Soviet soldier throws an RGD-33 grenade during close combat on the Eastern Front in 1943. The dramatic moment was captured by Soviet photographer Dmitry Baltermants.
This photograph captures a Soviet infantryman at the exact moment he throws an RGD-33 hand grenade during combat on the Eastern Front in 1943. The dynamic composition and the soldier's movement make this one of the memorable combat photographs of the Second World War.
The image was taken by Dmitry Baltermants, one of the Soviet Union's best-known wartime photographers, while working for the newspaper Izvestia. His photographs documented front-line combat as well as the daily life of Soviet soldiers throughout the war.
Rather than focusing on the wider battle, the photograph captures a single split second of infantry combat, preserving the intensity and immediacy of the fighting experienced by soldiers on the Eastern Front.
Technical photo data
📝 Source of information: Dmitry Baltermants, Izvestia
📍 Location: USSR
📅 Date of photo: 1943
📷 Photographer: Dmitry Baltermants
Recommended literature
- Dmitry Baltermants – Witness to History: Photographs of World War II
- Artem Drabkin – Red Army Infantryman 1941–1945
- Chris McNab – The Eastern Front 1941–1945
Tags
- RGD-33 grenade
- Soviet soldier
- Dmitry Baltermants
- Izvestia
- Eastern Front
- Red Army infantry
- World War II
- Infantry combat
- Combat photography
- 1943
- Soviet military history
- Historical wartime photography