Zinoviy Grigorevich Kolobanov ( Зиновий Григoрьевич Колобaнов ) was born on 25th December, 1910, in the village of Arefino.

Johannes Kümmel was born in Coswig, Saxony on the 21st July 1909. He started his military career as an infantryman in the 12th Infantry Regiment in the Reichswehr in 1928. In 1938, after the establishment of the Wehrmacht, he was transferred to the 8th Panzer Regiment as a Panzer III commander.

Lafayette G. Pool was born on July 23rd, 1919, in Texas and served during World War II as a tank commander in the US Army. As a tank ace, he destroyed over 250 armoured vehicles including tanks and SPGs, and is undoubtly one of the best tankers of the war.

Mariya Vasilyevna Oktyabrskaya (Мария Васильевна Октябрьская) was the first female tank driver ever to have been awarded the title ‘Hero of The Soviet Union’.

Krysov’s first combat occurred on 27th July 1942, where his tank platoon was tasked to support infantry in an attempt to retake Hill 174.9 – a heavily fortified German outpost. Soon, they came under fire from well-concealed towed anti-tank guns.