Great Patriotic War

 A column of German Tiger I heavy tanks and a MAN ML 4500 truck 

of the 1st SS-Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler become 

bogged down during the fight for Western Ukraine, November 1943

   

A Soviet Army soldier feeds a Russian baby he has found abandoned 

in an empty cabin in the village of Izvekov 14 March 1943

  

Russian civilians in Murmansk watch an aerial battle between 

Soviet and German pilots taking place over the city, 6 April 1943

 

Russian civilians in Nevel greet Soviet troops with flowers following the liberation 

of the city from German occupation following the Battle for Nevel, October 1943

 

Russian civilians joyously greet a Soviet Naval Infantryman following the 

liberation of Tagnarog from the occupying Germans, September 1943

 

Soviet machine gunners take up positions on the banks of the 

Dnieper River during the Battle of the Dnieper. September 1943

 

Soviet soldiers battle through the ruins of a house in a village near Kiev during 

the Battle of the Dnieper. The battle was one of the largest operations in 

the war, involving almost 4,000,000 troops on both sides. September 1943

 

Soviet soldiers help Russian refugees return to their homes following the Third Battle of Smolensk when Soviet forces of the 39th, 43rd and 10th Armies recaptured of the city and surrounding areas from Axis occupation. September 1943

 

Soviet soldiers in a trench fire on a German plane during the 

opening phase of the Battle of Kursk.  7 July 1943

 

Soviet soldiers of 248th Separate Infantry Brigade greet Russian 

civilians of a kolkhoz (collective farm) west of Kursk. February 1943

 

Soviet soldiers of the 270th Rifle Division, Soviet 7th Guards Army, 

begin a counteroffensive during the Battle of Kursk. 12 July 1943

 

Soviet soldiers talk to recently liberated Russian civilians 

in a small village near Rzhev, March 1943

 

The Soviet commander of the Budak Company of partisans (left) 

points out enemy German positions on a map to Komsosmol fighters 

Mariya Yelnik and Pavel Kiselev. Near Kursk, February 1943

 

Source: Anti-Worlds

Great Patriotic War

The USSR continues its struggle against Nazi Germany. These are from 1942.

A Soviet Army intelligence group on an inflatable boat moves across the river Don on a reconnaissance mission south of the city of Voronezh during the First Battle of Voronezh, June 1942

  

A Soviet Army medic bandages the hand of a wounded Soviet soldier in the ruins of a building during the First Battle of Voronezh as two soldiers fire on Axis positions. July 1942

 

A Soviet Army medical orderly bandages the hand of a wounded Soviet soldier 

in the outskirts of Voronezh during the First Battle of Voronezh, July 1942

 

Russian children place flowers and tend to the grave of a Soviet soldier killed 

in the Battles of Rzhev as Soviet soldiers march behind them. October 1942

 

Soviet Army Sgt. Fyodor Konoplyov and his crew fire a DShK anti-aircraft gun at 

strafing German Luftwaffe bombers during the Siege of Leningrad. 9 October 1942

 

Soviet Guards Panov and Ermakov of the Soviet Signal Corps run 

communication cables across the Voronezh river, just south of city of 

Voronezh during the First Battle of Voronezh. July 1942

 

Soviet infantry attack German position in Lozova during the Third 

Battle of Kharkov, in which German Army Group South (Heeresgruppe 

Süd) led a counterstrike against the Soviets, February 1942

 

Soviet riflemen prepare to repel an Axis attack from across the Don river on 

the southern outskirts of Voronezh during the Battle of Voronezh. July 1942

 

Soviet soldiers play a nocturne for their comrades amidst the ruins of battle. Novoshahtinsk, 

Rostov Oblast, Russia, Soviet Union. Autumn 1942. Photograph by Yakov Khalip

 

Source: Anti-Worlds

The Great Patriotic War

Nazis and Soviets, slugging it out. These are all from 1941, the first year of the Nazi invation of USSR.

 A German soldier holds his arms up in surrender to a Soviet soldier who has his rifle trained on him during the Battle of Moscow. Near Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union. 1 December 1941

  

 German soldiers man an MG 34 (Maschinengewehr 34) recoil-operated machine gun, taking cover on the side of a house in Rahachow during the German invasion of the Soviet Union, July 1941

  

 Soviet Army soldiers march to the front during 

the Battle of Moscow, 7 November 1941

  

 Soviet Army soldiers of the Southwestern Front play with Ukrainian children in a small village prior to the Battle of Uman, shortly following Operation Barbarossa, the initial Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, July 1941

  

Soviet machine gunners of 20th Army, Reserve Front try to repel Axis forces from advancing eastward along the Dnieper river. Near Dorogobuzh, Dorogobuzhsky District, Smolensk Oblast, Russia, Soviet Union. 1 September 1941

  

 Soviet soldiers man a 85 mm air defense gun M1939 (52-K) in Moscow during the Battle of Moscow. In the background can be seen the famous 24 meter tall, 75-ton socialist realist monument Worker and Kolkhoz Woman. Oct 1941

  

 Soviet soldiers of an artillery unit pause for a musical interlude 

during a lull in the Battle of Moscow. December 1941

  

 Soviet Sukhoi Su-2 pilots and navigator crewmen of the 210th Bomber Regiment rest and brace themselves against the autumn chill on a haystack near a village airfield during Operation Barbarossa. Budenovka, Ukraine, October 1941

  

Two Soviet soldiers escort a German Luftwaffe pilot who was taken as a POW when his plane was downed near the small village of Brazhino during Operation Barbarossa, September 1941

 

Source: Anti-Worlds

Stalingrad, 1943

The denouement of the greatest battle in history.

 A Soviet soldier gives cigarettes to German POWs 

captured during the Battle of Stalingrad, January 1943

  

 In this early 1943 photo, captured German soldiers, their uniforms tattered from 

the battle, make their way in the bitter cold through the ruins of Stalingrad, Russia

  

 Red Army soldiers celebrate victory after the 

the Battle of Stalingrad, USSR, February 2, 1943

  

 Red Army soldiers in January 1943 celebrate victory in Stalingrad

  

 Soviet soldiers advance through the snow-covered ruins 

during the Battle of Stalingrad, January 1943

  

The recently abandoned weapons of defeated German soldiers become dangerous 

toys for young Russian boys following the Battle of Stalingrad. February 1943

Stalingrad, 1942

The Battle of Stalingrad was arguably the bloodiest single battle in history (the Somme in World War I is perhaps a close second). Lasting for months (August 1942-February 1943), Stalingrad's casualty count was up to 2 million killed, wounded or captured. It also remains the greatest and most horrible instance of urban warfare ever. This set of photos, all from 1942, capture both sides of the struggle.

 A German heavy mortar crew advance behind an infantry company 

they support during the Battle of Stalingrad. September 1942

  

 A German sniper takes aim with a Karabiner 98k rifle with mounted Soviet 

Mosin Nagant PE scope on the outskirts of of Stalingrad, September 1942

  

 A German Wehrmacht Oberstabsfeldwebel (Sergeant-Major) and a non-commissioned Stabsfeldwebel officer (First Sergeant, or Master Sergeant equivalent) battle enemy Soviet troops outside of Stalingrad, just prior to the Battle of Stalingrad, 10 June 1942

  

 A rare moment of compassion is shown at the Battle of Stalingrad. A German soldier tends to a wounded Russian woman and shelters her infant a German trench. October 1942

  

 A Soviet soldier prepares to launch an RGD-33 stick grenade 

at a German position during the Battle of Stalingrad. November 1942

  

 German Infantrymen pause in the ruins during heavy fighting with 

Soviet forces during the Battle of Stalingrad. September 1942

  

 German soldiers advance through the factory district 

during the protracted Battle of Stalingrad. October 1942

  

 German soldiers moving through the ruins of Stalingrad, October 1942

  

 Portrait of a Soviet soldier with Degtyaryov machine gun in one of the 

thousands of destroyed houses during the Battle of Stalingrad. 10 December 1942

  

 Red Army unit trying to set down a field telephone line in Stalingrad.1942

  

 Soviet Army soldiers fire a 82-BM-37 mortar into German positions 

during the Battle of Stalingrad, 21 October 1942

  

 Soviet Army soldiers of the Stalingrad Front inspect two abandoned German six-barrel 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 rocket launchers during the Battle of Stalingrad, December 1942

  

 Soviet soldiers advance on German positions during 

the first days of the Battle of Stalingrad. August 1942

  

 Soviet machine gunners take up positions against Axis forces in a destroyed factory during the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the bloodiest and most destructive battles in the history of warfare

  

 Soviet soldiers advancing on German positions at the Battle of Stalingrad, 1942

  

 Soviet soldiers firing at German positions in Stalingrad

  

 Soviet soldiers move through the trenches amongst the 

ruins during the Battle of Stalingrad. October 1942

  

 Soviet troops armed with light machine guns attack German 

positions during the Battle of Stalingrad. 26 November 1942

  

Soviet soldiers take the opportunity to clean their weapons during 

a lull in fighting at the Battle of Stalingrad. December 1942