Summer 1941. The beginning of operation Barbarossa

Summer 1941. The beginning of operation "Barbarossa"

I bought this unknown German archive at an auction in Germany. In a plastic bag there were 3 rolls of black and white German Agfa Isopan F film. Unfortunately, there was no information or captions and the seller knew nothing about the origin of the films or who the photographer was. At the beginning of each roll, the numbers 1, 2 and 3 were scratched out on the lighted edge. This was apparently the photographer's way of identifying the negatives. All the negatives were in good condition. We managed to restore the photographer's war path, but his name and destiny still remain unknown.

The amateur photographer served as a soldier in the 290th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht under the command of Major General Wrede. The division consisted of infantry regiments: the 501st under Colonel Maher, the 502nd under Colonel Radisch, the 503rd under Colonel Prele, and the 290th Artillery Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Becken. All images were taken by the photographer at the beginning of Operation "Barbarossa" and the German attack on the USSR around the period from July to September 1941.

If we talk about the history of the 290th Infantry Division, it should be said that it was formed on February 6, 1940 in Münster in the 10th Military District during the 8th wave of mobilization. In mid-May 1940, the division redeployed to Eifel and from there took part in the Western Campaign. The division crossed Belgium and advanced to the Canal de l'Oise à l'Haina (literally “Canal from Oise to Haina”) in northern France. After crossing the canal, the division took part in the battles of Pinon and Leya and in the capture of Soissons. After further advancing through Chateau-Thierry and Sens into the Loire River Valley, the division advanced through Blois, Tours, Saumur and Angers to Nantes and St. Nazaire to the Atlantic coast. Here the division remained with the 6th Army for coastal defense on the Atlantic coast.

In March 1941, the division was redeployed to East Prussia. It was stationed on a bridgehead near Memel (Klaipeda). After the beginning of the Eastern Campaign, the division penetrated the Soviet border positions on the Mituva River, crossing 12 kilometers northwest of Jurburg and took part in the fighting at the Kituri bunker line. After the offensive across the Dubisa River and battles with scattered Soviet armored and infantry units near Surviliskis-Kraakia, it occupied Dunaburg (Daugavpils, Latvia), and then actively advanced through Sebezh, Rudnya, Ostrovo, Idritsa, Pustoshka, Opochka, Velikoye Selo to the area of Staraya Russa, where it took positions on the Lovat and Pola Rivers. All the photos on the films of an unknown amateur photographer were taken just during this period.

The photographer captured a column of the Wehrmacht army marching through occupied Soviet villages and towns, crossing rivers on pontoon bridges, as most of the main bridges had been destroyed by the Red Army during the retreat. Burned and abandoned Soviet vehicles lined the roads and riverbanks, left by the often chaotic retreat of the Red Army at the time. In many of the photos, the point of view is higher than normal eye level, and sometimes various horse parts are in the frame. This may indicate that the photographer was riding a horse or driving a horse-drawn carriage.

The photographer captured several images of scattered groups of Red Army soldiers showing little resistance. In large and small settlements one can see burned-out residential houses. Brick hulks of burnt stoves are all that remains of private houses. On one of the pictures a frying pan was still hanging on the stove chimney. You can recognize the town of Novorzhev in the Pskov region by the cobblestone street and the old church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker visible in the background. The church itself was closed by the Soviet authorities before the war and converted into a garage. A road sign in German “Ostrow” can be seen on one of the poles. On another photo, presumably also from Novorzhev, you can see a stuffed bear tied to a pole, most likely taken from the local history museum. And at the turn there was a road sign in German "Opotschka". At the same time in the frames of the neighboring shots German planes were flying over the city.

There are also images of the process of burying dead German soldiers and German cemeteries on the photographer's films. In one photo, a close-up view of the grave of Heinrich August Knickmann, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment. Knickmann was a German politician (NSDAP) and was a member of the Reichstag (party number 16.106) and a member of the SS. He was killed on August 5, 1941, with the rank of captain in the fighting near Zabolotie (Starorussky District, Novgorod Oblast). Posthumously he received the German Cross in gold.

The 290th Infantry Division lost over 10,000 killed, wounded, and frostbitten in the battles in the Starorussk direction from August through January. On January 9, 1942, the Soviet 11th Army was able to achieve a breakthrough on the 290th Infantry Division's section of the front south of Lake Ilmen. Advancing in a southeastern direction, the Soviet I Guards Rifle Corps came to the rear of the German X Corps at Staraya Russa. The German corps moved toward the Soviet 1st Attack Army, which had broken through south of Lake Seliger, making it possible to close the Demyansk Pocket in which the division found itself.

In March 1942, the 290th Infantry Division participated in the operation codenamed "Fallreep", which was conducted to break open the Demiansk Cauldron by the ‘Seydlitz’ assault group. The division remained in the cauldron until its evacuation in February 1943. During the fighting since February in the encircled Demyansk grouping, the division suffered tremendous losses. For example, the 6th company of the 503rd infantry regiment on March 19, 1943 had only 9 soldiers, 7 of them were frostbitten. The total number of men in the division together with the rear as of March 10 was 1,200.

Later the division withdrew behind the Pola River and took up a new defensive position along the Lovati River to Porusia. Parts of the division were stationed in the area of Staraya Russa (503rd Grenadier Regiment) and on the Pennenskaya Bulge (501st Grenadier Regiment), while the remaining units were moved in May 1943 to the area of Dedovichi (Dno) and to the area of the village of Shapki for retraining. Defensive and position battles followed in the area of Maluksy-Lodva and near Sinyavino. In December 1943 the division redeployed to the area of Nevel at the junction with Army Group Center.

In the winter of 1943-44 the division was re-organized. In early 1944, the division fought on both sides of Lake Usvoya. It advanced as far as Lake Yazno and then took part in defensive fighting north of Nevel. The 501st Grenadier Regiment continued to operate east of Lake Kamenets, the 503rd Grenadier Regiment near Novgorod, and the remnants of the division in the Polotsk area. After defensive fighting between the settlements of Obol and Ulla on the section of the Western Dvina River, the withdrawal along the route Polotsk - Drissa (Verkhnedvinsk) - Rositsa - Kraslava to Daugavpils - Ilukste - Subate - Akniste - Nereta to the area of Biržai.

Deployed in Memel (Klaipeda), the division participated in offensive and defensive battles at Radviliškis and Biržai, then withdrew to the Bauska area and fought at Koda, Bersmuizha and Zilin at the position of the Hagen defense line. After further retreat through Iecava (Eckau) to the position of the Misa River between Riga and Mitava (Jelgava), the division was withdrawn to the Kurland bridgehead across the Lielupe River south of Sloka to the Džukste area. In positions in the area southeast of Frauenburg (Saldus) the division took part in the first Kurland battle at Irbes-Jaunpils and defensive battles at Garakas, Arnikaisa and Lake Lielauce. The 503rd Grenadier Regiment was disbanded in the fall of 1944. In 1945, the division was withdrawn from the front and moved via Frauenburg (Saldus) to the Ilmaja area, from where it was again deployed to the Priekule area and participated in the defensive battles at Ziengenieki, Disbraksi and Krote. The division was defeated and captured by Soviet troops in Kurland.