5cm Pak 38 anti-tank gun engaging a trio of bogged down Soviet T-34/76 tanks in 1941

An interesting scene from the Eastern Front that at first glance appears to be staged propaganda. This was filmed with men from Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 98 near Staryj Jar in Ukraine in June 1951 following a counter-attack by the Soviet 32nd Tank Division.

0:06 The implication is that at least one of these three vehicles is still manned, which makes it unlikely that the cameraman would have approached to within such a short distance of active enemy vehicles, especially when targeting derelict vehicles to simulate combat was not unknown.

0:09 At this point in the footage however, the right track on the vehicle furthest to the camera appears to be moving as the crew attempt to get their vehicle moving

0:22 As the track continues to churn up the mud, the same tank is struck by a shell in the turret. One could argue that if the footage was staged, the tank could have been operated remotely, but this seems unlikely.

0:38 The T-34 closest to the camera is struck by a shell that appears to strike the turret ring. When using tungsten-cored APCR ammunition the Pak 38 was capable of piercing the T-34/76 turret from around 500 meters

0:51 A shot to the hull side of the tank closest to the camera ricochets off the armor. At such an oblique angle the shell would have no chance of going through.

0:58 A similarly angled shot to the turret of the same tank also ricochets.

1:01 A German soldier runs up to the tank furthest from the camera, possibly to place a demolition charge.

1:05 As the Pak 38 crew reposition their gun, the one-piece hatch hatch, characteristic of early T-43/76 models, is knocked clean off the tank.

1:10 The crew of the tank nearest to the camera surrenders, possibly the only survivors of the engagement.