Geography of the USSR. Smolensk under the german occupation

[wpheaton]

What do the two signs say? "Advertising & Different Reality"?

[Paul D]

Great thread , have you any original photos of the Dnieper Bridge east of Smolensk ?

[TabsTabs1964]

Hi Bill
The sign under which the three soldiers are sitting says: The wheels must roll to victory. It was the motto of the German railways from 1942.

The other sign that the soldiers are placing warns of the danger by partisans, never stop the vehicle and travel in a convoy of at least two cars.

[TabsTabs1964]

Hi Paul.
I have no photos of the Ost-brücke. The wooden one built by the 84th battalion and the one by Nikolai Kirche, I have enough.

[wpheaton]

Thank You.

[TabsTabs1964]

An image of a dynamited train track.



Shrapnel damage on a passenger car.



Finally a completely derailed train



So in addition to the protection units of each train, to combat partisan sabotage on the railroad tracks, a specific line surveillance unit had its headquarters in Smolensk. patrolled in Draisines Robel, which offered no protection against the Russian winter or the partisans.



1942 A patrol begins at the Roslavl train station, near Smolensk. The men are probably Fekdo 2 (Field Rail Command No. 2), which was based in Smolensk.



Another image, in summer.
In the United States, these motorized vehicles are also known as "speeders."

[TabsTabs1964]

The "Smolensk Hauptbahnhof" nowadays

[Paul D]

Hi Paul.
I have no photos of the Ost-brücke. The wooden one built by the 84th battalion and the one by Nikolai Kirche, I have enough.

The reason i ask is i have a big interest in the 29 ID (Mot ) who captured Smolensk and have quite a few photos taken by one of them of the City . I also have photos of RKT Willi Henz from Krad 29 who was awarded the RK for the capture of the Bridge but i've never seen a photo of the original Bridge .

[TabsTabs1964]

Smolensk was one of the most powerful citadels in Tsarist Russia. Due to its strategic position on the western border of Russia, in 1595, the builder Fyodor Kon was brought from Moscow to Smolensk by decree of the Tsar to fortify the city.



The fortress required an enormous amount of material and personnel: for the construction, which lasted from 1596 to 1602, around 150 million bricks were used, for the transport of which human chains of up to 50,000 workers were erected.

Parts of that wall from the end of the 16th century have been preserved to this day. The old fort surrounds the center of the current city.



Its total length was 6.5 kilometers with a height of up to 19 meters and a width of up to 5.2 meters; with a total of 38 towers.
However, as Smolensk was the subject of frequent attacks in the 20th century due to its border location, the whole of the Kremlin suffered considerable damage over time, so that today only half of the original Kremlin wall remains with a total of 17 towers.





So the wall was also another tourist attraction for the occupants.

[TabsTabs1964]

Written on the back of the photo. "Stadtmauer türme in Smolensk". Tartar wall of the city.