German troops crossing the Bug river on June 22, 1941.

June 22nd, 1941

German troops from Infantry Regiment (mot) "Grossdeutschland" crossing the Soviet border on a captured railway bridge.

Grossdeutschland

Interesting photo of a command group of a Heer rifle company on a reverse slope of a low ridge. The radio operators with their Torn.Fu.d2 backpack radio can be seen at the upper right. They have scraped the snow down to bare ground for their resting place.
The radio cannot be operated on the move. Some of the other men are no doubt company messengers, tasked to maintain contact with the platoons. Platoons did not have radios. One man in left center is armed with a Soviet 7.62mm SVT semi-automatic rifle, which Germans called a "Sl.Gew.259(r)". "Sl.Gew." means "Selbstladegewehr" (self-loading rifle). While not too rugged or reliable, many were pressed into German service, often one or two per squad.