Internet and History: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation released a new multimedia section "Heroes of Tank Battles. Marking the 75th anniversary of the Day of Tankmen"

Marking the Day of the Tankmen, celebrated this year on September 12, the Ministry of Defence launched a multimedia section Heroes of Tank Battles. Marking the 75th Anniversary of the Day of Tankmen. It is based on historical documents from the Central Archives of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. The presented evidence tells about immortal exploits, exceptional bravery and courage, service and devotion to the Fatherland of tankmen of the Soviet Armed Forces.

The section starts with the Order of the Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR No. 27 of July 16, 1946. It announced the Decree of the Presidium of the Soviet Supreme Council of July 11, 1946, which marked the establishment of the tankmen professional holiday. The document states that "taking into consideration the particular importance of tank and mechanized troops and their outstanding services during the Great Patriotic War...", the Day of Tankmen should be celebrated every second Sunday of June. The holiday also should be marked by twenty artillery salvos "in all the capitals of the USSR republics and Leningrad, Stalingrad, Chelyabinsk, Gorky, Nizhny Tagil, Sverdlovsk, Kharkov, Omsk, Khabarovsk and Vladivostok".

The Order of the People's Commissar of Defence of the USSR No. 325 of October 16, 1942, available in the section, will be interesting for all lovers of military history. The document includes a detailed analysis of errors and faults in the tanks exploration in the first year of the war and gives specific instructions on the combat use of tank and mounted forces. The order determined the paramount importance of organizing cooperation of tank units with infantry, artillery and aviation on the battlefield, and comprehensive preparation of tank units for entry into battle.

A significant array of the documents released in the section is devoted to the largest tank battle in military history - the Battle of Kursk (July 5 - August 23, 1943). The largest tank battle in history took place near Prokhorovka. It engaged about 1200 Soviet and Nazi armoured vehicles. Reporting maps of the hostilities near Prokhorovka of the 18th Tank Corps, which was a part of the 5th Guards Tank Army of Lieutenant General Pavel Rotmistrov, the army that faced the main forces of Hitler's tanks, give an idea of the course of this battle.

The publication of declassified documents from the collections of the Central Archives of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation about the heroic tankmen, the battle at Prokhorovka, the victory of the Red Army in the Battle of Kursk, is aimed at protecting and defending the historical truth, glorifying the feats of Soviet soldiers and preventing the falsifications of history.