[TheCruxofBag]

In Krasnodar Krai, 47-year-old A., a collector of rarities, was killed when he was blown up by a World War II-era mine. His right leg and genitals were destroyed in the explosion.

A.'s corpse was found with a metal detector and shovel nearby, alongside a shell projectile. According to his family, he had left home on the 5th to go into the forest.

[JoseQuinones]

Adolf got another one.

[William May]

Russian High School and University students spend their summers off of school recovering lost bodies, both Russian and German, from WWII battlefields. They uncover TONS of ordnance and weaponry. The Russians did no graves registration work during or after the war. Russian war dead were just ignored. (The Russians ignored German war dead as well) So when they plot out a battlefield, they uncover fox holes that still have the dead in them, many times intermixed between Russian and German, as the fighting was hand to hand and really brutal. Troops on the Eastern Front killed each other with weapons, but also with shovels, hammers, and even screwdrivers. It was truly horrific.
There was a Russian group who did these expeditions every summer, and they posted videos of how they worked, and what they found. German bodies were turned over to Germany for repatriation. Russian bodies were given a dignified burial in a local cemetery, and relatives notified. They asked for donations to help them with each year's work. They used Russian battle maps to locate the battlefields, and then probed the ground to locate equipment and bodies. The students living conditions are REALLY primitive. Just really rough camps with no facilities. They are guided and assisted by WWII historians and locals who knew the areas. I was very touched by the dedication and hard work they showed as they carried out these excavations. I doubt you can see any of these videos now, due to the Ukraine War and the embargo on all Russian media.
Russia has a REALLY small population compared to the size of the country, and many of these battle sites have NEVER been visited since the war ended. (Some people may remember an FW-190 that a German pilot landed on a Russian field in 1943. He tried walking west back to German lines, but was captured. The aircraft was discovered again, still quietly sitting where he left it, with the canopy closed, his flying gloves on the seat, and one panel on the fuselage opened where he took out a compass to guide him on his way west. The actual area he landed in was an open pasture, but when the airplane was found, trees had grown up everywhere around it. They took it apart to send it out for restoration. (I think it was restored in England) It was in absolutely EXCELLENT condition. Even the plastic in the pilot's cockpit was all still intact. I think this was in the late 90's or early 2000's, so the aircraft had just been sitting there for over 50 years before being rediscovered and recovered. But there are so few people in Russia, that many of these battle sites have never been visited after the Germans were driven out. The Russian soldiers themselves were advancing towards Germany, so they didn't hang around. The moved forward again the next day as the Germans were defeated and pushed back again and again.
The ordnance, such as mines, artillery shells, mortars, hand grenades, thousands of rounds of ammunition, rifles, pistols, machine guns, anti-tank rifles, etc, etc, etc. The stuff was just piled up on tarps on the ground, and there must have been TONS of it at some of the dig sites. Plus a lot of personal stuff, such as wallets with pictures of the soldiers with their wives, children and girlfriends, letters, and even occasional care packages from relatives at home. All of it just buried in the mud during the fighting.

[LadyNightmare]

Poor fella, got a little more than he bargained for! Thanks for the book report too by the way. I use to go metal detecting back in the day, early 80's and into the early 1990's. I have found some awesome things, lots of trash and thank god no landmines!!

[akham]

Originally Posted by TheCruxofBag ↗

In Krasnodar Krai, 47-year-old A., a collector of rarities, was killed when he was blown up by a World War II-era mine.

Wasn't mine.

[ride]

That mortar looks about the size of the BDU-33 practice bombs the Air Force uses currently.

[Dodger712]

William May, That was a fascinating report. Seriously informative. I had never thought about stuff like planes just sitting there, untouched. The wallets of the dead are sad. I hope that the personal belongings find their way back to the families. War is sad.

[yah]

That would make for a really cool new DR forum if somehow those videos were still accessible.

Originally Posted by William May ↗

Russian High School and University students spend their summers off of school recovering lost bodies, both Russian and German, from WWII battlefields. They uncover TONS of ordnance and weaponry. The Russians did no graves registration work during or after the war. Russian war dead were just ignored. (The Russians ignored German war dead as well) So when they plot out a battlefield, they uncover fox holes that still have the dead in them, many times intermixed between Russian and German, as the fighting was hand to hand and really brutal. Troops on the Eastern Front killed each other with weapons, but also with shovels, hammers, and even screwdrivers. It was truly horrific.
There was a Russian group who did these expeditions every summer, and they posted videos of how they worked, and what they found. German bodies were turned over to Germany for repatriation. Russian bodies were given a dignified burial in a local cemetery, and relatives notified. They asked for donations to help them with each year's work. They used Russian battle maps to locate the battlefields, and then probed the ground to locate equipment and bodies. The students living conditions are REALLY primitive. Just really rough camps with no facilities. They are guided and assisted by WWII historians and locals who knew the areas. I was very touched by the dedication and hard work they showed as they carried out these excavations. I doubt you can see any of these videos now, due to the Ukraine War and the embargo on all Russian media.

[Bleed]

Originally Posted by William May ↗

..recovering lost bodies, both Russian and German, from WWII battlefields...

Crocodile Tear is a YouTube channel that does similar work.. https://www.youtube.com/@CrocodileTear

[ride]

People who use metal detectors are notoriously selfish and territorial when they come upon buried treasure. Take this guy, for instance - when his detector went berserk and he started digging for the object, he yelled “Mine!!!”