The author, Peter Samsonov, is a Russian-Canadian military historian who has received praise from notable historians for his research on Second World War armored vehicles using English, Russian and German primary documents. He has several books under his name, and this is the first of his that I have read. It will not be my last as his attention to detail, facts and engaging writing style are fantastic.

From the Casemate's website description of this book,

The first encounter between British armour and the Red Army was not on friendly terms – with the British sending surplus tanks to reinforce the pro-monarchy White Army in the Russian Civil War. When the Reds won, war trophy Mark V heavy tanks as well as medium Mk.A Whippets and Mk.B Hornets entered service with the RKKA. As the political landscape changed during the 1920s, the Red Army assessed British designs available for export and a licensed copy of the Vickers Mk.E entered production in 1931 as the T-26.

During the early days of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, armour losses were huge and the Red Army once again looked abroad to acquire new fighting vehicles. A large-scale programme of military aid to the USSR began in August 1941, with the US and Britain offering help under separate terms – though not for free. A deal was struck and Convoy PQ-1 with the first 20 British tanks for the Red Army left for Arkhangelsk on September 29, 1941. These tanks arrived in time to take place in the Battle of Moscow and as shipments continued, British armoured vehicles would remain in service with the Red Army until the conclusion of the Second World War nearly four years later.

A wide range of British vehicles served under the Red flag during the war – ranging from Matildas and Valentines to Churchills and even Tetrarch light tanks.

In British Tanks of the Red Army, tank expert Peter Samsonov presents a history of British tanks in the Soviet Union and provides a detailed account of their use on the battlefield, including what the Red Army tankers thought of them.

British Tanks of the Red Army is well laid out with historical details on the tank, its design, testing, and Red Army observations, testing and employment. The book is composed of the following:

• Introduction
• I. British Infantry Tanks in Soviet Service
  • Infantry Tank Mk. II (Matilda)
  • Infantry Tank Mk. III (Valentine)
  • The First Generation: Valentine I, Valentine II, Valentine IV
  • Return of the Three-Man Turret: Valentine III and V
  • Canadian Valentines: Valentine VI, VII and VIIA
  • Firepower Upgrade: Valentine IX and X
  • Soviet Upgrades
  • Infantry Tank Mk. IV (Churchill)
  • Churchill I-IV
  • Churchill Crocodile
  • Battle of Stalingrad
  • Battle of Kursk
  • Leningrad and Pskov Offensives
• II. Matilda and Valentine Tanks in Combat
  • Battle of Moscow
  • Second Battle of Kharkov
  • Battle of Voronezh
  • Battle of the Caucasus
  • Battle of Kursk
  • Operation Bagration
• III. British Light Tanks and Cruisers in the USSR
  • Light Tank Mk. VII (Tetrarch)
  • Cruiser Tanks Mk. IV and Mk. VI
  • Cruiser Tank Mk. VII (Cromwell)
• IV. Conclusion
• Profiles
• Glossary
• Endnotes
• Index

The first chapter is a great primer on the Red Army’s tank development from their revolution to the outbreak of World War II.Tank development was revolutionary during this time frame and the author does an amazing job of highlighting the challenges facing the Red Army and their solutions. At the outbreak of hostilities, the Russians reached out to the British and their designs, primarily with their infantry tanks (the British light tanks and cruisers are given their due but were not really used beyond testing as their own tank development had rapidly caught up, as had their production).

The author did an amazing job highlighting each major infantry tank (Matilda, Valentine and Churchill) with supporting text, 50 color photographs from museums, 12 German source diagrams on where to attack each tank, and 13 maps to illustrate the major campaigns the respective tanks fought.

Among the fascinating things in the book is the Soviet acceptance and testing of the British tanks. The tanks were tested on mileage (road and cross country), adaptability to cold weather, driving on snow and ice, slope mobility, ability to break through snow drifts and obstacles, mechanical reliability, track wear, armor penetration and modifications if necessary. A lot of the testing was necessarily focused on fighting in cold weather conditions and mud, factors not heavily required when the British designed these tanks.

The combat sections of the book are amazing as the tanks and their units are described in great detail. Of particular interest was the Churchill tanks use in Guard Heavy Tank Regiments. While not fast, nor having endurance for long road marches, the Churchills were able to take a beating and excelled in defensive combat. While Matildas and Churchills didn’t serve until the end of the war, Valentines continued to soldier on into the final battles in Germany in 1945 (and again against Japan in August 1945).

The British tanks were not provided under Lend Lease (the Lend Lease Act applied to American supplies), but another program to exchange war materiel for USSR natural resources. While some critics bemoan the British tanks did little to aid Soviet victory, the author does a fantastic job of research and shows that the British tanks did indeed fill a necessary role early in war through 1943 when Soviet technology and productivity caught up, then eclipsed the aid it was receiving.

The author succinctly states in the Conclusion,

Contributions made by the British are frequently and unjustly sidelined in these (Lend Lease) discussions. When it comes to tanks, the British were a solid competitor to the Americans. The Red Army received 927 Valentine tanks with 6-pounders, 1,364 Valentines with 2-pounders, and 1,041 Valentine tanks built in Canada (tallied separately in Soviet records) for a total of 3,332 Valentines alone. Deliveries of Valentine tanks outnumbered Shermans until the last year of the war. The delivery of 258 Churchill tanks and 916 Matildas should also not be forgotten.

This book is not only recommended for British tanks in the Red Army, it deserves space on a bookshelf for anyone interested in early WWII British infantry tanks. The color photographs are taken from British, Canadian and Russian museums and, along with the outstanding color profiles, will be excellent reference for modelers building one of the referenced tanks. My only complaint is the weak binding on the book as it is falling apart after an initial reading; nothing that clear packing tape can’t fix as I plan to use this book in future builds of the Churchill, Matilda and Valentine tanks I have in my stash.

As often happens in a good book, the information and author’s style made me go down a rabbit hole for more information. I found a Reddit site where Peter Samsonov described this book,

The Red Army was closely intertwined with British armour. Some of the first tanks with a red star on the side were captured Mark V heavy tanks as well as Mark A Whippet and Mark B Hornet medium tanks. A new wave of Soviet armour built in the early 1930s was based on British designs as well: the Vickers Mk.E (T-26), Carden-Loyd MkVI tankette (T-27) and Vickers-Carden-Loyd M1931 amphibious tank (T-37).

In the fall of 1941, British tanks set out to the USSR for the third time. Large shipments of Matilda, Valentine, and Churchill tanks followed as well as a number of small batches of tanks such as the Tetrarch and Cromwell. Over the next four years, these tanks would fight shoulder to shoulder with the T-34, KV-1, and other legends of the Great Patriotic War.

British Tanks of the Red Army is extensively based on primary documents to present the reader with the unvarnished and uncensored picture of British armour in the eyes of the Red Army's tankers, their advantages, and disadvantages, their triumphs and defeats. In addition to technical evaluations and proving grounds trials, the book covers the use of these tanks in famous battles including Moscow, Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk and Operation Bagration.

In the site the author then answered some very good questions with well thought out and researched answers. I was thrilled to see that Peter Samsonov not only has authored several books, but he is also active on social media and runs the Tank Archives Blog. Well done, Sir, and you have a new follower.

Profuse thanks to Casemate and IPMS/USA for providing the review sample.