Their Nazi opponents were simply overwhelmed by numbers. The Soviets were forced to fight and win armored battles in the same manner in which they won their infantry and air battles, by attrition. Pound for pound, Germany's Panzerkampfwagen (Pz.Kpfw) V Panther was a better tank, but the T-34 was produced at eight times the Panther's numbers. Although a very fine tank, it was also the most crudely built, with the least amenities for its crew. The T-34 medium tank became the added bit of weight on the Soviet side of the scale. The balance then wavered until the harsh winter of 1943-1944 helped impel the Germans on their long retreat to Berlin. The scales did not begin to tip in favor of the Red Army until the Battle of Kursk in July 1943. General Georgi Zhukov had begun to reorganize Soviet armor and training during the 1939-1940 Winter War, but the precious time lost because of Stalin's purges was never made up in quality, only in quantity. As a result, in the first six months of Germany's invasion of Russia, the demoralized, undertrained Red Army lost nearly 18,000 tanks. In so doing, he destroyed one of the best-equipped, best-led armored forces belonging to any nation at that time.
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