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For the 72 Million

Panzerkampfwagen III Under Fire

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Panzerkampfwagen III of Army Group South advances through the Kuban Steppe to the Caucasus Mountains during Operation Blue. Intending to secure the oil fields in Baku in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, Reichchancellor Adolf Hitler ordered Army Group South to complete the operation quickly and was frequently frustrated with their progress. Only ten percent of the Red Army was in the south; the limited number of prisoners convinced Hitler that the Soviets were running out of manpower. First Panzer Army under Generalfeldmarschall Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist (August 8, 1881 – November 13, 1954) attacked Rostov, which fell on July 28, 1942. Learning from their mistakes, the Red Army withdrew without losing large formations in encirclements. On August 9, First Panzer Army reached the foothills of the Caucausian mountains, having advanced more than 300 miles. The Sixth Army was stalled in taking the city of Stalingrad, rendering these gains negligible for the Germans. On August 21 a Nazi flag was installed on Mount Elbrus, the highest point of Caucasus. Hitler comments that his Army‘s ambition should be to defeat the Russians rather than conquer mountains. By September the Sixth Army is engaged in protracted urban street fighting in Stalingrad.
Image Filename wwii0123.jpg
Image Size 247.89 KB
Image Dimensions 875 x 540
Photographer Grimm, A.
Photographer Title Signal Magazine, November 1942
Caption Author Jason McDonald
Date Photographed August 09, 1942
Location Foothills of the Caucusus Mountains
City Kuban
State or Province Azerbaijan SSR
Country Soviet Union
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Status Caption ©2007, ©2024 MFA Productions LLC
Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission

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