WW2: Stalingrad (1 Viewer)

DeathHand · Mar 20, 2012

Some images of the Battle of Stalingrad, WWII.

Folks will have seen some of these but many will be new as they are vid grabs that I made from several videos and have not seen published as still photos.

In the following sets I am not only trying to show the death and destruction of the battle, but also the lives of the ordinary soldier: Russian or German.

"The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943. It was the largest battle on the Eastern Front and was marked by brutality and disregard for military and civilian casualties. It is among the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare, with the higher estimates of combined casualties amounting to nearly two million. The heavy losses inflicted on the German army made it a turning point in the war.[12] After the Battle of Stalingrad, German forces never recovered their earlier strength, and attained no further strategic victories in the East."

Set 1.

1. German MG-32 gunner keeps watch.

2. Grave site of a German tank crew.

3. German helmets of thos killed and the grave markers to be used once buried.

4. Young German soldier killed in battle.

DeathHand · Mar 20, 2012

"The German offensive to capture Stalingrad commenced in late summer 1942, and was supported by intensive Luftwaffe bombing which reduced much of the city to rubble. The German offensive eventually became mired in building-to-building fighting; and despite controlling over 90% of the city at times, the Wehrmacht was unable to dislodge the last Soviet defenders clinging tenaciously to the west bank of the Volga River."

Set 2.

5. Body of a dead Russian tank crewman in his knocked out tank.

6. Knocked out Russian tank.

7. German soldiers take cover, their PAK 78mm nearby.

8. Dead Russian soldier.

DeathHand · Mar 20, 2012

"On 19 November 1942, the Red Army launched Operation Uranus: a two-pronged attack targeting the weak Romanian and Hungarian troops which were protecting the 6th Army's flanks. The success of these attacks, after heavy fighting, caused the weakly held flanks to collapse and the 6th Army to be cut off and surrounded inside Stalingrad.

As the Russian winter set in, the 6th Army weakened rapidly from cold, starvation and ongoing Soviet attacks. Command ambiguity coupled with Adolf Hitler's resolute belief in the "power of the will" and the value of "standing fast" further compounded the German predicament. Eventually, the failure of outside German forces to break the encirclement, coupled with the failure of re-supply by air, caused the final collapse. By the beginning of February 1943, Axis resistance in Stalingrad had ceased and the remaining elements of the 6th Army had either surrendered or been destroyed."

Set 3.

9. German soldiers stand at the site of a German burial ground.

10. German MG-32 gunner covering a PAK team.

11. Graves of German soldiers.

12. German PAK crew in action.

DeathHand · Mar 20, 2012

"The Soviets had enough warning of the Germans' advance to ship virtually all the city's grain, cattle, and railroad rolling stock across the Volga and out of harm's way. This "harvest victory" left the city short of food even before the German attack began. Production continued in some factories, particularly the one producing T-34 tanks. Before the Wehrmacht reached the city itself, the Luftwaffe had rendered the River Volga, vital for bringing supplies into the city, unusable to Soviet shipping. Between 25 and 31 July, 32 Soviet ships were sunk, with another nine crippled."

Set 4.

13. German MG-32 team.

14. Russian soldiers killed when their convoy was knocked out.

15. German soldier: either writing home or reviewing battle plans.

16. Dead German soldiers.

DeathHand · Mar 20, 2012

"The battle began with the heavy bombing of the city by Generaloberst Wolfram von Richthofen's Luftflotte 4, which in the summer and autumn of 1942 was the most powerful single air formation in the world. Some 1,000 tons of bombs were dropped.[1]:122 The city was quickly turned to rubble, although some factories continued production while workers joined in the fighting. The 369th (Croatian) Reinforced Infantry Regiment was the only non-German unit[25] selected by the Wehrmacht to enter Stalingrad city during assault operations. It fought as part of the 100th Jäger Division."

Set 4.

17. German soldiers with a knocked out Russian tank and it's dead crew.

18. Graves of German soldiers. Note the damage to the helmet in the foreground.

19. Knocked out convoy, including Red Cross trucks (not sure if German or Russian).

20. Dead Russian tank crewman beside knocked out Russian tank.

DeathHand · Mar 20, 2012

"Soviet operations were constantly hampered by the Luftwaffe. On 18 September, the Soviet 1st Guards and 24th Army launched an offensive against VIII Army Corps at Kotluban. VIII.

Fliegerkorps dispatched wave after wave of Stuka dive-bombers to prevent a breakthrough. The offensive was repulsed. The Stukas claimed 41 of the 106 Soviet tanks knocked out that morning, while escorting Bf 109s destroyed 77 Soviet aircraft. Amid the debris of the wrecked city, the Soviet 62nd and 64th Armies, which included the Soviet 13th Guards Rifle Division, anchored their defense lines with strongpoints in houses and factories."

Set 5.

21. Knocked out German tank and dead crew members.

22. Russian Maxim machine gun, ammo box and Russian helmet.

23. Dead German soldiers along a roadside.

24. German soldier lays out a fallen comrade to be buried.

C_R · Mar 20, 2012

Thanks man

DeathHand · Mar 20, 2012

"Fighting within the ruined city was fierce and desperate. Lieutenant General Alexander Rodimtsev was in charge of the 13th Guards Rifle Division, and received one of two Heroes of the Soviet Union awarded during the battle for his actions. Stalin's Order No. 227 of 27 July 1942 decreed that all commanders who ordered unauthorized retreat would be subject to a military tribunal. “Not a step back!” and "There is no land behind the Volga!" were the slogans. The Germans pushing forward into Stalingrad suffered heavy casualties."

Set 6.

25. German MG-32 crew.

26. Russian convoy knocked out and the dead soldiers that were part of it.

27. Russian soldiers dead on the battlefield.

28. Russian tank burns after being knocked out.

DeathHand · Mar 20, 2012

"Bitter fighting raged for every ruin, street, factory, house, basement and staircase. The sewers were the sites of labyrinthine firefights. The Germans, calling this unseen urban warfare Rattenkrieg ("Rat War"), bitterly joked about capturing the kitchen but still fighting for the living room and the bedroom. In such desperate chaos, all battle lines vanished, and the major, armor-supported mobility to which the German soldiers were accustomed degenerated into vicious, fast-paced skirmishes ranging through bombed-out debris of residential neighborhoods, office blocks, basements and apartment high-rises.

Some of the taller buildings, blasted into roofless shells by earlier German aerial bombardment, saw floor-by-floor, close-quarters combat, with the Germans and Soviets on alternate levels, firing at each other through holes in the floors."

Set 7.

29. German soldier stands near the bodies of dead Russian soldiers.

30. German MG-32 team. Note, the gunner is using a scope.

31. German soldiers stand beside a demolished Russian tank.

32. German MG-32 crew ready for action.

DeathHand · Mar 20, 2012

"Snipers on both sides used the ruins to inflict heavy casualties. The most famous Soviet sniper in Stalingrad was Vasily Zaytsev with 225 confirmed kills during the battle. Zaytsev was one of a whole corps of snipers and had over thirty students, who were credited with killing over three thousand German soldiers during the war.

For both Stalin and Hitler, Stalingrad became a matter of prestige beyond its strategic significance. The Soviet command moved the Red Army's strategic reserves from the Moscow area to the lower Volga, and transferred aircraft from the entire country to the Stalingrad region."

Set 8.

33. German soldier with a Luger tucked into his boot.

34. Knocked out tank.

35. Another convoy taken out, littered with dead bodies.

36. Dead Russian Maxim gunner.

DeathHand · Mar 20, 2012

More will be on the way once I get them cropped and processes

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DeathHand · Apr 26, 2012

Shit, I forgot all about this set, lols. Right, so more images from Germany's excursion into Russia.

Set 9.

37. Dead Russian soldier in a horse cart (or, dead horse cart).