The first generation T-34 medium tank made its debut in combat during the summer of 1941, when the Wehrmacht launched its invasion of the Soviet Union. The T-34 easily outclassed the German PzKpfw III and IV models, thanks to its hard-hitting 76.2mm main gun, thick frontal armor, wide tracks, and overall superior mobility. The first T-34s were assembled at Kharkov, Leningrad, and Stalingrad, then moved behind the Ural mountains when the German advance encircled Leningrad, overran Kharkov, and invested the "City of Stalin". Legend has it that some T-34s rolled off the Stalingrad assembly line unpainted and even unfinished to prevent the Nazi invaders from capturing the city.

This particular 1:72 scale replica of a Soviet T-34/76 Mod. 1942 medium tank was attached to the 4th Guards Armored Corps, during the winter of 1942, and bears the slogan "Moscow Collective Farm" on its turret sides. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 3-1/2-nches
Width: 1-1/2-inches

Release Date: April 2006

Historical Account: "The Tide Turns" - While the German 6.Armee and 4.Panzer Armees had been fighting their way into Stalingrad, Soviet armies had congregated on either side of the city, specifically into the Don bridgeheads that the Romanians had been unable to reduce, and it was from these that they struck on November 19th, 1942. In Operation Uranus, two Soviet fronts punched through the Romanians and converged at Kalach on November 23rd, trapping 300,000 Axis troops behind them. A simultaneous offensive on the Rzhev sector known as Operation Mars was supposed to advance to Smolensk, but was a failure, with German tactical flair winning the day.

At Stalingrad, the Germans rushed to transfer troops to Russia for a desperate attempt to relieve the defenders, but the offensive could not get going until December 12th, by which time the 6.Armee in Stalingrad was starving and too weak to break out towards the relieving forces. Under the code name Operation Winter Storm, three transferred Panzer divisions made their way from Kotelnikovo towards the Aksai river but bogged down 65 km (40 miles) short of its goal. In an effort to divert the rescue attempt, the Soviets, on December 16th, decided to smash the nearby Italian forces, which would enable them to roll up the relief attempt. While this counterattack failed it did manage to destroy many of the aircraft that had been transporting relief supplies to Stalingrad. The fairly limited scope of the Soviet offensive, although still eventually targeted on Rostov, also allowed Hitler time to see sense and pull Army Group A out of the Caucasus and back over the Don, thereby dooming the defenders of Stalingrad to their own fate.