Impressive and realistic movie about war on the Eastern Front in Estonia 1944. The Soviets are coming back as the German Army retreated with Estionians forced to fight eachother. For me it is quite understandable that the Soviet victors were suspicious about the loyalty of Estonian soldiers forced in the Red Army. "Red" because they were quite cruel to anybody not loyal to the Soviet Stalinistic system. Therefore the Soviet Army had real officers and "Political" officers (commissars) which ruled everything behind fighting. Because after 1945 Estonia would be occupied by the Soviet system for another 46 years, I am inclined to feel few sympathy for the Red Steamroller. That Estionians were fighting in the Waffen-SS was normal practise in the German Army, where all soldiers of foreign countries were drafted in the Waffen-SS. Waffen-SS divisions mostly got the more difficult tasks and were famous for their will to figjht under extreme difficult circumstances and hold the line were other units would have fled.
Most professional and very convincing were the grey glimpses of the famous German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen in the background firing 8 inch HE shells on the assaulting Soviet troops when they attacked Saaremaa (Ösel) island from the Sörve (Sorbe) peninsula. These scenes are important high quality features to make the movie more authentic and valuable in my eyes, like the correct material, insigna's, emblems and uniforms. The T34/85's were also correctly depicted smashing German defensive lines and trenches and German soldiers could only reply with Panzerschreck, Panzerfausts and hand grenades. The Soviet sniper did his (ugly) duty when he silenced the German key defenders, like the one with the Panzerschreck.
That war is inhuman, cruel and horrible and that Estonians tragically were forced to fight eachother is extensively showed in this realistic war movie.
Most professional and very convincing were the grey glimpses of the famous German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen in the background firing 8 inch HE shells on the assaulting Soviet troops when they attacked Saaremaa (Ösel) island from the Sörve (Sorbe) peninsula. These scenes are important high quality features to make the movie more authentic and valuable in my eyes, like the correct material, insigna's, emblems and uniforms. The T34/85's were also correctly depicted smashing German defensive lines and trenches and German soldiers could only reply with Panzerschreck, Panzerfausts and hand grenades. The Soviet sniper did his (ugly) duty when he silenced the German key defenders, like the one with the Panzerschreck.
That war is inhuman, cruel and horrible and that Estonians tragically were forced to fight eachother is extensively showed in this realistic war movie.
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