Video: How well did the Red Army pay?

Despite popular belief, the issue of finance was a pressing one for the Soviet Union. In this video I talk about how much were troops of the Red Army's tank paid and where they could make a couple of extra rubles. 

Video: T-34 vs Sherman Rate of Fire Trials

Is the T-34 better than the Sherman? Yes. No. Maybe? It depends on how you're measuring it. In my latest video I compare how fast and how effectively these two tanks can strike a target and how a direct comparison might be harder than you might think.

Panzer '46 Ask Historians AMA

My Panzer 46 AMA with AskHistorians is live! Come ask me about "paper panzers", super-powered tank destroyers, progenitors of Main Battle Tanks, and everything else on the drawing board at the end of the Second World War. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1u3vxnc/i_am_peter_samsonov_author_of_panzer46_eastern/ 

Video: Soviet Tank Naming Conventions

We all know that the number in the name of a Soviet tank means the year that it entered service... or does it? I run through the history of Soviet tanks to see which model numbers line up with the year of their debut and which ones miss the mark.

Video: Spring Awakening/Balaton Defensive Operation

Operation Spring Awakening began on March 6th, 1945. After three failed attempts to relieve the besieged garrison of Budapest, the German and Hungarian armies launched a massive offensive aimed at eliminating the 3rd Ukrainian Front and a stabilizing the front line. Learn about how the operation came together and why it failed in my latest video.

Video: "Real" Fake Tanks

Lots of fake tanks were created after WW2, but many fake tanks were created during the war. Many were even based on a kernel of truth. Check out my latest video to learn about these not quite real tanks and the effect their "discovery" had.

Video: Hetzer vs SU-76M with Totally Tanked

The SU-76 and Hetzer seem like very different vehicles at first glance, but they have more in common than you think. Find out what made these vehicles similar and what made them different in my recent chat with Totally Tanked.

Video: Seelow Heights: Preparations, Expectations, and Legacy

Today we know the Battle of Seelow Heights as a key part of the Battle of Berlin, but it wasn't always treated as such. In this video, I take a look at the preparations of the battle, its significance, and how its legacy changed over the years. 

This lecture was originally recorded for the Istochnik history club.

2025 with Tank Archives

Another year has come and gone! If you follow this site or any of my social media, you know that it's been a busy one.

I'll start with my most recent accomplishment. Hetzer vs. SU-76M: Hungary 1945 hit the shelves just two weeks ago and it started out strong, trending as the #1 new release on Amazon in the Russian History category, #2 in German History, and #2 in Hungarian History, although it only seems to be in this category for the Canadian version of the site. If you're a fan of my writing, then you'll be happy to know that there is a healthy pipeline of work. I just submitted M3 Tanks vs Panzer IV: Eastern Front 1942 which explores the combat career of the Light and Medium Tanks M3 with the Red Army in the difficult months of the summer of 1942. I am in the process of writing yet another book for Osprey and there is another one that is complete but is delayed due to an acquisition of the publisher. Keep an eye on this blog for more updates on my books.

Speaking of the blog, tankarchives.ca is no more. I still own the domain and it will redirect to tankarchives.com, but none of the links to specific articles will work anymore. Update your bookmarks! Very old links pointing to tankarchives.blogspot.ca will still work though. Why? Who knows, some weird DNS thing probably. One day I might get around to figuring it out, but for now it's easier to just type .com.

Speaking of the blog, 2025 has been an incredible year. I got 2.75 million page views for a total of 12.9 million, almost a million for each year that I've been running this website. It's good to see that the old site is still getting attention as my priorities shift towards social media. 

My Youtube presence keeps growing with 3000 new subscribers, half again as many as I got last year. this is in part thanks to mining fan favourites like huge guns, Lend Lease, and British military aid (technically not Lend Lease). My Facebook page is also inching forward with 2000 new followers but over 6 million new impressions. Who knows what's going on with Twitter/X analytics but engagement on Bluesky seems to be a lot higher despite a fraction of the followers. Most of my "fun" posts are on there for that reason, so check it out if you haven't already.

If you want more Tank Archives content, you can also check out my interview with Totally Tanked about British tanks in Soviet service that we recorded to promote British Tanks in the Red Army. There is another appearance that I'm going to make in someone else's show that I can't tell you about just yet, but it's going to be breaking new ground for me in terms of media.

As an aside, it seems that Sherman Tanks of the Red Army has gone out of print. You can still get a digital copy over at Pocketmags or it seems that illegal PDF copies have cropped up for free on lots of websites like Documen.pub or Ocean of PDF which I absolutely don't condone the use of and I'm only telling you here so you don't go to any of those websites by accident. 

If you're planning to find your way to the Canadian Tank Museum, you might run into me. I'm commanding the T-34-85 crew in the Winter Warfare event this year and as usual Aquino Tank Weekend.

That's it for now. Happy New Year to all my readers and I'll see you all in 2026!

Video: Churchill Infantry Tank: Outlier on the Eastern Front

The Churchill tank was the heaviest and most thickly armoured foreign tank to see combat with the Red Army. Why were so few ordered and why do we seldom hear about its accomplishments? I dive into this question in my latest video. 

Video: Best Foreign Tank of the Red Army

The Red Army operated a number of foreign tanks, but only one was the clear favourite of Soviet tank units for the majority of the war. See which one it was in my latest video, the answer may surprise you!

Video: Panzerfaust Effectiveness and Protection

The Panzerfaust was a very powerful weapon when used correctly. However, there are many misconceptions about the effectiveness of this weapon and the methods devised to protect against it. In this video I talk about how the American, British Commonwealth, and Soviet tank forces protected themselves against the Panzerfaust and similar weapons. 

Video: How to Kill a Ferdinand

With up to 200 mm of armour, the Ferdinand was a formidable opponent. Nevertheless, trials showed that it had its share of weaknesses. Learn how to destroy the infamous tank destroyer in my latest video:

Video: IS-4 in 1946

The Red Army was eager to get their hands on the Object 701 and it was recommended for production in the spring of 1945. Why did it take another year for the tank to be accepted into service as the IS-4? Would it have been possible or even advisable to get it into production faster? Watch my latest video to find out.

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Video: Big HE Shells vs German Tank Armour

The SU-152 made a name for itself as a tank killer thanks to its big 152 mm gun firing a 40 kg high explosive shell, but how good was this weapon at destroying tanks? Was better ammunition not available? In this video, I go over how 122 mm and 152 mm high explosive shells fared against thick armour compared to purpose made ammunition.

 

Video: IS-7 tank in 1946

The Red Army wanted a superheavy tank since its inception and in 1945 the conditions were finally right to procure one. The IS-7 was the heaviest Soviet tank yet, but could it see service if the war lasted long enough?

 

Video: Three Way Heavy Tank Contest

In 1939, the Red Army had not one, not two, but three whole heavy tank designs. Find out how they competed and who the winner was in my latest video.

Book Review: Tank by Mark Urban

When I'm asked to review books, they are usually written by tank historians for tank historians. They bristle with technical details, tables of organization, unit numbers, millimeters and kilograms, with some pages more footnotes than text and a thick heft bibliography that can be the size of a chapter of its own. This is not one of those books.

Video: KV-1 with Applique Armour

The KV-1 was the heaviest and best protected heavy tank in the world, but the Red Army still wanted even more armour! Find out why and how effective this add-on armour was in my latest video. 

Video: 76 mm HE vs German Armour

We know how effective 152 mm high explosive shells were against German tank armour, but what about slightly smaller ones? Check out my latest video to find out.