Photos WW2 Soviet Forces

[BravoZulu]

A battle-worn, pre-Kursk T-34-76 M1942, followed by a much newer T-34-85; Berlin, 1945

 

[BravoZulu]

Russian citizens examine captured German armour near the end of The Second World War

 

[NebrHogger]

To the left of the scene and closest on that side is an odd one - an ammo carrier fashioned from an L6/40 Italian tank. Only a handful of those were ever made.

 

[berkut76]

Could you please change the name of the topic to WW2 Soviet Forces? There was no Russia to say nothing of Russian empire at that time. At least officially, the were 15 republics and countless autonomous regions comprising USSR. People of dozens of nationalities from Estonians to Jews to Koreans fought in the Red Army willingly and unwillingly during WWII and none of them considered himself / herself to be Russian.

 

[BravoZulu]

Could you please change the name of the topic to WW2 Soviet Forces? There was no Russia to say nothing of Russian empire at that time. At least officially, the were 15 republics and countless autonomous regions comprising USSR. People of dozens of nationalities from Estonians to Jews to Koreans fought in the Red Army willingly and unwillingly during WWII and none of them considered himself / herself to be Russian.

Correct and done!

 

[berkut76]

Soviet and Finnish troops are having a smoke near Saimaa Canal on September 4th, 1944 when the ceasefire went into effect.

 

[berkut76]

T-70s with infantry moving into position.

 

[berkut76]

Red Army Jewish POWs taken by the Germany military. 99% won't survive captivity with 90% being executed within hours of being captured.

 

[berkut76]

The Nightwitchers Soviet propaganda Squadron. In 1943 my grandfather was in one of these squadrons. He was the one dropping leaflets over German positions flying in one of these rickety Po-2 bi-planes. After Stalin's death and rehabilitation campaign he finally got the "For Valor" medal (the request was sent back in 1943(!)) for surviving a minimal number of sorties required for both, some sort of an award and in my grandfather's case completion of his "political re-education". My grandfather was also fluent in German, so he edited quite a few of the flyers, leaflets, newspapers as well.

 

[berkut76]

December 31st, 1941 The inscription on KV-1 turret reads "Happy New year".

 

[berkut76]

 

[berkut76]

Soviet troops inspect captured Romanian weapons, Odessa, September 1941

 

[berkut76]

Liberation of Belgrade. October 20th, 1944. T-34-85 belongs to 36th Guards Armor Brigade.

 

[berkut76]

February 23rd, 1945 Soviet troops after a month of heavy fighting finally captured the Polish city of Poznan

 

[berkut76]

First liberation of Kharkiv, February 1943

 

[berkut76]

Soviet Troops enter Sofia, Bulgaria on September 9th, 1944

Soviet entry into Bulgaria is a subject of a lot of controversy. While a member of Axis (until late August 1944) Bulgaria didn't contribute much to the fighting. With an exception of an air force, Bulgarian military didn't fight against Western allies to say nothing of sending troops to the Eastern Front. Yet, at the same time Bulgarian territory and its infrastructure was used by the Nazi Germany for logistics purposes. The Soviets seized on the latter, accused the Bulgarian government of false neutrality and entered the country a few days after declaring war on Bulgaria on the heels of the communist coup d'etat. Soviet troops didn't encounter any resistance, and less than a year after the war in Europe has ended, Bulgaria was in the throes of communist totalitarianism.

 

[berkut76]

Northern Fleet MO-4 "small hunter" escorting a cargo ship from an Arctic convoy, 1941 or 1942

 

[Connaught Ranger]

Not posted as flame bait but to show the dark side of war. I found these posted on another online forum, no details as to the source, only the comment that it was in Odessa, possible war crime??
Soviet Prisoners escorted by Romanian Military too a place of execution then shot in the back.

 

[1645556315]

Soviet troops crossing the Vistula river during Lvov-Sandomir offensive, august 1944.
N2P ferries used to transport T-34 and ISU-152.

 

[berkut76]

Not posted as flame bait but to show the dark side of war. I found these posted on another online forum, no details as to the source, only the comment that it was in Odessa, possible war crime??
Soviet Prisoners escorted by Romanian Military too a place of execution then shot in the back.
View attachment 190023View attachment 190024View attachment 190025

Although, we don't know the particulars, the treatment of the Red Army POWs by Axis forces was abominable and could't not be excused or "explained". One might say, that these poor souls are the "lucky ones" and got an easy death unlike those who were processed into POW camps, and let's not forget the few who survived the Nazi camps were shipped back to Gulag as they were considered traitors by Stalin regardless of the circumstances of their capture.