Panzerkampfwagen 35(t) of 6. Panzer-Division

Image size: 1600 x 1102 pixel. 370 KB
Date: Tuesday, 1 July 1941
Place: Soviet Union
Photographer: Kriegsberichter Scherl

Panzergrenadier of the 6. Panzer Division board Panzerkampfwagen 35(t)s during Operation Barbarossa, in the background is a Panzerkampfwagen IV. The Skoda Works in Pilzen, Czechoslovakia's major arms manufacturer, built the light tank model 35 starting in 1936 and successfully exported it to a number of countries prior to the German annexation in April 1939. Initially it had developmental troubles with its innovative pneumatic steering that relieved stress on the driver but eventually the LT-35 had an well-regarded reputation. After Czechoslovakia was incorporated into the Reich, the LT-35 was replaced with the LT-38 on the manufacturing lines. Designated as the Panzerkampfwagen 35(t) ("t" for Tschech - Czech) it was used as an equivalent to the Panzer III, because it was armed with a 37mm (1.46 inch) main gun and two 7.92mm (.31 caliber) machine guns. However the tank was not as capable, with a less capable gun and lighter armor. 219 were taken into the Wehrmacht for operations in Poland and France. 105 were issued to the 6th Panzer in Summer 1941, making up the bulk of the unit's tank strength for Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. Already obsolete, the 37mm main gun could not penetrate the Soviet KV and T-34 tanks. The pneumatic steering, not designed for Russian winters, broke down in the cold. The men of 6th Panzer took to using blowtorches to unfreeze their transmissions and engines, which caused more than one vehicle to explode or burn. On December 10, 1941, the last tank, nicknamed "Anthony the Last," was lost. The dwindling cadre of panzertruppen called the unit "6th Panzer of the foot" and relied on over 1,000 panje (Russian horse) wagons for carrying their remaining equipment when all their vehicles were lost. By January 1942 only 1,000 men (out of some 16,000 at the start of Operation Barbarossa) and three guns were operational, but 6th Panzer kept the supply lines open for 9th Army in Rzhev open, allowing the Wehrmacht to regroup and attack in the Spring. 6th Panzer was rested and refitted with Panzer IIIs in France, but was rushed back to the Soviet Union when Stalingrad was surrounded in November 1942.

Source:

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery/wwii0073

German Troops Prepare to Clear Houses

Image size: 805 x 1600 pixel. 466 KB
Date: Tuesday, 1 July 1941
Place: Soviet Union
Photographer: Unknown

German soldiers prepare for urban combat during Operation Barbarossa. One is carrying a Mauser-manufactured P08 Luger, Stielhandgrate 24, and a belt of 7.92mm (.32 caliber) ammunition for a Maschinengewehr 34 (MG34) machine gun. The other is checking the action on his Mauser Karabiner 98 Kurz. Reichsklanzler (Reichchancellor) Adolf Hitler repeatedly ordered that urban combat be avoided; at Kiev, Leningrad and Moscow, he refused permission to send German forces into cities. Nevertheless, German troops had to clear various villages, towns and cities during Operation Barbarossa. The Germans were fully committed to urban warfare in 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad.

Source:

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery/wwii0219

Char B1 Flammenwerfer Before Operation Barbarossa

Image size: 1600 x 1190 pixel. 334 KB
Date: Monday, 23 June 1941
Place: Lwow Voivodeship, Poland
Photographer: Unknown

French-designed Char B1 bis tanks (Flammwagen auf Panzerkampfwagen B2 (F) in German service) of Panzerabteilung (F) 102 captured by the Germans in the Battle of France move up to the front during Operation Barbarossa. These tanks have been modified with the same flammenwerfer-Spritzkopf (flamethrower spray head) system designed for the Panzer II in the place of the hull-mounted 75mm (3-inch) main gun. The Germans took as much captured equipment as they could from occupied countries. Reichskanzler (Reichchancellor) Adolf Hitler, shown the plans for the Panzer II flammenwerfer, wanted a heavier armored vehicle for flame operations. The French Char B1 bis was already being used as a police tank around the German-held territories, and the Germans had taken over the maintenance facilities to paint the tanks in German colors and markings and repair them. On May 26, 1941, Hitler approved the formation of Panzerabteilung (F) 102 consisting of two Schwere Flammkompanie (Heavy Flame Companies) of 12 flammenwerfer tanks and three unmodified Char B1 bis with the 75mm gun still in place. This unit was to work closely with the German Pioneeren (combat engineers) reducing Soviet fortifications. Serving under Armee-Oberkommando 17, Panzerabteilung (F) 102 was attached to the 296th Infantry Division for the assault on Wielki Dzial Mountain, Poland (now Ukraine), one of many border fortresses established by the Soviets. On June 29, the flammpanzers, supported by 88mm (3.5 inch) flak guns firing depressed against surface targets, attacked the Soviet positions on June 29, losing three flammpanzers. On July 27, Panzerabteilung (F) 102 was disbanded, but sixty Panzerkampfwagen B2 (F) were modified with a new pressurized flamethrower system and served with Panzerabteilung 223 (Eastern Front); Panzerbrigade 100 (Western Front); and SS "Prinz Eugen" (Yugoslavia). Panzerkampfwagen B2 (F) flammpanzers were encountered by Allied paratroopers at Osterbeek during Operation Market-Garden.