How did Soviet Russian/German tank doctrine differ in WW2 and to what extent did this affect the outcome of the war on the Eastern Front?

by steven_hawking_legs

Hi there!

Background info: I'm a year 12 student and as a major work, I have to conduct a historical investigation into any area of history.

I'm thinking of doing my investigation in the area of armoured doctrine on the Eastern Front (post-Nazi invasion) in particular what I believe to be some key areas:

  1. What was the difference between Soviet and Nazi armoured Doctrine? i.e. In conducting offensive operations, how did the methods/tactics differ.
  2. This isn't exactly covered by armoured doctrine but to what extent did the Soviet ability to mass-produce tanks affect the situation on the eastern front? ( Is quantity over quality an effective method?)

I've found a few sources on German tank doctrine (A U.S published handbook from 1945 on German military forces and some books on German Tank design) but where I continually trip up is looking for sources on Soviet tactics/doctrine

Disclaimer: I'm not asking people to write this essay for me (please don't, I enjoy case studies), I'm just looking for advice/sources so I know I'm on the right track with my question.

Jon_Beveryman

I'll have time to write you something more cogent in a few hours, but in the meantime, take a look at the reading list in the FAQ, as well as perhaps this annotated reading list I drew up for someone else recently: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/doh7xl/comment/f6k1ho4

Hergrim

Hi - we as mods have approved this thread, because while this is a homework question, it is asking for clarification or resources, rather than the answer itself, which is fine according to our rules. This policy is further explained in this Rules Roundtable thread and this META Thread.

As a result, we'd also like to remind potential answerers to follow our rules on homework - please make sure that your answers focus appropriately on clarifications and detailing the resources that OP could be using.

Additionally, while users may be able to help you out with specifics relating to your question, we also have plenty of information on /r/AskHistorians on how to find and understand good sources in general. For instance, please check out our six-part series, "Finding and Understanding Sources", which has a wealth of information that may be useful for finding and understanding information for your essay.