The Nazis' Winter Warfare on the Eastern Front, 1941–1945

Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives

Ian Baxter

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781526768087
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World War II
• Index: History

Graphically describes the appalling hardships faced by German troops on the Eastern Front 1941-1945. Hitler's shock decision to launch the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 was arguably the turning point of the Second World War. Spectacular early victories saw the Nazis close in on Moscow but the Soviet 1941/42 winter counter offensive changed the odds entirely. Without doubt Russian winter conditions were a major factor compounded by the Germans' woeful lack of preparedness. As this fascinating book reveals, Wehrmacht and SS units only began to be issued with winter clothing in late 1941 and many had to improvise well into 1942. In an attempt to restore morale adversely affected by the harsh conditions and military reversals 'The Winter Warfare Handbook' (Winter Buch) was produced in 1942 and extracts are quoted in this work. Commanders had to adapt to the snow, freezing conditions and, almost worse, the impassable roads during the melt. With customary thoroughness and drastic measures the Germans largely mastered the climatic challenges but nothing could mask the reality of the ruthless and numerically superior enemy that they faced.

Chapter One

The First Winter 1941/42

The Road to Disaster

In most areas the weather had brought whole columns of wheeled vehicles to a standstill. Horses, the main mode of transport, of which there were some 800,000 on the Eastern Front in 1941, died from heart strain as soldiers frantically tried to pull them through the mud. Bogged-down units became sitting targets.

The main rainy season lasted for approximately three to four weeks. Commanders began drawing up plans to regulate the flow of traffic. Pioneers were sent ahead of the main columns to try to improve the roads. In some areas only tracked vehicles were allowed to advance. Transport vehicles were authorised to travel alongside the tracked vehicles, but using a parallel track to the main road. Commanders were becoming concerned about the lack of supplies.

After a week the weather improved slightly and on 12 October 3rd Panzer Army reported it had captured Volokolamsk. Following heavy fighting, advanced elements cut the Kalinin–Klin highway 40 miles north of Moscow.

However, during the last two weeks of October, weather conditions became much worse and enemy resistance grew. A combination of heavy rain, snow showers, and enveloping mists made movement almost impossible for the German units. Slowly the movement of the Panzers halted as the freeze set in.

Elsewhere along the front, General Erich von Manstein had assigned missions to overrun the Crimea and take Rostov. Initially the advance went well, advancing towards Sevastopol and beginning to secure the Donets river line. Since the summer the 6th Army had had considerable success in the area. But in October they too began to suffer from the rains.

By the end of October it was clear to the Germans that the war would not be won that year as the High Command had initially predicted. It was also apparent that their vehicles, equipment and clothing were inferior to those of the Russian army.

To keep warm, soldiers had to wear every piece of clothing, even the clothing of the dead of both sides: overcoats, fur hats and boots, particularly the excellent Russian felt boots. Over time the German leather boot retained the damp, and constant exposure to snow and wet caused them to fall apart. Socks became wet and caused frostbite. Soldiers lined their boots with straw or paper, if they could find those materials.

Another problem was camouflage. Soldiers carried white sheets and draped them over their steel helmets, secured by the helmet’s rubber ring. The sheet was then normally wrapped around the wearer’s head and secured by a pin or metal hook beneath the chin. The rest of the sheet was draped around the arms and upper body and fastened again by another single pin or metal hook on the front. Sometimes they did not fasten the sheet as it did not allow the wearer to move freely enough, but this compromised camouflage effectiveness. It also limited easy access to equipment, especially under combat conditions.

German soldiers also used the snow shirt. Pulled over the head, it was rather tight-fitting. It had no collar, and long sleeves. The snow shirt had been purposely made long with the shirttails reaching down to the ankles. They were very popular during the first winter on the Eastern Front. The soldier not only blended well with the local terrain, but was able to move more freely than with the snow sheet. The wearer’s personal equipment too was worn outside it.

During this time soldiers were also issued with the snow overall, very similar in design to the snow shirt. This item of clothing was not tight fitting; it was a shapeless long overall garment, buttoned right down the front. It had a deep collar, and for the first time it had an attached hood and long sleeves. The overall was generally liked among the soldiers for concealment, but it soon proved impractical as it tended to restrict the wearer.

But supplies of these items were limited, and many soldiers were stuck with their Standard Army Greatcoat. For these men, it was a matter of trying to keep warm and staying alive. After a patrol or fighting, the soldier returned to his primitive dugout numb and cold. In their dugouts they had little stoves fuelled with methylated spirit. Unable to undress due to the cold, the soldier would wear every piece of his clothing all the time, including his greatcoat.

Following his daily brief the soldier would either go on patrol through waist deep snow, defend a particular line, or undertake a local attack against an enemy position. Lines consisted of shallow trenches and simple shelters, and often to be driven out of these shelters meant death. Across the entire German front in late 1941, most units had frozen into immobility.

A motorcyclist has problems with his machine due to the extremely muddy conditions. He is wearing the standard waterproof coat, which has a collar faced in field-grey wool and two large pockets in the front and side, each with a large button-down pocket flap. He is armed with a 7.92mm Kar 98k Mauser bolt-action rifle.

A pair of 2cm FlaK30 Sd.Kfz.10/4 halftracks are part of column that is struggling along a muddy road. Note the leading halftrack, behind the horse and cart, hauling an Sd.Ah.51 trailer. Of particular interest is the motorcyclist stuck in the mud and being prepared to be towed along the road by a horse.

Infantrymen watch as a support vehicle hauling a trailer of supplies struggles through the mud. By the end of October much of the front in Army Group Centre and North had been reduced to a painful crawl as vehicles and animals struggled through endless mud.

A host of civilian wheeled transport was used by the Wehrmacht during the invasion of the Soviet Union. They were helpful for supplying the front and aiding the advance, but along inadequate roads, across fields and in mud and snow they proved a hindrance. Here infantrymen are seen trying to free a stuck civilian vehicle.

One of the best ways to get from one place to another was to hitch a lift on a Panzer. Here soldiers can be seen mounted on a Pz.Kpfw.38(t) in autumn in Russia.

From a defensive position an infantryman can be seen wearing the early style greatcoat with M1935 steel helmet. He is preparing a concentration charge, which was primarily used as an anti-tank weapon or for knocking out bunkers. The charge was made by securing six stick grenade heads with detonators removed around the central stick grenade. The weapon could cause a tremendous blast.

A group of troops on the Eastern Front in the first winter in Russia in 1941. They all wear the standard...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter One The First Winter, 1941/42
• Chapter Two Second Winter, 1942/43
• Chapter Three Third Winter, 1943/44
• Chapter Four Fourth Winter, 1944/45
• Appendix 1 Taschenbuch für den Winterkrieg
• Appendix 2 The Eastern Medal