These endless marches were especially difficult on the older heavy T-35 tanks. A veritable land dreadnought, it mounted five turrets and was operated by a crew of ten. It was also very finicky and at the end of its useful life. Out of forty-eight T-35s in the corps at the beginning of the war, less than five made it to the area of operations at Dubno.
Starting off from the vicinity of Brody in the morning of June 26, the VIII Mechanized Corps began steadily pushing back German screening forces. It was advancing over similar unfavorable terrain like the one facing the XV Mechanized. After advancing approximately ten miles, Ryabyshev’s VIII Mechanized came up against prepared defensive positions of German 57th Infantry Division. This German division, reinforced with its corps’ artillery assets, defended the line of Kozyn-Berestechko. The VIII Mechanized Corps spent the rest of the day disputing the line of Plyashevka River and could not advance any further, suffering heavy casualties in the fighting.
Attacking shortly after 0900 hours, the 12th Tank Division of this corps went into the fight without any artillery support. In a particularly brutal air attack, German aircraft destroyed or disabled all the tractors towing the cannons of the division’s artillery regiment. Division’s chief of staff, Col. N. A. Popov, was killed in a similar attack. The infantry support for the attack came late as well, with Col. A. V. Gerasimov’s 7th Motorized Rifle Division going forward around 1300 hours.
We are fortunate that its two senior leaders, Ryabyshev and corps’ commissar Popel, left behind their memoirs with very descriptive recounting of the events. A majority of material in the following section describing operations of the VIII Mechanized Corps on June 26 was taken from Ryabyshev’s and Popel’s memoirs.
Commissar Popel decided to join the attack of corps’ spearhead 12th Tank Division under Maj. Gen. T. A. Mishanin. Before climbing into his T-34 tank, he turned to Ryabyshev and shook his friend’s hand:
“If anything happens, let my family know.”
“Of course. You too.”[9]
Popel’s tank took place among the ranks of the 24th Tank Regiment under Lt. Col. P. I. Volkov. This regiment was a very powerful formation, its 1st Battalion composed of one company of KV tanks and two companies of T-34s. The second battalion, forming the second echelon behind their heavier brethren, was composed of fast and light BT-7s. East of Volkov’s regiment, its sister 23rd Tank Regiment under Major N. S. Galaida took up its attack positions.
The 12th Tank Division was to cross three rivers, Styr, Syten’ka, and Slonovka, capture the village of Leshnov, and advance to Berestechko. If it could carry out this maneuver, German lines of communications between Rovno and Dubno would be cut, and its forward mobile group would be left unsupported.[10]
At the coded command “seven, seven, seven, seven,” the 24th Tank Regiment surged from its starting positions in the woods towards the Slonovka River. While command tanks of senior officers like Colonel Volkov and Commissar Popel had radios, the rest of rank-and-file vehicles still relied on signal flags for directions from their commanders: “Binoculars were in Volkov’s left hand, signal flags—in his right.”[11] As the regiment advanced closer to Leshnov, German interdictory artillery fire began landing among Soviet formations, causing momentary delay and confusion.
Quickly traversing an open field, the 24th Tank Regiment reached the bank of Slonovka River, where it was halted by the impassable terrain. During the previous night, nobody scouted the ground over which the unit was to advance. Now, several leading tanks charged over the muddy bank and became stuck.
Cautiously, Popel ordered his driver to slow down and watched in frustration other floundering tanks:
First, second, third vehicle plunges into the swamp. The tankers, as often before during maneuvers, were counting on charging right through the narrow river and the swampy river bank. It’s possible that they did so impetuously, not able to hold back once their blood was up. But one swamp is different from another. Also, during the night the combat engineers did not scout out the river bank. The companies halted in full view of the enemy anti-tank crews.[12]
Colonel Volkov quickly turned his unit east towards a bridge. Popel notes how after relaying his command over the radio, Volkov stood up in his turret and three times relayed the same command using the signal flags for those tanks without radios. While moving along the river, Volkov’s tanks were forced to turn sideways, presenting vulnerable sides to German antitank battery on the other side of the river. One Soviet tank immediately paid the price, knocked out and catching on fire.
However, the bridge was not scouted out either, and now, under accurate German fire, it was the wrong time to discover that the bridge was destroyed. Popel noticed confusion reigning around it. As the German artillery fire concentrated on the bridge and approaches to it, some tanks bunched up in disorder behind Popel, while some began slinking away back towards the tree line where they started from. With difficulty, Volkov and Popel organized a somewhat orderly pull back and began returning ineffective counterbattery fire with their tank cannons.
Major General Mishanin sent in some infantry to repair the bridge. Some of the BT-7 tanks from Colonel Volkov’s regiment managed to bring up parts of a disassembled combat bridge, which greatly facilitated repairing the bridge over Slonovka River. Forced to work under fire and taking heavy casualties in the process, Soviet infantrymen managed to repair the rickety bridge well enough to allow one tank across at a time.
One after another, Volkov’s tanks went across. In his turn, Popel’s tank charged over the shaky bridge, followed in quick succession by several more T-34s. “The Germans zeroed-in on the bridge, and a shell hit a crossing tank head on. The plume of reddish sparks is brighter than the sun. However, the tank, completely unaffected, turns to the right and follows us. Looks like the German antitank guns can not punch through the frontal armor. What is their caliber?”[13]
As more and more tanks crossed over the bridge, Colonel Volkov sent a platoon along the river bank to clear out the German antitank battery there. While this task was being carried out, Volkov began reorganizing his regiment for its main mission—capturing Leshnov village. Slightly shifting its aim, Volkov’s 24th Tank Regiment charged at the village from the east. Major Galaida’s 23rd Regiment went in from the west.
As the 24th Tank Regiment approached closer to the village, heavier German artillery opened up, immediately knocking out one T-34 tank. At the same time, approximately a battalion-sized force of German Pz III and Pz IV panzers left the woods northeast, attempting to catch the attacking Soviet force in the flank.
A tank-on-tank fight ensued in the tall oat fields. Artillery on both sides joined in the fight. Popel mistakenly stated that a whole howitzer regiment was supporting the attack of the 24th Tank Regiment. This was highly unlikely, since almost all of the 12th Howitzer Regiment, belonging to the 12th Tank Division, was destroyed in an air attack.
Popel again:
Hundreds of black plumes flare up and disappear above the oat field. Suddenly, my breath caught. Ears felt as if plugged up. This happens when a plane hits an air pocket. [My] T-34 was lifted up as if on wings and gently lowered to the ground. Once the dust cleared, I saw a smoking hulk in place of neighboring tank. The enemy shell hit its ammunition supply…. There is no more field, nor land, forest or sky. Only thunder and fire, smoke and dust. I am trying to figure out whose loses are greater. I try to count knocked out and burning vehicles. I can’t, I lose count. Can’t see the right flank. Can not tear my eyes from the gun sights.”[14]