305th Infantry Division soldiers at Stalingrad
West of Stalingrad on August 17, 1942, the 305th Infantry Division attacked in zone toward the Don River against the 4th Guards Rifle Division. The division lost four NCOs and 17 enlisted men killed in action; six officers and 102 NCOs/enlisted were wounded in action. To the northwest was the 100th Jäger Division; to the southeast was the 60th Infantry Division (Motorized.) Two-thirds of the division occupied an assembly area to the south in preparation for future combat. Concerning the non-commissioned officer in the center of the photo, anecdotal evidence indicates that some German soldiers at Stalingrad intentionally broke the wreath surrounding their Infantry Assault Badge (silver decoration on his uniform) to show their private opposition to the campaign. While this badge is missing part of the wreath, it is not possible to determine the cause of the damage. (Stalingrad: The Death of the German Sixth Army on the Volga, 1942-1943)
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Helmut Karl Cantow. Hailing from Leopoldshagen in Mecklenburg, Helmut Cantow was born on September 30, 1920. He joined the Hitler Youth on October 1, 1932, remaining in that organization until 1938 when he joined the Reich Labor Service. A baker by trade, he later resided in Torgelow, twenty-five miles northwest of Stettin. Joining the Waffen-SS on April 1, 1939, he served as a communications specialist in the invasion of Poland and France; he was promoted to SS-Sturmmann on June 1, 1940. Helmut Cantow was assigned to the 8th (Heavy) Company on January 1, 1943. At Kursk, he would have been the radio operator on Tiger S01; but was wounded on the first day of the offensive. On August 17, 1943 he was wounded in action again, this time at Hill 196 near Nikitovka in the Ukraine.
(Waffen-SS Tiger Crews at Kursk: The Men of SS Panzer Regiments 1, 2 & 3 in Operation Citadel, July 5-15, 1943)