Rommel Visiting the Sollum Front

Image size: 900 x 1258 pixel. 924 KB
Date: Wednesday, 2 July 1941
Place: Halfaya Pass, Sollum, Libya
Photographer: Fritz Sturm

Together with his staff officers, on 2 July 1941 General der Panzertruppe Erwin Rommel (left, Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) made a visit to the headquarters of I.Bataillon / Schützen-Regiment 104 / 15.Panzer-Division in the Sollum front, which is on the border Libya-Egypt. During this visit, in particular "Der Wüstenfuchs" (The Desert Fox) congratulated the commander of the battalion, Hauptmann der Reserve Wilhelm Bech (walking at the forefront with Rommel), who in the battle a month earlier managed to withstand the British tank forces who were trying to break through the Halfaya Pass in order to free their comrades who were besieged in Tobruk, in a mass attack codenamed Operation Battleaxe (15-17 June 1941). For three full days Bach and his men endured wave after wave of enemy tank attacks, with only a platoon of Flak 88 cannons as their main weapon. Although Rommel himself had ordered the Bataillonskommandeur to retreat to a more adequate defensive location "if possible", Bach interpreted his commander's last words in the opposite direction: a counterattack that succeeded in repelling the British troops! For this phenomenal achievement, Bach - who is a former priest (!) - was awarded the prestigious Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on July 9, 1941, just a week after this photo was taken. The Flak 88 itself was originally an anti-aircraft gun, but it can be just as good when it comes to hitting tank targets on the ground. BTW, in April 1941 - which was only one month after Rommel arrived in North Africa - German forces managed to defeat the invading British army and driven it out of Libya, except for one stubborn ANZAC garrison which remained in the port city of Tobruk (despite being besieged by a combined force of Italian and German Afrikakorps). Over the next year, the re-capture of Tobruk became Rommel's biggest obsession, because without it all German efforts to conquer Egypt would be vulnerable. When the port city was finally occupied in June 1942, a grateful Hitler rewarded Rommel with an extraordinary promotion to Generalfeldmarschall.

Source:
https://www.bridgemanimages.com/en/search?filter_group=all&filter_region=GBR&filter_text=Erwin%20Rommel

Generalmajor Ramcke with His Family in the Christmas of 1941

Image size: 2048 x 1312 pixel. 578 KB
Date: Thursday, 25 December 1941
Place: Germany
Photographer: Unknown

Generalmajor Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke (Kommandeur Ergänzungseinheiten und Schulen des XI. Fliegerkorps) in a formal picture with his family on Christmas Day of 1941. The mother of the children is Ruth Göldner - daughter of Generalleutnant Paul Göldner - who is 20 years younger than her husband. The couple had eight children, with the youngest being Volker Ramcke, who was born in 1952, a year after his father was released from an Allied prison camp. In the photo itself General Ramcke is wearing a Luftwaffe kleinerrock suit, with a bunch of medals pinned to the chest. Of course the most prestigious medal is the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes in his neck, which he got on August 21, 1941, four months before this photo was taken. Ramcke himself then completed his Ritterkreuz "collection" with three more of even higher tiers: Eichenlaub (13 November 1942), Schwerter (19 September 1944), and Brillanten (19 September 1944). The latter made him one of only 27 soldiers in the entire Wehrmacht and SS to have it! The couple's six children make the mother, Ruth Ramcke, eligible for the Mutterkreuz (Mother's Cross), a special medal bestowed by the German government on every mother who gives birth to five or more children, as a token of appreciation for their dedication and sacrifices in raising so many children.


Source:
https://twitter.com/x3892555/status/1220459234988646411

"Battleship Row" after Pearl Harbor Attack

Image size: 2048 x 1645 pixel. 720 KB
Date: Sunday, 7 December 1941
Place: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, United States of America
Photographer: Unknown

"Battleship Row" on December 7, 1941, after the Japanese attack. USS Arizona (BB-39) is in the center of this view, burning furiously. To the left of her are USS Tennessee (BB-43) and the sunken USS West Virginia (BB-48). Men on the stern of USS Tennessee are playing fire hoses on the water to force burning oil away from their ship. She was hit by two bombs, which damaged two of her four gun turrets, and was scorched by burning oil from the sunken USS Arizona. In late December, after temporary repairs, Tennessee steamed to the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Washington, for an overhaul. West Viriginia was hit by two bombs and at least seven torpedoes, which blew huge holes in her port side. Skillful damage control saved her from capsizing, but she quickly sank to the harbor bottom. More than a hundred of her crew were lost. Salvaged and given temporary repairs at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, in April 1943 West Virginia steamed to the West Coast for final repair and modernization at the Puget Sound Navy Yard. The battleship emerged from the shipyard in July 1944 completely changed in appearance, with a wider hull, and massively improved anti-aircraft gun battery. Both battleships served as gunnery platforms for invasions throughout the war. Arizona's wreck was never raised and remains as a memorial to this day.



Source :
https://worldwar2database.com/gallery/wwii1367

Radiogram "Air Raid, Pearl Harbor, This Is Not Drill"

Image size: 2048 x 1649 pixel. 529 KB
Date: Sunday, 7 December 1941
Place: Squantum Point, Massachusetts, United States of America
Photographer: Unknown

Radiogram sent to Squantum Naval Air Station at Squantum Point, Quincy Massachusetts. The telegram is usually credited to Rear Admiral Patrick N. L. Bellinger (October 8, 1885 – May 30, 1962) Commanding Officer of Patrol Wing Two. However, the message may have been sent in his name by Lieutenant Commander Logan "Beauty" C. Ramsey Sr. In 1945, Ramsey reported to the Joint Congressional Committee on the investigation of the Pearl Harbor: "I saw, together with the staff duty officer, a single plane making a dive on Ford Island. The single plane appeared at the time to both the staff duty officer and myself in the light of a young aviator 'flathatting' (flying low in a reckless manner) and we both tried to get his number to make a report of the violation of flight rules. He completed his dive, pulled up and away. We were commenting together on the fact that it was going to be difficult to find out who the pilot was, when the delayed action bomb which he had dropped, and which we had not seen drop, detonated, and I told the staff duty officer, "Never mind; it's a Jap." I dashed across the hall into the radio room, ordered a broadcast in plain English on all frequencies, "Air Raid, Pearl Harbor. This is no drill." The detonation of the bomb dropped by that first plane was my first positive knowledge of an enemy attack." Additional reports came in from the Navy Yard and Kaneohe; some reports were discounted until the Japanese planes overhead and the smoke from the burning ships were visible for miles. Some variations of the telegram use "NOT" instead of "NO" indicating they may have been received from another source, or their was a morse code error.

Source :
National Archives and Records Ad 06339 (Other Identifier)
https://worldwar2database.com/gallery/wwii1408

Luftwaffe POW Officer with British Sergeant

Image size: 1449 x 2048 pixel. 616 KB
Date: Monday, 6 October 1941
Place: Newhaven Harbor, Sussex, England
Photographer: Lieutenant Edward G. Malindine

Luftwaffe Leutnant Heinz-Georg Möllenbrok (aged 20) was shot down in his Dornier Do 17Z-2 (U5+LL) of 3.Staffel / I.Gruppe / Kampfgeschwader 2 (KG 2) on August 16th, 1940, on his 20th mission and seriously wounded (his right hand was crushed in his attempt to bail out) during the raid on RAF Hornchurch, Essex. He was the victim of British Hurricane pilot, Frederick William “Taffy” Higginson of RAF No.56 Squadron. He is seen here disembarking from the Hospital ship ‘Dinard’, the guard is an intelligence Corps Sergeant and they are at Newhaven harbor in Sussex, United Kingdom, on October 6th, 1941. He and other seriously wounded German POWs were being repatriated to Germany via Sweden, but at the last moment Berlin decided to halt the exchange, as they weren’t happy with the disparity in the number of Allied troops expected to return from German POW camps, so he and the others had to return to their camps or hospitals. Although the German authorities agreed to the repatriation of 1,200 British POWs in September 1941, they cancelled the exchange when it was found that only 150 suitable Germans prisoners were available for return. Not until October 23rd, 1943, was a transfer of 5,000 British, Commonwealth, and American repatriates arranged. Heinz-Georg Möllenbrok himself was returned to Germany in October of 1943, and survived the rest of the war with the last rank as Oberleutnant, passing away at the age of 87 in 2007.

 

 

Leutnant Heinz-Georg Möllenbrok wearing a Luftwaffe DLV and NSFK Glider Proficiency Grade C badge on his tunic left pocket

Leutnant Heinz-Georg Möllenbrok during repatriation at Gothenburg in 1943

Source :
http://www.aircrewremembered.com/KrackerDatabase/?s=1200&q=heinz&__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=pmd_sufrpysviWpZTe2jYXj86s6_4MqGRG5N.xJQ4sIk_bU-1634306032-0-gqNtZGzNAmWjcnBszQQ9
https://www.facebook.com/worldwarincolor/photos/6-october-1941he-thought-he-was-going-home-but-the-authorities-in-berlin-changed/1759838437479274/

Fallschirmjäger Officers at Heraklion

 

Image size: 1146 x 1600 pixel. 430 KB
Date: Saturday, 31 May 1941
Place: Heraklion, Crete Island, Greece
Photographer: Unknown

31 May 1941: Officers of Fallschirmjäger (German paratroopers) from the 7. Flieger-Division are seen resting in Heraklion, Crete, shortly after they seized that part of the Greek island from the defending British and Australian forces. Fierce fighting took place from 20 May 1941, and German troops only managed to capture Heraklion nine days later. There was a tinge of exhaustion on the faces of those officers who had not shaved for days. Wearing the Ritterkreuz on his neck is Oberst Bruno Bräuer (Kommandeur Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 and Kampfgruppe Ost), who won the prestigious medal on 24 May 1940 during the German invasion of the Lower Countries. All of the officers who appear in this photo are all Ritterkreuzträger (Ritterkreuz recipients). From left to right: Major Erich Walther (Kommandeur III.Bataillon / Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1; Ritterkreuz on 24 May 1940, Eichenlaub on 2 March 1944 and Schwerter on 1 February 1945), Hauptmann Gerhart Schirmer (Kommandeur III.Bataillon / Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 2. Ritterkreuz on 14 June 1941), Oberst Bräuer, and Hauptmann Wolf-Werner von der Schulenburg (Kommandeur I. Bataillon / Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1; Ritterkreuz on 20 June 1943).

Source :
https://www.alamy.com/search.html?qt=heraklion%201941&imgt=0
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=2317700#p2317700
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-nazi-propaganda-picture-from-may-1941-shows-german-news-photo/1058620538
http://wehrmachtss.blogspot.com/2021/01/para-perwira-fallschirmjager-di.html

First German POWs in North Africa

 

Image size: 1600 x 1531 pixel. 893 KB
Date: Thursday, 17 April 1941
Place: Tobruk, Libya, North Africa
Photographer: Unknown

Men of the Australian 9th Infantry Division guard Italians and some of the first German prisoners to be taken during the war in North Africa, after Rommel's first unsuccessful assault on Tobruk, 17 April 1941. If we are talking about Heer Division, it was the 5. leitche-Division during the 1st Siege of Tobruk that was on 10-14 April 1941. However, on the 2nd Siege of Tobruk from 30 April to 7 May 1941 it was a mix between the elements of the 5.leichte-Division and the newly arrived 15. Panzer-Division (except for Panzer-Regiment 8 that was not involved yet). BTW, if someone asking: Why are their heads bowed? It is actually a basic techniek of not to look your captors in their eyes, state only your name and number. Look what happened at Malmedy: at the Nuremberg Trials the SS Soldiers stated in their defense that the American POW’s looked at them tauntingly almost staring them down ... we all know how that ended for the Americans! 

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=4981605118546865&set=gm.2563691697254982
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205205791
http://menofwehrmacht.blogspot.com/2020/12/first-axis-pows-at-tobruk.html

Ritterkreuz Award Ceremony for Graf Strachwitz

Image size: 1600 x 1018 pixel. 222 KB
Date: Monday, 25 August 1941
Place: Nikolayev, Ukraine, Soviet Union
Artist: Unknown

Ritterkreuz award ceremony of Major der Reserve Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz von Gross-Zauche und Camminetz (Kommandeur I.Abteilung / Panzer-Regiment 2 / 16.Panzer-Division), which was given by Generalmajor Hans-Valentin Hube (Kommandeur 16. Panzer-Division). The "Panzergraf" won this prestigious bravery medal on 25 August 1941 in the Eastern Front, as a reward for his leadership in the battle against the Red Army on 2-3 August previously. As a part of Kampfgruppe Wagner, Panzergraf has a decisive role in the efforts of the German troops to conquer the city of Pervomaisk in Ukraine, a critical road junction for the Soviets. Strachwitz's Panzer Battalion carried out an attack from the north, which later managed to destroy the defense of the Russian troops, a major contribution towards the victorious outcome of this battle. In this photo, we can see that General Hube only used his right arm when awarded the medal so it had to be helped by his aide. This is because he only has one arm, while his left hand has been lost since the Great War (and then replaced by artificial arm). Interestingly, Strachwitz and Hube would later become the two of only 27 people throughout the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS who won the fourth grade of the Ritterkreuz: Brillanten. Strachwitz received the medal on 15 April 1944, while Hube got it five days later, on 20 April 1944.

Sources :

https://crainsmilitaria.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=59_89
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=2253827#p2253827

German Tank Convoy Near the Soviet Border

Image size: 1600 x 1014 pixel. 367 KB
Date: Saturday, 21 June 1941
Place: Romania
Photographer: Kriegsberichter Horst Grund

This photo was taken by Kriegsberichter Horst Grund and shows a convoy of Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.F1 on their way to the Eastern Front, 21 June 1941. These panzers used Dunkelgrau Nr.46 camouflage paint all over the body. The Germans had begun gathering their troops near the border with the Soviet Union, even before the military campaign in the Balkans had ended. As of the third week of February 1941, 680,000 Wehrmacht soldiers were gathered in the Romanian-Soviet border region. In preparation for the attack, Hitler moved more than 3.2 million German soldiers and 500,000 other Axis troops into the border area; sending innumerable aerial reconnaissance missions over Soviet territory; and piling up supplies in the East. Although all these things did not escape the observations of the Soviet High Command, but their dictator, Stalin, considered that it was merely an overly excessive concern. He did not believe that the Germans would attack the Soviets only two years after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Agreement, and this resulted in the slow preparation of the Red Army. Even so, Soviet military officials themselves never believed that the Germans would continue to be their "loyal" allies. Marshal Semyon Timoshenko once said that Germany was the "strongest and foremost enemy" of his country, and from the beginning of July 1940 the Red Army Chief of Staff, Boris Shaposhnikov, wrote a paper predicting that the Wehrmacht would attack the Soviet Union from three directions - which turned out to be the exact same way the German would choose a year later! To cover up his intention, Hitler leaked to Soviet intelligence the plans for Unternehmen Haifisch and Unternehmen Harpune, to support his claim that Britain was Germany's main target. In the attack on the Soviet Union itself, the invaders deployed an independent regiment, a motorized training brigade, and 153 divisions. The latter includes 104 infantry divisions, 19 panzer divisions, and 15 motorized infantry divisions which are divided into three Army Groups. This is added to the nine security divisions that would operate in occupied territories, four divisions in Finland, and two divisions as reserves which are under the direct control of OKH (Oberkommando des Heeres). These combat units will be armed with 3,350 tanks, 7,200 artillery guns, 2,770 airplanes (which make up 65% of the Luftwaffe's strength), around 600,000 vehicles, and 625,000 to 700,000 horses! To help Germany, Finland provided 14 divisions, while Romania mobilized 13 divisions assisted by eight brigades. The Axis' total strength was 3.8 million troops, stationed along a front that stretched from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea.

Source :
https://wehrmachtss.blogspot.com/2018/11/konvoy-panzer-iv-ke-front-timur.html

The Capitulation of Greek Forces to SS Leibstandarte

Image size: 1600 x 1114 pixel. 180 KB
Date: Sunday, 20 April 1941
Place: Katara Pass, Northern Greece
Photographer: Unknown

SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (Kommandeur Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler) negotiated the capitulation of Greek Armed Forces along with the Greek military representatives sent by Lieutenant-General Georgios Tsolakoglu (Commander Army of Epirus). The handsome officer at left is SS-Hauptsturmführer Max Wünsche (Adjutant Kommandeur Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler). This photo was taken at Katara mountain range, Greece, on April 20, 1941. Representatives from the Greek side are, from nearest to the camera: Lieutenant-Colonel Georgios Lagas, Colonel Nikolaos Balis, Major Vlachos, and an unidentified Lieutenant. In the account of that day from Rudolf Lehmann’s 'The Leibstandarte' Volume 1, the II.Bataillon / Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (motorisiert) led by SS-Hauptsturmführer Erwin Horstmann were surmounting the Katara mountain range on their way to Joanina. Before the summit, SS-Untersturmführer Jupp Diefenthal came careering down in a motorcycle combination with a Greek soldier in the side car who was holding a white flag of surrender. Relaying to Horstmann that he had been approached by the Greeks who were anxious to discuss surrender terms, Dietrich was immediately wired to come up himself to conduct the discussions. SS-Untersturmführer Ralf Tiemann was also dispatched back down to Hani-Murgani to escort Dietrich up accompanied by SS-Hauptsturmführer Max Wünsche. They arrived to see the soldiers from both sides standing casually about playing cards etc and a giant swastika hung from the road. Dietrich went to talk to the ‘parlementaires’ who were no doubt Greek Officers and they told him he would need to travel 15km west to Vontonosi where the HQ of General Tsolakoglou’s was situated. Tiemann than states the Wünsche was dispatched to inform Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm List in person of the developments while Dietrich and a small entourage drove on to the HQ. Tiemann states that he took over Wünsche’s duties in his absence and further relates that they arrived to be greeted personally by Tsolakoglou outside his HQ.

Source :
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=229924&hilit=ralf+tiemann

Fallschirmjäger Soldier during Operation Mercury

Image size: 1160 x 1600 pixel. 655 KB
Date: Tuesday, 20 May 1941
Place: Southern Greece
Photographer: Unknown

A German Fallschirmjäger (Paratrooper) with the rank of Gefreiter (Corporal) in his light olive green jump smock of the early version, armed to the teeth, during Unternehmen Merkur (Operation Mercury), German invasion of the Crete Island in Greece, May 1941. Unternehmen Merkur began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany began an airborne invasion of Crete. Greek and other Allied forces, along with Cretan civilians, defended the island. After one day of fighting, the Germans had suffered heavy casualties and the Allied troops were confident that they would defeat the invasion. The next day, through communication failures, Allied tactical hesitation and German offensive operations, Maleme Airfield in western Crete fell, enabling the Germans to land reinforcements and overwhelm the defensive positions on the north of the island. Allied forces withdrew to the south coast. More than half were evacuated by the British Royal Navy and the remainder surrendered or joined the Cretan resistance. The defence of Crete evolved into a costly naval engagement; by the end of the campaign the Royal Navy's eastern Mediterranean strength had been reduced to only two battleships and three cruisers. This picture was first published in a very heavily illustrated book, 'Fliegende Front' (Flying Front), as written by Hauptmann Walter Eberhard Freiherr von Medem, and published by Verlag Die Wehrmacht in Berlin, Germany, in 1942. The book must be regarded as typical propaganda material to show the German population how well the war was progressing. ‘Die Wehmacht’ published a series of other propaganda books during the war. They also released sets of photo postcards from the war.

Source :
https://ww2colorfarbe.blogspot.com/2019/02/german-fallschirmjager-during-operation.html

German Paratroopers Rests at Crete

Image size: 1600 x 1068 pixel. 538 KB
Date: Tuesday, 20 May 1941
Place: Crete Island, Greece
Photographer: Unknown

German Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers) rests after the Battle in Crete, 20 May 1941. Certainly a propaganda photo for the homeland, concealing the huge losses of the 'Green Devils'. They are wearing a light olive green jump smock of the early version, with the trousers that were darker than the smock. The Germans used colour-coded parachutes to distinguish the canisters carrying rifles, ammunition, crew-served weapons and other supplies. Heavy equipment like the Leichtgeschütz 40 was dropped with a special triple-parachute harness designed to bear the extra weight. The troopers also carried special strips of cloth which could be unfurled in pre-arranged patterns to signal low-flying fighters to coordinate air support and supply drops. In contrast with most nations' forces, who jumped with personal weapons strapped to their bodies, German procedure was for individual weapons to be dropped in canisters. This was a major flaw that left the paratroopers armed only with their fighting knives, pistols and grenades in the critical few minutes after landing. The poor design of German parachutes compounded the problem: the standard German harness had only a single riser to the canopy, and thus could not be steered. Even the 25% of paratroops armed with submachine guns were at a distinct disadvantage, given the weapon's limited range. Many Fallschirmjäger were shot attempting to reach their weapons canisters. The picture was taken from a very heavily illustrated book, "Fliegende Front" (Flying Front), as written by Hauptmann Walter Eberhard Freiherr von Medem and published by Verlag Die Wehrmacht in Berlin, Germany in 1942.

Source :
http://ww2colorfarbe.blogspot.com/2019/02/fallschirmjager-rests-at-crete.html

Award Ceremony of Romanian Medal for Carl Gustaf Mannerheim

Image size: 1600 x 1113 pixel. 685 KB
Date: Saturday, 20 December 1941
Place: Helsinki, Finland
Photographer: K. Sjöblom

Romanian Ambassador Constintinides (second from left) handed the commander-in-chief of Finland's defence forces, Carl Gustaf Emil Freiherr Mannerheim, the Ordinul Mihai Viteazul (Order of Michael the Brave), December 1941. It is is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign of the First World War, and was again awarded in the Second World War. The Order, which may be bestowed either on an individual or on a whole unit, was named in honor of Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul), a late 16th-century Prince of Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia. The award for Mannerheim dated as 1 November 1941, and it contained three medals at once: Ordinul Mihai Viteazul Clasa 3, 2 and 1 (Royal Decree no. 3026). Mannerheim is also a Ritterkreuzträger (recipient of German Knight's Cross of the Iron Crosses), which he received on 18 August 1941, and Eichenlaubträger (recipient of German Knight's Cross of the Iron Crosses with Oak Leaves), which he received on 8 August 1944.

Source :
https://audiovis.nac.gov.pl/obraz/52357/16681a180a83d321351d3a71c29af66e/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Gustaf_Emil_Mannerheim
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Michael_the_Brave
https://www.sotasampo.fi/fi/photographs/page/sakuva_102062
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/34700/Mannerheim-Carl-Gustav-Emil-Freiherr.htm?c=aw

German Tank Crew Surrendered to New Zealand Troops

Image size: 1600 x 1158 pixel. 64.3 KB
Date: Wednesday, 3 December 1941
Place: Near Tobruk, Cyrenaica, Libya
Photographer: Unknown

A captured Matilda put into use by the German forces, is recaptured and its crew taken prisoner by New Zealand troops, 3 December 1941 during Operation Crusader. On 18 November 1941, Operation Crusader was launched to lift the Siege of Tobruk (the third such attack), under the command of General Alan Cunningham and the New Zealand 2nd Division (integrated into the British Eighth Army) took part in the offensive, crossing the Libyan frontier into Cyrenaica. Operation Crusader was an overall success for the British, although Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps inflicted heavy armour and infantry losses before its weakened and under supplied units retreated to El Agheila and halted the British advance. The New Zealand troops were the ones to relieve Tobruk after fighting around Sidi Rezegh, where Axis tanks had inflicted heavy casualties against the several New Zealand infantry battalions, protected by very little of their own armour. In February, 1942, With Crusader completed, the New Zealand government insisted that the Division be withdrawn to Syria to recover - 879 men were killed and 1700 wounded in Operation Crusader, the most costly battle the Division fought in the Second World War!

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_II
http://www.privateletters.net/allies_newzealand.html

German Victory Parade in Belgrade

Image size: 1600 x 1200 pixel. 609 KB
Date: Sunday, 13 April 1941
Place: Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Photographer: Kriegsberichter Heinz Fremke from Propaganda-Kompanie (PK) 691

House of the National Assembly in Belgrade – then and now. After nine SS men from the "Reich" Division used the general confusion and formally captured the Yugoslav capital on 12 April 1941, a victory parade of the true conqueror of the city, the 1st Armoured Group, was held on 13 April at noon. In the (old) photo, tanks of the Panzer-Regiment 15 / 11.Panzer-Division "Gespensterdivision" (Ghost Division) parade in front of their commanders: standing in the centre is Generaloberst Ewald von Kleist (commander of the armoured group), to his right is Generalmajor Ludwig Crüwell (divisional commander), and on the left, in black uniform, is Oberstleutnant Gustav-Adolf Riebel (commander of the division's panzer Regiment). The defeat of Belgrade was also celebrated in the "Song of Armoured Group Kleist": "We were the victors of Belgrade; we defeated all resistance, and broke up with a false state!" Crüwell later fought under Rommel and after the war became chairman of the Africa Corps Veterans Association; Riebel was killed in 1942 at Stalingrad – and von Kleist ended his life in Soviet captivity, as a war criminal, in 1954. At the spot from which these three officers once proudly watched their rolling tanks – today stand the civilians, waiting for a bus.

Source :

http://bandenkampf.blogspot.co.id/search?updated-min=2015-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2016-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=50