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We know that of course this is the 7th Panzer Division because of the Y shaped insignia. Today we’ll see more unreleased footage of the division in the early days of Barbarossa and talk about some of the decisions made with the taking of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. Then, we’ll see how the division moved to the south east and took the important rail station at Molodoczno, near Minsk which would become an important resupply hub for the Germans. Finally I’ll present a Russian close combat training film that was used by the Wehrmacht to show young recruits what they were likely to experience in the East.

The advance towards Vilnus went quickly encountering only limited resistance. Approaching the large city the divisional commander Funk decided against sending armored formations into a situation that could develop into urban street fighting. He swung the majority of the division out around the eastern side of the city and sent the fast moving armored cars and motorcycle battalions in to take the city.

In this campaign map from June 24 we see that the Ghost division was situated to the north east having reached the river Vilnia and securing the system of roads which led south east towards Minsk. Although not wanting to enter the city with his armor, Funk believed that moving it to the immediate outskirts would intimidate the Soviets and keep them from putting up a staunch defense.

At 6:15 in the morning lead elements were able to take control of the Vilnius-South airport capturing 25 undamaged Soviet planes.

The majority of the day was spent mopping up pockets of Soviet resistance and responsibility of the city was eventually handed over to the 20. Motorized division. Take a look at the great videos we’ve produced on that unit.

This is footage of the River Vilnia which is 84 km long and flows through the Eastern part of the city which is an industrial region. It’s a tributary of the River Neras.

I got question that was related to old film deterioration and digitization. There certainly is an issue with old film deteriorating which at some point becomes useless. Damaged film is often brittle, it can shrink and it can have an acidic vinegar smell. If film is in reasonable condition a transfer to digital is done by playing it in a mirrored box and rerecording it directly. For a better result individual frames can also be photographed and then with special software retimed together. This process is both time consuming and expensive but wont damage the film and the results can be better.

Signs of damaged film is a vinegar smell film footage. It can become brittle and difficult to transfer to video. It's usually done by literally re-recording the original using a mirrored box but more important footage can be photographed frame by frame which is time consuming and when done professionally, expensive. The results vary considerably and you learn to appreciate the imperfections . . .grainy look, color tint, film burns, film leads present. Also imperfections caused during the original filming like focus fading in or out

This is the campaign map from the following day, June 25th 1941. The 7th advance south east along the highway in parallel with the 20th PzD. Leaving their left flank vulnerable to attack in exchange for speed of movement had been a calculated risk. The enemy’s positioning in that sector was unknown and so marked on the map with the question “Feindfrei” which means “Free of enemy” The risk had paid off and by the afternoon the important rail hub at Molodoczno was taken.

This is splendid footage of the station at Molodoczno after it was put back into service by the Germans. Using the rail system was challenging for various reasons. Much of it was destroyed by the Russians when they retreated, the gauge of the tracks and trains were different than what was used in western Europe, and finally the hub and spoke system spread out from east to west which was the opposite of what the Germans needed.

Here we see the unloading of heavy 1000kg “Hermann” bombs. The typical German Heinkel He 111 bomber could carry two of these. There was also a monster sized 1800kg bomb that the Germans nicknamed “Satan”.

This 1939 Russian bayonet training film has a runtime of 28:39 seconds. Quickly the Germans realized that the Russian soldier on an individual level, especially in close combat, was an enemy not to be taken for granted. To give young recruits an idea of what they were likely be experience in the east the Wehrmacht trainers showed them this film.

If you’d like me to upload the entire training film please let me know in the comment section below.

However the enemy will certainly defend himself. The Soviet trainers teach the soldiers to counter each enemy thrust with either a bayonet thrust of their own or striking with the butt of their rifle. It’s not enough to only deflect the enemy’s thrust.

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