The photographs are taken from five unpublished albums focussing on
the German invasion of Russia in 1941 –
Operation Barbarossa. Two of the albums contain shots taken by German
infantrymen and include shots of combat, vehicles, knocked-out tanks and
prisoners of war. Two of the other albums feature flak and artillery units in
the invasion. These include shots of artillery and flak units in action,
destroyed Russian aircraft, vehicles and armour as well as Russian prisoners.
The final album contains shots taken by a tank destroyer unit. In this set,
there are shots of knocked out Russian armour (and abandoned armour), artillery
and assault guns in action and a fascinating glimpse into the transition into
the first winter. There are many exceptional photographs including rubber boats
carrying troops across a river, knocked out monstrous Russian tanks, engineers
at work and a range of more casual poses. There are also some interesting
studies of uniforms and equipment, abandoned vehicles, vehicles being salvaged
and maintained and a host of other subjects. Some are focussed on the early war
months with Russia, so there are huge columns of
captured Russian prisoners, fraternisation with the local peasants and a glimpse
of the vast distances involved in the advances made by the Germans in the early
months of the conflict.
