Background

The summer of 1941 was a jubilant time for Hitler's vaunted Wehrmacht as the juggernaut that is Operation Barbarossa rolls inexorably eastwards. Army Group North under Von Leeb made rapid progress into Latvia while Von Rundstedt's Army Group South struck for the Crimea. Between these formidable formations was Von Bock's Army Group Centre, tasked with the main drive on Moscow. It consisted of 51 Divisions, including two Panzer Armies totaling nine divisions and air support provided by Leftflotte 2. All across the 2000 mile front, the Red Army reeled back before the armoured onslaught.

The Panzers of the Panzer Group II, Army Group Centre, commanded by the audacious and brilliant Generaloberst Heinz Guderian, had bludgeoned its way to Minsk, then would drive onwards to Smolensk and on to Moscow.

With success after success, it would have been difficult for the German Army to imagine that never again would the halcyon days of that summer be attained. For scant months ahead, the offensive would grind to a frozen halt before the gates of Moscow as Marshal Zhokov's forces regrouped for a massive counteroffensive against the exhausted Wehrmacht. It would not stop until Berlin was overrun.

Hitler's dream of conquest would lay shattered in the merciless embrace of the Russian Motherland, just as Napoleon's had more than a century before.

In this superb historical recreation, award winning artist Michael Howard has depicted spearhead elements of Panzer Group Guderian, PZKpfw IVs of the 4th Panzer Division and grenadiers of the 2nd SS "Das Reich" Division, as they establish a bridgehead on the Beresina River before crossing the Dnieper on the final drive on Smolensk.

Overhead, Me110s of the ZG1 Wespen Geshwader, with their distinctive wasp emblem, streak towards enemy positions providing vital tactical air support to the ground forces. A necessary component in the concept of Blitzkrieg.

Print Specifications

Main Print:	"Panzer Drive" Limited Edition Print Limited to 750 Prints, Certificate of Authenticity provided Full colour, 33.5" (width) x 25" (height) Printed on 300gsm archival paper with fade resistant inks