Forces of Valor 80084 1:32 RUSSIAN T-34/85 Vitebsk area, 1944

The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. It has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential tank design of WW II. First produced at the KhPZ factory in Kharkov (Kharkiv, Ukraine), it was the mainstay of Soviet armored forces throughout WW II, and widely exported afterwards. It was the most-produced tank of the war, and the second most-produced tank of all time. At its introduction, it was the tank with the best balanced attributes of firepower, mobility, protection and ruggedness. The design and construction of the tank were continuously refined during the war to enhance effectiveness and decrease costs, allowing steadily greater numbers of T-34s to be fielded. In early 1944, the improved T-34-85 was introduced, with a more powerful 85 mm gun and a three-man turret design.

During WW II Vitbsk was a Russian city under Nazi occupation from 10 July 1941 to 26 June 1944. Much of the city was destroyed in the battles between German and the Red Army soldiers.

The Forces of Valor ® replica is of a T-34 from the 25th Guard Tank Brigade in the Vitebsk area in 1944.