Tank Rider

Archival Summary & Scope

*Tank Rider* is the frank and dramatic memoir of Evgeni Bessonov, an officer in an elite Red Army guards tank unit on the Eastern Front of World War II. Bessonov recounts his harrowing journey from his first battle at Kursk in 1943, which initiated the German retreat, through devastated Western Russia and Poland, to the final push into Berlin in 1945. He vividly details large-scale engagements, daily encounters with the German foe, relentless skirmishing, and the overwhelming tragedy and horror of apocalyptic warfare. This riveting account offers a vital and honest glimpse into the often-untold Soviet experience of WWII's most decisive moments.