Sovremennye Issledovaniâ Socialʹnyh Problem (Apr 2018)
MANUFACTURING OF ANTI-TANK AMMUNITION IN THE USSR BEFORE AND AT THE BEGINNING OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR
Abstract
Aim. The Red Army failures within the initial period of the war are of great interest for historical community. The problem is topical since lots of new facts and materials become available for scientific investigation. The Soviet troops were weakly protected against enemy’s armor thrusts and it was one of the reasons of the Red Army failure at the 2nd part of the 1941 which is described in this article. Author’s aim is to understand why the Soviet troops were improperly supported by anti-tank ammunition before the war. Especially it was related to 76-mm divisionary gun which was the only effective mean for fighting against all types of enemy tanks during summer-autumn 1941 including hardly armored ones. Methodology. General principles of historism and objectivity are the theoretical-methodological base of this work. Author also use special historical methods: logic, systematic, chronological, actualisation and periodizing. For the first time archive materials related to the mentioned problem and storing in the Russian State Archive and the Russian State Military Archive are used for scientific investigation. Collections of historical documents related to the Great Patriotic War are also used. Results. Activity of ammunition filling and body plants of the USSR People’s Commissariat for Defense in the field of armor-piercing projectiles manufacturing in 30th and at the beginning of 40th years of XX century are examined with the help of mentioned documents and materials. It is also studied how this activity influenced onto Red Army provision by armor-piercing projectiles before and during the War at different segments of Russian-German front. We made a conclusion that poor situation in the field of anti-tank ammunition manufacturing in pre-War years was one of the main reasons of the Red Army failure at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Practical application. The new achieve data and shown results can be used both for further studying the Red Army failures at the first stage of the war and the Soviet period of Russian history in general.
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