Soviet Anti-Tank Rifle Tactics of WW2

time to take a look at Soviet anti-tank Iraq for tactics of you over to now adore anti-tank rifles seem rather weak compared to anti-tank or tank guns the Soviet ones cost plenty of trouble for the German Panzer vaartha enough that the so called shorten usually translated with almost guards went reduced in 1943 to protect the route of weakly armored sides of most Panthers and stronger shooter as you can see here on the Panther for so it had two main types of entertain crabbers the single-shot ptrd and the semi-automatic PT RS the later is discussed in greater depth on my second channel in this video both had a caliber of fourteen point five millimeter for comparison here you can see the size difference between a clip of fourteen point five millimeter catalyst of the PT is versus an m1 garand clip with 7.62 millimeter yell enough for the weapons for now let us look with the swords wrote in the manuals on the tactics and experiences now the manual from 1942 starts off in a tone that is quite different to the very sober German field regulations I usually look at destroy fascist tanks with the anti-tank rifle this overtone continuous throughout the instructions to a certain degree and I try to focus on the essential aspects anyway the second section shortly outlines the capabilities of the different anti-tank rifles the PTR s and 2 P Tod here the rate of fire for the PTR s is given with 15 shots per minute whereas for the PT adhi the number is 8 to 10 shots although both weapons had the same MO the maximum range is given differently the maximum range of the self-loading rifle PT RS is 1500 meters the single-shot ptrd is 1000 meters the best results can be achieved at the range of 300 to 400 meters or closer the explanation for this is likely to do different science the PT adhi 41 that en from forgotten buttons had available in his video had only a flip switch between 400 and 600 meters whereas the PT is that Philip had access to head of most sophisticated side ranging from 100 to 1500 meters according to Philip this one was an original blahblah to PDRs I assumed the same for Ian's ptrd although I don't know if both of these rifles were standard issue or not I'm rather hesitant to draw conclusions from single instances yet for now it seems to be the most logical reason for this let's move on another important element of the manual was about positioning the headline was skillfully create your firing positions the channel guidelines were as follows pic and prepare a position such that you can see and shoot in any direction the enemy may come from at a range of 500 to 1500 meters it is hidden from observation from ground ania it has hidden paths and covering case of artillery or mortar bombardment you can see your commander and neighbors so let us look now at some example positions the first position was in the open in the center of the position was a dugout that should have a roof made out of wooden beams or similar material furthermore it should be covered with dirt from this dugout there were several trenches leading to the actual firing positions that were foxhole the children allowed a soldier to find every directory note there was a trench to connect the position to the rear as well the manual notes about the use of the dugout when you are fired upon by mortars and artillery seek shelter in your dugout when enemy tanks approach immediately take up positions and shoot them up hence the soldiers were protected against artillery and mortar strikes that often were used to suppress defenders once these strikes were over they could move into action when the tanks approached the instructions for the position near the forest are rather simple as you can see the center of the position is located at the edge of the forest the manual note when setting up in a transitional area move your trenches up high tenders bushes in your firing sector mode on the grass and bushes note this is the only guideline for a forest setup this might be that there were not much more to say but might also reflect the fact the Panzer forces if possible avoided for for several reasons to quote from the German army regulations for a panther company from May 1941 when fighting in the forest the danger of sudden attacks by the enemy from close distance is particularly heightened increased attention must be paid to provide constantly covering fire among the tanks additionally although a tree might not seem like a challenge were tank-like the pants of three or four which both had around 20 tons at that time while the armor regulation seems to differ forests can often also be crossed by tanks outside of miles and paths this is made more difficult by dense drone 3 population intense undergrowth forests with trunks less than 25 centimeter in diameter can be crossed with Panther compound 3 & 4 this reduces their speed who forest with trunks over 25 centimeter diameter and so dense that the tanks must hit - trees can only be Granard through a panther come from 3 & 4 note the duration of Connaught rule was to Anam and word usually used when describing the biting action of a rodent if you want to learn more about this army regulation you can military aviation history and I translated the whole regulation into English and it's presented side by side with the original German text of course it comes with plenty of footnotes for explanations and in Appendix unimportant terminology as well anyway back to the solvent manual the final point of this section was about a defense set up for populated areas it's expected position should be prepared in the available structures or around them further moi firing ports should be properly concealed if you made a firing port in a building ball hide it with draw boards plywood or order available materials by the way if you want to learn more about urban combat Fighting's positions be sure to check out this video which is based on a recent US Marines Field Manual those are some Channel points about cover and concealment first off that natural or existing covers should be used if there is no time to make firing positions use local objects and even as in terrain trenches modes bushes dumps craters etc and of course the position there are two obvious who are standing out should if possible be avoided if using a hill for cover do not set up on the top of the hill and trench on the left or right side do not use readily identifiable objects for cover long trees long buildings rocks stumps etc the next part is about firing at the tank as many of you might know that have experience with firing guns or know what a ballistic curve is it all begins with proper ranging the target as also lately covered in my video on German sniper training reliable estimation of the distance forms the basis for accuracy similarly the soffits wrote to shoot without missing it's important to determine the distance to your target know the room the spots of tanks and armored cars know how to choose the point of aim ideally one would survey the terrain and gather the different ranges yet sometimes this was not possible hence in structure was train yourself to mentally find landmarks 100 to 200 metres apart of course the identifying distance was rather up close and personal let the enemy approach to a close range 50 to 100 meters this made sense for several reasons first of the chance to hit is significantly improved second the penetration values at closer ranges are higher and third to do its limited penetration values and far less damage potentially compared to anti-tank guns anti-tank rifle fire was usually directed at weak spots on a tank and these were usually rather small thus hitting the right spot was a far greater importance something discussed in more detail later as mentioned earlier the armor squares for the Panthers were introduced since the anti-tank rifles were often capable of penetrating the side Armour and since Panthers tend to move it is not surprising that a significant portion of the manual was dedicated on instruction how to properly lead ones aim against moving targets so next time your ambush your pants that it moves about 25 to 30 kilometres per hour at 400 meter distance this would be the proper lead now in case defense moves faster or is about 500 metres away make sure to lead it a bit more also keep in mind that at ranges of less than 400 meters use 400 meter setting on your site after all there's so much space in Russia that below 400 meters is just a stone throw away now jokes aside here we have a possible error in the manual although the manual distinguish between the ptrd and the pts particularly on different ranges here does not assuming at the pts I had access to a standard issue this information is wrong because as you can see the PT is at a range setting for 100 200 and 300 meters as well of course the PT ot that Ian took a look at at the lowest setting before hundred meters so this information is very likely only meant for the PT OD users yet let us move on to engaging tanks with your respective anti-tank rather a leader should be done when they were slow after all s Cannavaro burst Heinz Guderian noted the engine of the panther is a weapon just as the main gun this becomes also parent here when firing on tanks try to take advantage of the enemy's surprise lowered speed turns and stops not as important to remember that some tanks back then turned a bit less smoothly than modern tanks do as you can see here with the pencil fall off the Panzer Azul monster for a tight turn it almost stops speaking of Panthers the instructions also outline the weak points of tanks and armored cars namely the most vulnerable parts of tanks and armoured cars are the science gas tanks drive meal sites observation devices the rear engine or front quad count specifically they include an illustration of a panther free note that in some cases some arrows depicted in the manual don't add up the text ask feet about this and it seems that either the captions are incomplete incorrect or some of the errors are misplaced I depict such arrows with a dotted line the fire should be in the division port although for this arrow there's no vision point there the fuel tank although here's another problem the marked era is clearly larger than the actual fuel tank or the engine for that matter although rosamma located in this area but ammo is not mentioning the captions let us bridge up to the top of the hull go forward to the center roller in any sources I've seen so far the next caption on shooting for the sides turret fuel tank and engine here free lines point to the rollers one line at the idler wheel and one at the sprocket wheel or maybe the tracks none of which are mentioned in the captions according to Peter finally the text notes Canon but the error seems to indicate one of the machine guns not the main gun as such our a bit confused here I can understand the misidentification with the fuel tank location but the rollers and be in the same serrata odd my only guess is that this match has been taken from an anti-tank manual and recaptured since I adopt any anti-tank rifle can damage the rollers nor the wheels consistently and sufficiently although the general weakness gevalt mentioned the drive wheels the manual also contains a section about manoeuvring and cooperation with submachine gun owners grand ideas and incendiary bottle flaws and this statement makes it clear about the strengths of the anti-tank rifles were the main tactical requirement for anti-tank rifles is mobility in all cases in battle the light weight of the rifle convenience of transportation simple setup of firing positions possibility of using natural kava always makes the crew of an anti-tank rifle invincible unlike anti-tank guns anti-tank rifles were quite mobile and thus ideal for flanking this is further illustrated by the following points learn and use in practice as backup firing positions at all times week 5 to 10 shots from one position then move if enemy tanks move in a direction unfavourable to you occupy a new position and shoot them in the rear maneuver on the battlefield send tanks to places where they are vulnerable to order anti-tank rifle crews when fighting with other crews and infantry know your objectives and objectives of your neighbors when supporting granite ears or incendiary bomb throwers know what direction they are hiding in and do not fire at direct if a tank has stopped knock out its armament first now in the general employment of anti-tank rifle units I have a few points the first one is from resort war documents and war experience in 1941 be aware that the translation ment of anti-tank guns not anti-tank rifles whereas anti-tank guns are translators and D tank artillery use anti-tank routers in the defense as part of a company or platoon on directions favourable for tanks so as not to allow the equal distribution along the entire front of the unit ahead on the anti-tank Rothery sub units in depth and always have a reserve of these weapons to reinforce directions which are favorable for tanks and to repel an attack of enemy tanks from a new direction in the system of anti-tank defense of the unit coordinate the fire of anti-tank rifles with artillery fire and the system of engineer obstacles so similar to tanks these weapons should be focused on specific areas of the front other points mentioned that the position should be set up ideally to provide flanking fire furthermore if possible to deploy the units behind anti-tank obstacles since that slows the tanks down and often provides shots of opportunity especially if they have to cross them and thus exposing the weakly armored house floor during offensive the anti-tank ROVs should be used directly with advancing infantry the second one is from the Soviet General Staff study for the Battle of Kursk it notes the following light mortars with deployed in trenches while heavy machine guns is specifically equipped firing positions deploying in the gaps between the trenches as a rule anti-tank rifle companies were used in platoons or squats along dangerous tank axes they were deployed direct in the first trench line when specifically equipped firing positions behind the trenches for more information on defensive tactics at Kursk be sure to check out this video which provides an in-depth view on the defensive organization and positions the manual also contain points about maintenance fire discipline and target priority the latter two points are rather similar to everything else I read so far namely found in predetermined timing command or emergency and engage the most dangerous targets first be sure if you want to learn more about the semi-automatic PDS - check out this video or if you want to learn more about the single-shot PTSD - check out Ian's video on forgotten battens anyway the next time you need to hold the line against some Panthers you know what to do big thank you here to film for providing access and information on the PTR s big thank yous to Peter for doing the original translation and answering my questions thanks to chip them for helping move the fuel tank position makes the ends for helping further translations Thank You Lou the Taunton museum Munster for inviting me in to start off the high - 2019 thank you to the tank museum at bobbington for inviting me in 2017 and of course thank you to my patreon and subscribe the supporters to make videos like this possible as always so as I miss in the description thank you for watching and see you next time

Channel: Military History Visualized

Views: 348,557

Rating: 4.83322 out of 5

Keywords: Military History, Military History Visualized, History, Visualized, mhv, Soviet Anti-Tank Rifle Tactics in WW2, PTRS Tactics, PTRD Tactics, PTRS 41, PTRD 41, Weak Points of Panzers, Soviet Tactics in WW2, Soviet Tactics, WW2 Tactics, Anti-Tank Rifle Positions, Anti-Tank Rifle Manual

Id: vTusD4OiQZU

Length: 16min 27sec (987 seconds)

Published: Tue May 05 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/JustARandomCatholic]

Hello!

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