Post Description

After the German-Soviet alliance of 1939, Soviet delegations visited German armament factories and examined the latest in German weapons. In spring 1941 a team headed by I. F. Tevosian visited German tank factories producing the most modern designs, including the PzKpfw IV. The Germans hoped that this confident display of military strength would intimidate the Russians, much as it had the earlier US delegation led by-Charles Lindbergh. The Germans were taken aback when the Soviets bitterly asked why they had not been allowed to see any heavy tanks or anything more modern than the PzKpfw IV. The Werhmacht attributed this outburst to the usual Russian suspiciousness. Col. Kinzel, head of the Intelligence section responsible formonitoring Soviet weapons development, assured his colleagues that while there were Finnish reports of a curious multi-turreted tank being knocked out during the 1940 war, it was nothing more than a derivative of the antiquated T-35. and certainly nothing to be afraid of. A month later Operation 'Barbarossa' confirmed the inadequacies of German Intelligence: reports, which verged on panic, spoke of the massive 50-ton tanks impervious to the fire of the PzKpfw IV, tanks which mockingly defied the Wehrmacht's 37mm anti-tank gun by grinding it beneath its tracks. The Wehrmacht had just encountered the KV heavy tank, probably the most feared weapon in the Russian arsenal of 1941.