Photograph by Panzer Füsilier Regiment Grossdeutschland © 2008. No un-authorised use.

Under strength, short of ammunition, and facing a numerically superior foe, in April 1945 the shattered remnants of GD dig in north of Fischhausen and await the inevitable Soviet steamrolling offensive. Having been just plucked from the horrors of the Heiligenbeil pocket, the Division is effectively destroyed and in no condition to deal with a mass armoured attack from the enemy.

Photograph by Panzer Füsilier Regiment Grossdeutschland © 2008. No un-authorised use.

There would have been few men in the military that would not have had an almost intimate knowledge of the K98 rifle. Basic training for recruits involved many hours of parade drill, lectures on ballistics and live range firing with this weapon, although this induction regime was restricted by time constraints in the latter part of the war. Despite the universal introduction of the MP/StG 44 assault rifle, the K98 remained the fundamental weapon of the GD Infantryman in 1945.

Photograph by Panzer Füsilier Regiment Grossdeutschland © 2008. No un-authorised use.

The infantryman’s view of the world. In battle this man would have no or little idea what was happening two foxholes away. Many accounts from combat veterans of the same action differ immensely. In explanation, they state that the world shrinks to what they can see and hear in their immediate area, and that they have no idea of the ‘grand picture’.

Photograph by Panzer Füsilier Regiment Grossdeutschland © 2008. No un-authorised use.

Despite the discomforts, the humour wins through. Hastily dug slit trenches and foxholes amongst the trees offer some cover from the Soviet fighter-bombers that hunt unopposed in the clear skies above.

Photograph by Panzer Füsilier Regiment Grossdeutschland © 2008. No un-authorised use.

The officer ‘does the rounds’, checking that all is well. He has picked up a Soviet sub-machine gun, part trophy, but an extremely effective weapon that was lethal at short-ranges. The veterans of GD tell how each company formed a last ditch reserve based around the HQ Group. Equipped with quick firing weapons, this group (sometimes no more than two or three men) was used as a final ‘fire-brigade’ within a breached tactical defensive zone.

Photograph by Panzer Füsilier Regiment Grossdeutschland © 2008. No un-authorised use.

An exchange of information. The weather has turned, rain and low clouds drive away the enemy planes. Movement is now possible, but the news is not good. Enemy reconnaissance groups have been intercepted on an open flank and that means trouble. Preparations are made for a change of position.

Photograph by Panzer Füsilier Regiment Grossdeutschland © 2008. No un-authorised use.

The ubiquitous Zeltbahn, a piece of kit that had a multitude of uses. Introduced in 1931, the distinctive ‘Splinter’ pattern printed on this shelter-quarter was one of the first attempts by a nation to provide camouflage ‘garments’ to its troops. This much-valued item of equipment remained unchanged throughout the war and spawned a new generation of post-war derivatives.

Photograph by Panzer Füsilier Regiment Grossdeutschland © 2008. No un-authorised use.

Further back, four Zeltbahn have been buttoned together which, furnished with a bed of spruce branches and a couple of blankets, provides an area of relative warmth for those lucky enough to get a short rest period.

Photograph by Panzer Füsilier Regiment Grossdeutschland © 2008. No un-authorised use.

Home. An infantryman will spend a large part of his life in a hole like this. This was actually the reality of the frontline as seen on Hitler’s table maps: a cold, dank excavation that often, if the GD archives are to be believed, became the grave of the man within it. If time allowed, the hole would be part covered by logs and earth to protect from artillery and tree splinters. Woodland is not a good place to be during an artillery barrage.

Photograph by Panzer Füsilier Regiment Grossdeutschland © 2008. No un-authorised use.

Photograph by Panzer Füsilier Regiment Grossdeutschland © 2008. No un-authorised use.