Wehrmacht Refueling Operation: Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. B Reloaded in Smolensk, July 1941

June 24, 2025 - Reading time: 3 minutes

German 12th Panzer Division tankers use Soviet POWs to roll barrels of fuel onto a Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. B during early stages of Operation Barbarossa.

Smolensk region, July 1941.
This is what Blitzkrieg logistics looked like in motion — crude, manual, and disturbingly efficient. German troops of the 12th Panzer Division are pictured refueling a Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. B tank by rolling oil drums directly off a railway freight car and onto the vehicle’s hull.

The train platform, with a 20-ton load capacity, speaks to the Wehrmacht’s remarkable early-war supply coordination. But in this photo, the sharp contrast is undeniable: it's Soviet prisoners of war — captured just weeks earlier — who are forced to perform the labor.

The Panzer IV Ausf. B (early-war variant) featured a short-barreled 75mm KwK 37 L/24 gun, more suited for infantry support than anti-tank warfare. With thinner armor and only 42 units produced, it was already nearing obsolescence — yet still played a crucial role in Operation Barbarossa.

As barrels roll and boots thump on steel, there's a smug confidence in the air. The Nazi war machine is rolling east — unaware that supply lines will soon stretch thin, resistance will harden, and every liter of that fuel will become harder and bloodier to earn.

📷 Technical photo data:
📸 Photographer: Unknown German war correspondent
📅 Date: July 1941
📍 Location: Smolensk region, USSR