In the deadly days of World War II, when the Russians were on the brink of defeat at the hands of multiple German army groups spread along a thousand-mile front, factories beyond the Urals managed to mass produce tanks in sufficient numbers to eventually beat back the German advance.  The T-34 main battle tank was an inexpensive, no-nonsense weapon that turned the tide of war.  The Russians’ ability to churn out so many of these bare-bones combat vehicles remains a miracle of modern military history.