Soviet soldiers from the 13th separate ski brigade of the 2nd Shock Army on the Volkhov Front.
The 13th Separate Ski team of 3 thousand people was formed by the Molotovsk military commissariat in the autumn of 1942. The personnel were selected from “… the number of people aged 20 to 35 years, physically healthy and strong, able to ski”. The brigade was formed mainly from Komsomol members and communists. The formation of the brigade was so active that 389 ordinary soldiers and 11 junior commanding officers were transferred to the brigade, which was being formed in neighboring Arkhangelsk. In December 1942, the 13th Separate Ski Brigade was sent to the Volkhov Front to break through the blockade of Leningrad as part of the 2nd shock army (Operation Iskra).
Soviet soldiers photo source: Severodvinsk City Museum of Local Lore.
Location: USSR
Photo Time: April 1943