German tank crews from Panzer-Regiment 15 / 11.Panzer-Division "Gespenster Division" loading shells in their tank, a Panzerkampfwagen III. Presumably in the district of Moscow, winter of 1941/1942. Weapons and vehicles require special lubricants to operate at low temperatures. Mines are unreliable in winter, owing to deep snow that may cushion the fuse or form an ice bridge over the detonator. During World War II, the Wehrmacht lacked necessary supplies, such as weapons and winter uniforms, due to the many delays in the German army's movements. At the same time, Hitler's plans for Operation Barbarossa actually miscarried before the onset of severe winter weather: he was so confident of a quick victory that he did not prepare for even the possibility of winter warfare in Russia. In fact his eastern army suffered more than 734,000 casualties (about 23% of its average strength of 3,200,000) during the first five months of the invasion before the winter started. On 27 November 1941, Eduard Wagner, the Quartermaster General of the German Army, reported that "We are at the end of our resources in both personnel and material. We are about to be confronted with the dangers of deep winter." Also of note is the fact that the unusually early winter of 1941 cut short the rasputitsa season, improving logistics in early November, with the weather still being only mildly cold.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Winter
http://www.thefewgoodmen.com/thefgmforum/threads/german-heavy-medium-armour.101/page-4
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