Previously unknown Panzer munition and assault tactics

[John Kettler]

Am reading Volume I of Soviet Documents On The Use Of War Experience (Frank Cass publishers, translated by Orenstein and Foreword by Glantz) and came across two major shockers on page 21. Carrying over from Page 20, from 14-16 May 1942, in the Kharkov area the Germans threw some 400 Panzers, broken down into smaller echelons, into an attack on the 13th Guards and 244th Rifle Division. Usually, the Russians are at pains to specify tank type, e.g. T-IV, T-V, etc., but from what little was said elsewhere in the account, "tanks of medium size", I suspect Panzer IVs.

"The second group, consisting of 150  tanks, went over to the attack from another direction against the fire positions of the 244th Rifle Division Artillery (66 guns) from 3 directions; firing from the tanks was conducted  using armor-piercing and thermite shells. Artillery personnel whose clothes were burning extinguished fire by using dirt and continuing firing. 

Two paragraphs later, in the final sentence, there's a tactical bombshell.

"The sub-machine gunners advanced behind the third echelon tanks on armored personnel carrier; in the tanks themselves were also 1-2 sub-machine gunners who exited from the lower hatches of the tanks."

Have studied World War II since childhood and never crossed paths with either of these things. It would be easy to dismiss this out of hand, but this is a declassified SECRET document produced by specially designated staffs of the Armies and Fronts at the express direction of the Soviet General Staff and Stavka. The material in these books (have three volumes) consists of lessons learned in blood and is juicy beyond words. These small clothbound hardbacks were not cheap when I got them two years back at a gun show, but they are astronomic now, likely because so few copies were printed. If the Red Army is your thing, though, at least borrow them on inter-library loan and read them.

Regards,

John Kettler 

Edited October 3, 2021 by John Kettler

[John Kettler]

In my readings of Soviet military writings over the years, have noted they use precise language when it comes to discussing projectiles and terminal effects. Thus, charges of cumulative effect (HEAT), splinter (HE frag), etc. Consequently, it's impossible for me to buy that they wouldn't be well informed about a super incendiary invented in 1895 in Germany and patented in the US in 1897. Is there any evidence the Germans had thermite artillery shells? Yes. Found a (if caption's to be trusted) German 155 thermite shell, presumably for a captured weapon. So, far, have found no German 75 mm thermite shell.

An online site called dandbmilitaria. (usual) has 
155 GERMAN THERMITE SHELL WITH INTERNALS AND POWDER CHARGE CASE (82) (U) *

Regards,

John Kettler

Edited October 3, 2021 by John Kettler

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Germany didn't use a 155mm howitzer during the war.