THE NAZIS' WINTER WARFARE ON THE EASTERN FRONT 1941-1945: Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives (Images of War)

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As the Germans closed in on Moscow, the Soviet 1941/42 winter counter offensive changed the course of the war, helped by Russian winter conditions and the Germans' woeful lack of preparedness. Wehrmacht and SS units only began to be issued with winter clothing in late 1941 and many had to improvise well into 1942. 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. Includes extracts from the German 'The Winter Warfare Handbook' (Winter Buch) of 1942.