Strong point of the Wehrmacht

Winter was very snowy this year, some levels of snow in the forest waist-high. But that did not stop me from searching what appeared to be a German strongpoint, according to a German aerial photo of the area.

Almost immediately, I found a small dugout and started digging it out. I found several items, and among them there was a  worthy collectible one: the internal rack from the case of German M-24 grenades. These are the grenades that were super easy to throw, due to its wooden handle which acted as a lever.

Internal rack was used for safe transportation of M-24 grenades. Photo by @swamp_war

One case contained 16 grenades.

Wehrmacht and other countries’ armies loved this grenade alike because of its convenient wooden handle, which allowed to throw it for  big distances.

The bottom of the dugout was strewn with rifle cartridges and cases. In the far right corner were two inkwells, indicating that there was once a desk there.

There was ink in one inkwell. Unfortunately the ink has dried up and is unusable. Photo by @swamp_war

In the other corner of the dugout layed empty bottles of alcohol and a German fork-spoon. This must’ve been where the soldiers ate and drank in the dugout.

This fork-spoon was made of steel, so it was very rusty and broke. Photo by @swamp_war

At the very exit from the dugout, I found the most interesting find from world war of that day: a very well-preserved Wehrmacht aluminum buckle.

Read: Untouched place

It is very rare to find a buckle in this condition, as aluminum is typically very oxidized. Photo by @swamp_war

The process of excavation. Photo by @swamp_war

All finds from this dugout. Photo by @swamp_war