The Russian Tank Battalion
The Red Army used a staggering number of organisational variations for their tank units. This is therefore of necessity just a rough guide. What the Russians termed a 'Battalion' was often by Western standards simply a Company sized formation.
The Light Tank Battalion
The Red Army deployed its light tanks in a variety of formations. One of the first to see action against the invaders was the Light Battalion. It deployed a single machine at HQ, with three Companies each of just ten tanks. Each Company had a command tank and three Platoons of three. In late 1941 light, medium and heavy tanks were grouped together into combined formations. It was not a satisfactory mixture, and in mid 1942 the Light Battalion reappeared. It had lost its third Company, but the remainder was unchanged.
Light tanks were recognised as being wholly unsuitable for the Eastern Front, and were removed from the Russian equivalent of the 'Armoured Division' in late 1943. They still served on in several other types of tank unit as is noted below.
The Medium Tank Battalion
Medium and Heavy tanks were initially deployed in combined Battalions, the mediums fielding two Companies each of ten machines. When heavy tanks were taken out of the mix in mid 1942, the Medium Battalion boasted three Companies of ten tanks, plus one at Battalion. Towards the end of 1943, this was reduced to just two such Companies, twenty one tanks per Battalion.
The Heavy Regiment
These units began to appear in 1942. They deployed four Companies, but each Company only had a command tank and two Platoons of two each. With the single tank at Regimental HQ that provided just twenty one tanks in all.
The 'Mixed' Battalion, late 1941 to mid 1942
These crises units were all the Red Army could realistically field in the darkest days following the German invasion. The Battalion fielded one light, one medium and one heavy Company. The Light had eight tanks in two Platoons plus a two tank HQ. The medium had ten tanks and the heavy five. The tanks were of such different capabilities they were quickly separated again in mid 1942 once the situation had stabilised.
The Tank Regiment
Serving alongside some Mechanised Infantry Brigades was another tank unit. The Regiment deployed both light and medium machines. The Light Company had sixteen tanks in three Platoons of five, plus a command tank. The two Medium Companies each appear to have had three platoons of three, plus a two tank HQ. Another medium tank appeared at Regiment for a total of thirty nine machines all told. This was amended in late 1943 to three ten tank medium Companies and one light Company of a command tank and two Platoons of three tanks each. Regiment now had two medium tanks for the same total of thirty nine machines. It appears in some units the light tank company was re-equipped with medium tanks using the same organisation.
Summary
The T 34 was without doubt the single greatest weapon in the war against Nazi Germany, but it was not perfect. German tank killing ability increased considerably throughout the conflict, and the T 34 found it hard to keep pace. Like their British and American counterparts, the Russian Tanker was left with a machine which was one step behind the Panzer. The arrival of the IS tank though in numbers in mid 1944 helped redress the balance, and it was perhaps the best all rounder of its kind.
Russian tanks were always sparse, uncomfortable machines. They had a rough finish and everything which could be omitted to speed production was. But they carried the Red Army through the greatest tank battle of all time, and on to Berlin itself.
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The Russian Motor Rifle Battalion
Russian Divisional Organisations