裝甲部隊是現代戰爭中重要的武力,其所具備的破壞力與機動力讓他們成為戰場的主宰者。蘇聯在建國初期因缺乏工業技術僅能組建小規模的裝甲部隊,同時他們也缺乏運用裝甲兵的知識。為了得到現代化的工業技術與軍事思想,列寧(Vladimir Ilyich Lenin,1870-1924)決定與德國合作,這段軍事合作從1923年持續到1933年希特勒上台為止,蘇聯從中得到戰車的製作技術,同時也在與德軍的交流中創造出新觀點。從1928年開始的五年計畫的成功讓蘇聯有能力自行研發戰車並將之量產。在滿足物質需求的同時,軍事思想也有很大的進展。在特里安達菲洛夫(V. K. Triandafillov,1894-1931)與圖卡哈切夫斯基(Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky,1893-1937)等人的努力下,蘇聯軍方創造出符合自身需求的「大縱深戰役理論」。蘇聯裝甲部隊的發展在1930年中期達到高峰,他們成為全世界最大裝甲部隊。但1937年史達林(Ioseph Stalin,1879-1953)發動大整肅,大量軍官遭到逮捕或殺害,裝甲部隊亦遭到解散。1939年「閃擊戰」(Blitzkrieg)的成功讓史達林了解到裝甲部隊的強大實力,因而開始重建裝甲部隊與重新實行大縱深戰役理論。德國在1941年的入侵雖然讓蘇聯裝甲部隊元氣大傷,但其最終還是浴火重生,最終成為蘇聯在衛國戰爭中獲勝的關鍵戰力。
The armored troop is an important force in modern war, whose destructive power and mobility made it became the ruler in battlefield. The Soviet Union could only form small armored troop in its early days due to its lack of technology; it also did not have sufficient knowledge to maneuver the troop. In order to acquire technology and learn modern military concepts, Lenin decided to team up with Germany. This military cooperation started in 1922 and ended in 1933 when Hitler became the leader of Germany. In this military cooperation the Soviet Union learned how to make tanks and also created some new concepts. The success of the Five-Year Plan which began from 1928 allowed the Soviet Union to develop tanks by themselves and produce them on a large scale. The Soviet Union also made great advancement in terms of military thought. Through the efforts of Triandafillov and Tukhachevsky, the Soviet Army created a theory called the ”Deep Battle” which could tally with their need. The development of the Soviet armored troop reached a high peak in the middle of the 1930s, when they already commanded the greatest armored troop in the world. However, when Stalin started ”The Great Purge” in 1937, many officers were arrested or killed, and the armored troop was dissolved. The success of ”Blitzkrieg” in 1939 made Stalin realized that the armored troop had great power, so he started to rebuild it and carried out the idea of the Deep Battle anew. Although the Germany's invasion in 1941 greatly damaged Soviet Union's armored troop, the Soviet troop soon rebuilt itself and eventually became the key force in winning the Great Patriotic War.