Stick grenades are stuffed in the front of belts ready for action, and full bandoliers of extra small arms ammunition hang like harnesses from the neck and across the backs. Rifles are often carelessly slung over shoulders for ease of carriage or cradled in the crook of the arm. Helmets and mess tins suspended from belts clank noisily as they stride by. A few soldiers tap the road with crudely fashioned walking sticks as if on an afternoon hike. Panzerfausts perched on shoulders, however, belie the peacefulness of the scene.
Faces turn and smile easily at the camera.
These troops have yet to be committed to battle. A considerable number viewed through the lens will be dead or maimed before evening. Few will eventually survive the war. Detailed German OBs. All in all a very solid work.