What were the Soviet tankers supposed to do if their tank was knocked out

The combat charter of the armored forces of the Red Army in the period from the 1930s to the beginning of the 1950s managed to change several times. At least twice the charter was adjusted during the Great Patriotic War. Of course, in life it is far from always possible to act “like a textbook”, because the circumstances are very different. However, the Soviet tankers had very specific instructions in case the tank was damaged during the battle.

Defend to the last bullet. |Photo: pogranec.ru.

Outside of a combat situation with breakdowns and malfunctions of tanks, everything was extremely simple. If the car broke down while following in the convoy, then it had to move to the edge of the road and wait for repairs while the rest of the tanks moved forward. It should be noted that tank breakdowns on the march are a common occurrence for all armies that participated in World War II. Another thing is if the tank was hit in a combat situation.

So, in the Combat Charter of the Armored Forces of the Red Army, it was brought to the personnel that in the event of a forced stop, the crew should make efforts to restore the vehicle to working capacity. The remaining members of the unit must provide fire cover all this time if the stoppage of a broken tank is of a short-term nature. At the same time, everything that happened was required to be reported to the tank platoon commander.

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If the tank was hit in battle or had an accident, then the crew members were obliged to organize the defense of the vehicle "to the last opportunity." In fact, the charter prescribed to turn the tank into an impromptu firing point and fight to the last shell. The wounded members of the crew were also obliged to fight according to the charter, if they had such an opportunity. It is worth noting that during the years of the war, a huge number of episodes were recorded when tanks that stood still, but capable of firing, provided serious assistance to the Allied forces.

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At the same time, the charter, like the wording “to the last opportunity”, did not require suicidal exploits from the tank crew. If it was impossible for the tank to hold the position or if the subsequent evacuation of the withdrawn out of action of the machine, the charter prescribed to put it out of action by the crew, as well as by the forces of the nearby infantry. Previously, it was ordered to take away all valuable property from the car - the crew's weapons, as well as to dismantle tank machine guns. It was possible to bring the tank into complete disrepair by throwing several grenades into it.

If you want to know even more interesting things, then you should read about why german tankers did not wear headsets.
Source: https://novate.ru/blogs/130122/61849/