SU-85 Krysov is a Soviet Anti-tank unit in Steel Division II.
He is an unique ace from the 26-ya Gvard. Strelkovy.
Background[ | ]
Vasili Krysov was one of the youngest tank aces of World War II, born on the last day of December 1922 in Krysov, in the Kirov Oblast. Graduating high school a day before the launch of Barbarossa, Vasili volunteered together with his entire class for military service. A year later, he graduated the Chelyabinsk Higher Tank Commander School as a lieutenant and started his career as the commander of a KV-1S heavy tank.
Injured in the winter of 1942, after his tank was set alight by German tank fire, Krysov made a full recovery and was assigned to command a platoon of SU-122s in the 1454th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment, earning the Order of the Red Star in August 1943 for storming the village of Pasadka and routing German defenders. His regiment was rearmed with the SU-85 and assigned to the 1st Ukrainian Front in late 1943. Krysov's unit was instrumental in blunting a German counterattack in November, with his vehicle knocking out eight enemy tanks in under 10 minutes.
Krysov was hospitalized again on his 21st birthday, when his SU-85 was destroyed. Krysov negotiated with his doctors and was eventually returned to active duty in March 1944, as commander of the 1st platoon of the 1435th self-propelled artillery regiment. Krysov's regiment participated in Operation Bagration, until Krysov's Su-85 was destroyed. He survived again, and promptly returned to service in October, as part of the 1345th SPA Regiment of the 3rd Belarussian Front. After participating in the initial offensive against Konigsberg, Krysov and his unit were retrained and issued T-34/85 tanks for use in the offensive.
Krysov survived the war, eventually reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel after graduating from the Military Academy of Armored and Mechanized Forces in Moscow. Health issues forced him to retire in 1961, although he remained a prolofic military writer for decades, publishing memoirs of his time in the military.
Strategy[ | ]
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