CMBB v CMAK

[McIvan]

Now for the real show of strength. Only the PzIII armed with the 50L60 had an even up chance against a T-34. The PzIII's armed with the 50L42 had to get very close to kill a T-34. Much closer than the T-34 needed to kill them. Of the 1090 PzIII's involved in Operation Barbarossa 960 were models E through J with the 5cm KwK38 L/42 (50L42). Only 130 were armed with the 50L60 gun that Hitler had deemed necessary for the tank force to be armed with before going to war with Russia. The German tank force was anything but overwhelming technologically. It was a very small shark with a couple of sharp teeth. But it was fast and had powerful jaws. When it did bite it bit hard and held on.

I think you'll find that the T34 available in 1941 could be dealt with by a PIII with a 37mm gun on pretty even terms. A PIII with a 50mm is deadly to them, will kill them from most ranges. The T34 front armour doesn't stand up at only 45mm. It's the 60mm and 70mm turret front T34s that caused the trouble from 1942 onwards.

The 37mm Anti tank gun cannot deal with the T34, that's accepted. I don't know why, but the 37mm Pak does not have the power of the 37mm tank gun.

You're also using production figures as if they bear some correlation to Russian tank strength which of course they didn't. So, on the eve of invasion iirc (and you will no doubt correct me), there were about fifteen to twenty thinly armoured T26/BT5/BT7 for every T23 or KV. And the PzII was quite capable of shredding them, leaving only the now somewhat rare PzI as completely useless.

I'm all for deflating myths of German superiority, but I think you're going a bit over the top. Also, you keep accusing Nikita of extolling German armour as flawless etc, when I didn't really see him doing any such thing???

There is an interesting scenario called Directive No.5 where early T34s (with, as it happens, virtually no AP ammo) and a large bunch of T26s/BT5, get their way for the first half of the scenario and are thereafter absolutely terrorised by a small force of German armour...PzIIs, Pz38t and a couple of PIIIs. It was a scenario I remembered for a long time because it felt right.