The Russian tanks in WWII never went as far west as Overloon Netherlands. The Russians stopped when they got to Berlin Germany. I was advised by the director of Museum44 in Overloon Netherlands to go to the Oorlags Museum of Overloon. This Russian tank was parked in the woods leading to the museum.
The Battle of Overloon was fought in the Second World War between Allied forces and the German Army which took place in and around the village of Overloon in the south-east of the Netherlands between 30 September and 18 October 1944. The battle was an Allied victory, after the Allies launched Operation Aintree. Signs in the wooded area leading up to the museum reminded visitors that much of the fighting happened right in this wooded area
This tank is the T-34 with an 85 mm cannon. It weighs 35 tons. It was a notorious tank because it had firepower, solid armor and was very mobile. It’s designed allowed for mass production. About nine times more T-34s left the factory than German Panzer tanks. Since these tanks were fighting on Germany’s eastern front, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken probably never saw a T-34. He most certainly would have seen German Panzer tanks.
The director of Museum44 was kind enough to call someone he knew at the Oorlags Museum so that a curator could show me items in the museum that tied in directly to the period I was researching which was in late February and early March of 1945.
The Oorlags museum is cavernous with hundreds of military vehicles on display. Having the curator walk me directly to several American Sherman tanks made my life so much easier since I am no expert on makes and models of military hardware.
One entire area of the museum is devolved just to displaying the thousands of different types of shells that were in use to kill the enemy. War is a crazy vicious business. As I was doing this sketch it started to rain. Those are the explosions you see all over the page.