Sunday 21 July 2013

IS-2 vs. Big Cats at Lvov

In the middle of 1944, the Red Army launched a series of offensive operations, meant to take advantage of their strategic initiative, deliver crippling blows to the German land forces, and liberate pre-war Soviet territory. One of these operations was the Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive. In late July, vicious street fighting to re-take Lvov began. The 72nd Independent Guards Heavy Tank Regiment proved themselves particularly heroic in its liberation, earning them the adjective of "Lvovskiy". The award order, as always, tells a small part of the story:

"To the 72nd Independent Guards Heavy Tank Lvov Regiment

October 3rd, 1944

According to order #0387 from February 5th, and complying with instruction #172 "On payment of reward for destroyed enemy tanks", the Head of the Finance Directorate of the Red Army approves payment to the named crewmen for destruction of enemy heavy tanks.
  1. On July 21st, 1944, in the city of Lvov, in combat at the northern part of the Zelenaya street, an enemy heavy Panther tank was destroyed by fire from Guards Senior Lieutenant Almuhamedov,.
  2. On July 22nd, 1944, in the city of Lvov, in combat at the Academicheskaya square, an enemy heavy Panther tank was destroyed by fire from Guards Senior Lieutenant Almuhamedov,.
  3. On July 22nd, 1944, in the city of Lvov, in combat near the theater, an enemy heavy Panther tank was destroyed by fire from Guards Senior Lieutenant Almuhamedov.
  4. On August 4th, 1944, in combat at the north-western outskirts of Feltshin place, an enemy heavy Panther tank was destroyed by fire from Guards Senior Lieutenant Almuhamedov.
Pay the crew of Guards Senior Lieutenant Almuhamedov for four destroyed enemy heavy tanks, the total sum of:
  • Tank commander, Guards Senior Lieutenant Almuhamedov: 2000 rubles
  • Senior mechanic-driver, Guards Senior Technical Lieutenant Pisarev: 2000 rubles
  • Gunner, Guards Senior Sergeant Mazurin: 2000 rubles
  • Loader, Guards Senior Sergeant Porohnya: 800 rubles
  • Total: 6 800 rubles"
CAMD RF 3802-247172-1

In the interest of brevity, I will skip the full text of the rest of the award order, as it is similarly verbose. In total, 10 Panthers and 5 Tigers were destroyed by IS tanks of this regiment, for a total of 25 500 rubles of reward. Even though the loader appears to get shafted (200 rubles per tank, as opposed to 500), memoirs suggest that reward money was evenly split between all crew members. 

These are just financial rewards. There were, of course, others. Here are some award orders:

"Comrade Baranenko, in combat for the Motherland against Germano-fascist invaders in the Lvov direction, showed bravery and knowledge of ambush combat. 
On July 20th, 1944, in the region of Peremyshleny, his crew destroyed two Tiger tanks, one Panther tank, and up to 60 soldiers and officers of the enemy, which allowed the capture of the settlement.
For skillful combat, both in ambush and in offensive battle, for destruction of two Tigers, a Panther, and up to 60 soldiers and officers of the enemy, and for the display of courage and bravery, he is worthy of the Order of the Red Banner award."

"A most brave and energetic gunner. During an enemy counterattack between July 17th, 1944 and July 23rd, 1944, during the destruction of the Brody group, he destroyed 5 enemy heavy tanks, 4 anti-tank guns, 10 machine gun nests, and up to 100 soldiers and officers of the enemy, demonstrating skill, courage, and bravery in battle. 
When his tank was damaged on July 25th, 1944, comrade Arslanov did not leave his tank, and destroyed 2 enemy SPGs, even though the enemy did not stop firing at his tank. Only when he was wounded and the tank was engulfed in flames did he leave the tank. 
For the damage done to the enemy and demonstration of courage and bravery in battle, he is worthy of the highest award of this government, the Hero of the Soviet Union."

"Guards Technical Lieutenant Ivanov, during combat for the Socialist Motherland from July 14th to 29th in the Lvov direction, during street combat for the city of Lvov, showed mastery of driving a heavy tank in the most difficult conditions of street combat.
Thanks to his excellent practical knowledge, his vehicle never stopped due to a breakdown, and constantly moved forward. The crew was always capable of fighting the enemy with an advantage from the positions that Ivanov would take. This crew destroyed two Panther tanks, five guns of various calibers with their crews, 4 vehicles carrying ammunition, 4 mortars, 10 trucks, and up to 50 enemy soldiers. 
For skillful maneuvering of a heavy tank on a difficult battlefield, which enabled the crew to destroy enemy vehicles and personnel, for personal courage and decisiveness, he is worth of the Order of the Patriotic War, Second Class."

4 comments:

  1. Thanks! Very interesting article.

    FYI, my parents say that 1 S.U. Rouble roughly equalled 1.5 U.S. Dollars (at 1970-1980). Someone asked you about that on FTR.

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    1. The time period is too far off, plus what you can buy during peacetime and what you can buy during a war on the black market are two different things, so the purchasing power would be so vastly different, that is not a very useful comparison.

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  2. "Even though the loader appears to get shafted (200 rubles per tank, as opposed to 500), memoirs suggest that reward money was evenly split between all crew members."

    ;_; SUCH GOOD SOCIALISTS

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  3. Lvov was pre-war Soviet territory? Good to know - I always thought that Lvov was in USSR de facto since October 23rd 1939 and de jure since July 27th 1944.

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