SECOND WORLD WAR POSTCARDS

This page was last updated
06-Mar-2025 10:51

KAMPF IM OSTEN
2. VOM VORMARSCH IM SOMMER 1941
THE ADVANCE IN THE SUMMER 1941

This is the second of five (?) series of postcards titled "Kampf im Osten" published by the HERAUSGEGEBEN VON DER PROPAGANDAKOMPANIE EINER ARMEE - 'PUBLISHED BY THE PROPAGANDA COMPANY OF THE ARMY'. The 10 cards in the set measure approximately 97 x 145 mm and all follow a similar format in that the front of the cards features a photograph of German forces in action.

The reverse side of the cards differs only in the texts on the upper left-hand side. Each set of cards appeared in a tan coloured, coarse paper envelope which described the cards inside.

The envelope has the following inscription:

"KAMPF Im OSTEN
2. FOLGE
Vormarsch im Sommer 1941
10 Feldpostkarten
HERAUSGEGEBEN VON DER PROPAGANDA-KOMPANIE EINER ARMEE"

Since the cards are unnumbered, and to avoid any confusion I have followed the numbering scheme from Matthew Roth in his book "Postcards of the Wehrmacht Volume 1"

KO2-1
SOWJET PANZER GREIFT AN
SOVIET TANK ATTACKS

German troops slowly advance towards a Russian KV-1 tank.

KO2-2

A German soldier peers over the top of a embankment on the lookout for the enemy.

KO2-3

A German soldier runs in advance of a self-propelled gun.

KO2-4

Shirtless in the heat, a German PAK crew fires at the Russian defenders. The freezing winters and extremely hot summers on the Russian steppes were as much a challenge for the German invaders as the Russian army was.

KO2-5

Burnt-out and disabled Russian T-34 tank on the roadside.

KO2-6

A German PAK crew celebrates the destruction of another Russian tank.

KO2-7
SOLDAT DER NACHRICHTENTRUPPE BESEITIGT EINE STÖRUNG
COMMUNICATIONS SOLDIER ELIMINATES A DISRUPTION

Communications were key to the German Blitzkrieg tactics and here a German soldier makes repairs to a communications line during fighting around a Russian village.

KO2-8
SOWJET BUNKER WIRD MIT EINER PAK BEKAMPFT
SOVIET BUNKER IS COVERED WITH A PAK

Another PAK crew, this time positioned above a Russian bunker waiting to unleash their deadly payload on the cornered defenders.

KO2-9

A German unit makes its way across the flat, barren steppes as it approaches a devastated village. Not all the damage to Russian villages and towns was caused by the German advance, Stalin ordered a scorched earth policy whereby villagers were ordered to destroy everything before the Germans arrived, thereby denying them much needed resources and shelter.

KO2-10

German troops deploy anti-aircraft and machine guns in order to dislodge stubborn Soviet defenders. It was not unusual for the Germans to employ anti-aircraft guns in ground attacks, the 88 mm being a classic example of a weapon that was equally as devastating in both roles.

REFERENCES

1. Postcards of the Wehrmacht Volume One by Matthew A. Roth.