German Soldiers Taking a Break during the Russian Summer Campaign in 1942

Wehrmacht combat infantrymen taking a "Feuerpause" (firebreak) - the formal term for "cease-fire", a cigarette break or a short rest break - in their advance in Russia, summer of 1942. Soviet Union was in mortal peril, and with her the whole Allied cause. It was not so much the German advances, although they were great enough; nor the Russian retreats, although they were foreboding enough. It was the total fashion of retreat and defeat in the valley of the Don that chilled the hearts of Russia's allies and sharpened Moscow's cry for a second front. The warning from the Don was this: It was the Red Army, not the German Army, which had suffered the most in the previous winter campaign

Source :
SIGNAL magazine, 1942 edition
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