Tolkachev collection

[cb021]

Apologies if these pics have been posted before. I have searched on 'Tolkachev' and found no hits so here goes....

Here is a group of late war photos from Guards Lt. Colonel Mikhail Aleksandrovich Tolkachev.







Does anyone know the unit / location for any of them?

From here:
http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5053&st=0

Many Thanks,

Chris Brown

[Florian Schroeder]

The Panther labelled "323" MIGHT be one of KG Käther's vehicles in the area around Berlin in April 1945, but that is a very wild guess based on the swastika on the turret (which incidentally may have been painted on by the Soviet troops and NOT meant for better recognition).

[cb021]

Thanks Florian,

I have googled KG Käther without much success. The two vehicles behind this Panther look to be early war beute panzers - perhaps a British Cruiser turret? - and as the Tolkachev group of photos also has an early French D2 tank, I was wondering if the location could be Kummersdorf or somewhere similar. Would this tie-in with KG Käther's locations?

Regards,

Chris.

[Florian Schroeder]

From what I can gather (and those sources are far from reliable), said Kampfgruppe wasn't exactly operating out of Kummersdorf but being formed under a lieutenant colonel Käther (or Kaether) around Zossen; a "emergenvy tank company Kummersdorf" is said to have been formed with everything that could still be found (including a bunch of captured vehicles plus 1 Tiger II, 1 Jagdtiger, 1 Panther, 2 Shermans and 1 Italian P40 amongst others) then heading for Zossen around April 1945.

Other Kampfgruppen seem to have been subordinated to Käther as well so you get a wild mixture of vehicles. In the end, that Panthers might NOT have been Käther's own but vehicles of a different Kampfgruppe that somehow was involved with Käther's (there is indication of a KG "Ritter" being formed of all combat elements around Zossen at the end of April) and every source I have seen so far indicates the Panthers with the big swastika belonging to KG Käther. I think, though, we can at least put them in teh general vicinity of Kummersdorf/Zossen either way.

[Panzerfan]

habe ein Farbschema das hierzu passt. Villeicht hilft das auch weiter....


Quelle: Wydawnictwo Militaria 217 Panzer Colors vol. VI

Gruß Jörg

[Edi Eberl]

hi Jörg,

bitte Quelle dazu

[cb021]

Thanks for the input Florian and Joerg.

I do not know if you are aware but Vasily Diounov has posted the same photos/link on Missing Lynx with the suggestion that this may be "Kampfguppe Ritter which fought in the Berlin suburbs in April 1945" which also used some beute tanks from Zossen.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/47207/th ... w+pictures.

Unfortunately he has not had much response.

Regards,

Chris.

[Edi Eberl]

I do not want to believe, that those swastikas were applied by the Germans

[Florian Schroeder]

I, too, think those Panthers might have belonged to KG Ritter which has been formed AFTER KG Käther (but probably including its remnants).

It is very doubtful that the swastikas have been added by German troops, but I don't recall any other photographs of vehicles (neither German nor captured Russian) having added a big swastika to them - and those seem to have been added very carefully so it might indicate a special purpose rather than just a Soviet victory/capture marking. As long as we don#t find other evidence, though, this will remain speculation.