Soviet flamethrower operator A.D. Puchkov fires at German troops entrenched on the ground floor of a ruined building during the Battle of Stalingrad.
Stalingrad, October 1942.
The shattered cityscape is barely holding together. Rubble, twisted steel, and smoking bricks define the battlefield. Somewhere among these ruins, Soviet flamethrower operator A.D. Puchkov kneels behind a mound of debris, preparing to attack German troops entrenched inside a ruined building.
This famous frontline photograph captures Puchkov aiming at German soldiers occupying the ground floor of a destroyed building on Gogol Street. The scene illustrates the brutal nature of urban combat in Stalingrad, where every building became a fortress and every floor had to be fought over at close range.
Flamethrower troops like Puchkov were rare and highly vulnerable. Equipped with a ROKS-2 or ROKS-3 flamethrower, they carried fuel tanks on their backs, making them priority targets for enemy snipers and machine gunners. To use their weapons effectively, they often had to approach within only a few dozen meters of enemy positions.
Flamethrowers played an important tactical role during the Battle of Stalingrad. They were particularly effective against fortified buildings, basements, and strongpoints, forcing defenders to abandon positions that conventional infantry attacks could not easily capture.
Taken by L. I. Konov, this photograph preserves a rare combat moment from one of the fiercest urban battles of the Second World War. It remains one of the best-known visual records of Soviet flamethrower troops fighting in the ruins of Stalingrad.
Technical Photo Data
Photographer: L. I. Konov
Source: victory.rusarchives.ru
Date: October 1942
Location: Gogol Street, Stalingrad, USSR
Recommended Reading
- David M. Glantz — To the Gates of Stalingrad
- Antony Beevor — Stalingrad
- William Craig — Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad
- "flamethrower Puchkov Stalingrad WWII photos"
- "Soviet flamethrower Battle of Stalingrad photos"
- "Gogol Street Stalingrad WWII combat photos"