The tank battle off Prokhorovka on July 12, 1943, marked a turning point in the Battle of Kursk. This day of all others, the Soviet troops managed to check the enemy’s advance, calling a halt of some 300 German tanks. All in all, some 1,200 armored machines were engaged in the battle. Warrant Officer Alexander Sergeyevich Nikolayev, who was one of the first heroes of the Great Patriotic War ramming his tank into an enemy tank, became paragon of virtue during the operation off Prokhorovka.
Alexander Nikolayev was a T-34 tank driver of the 2nd battalion engaged in the assault off Prokhorovka. His tank crew was moving along the riverside of the Psyol, as they came upon a group of German Panzer Tiger. As the forces were unequal, battalion commander Petr Skripkin let his tank steer into the enemy group to gain time and get a good hand. Alexander Nikolayev was driving the tank.
Our tank soldiers managed to brew up two German tanks, before the Germans struck back. A hole was drilled in the tank and the commanding officer was wounded. Nikolayev and radioman Roman Chernow managed to pull him out of the burning tank and put safely away in a shell crater. But this manipulation did not go unnoticed.
One of the Tigers made a U-turn to finish off the tank soldiers. At this point, Alexander Nikolayev could do his best: he ran back to his burning tank, got inside and steered the T-34 in a cross-movement. This one was among the world’s first ram attacks leaving a lasting impression in those who eye-witnessed the smackdown.
The Germans beat a retreat leaving the holding line behind. The Soviet troops, as the news of the tank rim attack got about quite quickly, jumped off. The feat by Alexander Nikolayev was so inspiring that as many as 20 tank rim attacks were made on July 12 during the battle off Prokhorovka.
The T-34 tank crew under command of Petr Skripkin were posthumously awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union. They were laid to rest close to Prokhorovka, and in 1950, the remnants of the dead servicemen were carried into a communal grave in the village of Prelestnoye in Belgorod region.
Alexander Nikolayev was a T-34 tank driver of the 2nd battalion engaged in the assault off Prokhorovka. His tank crew was moving along the riverside of the Psyol, as they came upon a group of German Panzer Tiger. As the forces were unequal, battalion commander Petr Skripkin let his tank steer into the enemy group to gain time and get a good hand. Alexander Nikolayev was driving the tank.
Our tank soldiers managed to brew up two German tanks, before the Germans struck back. A hole was drilled in the tank and the commanding officer was wounded. Nikolayev and radioman Roman Chernow managed to pull him out of the burning tank and put safely away in a shell crater. But this manipulation did not go unnoticed.
One of the Tigers made a U-turn to finish off the tank soldiers. At this point, Alexander Nikolayev could do his best: he ran back to his burning tank, got inside and steered the T-34 in a cross-movement. This one was among the world’s first ram attacks leaving a lasting impression in those who eye-witnessed the smackdown.
The Germans beat a retreat leaving the holding line behind. The Soviet troops, as the news of the tank rim attack got about quite quickly, jumped off. The feat by Alexander Nikolayev was so inspiring that as many as 20 tank rim attacks were made on July 12 during the battle off Prokhorovka.
The T-34 tank crew under command of Petr Skripkin were posthumously awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union. They were laid to rest close to Prokhorovka, and in 1950, the remnants of the dead servicemen were carried into a communal grave in the village of Prelestnoye in Belgorod region.
