The Great Patriotic War has tangible, material symbols. Famous models of equipment that glorified Russian weapons all over the world (T-34 tanks, Il-2 attack aircraft, Pe-2 bombers, PPSh machine guns) were produced in huge quantities unprecedented in the history of mankind. The surviving instances of these formidable military units took their places on pedestals. But there were quite seemingly simple, and by no means grandiose defensive means, quite deserving of a monument being erected to them. Anti-tank hedgehogs restrained the advance of the Nazi hordes no less effectively than the famous anti-tank rifles and magpies, or rather, helped our armored gunners, acting along with them.
1939 year. Europe without "hedgehogs"
Hitler started the war, armed with light tanks and the Blitzkrieg doctrine. Rapid throws of mobile armored vehicles, coverage, "boilers" - this is the technology, using which the Nazis captured most of Europe, without bothering with long sieges and protracted battles. After the Sudetenland, they had to meet with barrage structures, but the Czech anti-tank hedgehogs were unable to do any harm, they were simply pushed apart and rushed into the breaches that arose. German generals assumed that in the USSR they would be able to cope with the task assigned by the command no worse. A very unpleasant surprise awaited them.
Funny Barrier
When the German tankers first saw our anti-tank hedgehogs, they were not at all puzzled, and some of them even laughed at “these stupid Russians,” who thought that the Wehrmacht’s steel fist could be stopped, or at least held back “with this.” And in fact, some simple combination, welded from beams or ordinary rails, is only a meter high or even lower. Looking around with binoculars this mysterious object, the Germans decided that it really was not dangerous, it was not even dug into the ground. Here the Czechs, those like real Europeans, approached the task thoroughly, concrete was used in the manufacture of their barriers, but it did not interfere, however, with moving them. Thinking, the Panzerwaffe commanders gave the command to attack. It soon became clear that not everything is so simple ...
German tanks
German tanks in the early years of the war (TI, T-II and T-III) were light. This meant that their weight did not exceed 21 tons, and the reservation of the bottom was practically absent. And in their design there was an important drawback - the front transmission. It was she who suffered primarily when hitting anti-tank hedgehogs. A piece of the I-beam pierced the thin metal of the bottom and destroyed the mechanism. The German gearbox is a complicated and expensive thing. Especially tank. But that is not all ... The main danger lay in a completely different circumstance.
How does an anti-tank hedgehog work
It was the small size of the steel "hedgehog" that made it an effective tool. If he were big, then there would be much less problems. He ran into him with frontal armor, turned on the first gear, and then slowly, slowly ... The Soviet anti-tank hedgehogs strove to roll under the bottom, disrupting the adhesion of tracks to the ground. The attempt to “move out” led to a deplorable result. The bottom is upset, the oil pipe is flowing, the gearbox is jammed. And all these destruction can only be sadly considered, and only then if, due to the parapet, the anti-tank rifle is not firing at that moment or the artillerymen do not work out the accuracy of shooting at the weakly protected lower horizontal section of the armored corps. There is already close to the detonation of ammunition, and gasoline is about to erupt. The car needs to be left, and here the infantry threw a twinkle. In general, it was not enough hunters to envy German tankers at such a moment.
"Asterisk" by General Mikhail Lvovich Gorikker
In fact, he had a star, and on every pursuit, a general. Served M. L. Gorikker as the head of the Kiev Tank Technical School. But he became famous for another "star".
Gorikker is an example of a real Russian officer, two St. George crosses received in the German war, confirm that he was not only smart, but also brave.
After the German attack, the question of anti-tank weapons immediately and sharply arose. The requirements were simple but stringent: technological simplicity, the availability of manufacturing materials and high efficiency.
Being a competent engineer (especially in the field of armored vehicles), M. L. Gorikker made many calculations, after which he proposed his anti-tank “hedgehog”. The drawing was approved. In July, several prototypes were made and tested at the test site. The role of the “targets” of this chargeless device was played by the light Soviet tanks T-26 and BT-5, they surpassed their German counterparts (in particular, their chassis was much better, and the transmission was rear), but they were still badly damaged. So, in the arsenal of the Red Army, a new means of combating enemy armored vehicles appeared, called the Gorikker asterisk. The war veterans called it hedgehogs later, apparently, it was not easy to pronounce the intricate surname of the inventor. But to get a little, you still need to be able to use it.
Manufacturing technology
By July, all enterprises of the front-line cities (Odessa, Sevastopol, Kiev and many others) that possessed the necessary equipment were given the task of manufacturing anti-tank hedgehogs. All machine-building plants became military, there were no questions with labor resources, there were enough specialists.
The technology was simple, for each “hedgehog” three pieces of an I-beam, less than one and a half meters long, were required. Best of all, if these parts were made of durable steel, but most often used rails, tram or rail, they were always at hand.
They should be welded or firmly connected in another way so that when a certain force is applied, the finished product can roll without breaking.
Combat use
For effective use, it was not enough to know how to make an anti-tank hedgehog; it was necessary to learn some features of the use of this anti-tank weapon in battle conditions.
Firstly, it is best to install it on a surface quite smooth, but not slippery, otherwise it will not be difficult to move it with the help of simple auxiliary devices (cable with a hook or loop, for example). Frozen ground or asphalt is great.
Secondly, the distance between the rows of defense elements is important (and there should be many "hedgehogs", one does not solve anything). It should be one and a half meters (for the first and second) and two and a half - for the next echelons. As in any fortification, the more defenses there are, the better.
Thirdly, “hedgehogs” in the ranks can be fastened together, but the next line should be autonomous from the previous one.
Fourth, the use of barbed wire is undesirable. For her, the mount is special.
Fifth, approaches are best mined.
Violation of these simple rules in the conditions of the front led to a decrease in the combat effectiveness of the means, as well as attempts to make the “Gorikker stars” larger than recommended by the instructions.
By the way, the inventor, who can be called brilliant (for the simplicity of the solution), had other merits, he received many government awards both before and after the war, including the Order of Lenin. And for the "hedgehogs" the government gave him a FED camera.
The war continued, and the long-awaited turning point came, after which the Soviet generals did not even think about defense. Only an offensive, and on all fronts! And then the war ended victoriously.
Memory
Many heroes died on nameless skyscrapers, covering their native land with their bodies. In every village, city or town through which the fire shaft of the front swept through, today stands a monument. Anti-tank hedgehogs became a symbol of the unbending rebellion of all the peoples of the USSR, who managed to turn off the neck of the disgusting Nazi reptile. Now they can be made large and put on pedestals. And so they stand, like silent sentinels, recalling the harsh time.
In 1966, near the center of Moscow, on the 23rd kilometer of the Leningradskoye Shosse, an unusual monument was erected. Gigantic constructions stylized as anti-tank barriers marked the point at which the advancing German units and four militia divisions, composed of citizens of various professions, ages, and fates, came together. The memorial is dedicated to the memory of Muscovites who did not flinch in battle for their capital. Anti-tank hedgehogs in Khimki is one of many monuments that glorify the memory of our ancestors. Gorikker’s invention was steel. But not only metal matters.
During the retreat, the Nazis tried to use the Soviet "hedgehogs" for the defense of Berlin and other cities of the then Third Reich. They did not help them ...