The Rhino's Horn

As part of Operation Bagration the elimination Of the Vitebsk salient was one of the key objectives. There forces of the German 3rd Panzer Army and the Soviet 5th Army clashed over the fortress city of Vitebsk During the battle, …

1944-06-23

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As part of Operation Bagration the elimination Of the Vitebsk salient was one of the key objectives. There forces of the German 3rd Panzer Army and the Soviet 5th Army clashed over the fortress city of Vitebsk During the battle, Nashorns of the 1st Platoon, 519th Tank Destroyer Battalion. Leutnant Albert Ernst commanding, saw action. The Nashorn was a stopgap measure to get mobile versions of the 88mm U71 gun into the hands of the German armored units. This hard-hitting weapon could easily penetrate even the most heavily armored Soviet tanks at long ranges. It, like many German tank destroyers, suffered from a lack of overhead protection and thin armor. Even so, encounters with the Nashorn invariably resulted in a brief and often fatal outcome many unlucky Soviet tankers.

Vitebsk, Russia

The Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive was part of the Belorussian Strategic Offensive of the Red Army in summer 1944, commonly known as Operation Bagration. During the offensive, Soviet troops captured Vitebsk and Orsha. A Soviet breakthrough during the offensive helped achieve the encirclement of German troops in the subsequent Minsk Offensive.

Wikipedia: Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive

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Russian