Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Bull
I remember reading in one book ( lost in my memory, I'm afraid ) about the first Russian winter encountered by the Germans. It related how some night-time sentries ( wearing the steel helmet ) would be found dead in the morning - their cranial fluid having frozen.
An image which, for some reason, I found particularly horrifying.
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This reminds me of two different images I saw in two different books. The first book, I cannot recall it's title nor the author but, I remember seeing a large photo of a troop of Cossacks, frozen stiff on horseback. They were in the act of charging a German position when a snap-freeze happened. They were cought our in the middle of an open field. You could easily see icicles hanging off the men, their mounts and equpiment.
The second book I do recall the name of the author. The author was: Roland Gaul-who wrote an excellent 2 volume series about the Battle of the Bulge: the Southern sector. Anyway, one volume was from the German point-of-view, the second was from the American P-o-V. In the American volume, I remember seeing a photo taken of an American Sergeant who was on one knee, with Garand rifle at the ready. You could see where the water was dripping off of him and his rifle. This Gents eyes were frozen open. :-((