Pakfront

It was named after the phonetic pronunciation of the acronym nomenclature for German towed anti-tank guns, PaK (PanzerabwehrKanone, "tank defense cannon").

The tactic was found to be extremely effective, and soon the Soviets had copied it, often using multiple pakfronts in concert with minefields, anti-tank ditches, and other obstacles to channel the enemy armour into their fields of fire.

The size and efficiency of such defenses was directly proportional to the amount of time granted to prepare them, with one report commenting it was not uncommon for the Red Army to lay 30,000 mines in a sector within two or three days.

[citation needed] The Soviet method of employing pakfronts included establishing "anti-tank zones" (Russian: противотанковые районы protivotankovyje rajony) in staggered patterns with multiple pak-groups' ("anti-tank base-of-fire points", Russian: противотанковые опорные пункты protivotankovyje opornyje punkty) firing sectors intertwined, to amplify the effect of the tactic.

[citation needed] The long preparation period afforded to the Red Army allowed for the salient to achieve unprecedented size and sophistication.

Basic Soviet Pakfront doctrine: A platoon of German tanks enters an area defended by camouflaged Soviet anti-tank artillery. Radio is used to co-ordinate simultaneous fire upon a single vehicle, hopefully resulting in a " catastrophic kill "