Looking at the KV-2 now, one might say “what were they thinking”. But at the beginning
of WWII this monster of a tank was a fearsome sight on the early battlefields. There was
nothing else like it and the heavy armor made it almost impenetrable by any tank the
Germans had at the time. As the war progressed, the Germans developed better tanks
with greater firepower. The large KV-2 became an easy target and because of it being
under powered for its size it was slow moving. Another drawback was it was designed as
a break-through tank and was deployed in small units. One of the most costly factors for
the KV-2 was the inability of the Soviets to keep these machines supplied with fuel and
ammunition. As a result many were just abandoned by their crew when they realized re-
supply wasn’t coming.
The KV series of Soviet tanks were named after Kliment Voroshilov and were very
effective against German armor during the early stage of WWII. A single KV-2 and infantry
could hold off a German offensive. The Germans referred to the huge KV-2 as the
“Russischer Koloss” – “Russian Colossus. Eventually the German 88 millimeter gun was
used with success against the KV-2. The KV-2 had a very high silhouette and because of
its size was very awkward. When used as a pill box buster or infantry support this
machine was great.