Ukraine / Russia 1942 ▶ Battles of Donez / Don in Colour - Siverskyi Donets River Army Group South Heeresgruppe Süd "Fall Blau / Case Blue" (June 1942)
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"After successful battles south of Kharkov and on the Donets front in May, members of the Army Group South march over a muddy road to their attack positions on the Don for the large-scale offensive on Stalingrad on 28 June."
4: The kurzer 8 cm Granatwerfer 42 (kz 8 cm GrW 42) was a mortar used by Germany during World War II. It was developed as a lightened version of the standard German 8 cm GrW 34 medium mortar with a shorter barrel for use by paratroopers, but replaced the ineffective 5 cm leGrW 36 as that weapon's shortcomings became apparent. The kz 8 cm GrW 42 fired a bomb over 3 and a half times heavier twice as far as the smaller mortar, but was less than twice as heavy. It broke down into the standard three loads for transport. Some weapons were provided with a lanyard-operated loading/firing mechanism for remote-controlled use. It was generally known as the "Stummelwerfer" or "Stump-Thrower".
The 8 cm Granatwerfer 34 (8 cm GrW 34) was the standard German infantry mortar throughout World War II. It was noted for its accuracy and rapid rate of fire. The weapon was of conventional design and broke down into three loads (smooth bore barrel, bipod, baseplate) for transport. Attached to the bipod were a traversing handwheel and a cross-leveling handwheel below the elevating mechanism. A panoramic sight was mounted on the traversing mechanism yoke for fine adjustments. A line on the tube could be used for rough laying. The 8 cm GrW 34/1 was an adaptation for use in self-propelled mountings. A lightened version with a shorter barrel was put into production as the kurzer 8 cm Granatwerfer 42. The mortar employed conventional 8 cm 3.5 kg shells (high explosive or smoke) with percussion fuzes. The range could be extended by fitting up to three additional powder charges between the shell tailfins. A total of 74,336,000 rounds of ammunition were produced for the Granatwerfer 34 from September 1939 to March 1945.
The Seversky Donets (Russian: Северский Донец, Severskij Donec), Siverskyi Donets (Ukrainian: Сіверський Донець, Siverśkyj Doneć), usually simply called the Donets, is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts) and then again through Russia (Rostov Oblast) to join the Don River, about 100 km (62 mi) from the Sea of Azov. The Donets is the fourth longest river in Ukraine and the biggest in the Eastern Ukraine.
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