple, rugged, uncomfortable, and they were instrumental in saving Russia from the Nazis. Towards the end, the Germans produced more massive and powerful tanks but they were outnumbered by all of the T-34s now rolling off the assembly lines.
The German military was finally broken up into isolated pockets and the city of Berlin was taken by the Russian army. I vaguely remember in the 1950s hearing that President Roosevelt had "given" Berlin to the Soviet Union. But at the meetings in Yalta it had been agreed that Berlin would be in the Russian zone of occupation anyway, and American leaders figured Berlin would be "a tough nut to crack", so why should the Western Allies spend lives to conquer a city and then turn it over to the Russians? In the event, the Soviets lost about 400,000 troops in the battle for Berlin.
The program ends with victory in Europe. But the T-34 didn't disappear. It was used during the North Korean invasion of the southern peninsula. The hastily assembled American troops of Task Force Smith, sent from Japan to make a show of force, were astounded to see their bazooka rounds bouncing off the hulls of the Russian-made tanks.
It was obvious from the start that tanks would have to play an important part in Russia's defenses. They'd already begun working on a medium tank. The designs for the tank had been developed by an American named Christie, "a genius of the first order," whose plans had been rejected by the U. S. Army. Why? Because the Army hadn't designed them. Some OUTSIDER had put the pieces together.
The site of origin didn't bother the Russians who copied Christie's designs with their innovative features, like each wheel having its own spring. The T-34s were simple, rugged, uncomfortable, and they were instrumental in saving Russia from the Nazis. Towards the end, the Germans produced more massive and powerful tanks but they were outnumbered by all of the T-34s now rolling off the assembly lines.
The German military was finally broken up into isolated pockets and the city of Berlin was taken by the Russian army. I vaguely remember in the 1950s hearing that President Roosevelt had "given" Berlin to the Soviet Union. But at the meetings in Yalta it had been agreed that Berlin would be in the Russian zone of occupation anyway, and American leaders figured Berlin would be "a tough nut to crack", so why should the Western Allies spend lives to conquer a city and then turn it over to the Russians? In the event, the Soviets lost about 400,000 troops in the battle for Berlin.
The program ends with victory in Europe. But the T-34 didn't disappear. It was used during the North Korean invasion of the southern peninsula. The hastily assembled American troops of Task Force Smith, sent from Japan to make a show of force, were astounded to see their bazooka rounds bouncing off the hulls of the Russian-made tanks.
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- rmax304823
- Apr 9, 2016
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