Among the T-34s used by the Soviet Army as they marched towards Germany, there ought to be a number of M4A2 Shermans within the inventory. A sign of cooperation between the distant Allies, the M4A2 Sherman was provided to the Soviet Union as part of the Lend-Lease program that led America and Britain to supply critical material and equipment to the Soviets. The M4A2 Sherman helped set-up several significant units for the Soviet Union to use in the Great Patriotic War to fight both the Germans and Japanese to the war's conclusion.
Lend-Lease
The Soviet participation in the United States Lend-Lease program started in the Autumn of 1941 when the United States and the United Kingdom agreed to give military aid. Tanks were of particular interest to the Soviets in replenishing their summer losses against Germany during Operation Barbarossa. The first tanks sent were from Great Britain with Valentines and Matildas, which played a part in the Battle of Moscow. The United States provided their M3 Stuart light and M3 Medium tanks in late 1941/early 1942 (designated M3L and M3S respectively to avoid name confusion). These American tanks were not viewed with satisfaction, with the head of the Soviet tank industry, Vyacheslav Malyshev, even considering stopping all American tank imports and focusing instead on American trucks. Despite that, the Soviets were interested in America's newest medium tank, the M4 Sherman, and were eager to obtain some as soon as possible.
Shermans in the Soviet Union
Though the M4 and M4A1 were available, the Soviets disliked the gasoline Continental radial engine due to their experience with the M3 Light and Medium tanks. Instead, they asked for the diesel GMC engine variant M4A2 Sherman upon learning of its existence in August 1942. The M4A2 had been in production since April 1942, but the time needed for the production to supply the demand meant that the first M4A2 only arrived in the Soviet Union by 21 September 1942. Concern about shortfalls in M4A2 productions caused the Soviets to order and receive two M4A4 tank models for evaluation in 1943. After trials with the M4A4, the Soviets disliked the Chrysler A57 engine configuration and low fuel efficiency compared to the M4A2 and so opted not to receive any more M4A4 tanks.
The low numbers of M4A2 received in 1943 caused the Soviet Union to field the first M4A2 tanks in small units, with the first of these being the 563rd Independent Tank Battalion on 04 January 1943 with 9 M4A2 tanks and the 5th Guards Tank Brigade with two M4A2 on January 12th. The first major campaign the M4A2 was involved in was the Battle of Kursk with the 229th Independent Tank Regiment with 39 M4A2 Shermans, which was put into combat on 11 July 1943. As combat experience with the M4A2 grew, the Soviets came to appreciate the qualities and recognize the flaws of the M4A2 Sherman. A report on 23 October 1943 from the 5th Guards Tank Brigade regarding their M4A2 Shermans noted:
Due to its high speed, M4A2 tank is very convenient for exploitation, and offers great maneuverability. Armament is consistent with its design and it has fragmentation and armor-piercing shells with very high penetration. The 75 mm gun and two Browning machine guns are trouble-free. Its disadvantages include a great height making it a bigger target on the battlefield. Armor, despite the greater thickness (60 mm), is substandard. There were cases when it was penetrated by an antitank rifle at a distance of 80 m. In addition, there were a number of cases where Ju 87, while bombing the tanks, penetrated the side armor and turret armor with 20 mm cannon fire, resulting in crew casualties. Compared with the T-34, the M4A2 is easier to operate, and more durable when making long marches as the motors do not require frequent adjustment. In combat, these tanks are working well.
As the inventory of the M4A2 grew in the Soviet Union, larger tank units composed of M4A2s became possible. The first of such was the 5th Mechanized Corps (later renamed the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps), which, on 01 January 1944, had 131 M4A2 among the regiments and brigades. The M4A2 in service was given the nickname "emcha" by the Soviet soldiers, which was a contraction of the Russian pronunciation of M4 (M-Chetire).
The Soviets continued requesting more M4A2 Shermans to fill their armies, with 2,000 more expected from July 1943 to June 1944. This was at odds with America's plans to switch M4 production to the 76 mm gun at the end of 1943. To continue supplying the Soviets, the Fisher Body production lines at the Grand Blanc Tank Arsenal continued to produce 75 mm armed M4s until May 1944 to fulfill the Soviet's order.
76 mm Shermans
The Soviet Union's next order of 3,000 Shermans would be for M4 Shermans equipped with the new 76 mm M1 gun. These M4A2 (76 mm) Shermans began arriving in the Soviet Union in September 1944. The first combat unit equipped with these M4A2 (76) Shermans was the 1st Mechanized Corps in October. Other units that received and used the M4A2 (76) Shermans were the 8th and 9th Guards Mechanized Corps and the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps.
The first action the M4A2 (76) Sherman saw in Soviet service was in December 1944, when the 6th Guards Tank Army and its associated 9th Guards Mechanized Corps conducted offensive operations in Hungary. The M4A2 (76) Shermans would see large-scale usage in 1945 during the Soviet's offensives towards Germany, sometimes alongside the M4A2 (75) versions. Some of the most notable Soviet actions of the M4A2 (76) were in the Vistula–Oder offensive in the Winter of 1945, the Vienna Offensive in the Spring of 1945, and finally, the Battle of Berlin in April-May 1945, where most notably the 1st Mechanized Corps, equipped with 165 M4A2 Shermans prior to the battle, participated in the heavy fighting.
The final use of M4A2 Sherman tanks by the Soviet Union was in Operation August Storm, the Soviet invasion of Manchuria against Japan in August 1945. This offensive saw M4A2 Shermans used on the Transbaikal Front, with the M4A2s in the 3rd and 9th Guards Mechanized Corps, as well as smaller units such as the 48th Independent Tank Battalion and 201st Tank Brigade present (the 201st was held in reserves). In all, 250 M4A2 Sherman tanks were present in the Soviet forces when the invasion of Manchuria commenced.
Lend-Lease numbers
Of the 12,485 tanks and armored fighting vehicles sent to the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1945 in the Lend-Lease program, 4,102 of those were of the M4A2 Sherman tanks, with 2,007 being of the M4A2 (75 mm) version, and 2,095 being the M4A2 (76 mm) version. Of the tanks sent, the Soviet records reported receiving 3,664 tanks; the difference was mainly due to deliveries being sunk on the way and discrepancies between the United States and the Soviet Union archives. Of the 76 mm variants, 460 tanks were versions with the HVSS suspension designs, which began arriving in March-April 1945, delivered too late to see combat in Europe. However, in Manchuria, 128 tanks were used by the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps (84 tanks) and the 201st Tank Brigade (44 tanks). These figures also indicate that the Soviet Union was one of the largest M4A2 (76 mm) Shermans users, of which the United States manufactured 2,915.
Bibliography
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- Dimitry; Gebhardt, James F. Commanding the Red Army's Sherman Tanks: The World War II Memoirs of Hero of the Soviet Union Dimitry Loza. University of Nebraska Press, 1996.
- Samsonov, Peter. "Common Questions: Sherman Preference." Tank Archives, Blogger, 22 Jun. 2015, Website. Accessed 24 Mar. 2021 (Archive).
- Samsonov, Peter. "Lend Lease Impressions: M4A4 Sherman." Tank Archives, Blogger, 12 Sep. 2013, Website. Accessed 24 Mar. 2021 (Archive).
- Samsonov, Peter. "M4A2(76)W: Emcha With a Long Hand." Tank Archives, Blogger, 30 Jul. 2017, Website. Accessed 23 Mar. 2021 (Archive).
- Samsonov, Peter. "New Legs for the Emcha." Tank Archives, Blogger, 15 Dec. 2018, Website. Accessed 24 Mar. 2021 (Archive).
- Samsonov, Peter. "Soviet Tanks in the Far East." Tank Archives, Blogger, 09 Apr. 2014, Website. Accessed 24 Mar. 2021 (Archive).
- Samsonov, Peter. Sherman Tanks of the Red Army: The American Vehicle in Soviet Service. Gallantry Books, 23 Jul. 2021.
- Zaloga, Steven J. M4 (76mm) Sherman Medium Tank 1943-65. Osprey Publishing Ltd., 20 Apr. 2003.
- Zaloga, Steven J. Soviet Lend-Lease Tanks of World War II. Osprey Publishing Ltd., 20 Jul. 2017.
