German Troops Inspect Soviet Trenches Along the Volkhov River

Image size: 1600 x 1200 pixel. 718 KB
Date: Thursday, 16 October 1941
Place: Volkhov River, Leningrad Oblast, Soviet Union
Photographer: Unknown

German soldiers of Heeresgruppe Nord examine trenches captured from the Red Army during the Tikhvin Offensive. Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Ritter (translated as Knight, a title) von Leeb (September 5, 1876 - April 29, 1956) was ordered to move part of his mechanized divisions to Heeresgruppe Mitte for Operation Typhoon, the offensive against Moscow. Even with reduced forces, Reichskanzler (Reichchancellor) Adolf Hitler still expected von Leeb to take Leningrad. In the wake of mass surrenders at Kiev, Rostov, and other Soviet bastions, Hitler ordered von Leeb to rush his forces toward Tikhvin, a city on the Volkhov River that was a link in the rail line supplying Leningrad, expecting an easy advance on Leningrad. General Rudolf Schmidt (1886-1957) commanding XXXIX. Armeekorps, composed of the 126. Infanterie-Division, 21. Infanterie-Division, 18. Infanterie-Division (mot.), 20. Infanterie-Division (mot.), 8. Panzer-Division, and 12. Panzer-Division, were reinforced by the 250. Infanterie-Division (the Spanish volunteer Blue Division) and other units for the offensive. The XXXIX. Armeekorps attacked on October 16, 1941. Initially Schmidt struck at the junction of the lines of the Soviet 52nd and 4th Armies, effecting total surprise and overrunning the Red Army positions. As this photo was taken, the Russian "General Mud" began to take effect, as the Rasputitsa (Quagmire Season) began with the first snow of the year. The same day, elements of the 250th established a bridgehead and occupied Smeiko, Sitno, Tigoda, Dubrowka, Nitikino and Otenski as part of an offensive to link up with Finnish troops east of Lagoda Lake in order to complete the encirclement and the siege of Leningrad. Within weeks the Germans were soon enveloped in mud, causing the panzer crews to abandon their mired tanks. The rains and mud prevented resupply as trucks and even tractors could not move off paved roads, and even "corduroy" roads of felled trees sank into the muck. Still, the Germans took Tikhvin on November 8. Small unit counterattacks and reorganization of the Red Army forces into the Volkhov Front stopped the Germans from advancing to Leningrad. 45,000 Germans were killed, wounded, or captured, causing Heeresgruppe Mitte to send reinforcements. On December 10, General Kirill Meretskov (June 7, 1897 - December 30, 1968), who was released from NKVD custody in September 1941 after accusations of treason and appointed to command the 4th Army, launched a counteroffensive that drove Army Group North out of Tikhvin and back to their initial positions by December 30th. This was the first time the Blitzkrieg tactics had been blunted! Meretskov was appointed to command the Volkhov Front and helped to break the blockade of Leningrad in 1943. 

Source:

Combined Arms Research Library 

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0098

A column of German POWs on the Nevsky Prospekt in Leningrad

Image size: 1600 x 1252 pixel. 430 KB
Date: August 1942
Place: Nevsky Prospekt, Leningrad, Soviet Union
Photographer: Boris Pavlovich Kudoyarov (1898-1973)

German prisoners paraded into the streets of Leningrad, summer 1942. Just imagine what went through the minds of these soldiers... Original caption: "The Germans intended to triumphantly march into Leningrad, along October 25th Street. This party of prisoners-of-war did march along the street, not as triumphantly as they hoped, it is true, but at least they can now bear witness to the sincerity of the Russian greeting: no one abused them, the faces of the passers-by expressed no malicious joy, but their eyes gleamed with a hatred harder than stone and hotter than flame!" Important events in Leningrad Front which happened in August 1942: 9 August 1942: The Symphony No. 7 "Leningrad" by Dmitri Shostakovich was performed by the Radio orchestra of Leningrad. The score had passed the German lines by air one night in March 1942. The concert was broadcast on loudspeakers placed in all the city and also aimed towards the enemy lines. This date, initially chosen by Hitler to celebrate the taking of Leningrad, and a few days before the Sinyavino Offensive, can symbolise the reversal of the dynamics in favour of the Soviet army. 11 August 1942: The German 250. Infanterie-Division, consisted of Spanish volunteers, was redeployed on the Volkhov River near Leningrad, Russia. 19 August 1942: Soviets launched the Sinyavino Offensive in the Leningrad region in northern Russia, with troops of the Leningrad Front capturing several bridgeheads across the Neva River. The Volkhov Front, however, failed to launch its offensive in concert. 24 August 1942: Soviet Volkhov Front launched an offensive near Leningrad in northern Russia. 27 August 1942: As Soviet Volkhov Front attacked toward Leningrad Russia, Soviet 8th Army attacked outwards from within the city, briefly opening a small corridor. 28 August 1942: Soviet 8th Army pushed forward another mile against lines held by troops of German 223rd Infantry Division near Leningrad, Russia; behind the German lines, German 18th Army moved into position to launch a counterattack. 29 August 1942: Soviet 4th Guards Rifle Corps joined the Soviet 8th Army in the offensive near Leningrad, Russia.

Source:

RIA Novosti archive, image #1104

http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210032

Oberstleutnant Erich Freiherr von Seckendorff Observes The Battlefield

Image size: 1344 x 1600 pixel. 451 KB
Date: July 1941
Place: Iamkino Station, near Leningrad, Russia
Photographer: Unknown

Oberstleutnant Erich Freiherr von Seckendorff (21 June 1897 - 23 September 1944), the Commander of  Schützen-Regiment 114/6.Panzer-Division/XXXXI.Armeekorps/4.Panzergruppe/Heeresgruppe Nord, observes the battlefield using scherenfernrohr (scissor-scope) from the top of Panzerkampfwagen III command tank bearing the turret number '1107'. Erich Erwin Heinrich August Veit Freiherr von Seckendorff received Ritterkreuz in 4 September 1940 as an Oberstleutnant and Kommandeur of Kradschützen-Bataillon 6. He was killed in action in Lagarde, France, in 23 September 1944 as Kommandeur of Panzer-Brigade 113, buried in Bad Winsdheim-Obernzenn (Germany), and then posthumously promoted to Generalmajor. His wife is Anna Matilda Keller (married 2 December 1944) and the couple have one son, Meinhard Erich Peter Freiherr von Seckendorff (born 6 July 1944).

Source:
Helmut Ritgen photo collection
Book "The 6th Panzer Division: 1937-45" by Oberst a.D. Helmut Ritgen

Generaloberst Hoepner With Officers of 6. Panzer-Division in Leningrad

Image size: 1600 x 1108 pixel. 363 KB
Date: August 1941
Place: Leningrad, Russia
Photographer: Artur Zell (Kriegsberichter in Propaganda-Kompanie 694)

Generaloberst Hoepner (former commander of 1. leichte-Division, before it changed to 6. Panzer-Division, and in spring 1941 the commanding general of 4. Panzergruppe) visits his old unit, and discussing the recent battle situation in front of a log cabin. From left to right: Major im Generalstab Johann-Adolf Graf von Kielmansegg (Ia Erster Generalstabsoffizier 6. Panzer-Division); Generaloberst Erich Hoepner (Oberbefehlshaber 4.Panzergruppe); Hauptmann Strack; and Generalmajor Franz Landgraf (Kommandeur 6. Panzer-Division). As Operation Barbarossa was launched in June 1941, 6. Panzer-Division was part of the 4. Panzergruppe on the Northern Front. The 6. Panzer-Division saw action around Leningrad until October of 1941 when it was transferred to the 3. Panzergruppe (Generaloberst Georg-Hans Reinhardt) in the central sector. It lost almost every vehicle in its command on the central front, where after it was transferred to France in May 1942 for complete refitting and rest under he command of Generalmajor Erhard Raus. During ‘Operation Barbarossa’, Erich Hoepner was given command of the 4. Panzergruppe. This unit played a major part in the initial successes of the German attack, which led to the German Army getting to within 20 miles of the centre of Moscow. When the Germans failed to capture Moscow, Hoepner wanted to start a tactical withdrawal of his men who were clearly suffering from the onset of the Russian winter. Once they had recuperated, Hoepner believed that they would have been in a far better position to attack Moscow once again. Hitler could not begin to contemplate such a move especially as he had stated to his generals that Moscow was “merely a geographical concept”. Hitler dishonourably discharged Hoepner from the army. Freed from his command, Hoepner, who got involved in anti-Hitler plots before, continued with his work against his Führer. He was involved in the July Bomb Plot. The Gestapo discovered his part and Hoepner was arrested. He was tried, found guilty and sentenced to death. Erich Hoepner was hanged on August 8th 1944.

Source:
Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-210-0142-13A
Helmut Ritgen photo collection
Book "The 6th Panzer Division: 1937-45" by Oberst a.D. Helmut Ritgen 
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-210-0142-13A,_Russland,_Gener%C3%A4le_H%C3%B6pner_%28m.%29,_Landgraf.jpg