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Prior to the invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II, the German armed forces were not aware of two newly developed Soviet tanks, the T-34 and the KV. As a result, they were surprised when they met them in combat for the first time in June 1941. The Germans' standard anti-tank weapons were found to be ineffective against these new Soviet vehicles. This experience prompted a notable leap in tank development in Nazi Germany, mainly in an effort to counter these new threats. By 22 June 1941, the Red Army deployed almost 1,000 T-34 and over 500 KV tanks,〔 There were 967 T-34s and 508 KVs deployed: Erickson 1962/2001, p. 567.〕 concentrated in five〔Zaloga 1995, p. 9.〕 of their twenty-nine mechanized corps. ==Initial encounters== At the beginning of Operation ''Barbarossa'', the Germans were expecting little from their opponent's tank forces, which were composed of the old T-26 and BTs. While most of the Soviet Union's armoured forces were composed of such tanks, the T-34 and the KV designs, which were previously unknown, took the Germans by surprise.〔Handel 1989, (p. 137 )〕 Both types were encountered on the second day of the invasion – 23 June 1941.〔Zaloga 1995, (pp. 17–21 )〕 The KV tanks were usually assigned to the same units as the more numerous T-34 and, although they were much larger in size, their overall performance was quite similar; many sources discuss the impact of both types. The most common model of KV was the KV-1. It was in the Battle of Raseiniai where German forces encountered the Soviet KV for the first time. The Soviet 2nd Tank Division from the 3rd Mechanized Corps attacked and overran elements of the German 6th Panzer Division near Skaudvilė on 23 June.〔Newton 2003, p. 13〕 German Panzer 35(t) light tanks and anti-tank weapons were practically ineffective against the Soviet armoured giants, which closed with and, even though some of them were out of ammunition, destroyed some German anti-tank guns by simply driving over them.〔〔Newton, 2003, pp. 21-25〕 An account by the Thuringian 1st Panzer Division describes this battle: The next day, at a crossroads near Raseiniai, a single KV heavy tank managed to block the advance of elements of the 6th Panzer Division, which had established bridgeheads on the Dubysa. It stalled the German advance for a full day while being attacked by a variety of anti-tank weapons before being overrun after it finally ran out of ammunition.〔Zaloga 1995, (pp 18–19 ).〕〔Newton, 2003, p. 33〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「German encounter of Soviet T-34 and KV tanks」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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