German soliders having a good times in the barricks, 

Fun before the storm

PzKpfw IV Ausf.D tank of 65th Panzer Battalion photographed in East
Prussia in May 1941 shortly before the invasion of Russia. The small turret number '421' identifies the battalion by its yellow color, the company- '4', the platoon-'2', and the platoon leader's tank- ' 1 '. The two yellow 'Xs' on the front plate beside the driver's visor are the divisional sign of 6th Panzer ; this device replaced the original ' reversed Y' rune and two dots
shortly before Operation 'Barbarossa'. The national cross is in plain white outline on the 'Panzer gray' paintwork. On the nearside trackguard may be seen the shielded driving- and head-lights, the fire extinguisher, a jacking block of thick timber, barrel cleaning rods, and four jerrycans held by a retaining bar marked with the divisional sign . Note open flap of ventilation port in turret roof: ventilator fans were not yet fitted.

PzKpfw IV (2)

Soviet Union.-two young German infantrymen in foxhole
Jan 1942