The First Visit of Marshal Zukhov to Berlin

Video size: 720p (1280 x 720 pixels) - 64.6 MB
Date: Thursday, 3 May 1945
Place: Berlin, Germany
Cameraman: various cameraman

On 3 May 1945, Marshal Georgy Zhukov, the celebrated Soviet commander who had led the Red Army to its decisive victory in the Battle of Berlin, made his historic visit to the German capital. Just three days after Adolf Hitler’s suicide and one day after Berlin’s surrender, Zhukov arrived in the devastated city as the supreme representative of Soviet military power. His inspection underscored the triumph of the USSR over Nazi Germany and marked the consolidation of Soviet control in the city. Riding through streets littered with rubble, Zhukov observed the destruction wrought by weeks of fierce fighting, while also coordinating the occupation zones with Allied representatives. His presence not only symbolized the Soviet role in defeating the Third Reich, but also foreshadowed the political reordering of Europe that would soon crystallize in the postwar division of Berlin. In this visit, he was accompanied by Arthur Pieck - the later general director of the East-German airline Interflug and son of the first president of the GDR, Wilhelm Pieck. In addition, the clip also shows the celebrations of the Red Army in front of the Brandenburg Gate, the Victory Column and the Lustgarten, which are shown with rare original sound.

Locations chronologically: 
0:00 Reichtsag
0:26 Brandenburg Gate
1:34 Reich Chancellery (dead Hitler lookalike and dead Goebbels family)
3:15 Victory Column
4:06 Georgen Church (blown up in 1949)
4:40 City Palace - Kaiser Wilhelm National Monument (demolished 1949/1950)
4:55 Lustgarten and Altes Museum.

Source :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmVJTWMIlQg

Moscow Victory Parade (1945)

Video size: 480p (854 x 480 pixels) - 85.1 MB
Date: Sunday, 24 June 1945
Place: Red Square, Moscow, Soviet Union
Cameraman: unknown

The 1945 Moscow Victory Parade (Russian: Парад Победы, romanized: Parad Pobedy), also known as the Parade of Victors (Russian: Парад победителей, romanized: Parad pobediteley), was a victory parade held by the Soviet Armed Forces (with the Color Guard Company representing the First Polish Army) after the defeat of Nazi Germany. This, the longest and largest military parade ever held on Red Square in the Soviet capital Moscow, involved 40,000 Red Army soldiers and 1,850 military vehicles and other military hardware. The parade lasted just over two hours on a rainy June 24, 1945, over a month after May 9, the day of Germany's surrender to Soviet commanders.

The parade itself was ordered by Joseph Stalin on June 22, 1945, by virtue of Order 370 of the Office of the Supreme Commander in Chief, Armed Forces of the USSR. This order is as follows:

    Order #370 of the Supreme Commander in Chief, Armed Forces of the USSR and concurrent People's Commissar of State for Defense

    To mark the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War, I order a parade of troops of the Army, Navy and the Moscow Garrison, the Victory Parade, on June 24, 1945, at Moscow's Red Square.

    Marching on parade shall be the combined regiments of all the fronts, a People's Commissariat of National Defense combined regiment, the Soviet Navy, military academies and schools, and troops of the Moscow Garrison and Military District.

    My deputy, Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov will be the parade inspector. Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky will command the Victory Parade itself. I entrust to Col. Gen. Pavel Artemyev, the preparations and the supervision of the parade organization, due to his concurrent capacities as the Commanding General of the Moscow Military District and Commanding Officer in charge of the Moscow City Garrison.

        June 22, 1945
        (signed) MARSHAL OF THE SOVIET UNION JOSEPH V. STALIN
        Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Armed Forces of the USSR

        And concurrent People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR

This was preceded by another letter by General of the Army Aleksei Antonov, Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces to all the participant fronts in attendance on the 24th of the previous month which is as follows:

    Order to the Fronts who will participate in the Victory Parade

    The Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces has ordered that:

    1. In order for the front to participate in the Moscow City parade in honor of the victory over Germany, each front will be represented by a combined regiment which is to be raised among them.
    2. The following pattern will form the combined front regiment as follows:

        5 two-company battalions with 100 men in the company (10 squads of 10 men each) will be the basis, accompanied by:
            19 command staff officers from the front
            One regimental commander
            Two deputy regimental commanders for drill and ceremony and political training respectively
            One regimental chief of staff
            5 Battalion commanders
            10 company commanders
            36 color bearers and 4 escorting officers.

    All in all the regiment will be composed of 1,059 male active personnel and 10 additional reserve personnel.
    3. A combined regiment for the parade will have the following companies:

        6 infantry companies
        1 artillery company
        1 tank company
        1 air company
        and 1 combined company (composed of cavalrymen, sappers and signalmen respectively).

    4. The companies in attendance will be manned so as to have the middle-ranked officers commanding the squads, which are then composed of privates and sergeants.
    5. The combined regiment will be armed in the following pattern on the parade:

        3 infantry companies with rifles,
        3 infantry companies with sub-machine guns,
        the artillery company with slung carbines,
        the tank company and the air company both armed with pistols,
        and the combined cavalry, signals and sapper company also with slung carbines and with sabres for the cavalrymen in attendance.

    6. The Front Commanders and all commanders including air and tank army commanders will arrive in Moscow for the Parade.
    7. On June 10 of this year, the combined regiment of the front will arrive in Moscow having 36 combat colors from selected Front units that are the most distinguished in action, and all the captured enemy standards, whatever the number, selected to be carried in the parade proper.
    8. The full dress uniform will be issued in Moscow for use on the parade by the regimental staff.

        May 24, 1945
        (signed) GENERAL OF THE ARMY ALEKSEI ANTONOV
        Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces

Intensive preparations for the parade took place in late May and early June in Moscow. The preliminary rehearsal of the Victory Parade took place at the Central Airfield, and the general rehearsal on Red Square on June 22.

Marshals Georgy Zhukov, who had formally accepted the German surrender to the Soviet Union, and Konstantin Rokossovsky, rode through the parade ground on white and black stallions, respectively. The fact is commemorated by the equestrian statue of Zhukov in front of the State Historical Museum, on Manege Square. Zhukov's stallion was called Кумир ("Idol") while Rokossovsky's was called Столб ("Pole"). The General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, stood atop Lenin's Mausoleum and watched the parade alongside other dignitaries present.

According to certain editions of Zhukov's memoirs, Stalin had intended to ride through the parade himself, but he fell from the horse during the rehearsal and had to yield the honor to Zhukov, who used to be a cavalry officer. However, this story is disputed by former Soviet spy Viktor Suvorov. He claims that the story was inserted into Zhukov's memoirs as a counterargument to his theory, (although it apparently was in circulation earlier) that Stalin didn't lead the parade because he considered the war's results not worthy of the effort invested. Suvorov notes several inconsistencies in the story, along with numerous evidence that Zhukov was intended all along for the role of leading the parade; for example, the memoirs of Sergei Shtemenko, the man responsible at the time for the preparation of the parade, state that the roles were decided from the start, and Igor Bobylev (who took part in the preparations) claims that the story never happened and that Stalin never visited the Manege at that time. Another planned part of the parade was the march of the Victory Banner, which was delivered to Moscow from Berlin on June 20 and was supposed to begin the procession of troops. Despite this, the weak drill training of Mikhail Yegorov, Meliton Kantaria and Stepan Neustroev forced Marshal Zhukov to not go ahead with this portion of the parade.

Displays of the Red Army vehicles were some of the focal points of the ceremony. It was one of the few times in which Cossacks took part in a victory parade, with personnel from the 4th Guards Cossacks Cavalry Corps taking part in the procession of troops as part of the 2nd Ukrainian Front's combined regiment. One of the most famous moments at the end of the troops parade took place when soldiers from the Separate Operational Purpose Division of the NKVD carried the German standards and threw them down next to the mausoleum. One of the standards that was tossed down belonged to the LSSAH, Hitler's personal bodyguard.

The next day, a reception was held in the Grand Kremlin Palace in honor of the participants in the Victory Parade. Due to the bad weather that day the flypast segment and the planned civil parade were cancelled. Nonetheless, this two-hour parade remains the longest and largest military parade in Red Square's history, and involved 40,000 soldiers and 1,850 military vehicles and other military hardware.
Band and music

The procession had musical accompaniment that was provided by the massed bands of the Moscow Garrison, led by Major General Semyon Tchernetsky, Senior Director of Music. The combined band consisted of 38 military bands coming from Moscow military schools, as well as military units of the Red Army and the NKVD. The combined band numbered 1,220 musicians under the direction of 50 bandmasters. In total,the parade saw the participation of 1,313 musicians, the youngest of whom was 13 years old.

The parade repertoire was finalized for approval on 5 June 1945. The final list included 36 tracks, including the Soviet anthem, fanfares and slow marches. Twenty works that were performed at the parade were written by Tchernetsky himself. The inspection part of the parade commenced with Tchernetsky's Jubilee Slow March "25 Years of the Red Army" and ended with the performance of Slavsya. The first song after the conclusion of the inspection was the Moscow ceremonial fanfare under the direction of conductor Vasily Agapkin. The parade was opened by the young drummers of the Corps of Drums from the Moscow School of Musicians, wearing uniforms similar to those of the Moscow Suvorov Military School and led by a bandmaster, which after marching past soon took its place behind the massed bands to provide additional support. The parade ended with the Glory to the Motherland march. Additional marches have included Jaeger March, March of the 92nd Pechersk Regiment, March of the Leningrad Guards Divisions, March "Joy of Victory", March "Hero".


Parade participants

Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov (parade inspector)
Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin Rokossovsky (parade commander)

Military bands
Massed military bands of the Moscow Military District
Conductor: Major Gen. Semyon Tchernetsky, Senior Director of Music of the Central Military Orchestra of the People's Commissariat of National Defense
Moscow A. Surovov Military Music School Corps of Drums

Ground column
Fronts of the Soviet Army, Navy, Army Air Forces and Air Defense Forces composed of:
Ground Troops and Air Force officers and personnel of the following fronts:
Karelian - led by Regimental Commanders Maj. Gen. Grigory Kalinovsky and Marshal Kirill Meretskov
Leningrad - led by Regimental Commanders Maj. Gen. Andrei Stuchenko and Marshal Leonid Govorov
1st Baltic - led by Regimental Commanders Guards Lt. Gen. Anton Lopatin and General of the Army Ivan Bagramyan
1st Belorussian - led by Regimental Commanders Maj. Gen. Ivan Rosly and Col. Gen. Vasili Chuikov
2nd Belorussian - led by Regimental Commanders Lt. Gen. Konstantin Erastov and General of the Army Vasily Sokolovsky
3rd Belorussian - led by Regimental Commander Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky
1st Polish Army Color Guard Company led by Chief of the Army General Staff, General Władysław Korczyc (the only foreign army squad invited for the parade)
1st Ukrainian - led by Regimental Commanders Maj. Gen. Gleb Baklanov and Marshal Ivan Konev
4th Ukrainian - led by Regimental Commanders Guards Lt. Gen. Andrei Bondarev and Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin
2nd Ukrainian - led by Regimental Commanders Lt. Gen. Ivan Afonin and General of the Army Andrei Yeremenko
3rd Ukrainian - led by Regimental Commanders Guards Maj. Gen. Nikolai Biryukov and Marshal Rodion Malinovsky, and the Commander of Bulgarian 1st Army Lt. Gen Vladimir Stoychev
Fleet, Land and Air personnel of the Soviet Navy, under Navy Contingent Commander Vice Adm. Vladimir Fadeev
Northern Fleet
Baltic Fleet
Dnieper Flotilla
Danube Flotilla
Caspian Flotilla
Black Sea Fleet
Naval Infantry
Coastal Forces (including naval artillery)
Combined battalion of the Corps of Cadets, M.V. Frunze Naval College and Naval Engineering Academy
Flag Disposal regiment of the 1st Internal Troops Division of the USSR NKVD "Felix Dzerzhinsky" composed of captured enemy standards and colors carried by the fronts
Maj. Gen. Mikhail Duka was entrusted with carrying the symbolic key to the defeated city of Berlin
Moscow Military District, Armed Forces of the Soviet Union contingent under Garrison and District Commander Col. Gen. Pavel Artemyev
Military Schools and Academies Combined Joint Division
Officers and other ranks of the People's Commisariat of Defense
M. V. Frunze Military Academy
Suvorov Military School
Military Armored Troops Service School
Military Engineering Academy
F. Dzerzhinsky Military Artillery School
Lenin Military-Political Academy
Air Force Engineering Academy
Moscow City Soviet Border Protection Superior College
Moscow Military Infantry Training School
Guards Mortars Training School
Airborne Troops Officer Candidate School
Technical Forces Officer School

Infantry Units
Kremlin Regiment
OMSDON 1st NKVD Internal Troops Mechanized Rifle Division (Special Duties) "Felix Dzerzhinsky"
2nd NKVD Internal Troops Division
Border Protection and Security Service of the NKVD
K-9 Units (engineering, medical troops, anti-tank)

Mounted column
Army Cavalry regiments within the Moscow area
Army Horse Artillery
M1927
M1909
152 mm howitzer M1909/30
122 mm howitzer M1910/30 (also used by the regular artillery)
Tachanka battalion

Mobile column
Soviet Air Defence Forces
Anti-aircraft guns (towed and truck-mounted)
72-K
61-K
52-K
Searchlight trucks
Acoustic range finders
Army Rocket Forces and Field Artillery
Mortars
160mm Mortar M1943
120-PM-43 mortar
Field guns

            76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3)
            100 mm field gun M1944 (BS-3)
            76 mm divisional gun M1936 (F-22)
            76 mm regimental gun M1943
            85 mm divisional gun D-44
        Anti-tank guns

            53-K
            M-42
            ZiS-2
        Mountain guns
            76 mm mountain gun M1938 (also used by the Airborne)
        Katyusha rocket launchers of the Army Rocket Forces and Artillery
            BM-8
            BM-13
            BM-30/BM-31
        Howitzers
            D-1
            M-10
            ML-20
            M-30
            B-4
            A-19
            152 mm gun M1935 (Br-2)
            203 mm howitzer M1931 (B-4)
            122 mm howitzer M1910/30
    Army Infantry - joint regiment of motorized infantry formations
        Dnepr M-72 motorcycles
        BA-64 armored cars
        BA-20
    Army Airborne Forces
    Army Tank Forces contingent
        T-34 (Victory tanks)
        T-34/85
        IS-2
        T-44
        T-70
    Army Artillery self-propelled artillery contingent
        SU-76
        SU-100
        SU-152
        ISU-152
        ISU-122
        SU-85
        SU-122

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1945_Moscow_Victory_Parade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hITzVSw6t18

Abandoned Königstiger of schwere Panzer-Abteilung 506

Image size: 2126 x 1663 pixel. 1.2 MB
Date: Thursday, 18 January 1945
Place: Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, Luxembourg
Photographer: Unknown

An Abandoned Panzerkampfwagen VI ausf B (SdKfz 182) Tiger II or Königstiger (Bengal Tiger) of Schwere Panzer Abteilung (Heavy Tank Battalion) 506, Sixth Panzer Army, is inspected by American soldiers of the 137th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division. Note the Tiger II's 88mm (3.46 inch) locked in the recoil position, destroyed by the retreating crew. The 35th Infantry Division was rushed into the area to stop the German offensive around December 20, 1944. On December 28, the Division had fought their way to Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, near Bastogne, attempting to relieve the 101st Airborne Division and elements of the 10th Armored Division. By December 31 the 137th Infantry had lost two companies captured by the 1st SS Panzer Division, attempting to retake the village after Bastogne's relief. The 137th had lost 200 men killed or captured. On January 10, the 137th retook Villers. The 506th was the only Heer (Regular Army) unit equipped with the Tiger II, as opposed to the Waffen SS Abteilungs in operation in Belgium. The unit had only operated Tiger tanks, and for the Ardennes Offensive, a fourth company, Schwere Panzer Abteilung Hummel, was attached operating Panzerkampfwagen IV ausf E Tiger Is. On January 17, 1944, as the Sixth Panzer Army retreated from American breakthroughs around Bastogne, the 506th was forced to abandon two Tiger IIs and one Tiger I. While individually superior to any Allied tank, the Tiger II consumed considerable resources and was yet another tank type that a strained German quartermaster corps had to supply with fuel, ammunition, and spare parts. The Tiger II had a range of only 90 miles (145 kilometers). In its rush to combat it suffered from mechanical reliability defects; most Americans saw abandoned, not destroyed, Tiger IIs. This was a blessing for the Americans, whose M4 Sherman medium tanks and M10 Wolverine tank destroyers, both armed with 3-inch guns, could not penetrate the 180mm (7 inch) thick frontal armor. Only the M36 Jackson, with a high velocity 90mm gun, could stop a Tiger II, and only at a range within that of the German tank. All of the American tanks and tank destroyers had armor that was easily defeated by the Tiger II's 88mm KwK 43 L/71 main gun. The Americans counted on their superiority in artillery and air power to destroy Tigers.


Source :
https://ardennes-breakthrough-association.com/tiger-ii-03-abteilung-506/
https://worldwar2database.com/gallery/wwii0149

American Flamethrower in Okinawa

Image size: 1715 x 2048 pixel. 928 KB
Date: Friday, 22 June 1945
Place: Okinawa, Empire of Japan
Photographer: Unknown

Men of 4th Regiment, 6th Marine Division, 10th Army, using "corkscrew and blowtorch" techniques of flame-throwers, explosives, and riflemen at the perimeter, to eliminate remnants of the Imperial Japanese 32nd Army on June 22, 1945. The 1st and third battalions converged from the east and west on positions east of the village of Kiyamu. While American casualties remained high across Okinawa as 32nd Army disintegrated, Japanese casualties increased from a few hundred to over 4,000 per day. The number of Japanese surrendering increased as well, from four per day at the start of the campaign to 343 on June 19 and 977 on June 20. 500 civilians also surrendered, overcoming fear of massacre at the hands of the Americans. Lieutenant General Mitsui Ushijima, commander of the 32nd Army, and Major General Isama Cho committed suicide at 03:45 Hours on June 22, the same day Okinawa was declared secured by US 10th Army. Scattered resistance continued until June 30.


Source :
https://worldwar2database.com/gallery/wwii1125

Surrender of Germany in the Italian Front

Image size: 1600 x 1281 pixel. 645 KB
Date: Saturday, 12 May 1945
Place: Bolzano, South Tyrol, Northern Italy
Photographer: T. S. Ryan

Gero von Schulze-Gaevernitz (2nd from left) visited German headquarters in Bolzano on May 12, 1945, to express his thanks for the German officers' cooperation during the surrender of the southern front. Enjoying a relaxed moment in the courtyard of SS headquarters are, left to right: General der Panzertruppe Hans Röttiger (Chef des Generalstabes Heeresgruppe C), Gero von Schulze-Gaevernitz (German emigrant and assistant of Allen Dulles in Europe), Generaloberst Heinrich von Vietinghoff-Scheel (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe C), and SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Karl Wolff (Höchster SS und Polizeiführer "Italien"). In the background: SS-Sturmbannführer Eugen Wenner (Adjutant Höchster SS und Polizeiführer Karl Wolff ) and SS-Standartenführer Dr. Eugen Dollmann (Verbindungsmann Höchster SS und Polizeiführer "Italien" beim Oberbefehlshaber Süd). Schulze-Gaevernitz was awarded the U.S. Medal of Freedom in 1945 for his skillful negotiations in Ascona, Switzerland, for the surrender of a million Nazi forces in World War II, with specific reference to Italy (Operation Sunrise). Photograph by T. S. Ryan.

Source :
NARA RG 226, Entry 110, Box 1, OSS photo
http://ritterkreuztraeger.blogspot.com/2021/06/heinrich-von-vietinghoff-after.html

The Surrender of SS General Jürgen Wagner

Image size: 1600 x 1033 pixel. 466 KB
Date: Sunday, 6 May 1945
Place: Tangermünde, Germany
Photographer: William Vandivert of LIFE Magazine

SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS Jürgen Wagner, who was Commander of 23. SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division "Nederland" (niederlandische Nr. 1), surrenders to personnel of the US Army 405th Infantry-Regiment / 102nd Infantry Division at the River Elbe near Tangermünde Germany, 6 May 1945. The object hanging from Wagner's coat is a Flashlight, while the US Lieutenant-Colonel is Leroy E. Frazier from the Ozarks. Wagner was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes in July 1943 and Eichenlaub in December 1944. After his surrender he was later extradited to Yugoslavia for war crimes and executed in 1947. At the time of Wagner's surrender, his wife Martha and ten year old daughter Irene were living in Quedlinburg/Harz, then controlled by American troops. SS General Wagner mistakenly believed his captivity would be relatively short-lived and that he would soon be reunited with his family; a US Ninth Army Interrogation Center report dated 13th June 1945 stated, "PW is of the opinion that German generals and General Staff officers, including SS generals, will soon be released by the Allies, in the same manner as other PWs." Whilst Wagner was negotiating the surrender of his shattered command on the western side of the bridge at Tangermünde, his family were a mere two hours travel away. It is currently unknown if he ever saw his family again. In the photos we see one of Wagner's two trips to negotiate the surrender of the remainder of his command. A couple of days previously, On 25-26 april 1945, Nederland Division were engaged in defensive fights in the area Prieros-Selchow. Then they went with the remnants of 9. Armee in the "Kessel" of Halbe. Heavy lost : reduced to 300 into a Kampfgruppe "Wagner". On 29 april a small group with Divisionskommandeur could escape Halbe area and join 12. Armee at Beelitz. On 5 May they reached Tangenmünde were they surrended to US troops on 6-7 May 1945.

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=218216506764616&id=103603561559245&__cft__[0]=AZVKswM3kYPy8BnEH5SelCAX5T3PnJAGercohv3wstNAHE03jKO11DMywuxwfP8LLJeWA0cThJIlwe_HS9EieZQss5oAIuyzCCxKTgNOQqzWRdA3GomfvZvZ8A8d776AtGL4hLqva3ZIeomjFIF_L_S2&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=216061
https://www.gunboards.com/threads/j%EF%BF%BDrgen-wagner-surrender-1945.929065/?__cf_chl_captcha_tk__=9a1bb3c47a6d16a5d7d8f18ef687e9634d98dccb-1618238715-0-Af3gpXo8qiV-I6by4FXF6Ocmb9xytxX7ljxGW2moCb4w4x7JKVqJRh4PBzsX0iHFwsu-awfHbH_xnWdhE-i2hkAkzovufXy7U-25Hw1MbhAtKJCow8OF_zM4G6meD9NprHdywV-Uq_6a16qPLjIPH3G4OFbeY821Af2mY9s9Lf2ImtEG-A8VYnsXrp-9T0zNWpqOAXrXuxg3Zkxfl-qBH6tTZbAwlEbAwcTef6vU6-6a1TfpEnZvl7WeME-70v-OI__pMZZF4OXx5x-kHEDecPhbySxA_2JV-NZnwx1i7Xde60yQFq8B-AzsKVRD43vgHZC6Ok7m0DoU285ndYJaqZzwR7iTJHokw2F5TQVllzpa6jslEdqcWHZH9sWzp0bg-DbPeYJmvtdu_h8PfLlYYvSKPfTdzTx1AtpNIA_4igPBB7D8UvfDxg_tOGVgrLAxBhoICza8j5HRc99fK0L-qi2vIDmElnQe8WZTFevyAupCtu8_0XTeFJoS7vFid4-MHNvvHBPxjC8DucuAnrxByrq7zXy8sZtUtTyllJ1rUzePjHwKLxhuIUpFDm1HPltp_NhoEXZbMSxazyIqR3HTwvudkr9eDivxeYc0ofxQ8ElXS6FApRQNdRg1v6k6r9cqJZAHh5_07emW53N3DKcHLOuT5Ni41Ij62SC7qWFQLH6LzlZ8bUVYk0wrVSqZq5g60lCdZ4A6Q07hLUYMQn-bRal4FzQCN7NClBFmSntgZor4
https://historyofthewaffenss.com/community/ss-general-jurgen-wagner-life-career-and-war-crimes-trial/on-jurgen-wagners-surrender-and-his-family/

German General Ulrich Kessler Reading American Book

Image size: 1587 x 2048 pixel. 376 KB
Date: Wednesday, 13 June 1945
Place: North Atlantic
Photographer: Unknown

Captured General der Flieger Ulrich Kessler (Chief of the Luftwaffe Liaison Staff Tokyo and, at the same time, Air Attaché at the German Embassy in Japan) reading the American book "After the War--What?" aboard a U.S. submarine. Official Caption: "Rome. 6/13/45--Captured German General reads--Maj. Gen. Ulrich Kessler, German Air Force Officer, reads a book written by an American as he sits in the galley of a U.S. Coast Guard ship after being removed from a German submarine which surrendered in the North Atlantic on May 13, 1945. The U-Boat gave up five days after Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allies. The 16-ton enemy vessel, bearing several other German Air Force Officers as well as General Kessler and its crew, was intercepted by U.S. surface vessels and then escorted to Portsmouth, a port on the northeast coast of the U.S. The vessel was reported to have been en route to Japan. The bodies of two Japanese, who had committed suicide aboard the submarine, had been buried at sea.--PPA Photo--Serviced by Rome OWI (A List out). Approved by appropriate military authority. 6690." Portsmouth, New Hampshire. May 1945. The photograph itself is the courtesy of Isaac "Ike" Bethel Utley, who was born in Smith Mills, Kentucky on 3 March 1920. Ike enlisted in the Army Air Corps on 19 January 1942. He was shipped overseas to the European Theatre and worked with a supply division based out of the city of Naples with an office set up in a residential villa. Utley worked with the Office of War Information and used their photographs in news articles to inform soldiers of the progress of the war. At war's end, Utley returned stateside. A trunk full of over 800 photographs from the O.W.I. arrived on his doorstep from his office in Italy, sender unknown. This collection consists of those photographs.

Source :
https://www.ww2online.org/image/captured-german-general-kessler-reading-american-book-new-hampshire-may-1945

Three High Ranking German Officers Captured at Ruhr Pocket

Image size: 1600 x 1313 pixel. 491 KB
Date: Sunday, 15 April 1945
Place: Ruhr, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Photographer: Unknown

Lieutenant Byron Hansford, a Military Police from the 99th "Battle Babes" Division, interrogated three high-ranking German officers arrested in the Ruhr Pocket, 15 April 1945. Four months earlier, the same U.S. infantry division had been fighting desperately to resist the last major German offensive in the West, which happened in the Ardennes region. How the situation has changed now! The three VIP prisoners are, from left to right: Generalarbeitsführer Paul Hoppenrath (Gauarbeitsführer Alpenland), Generalmajor Maximilian Jais (Kommandeur Abschnittskommando / Kampfgruppe Jais in Westwall), and Generalmajor Robert Eimler (XXI Festungs-Pionier-Kommandeur). The Ruhr Pocket was a battle of encirclement that took place in April 1945, on the Western Front near the end of World War II, in the Ruhr Area of Germany. Some 317,000 German troops, consisting mostly of unarmed Volksturm militia and Hitlerjugend units were taken prisoner along with 24 generals. The Americans suffered 10,000 casualties including 2,000 killed or missing.

Source :
"Images of War: Victory in Europe" by Andy Rawson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhr_Pocket
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=14230&start=10350

The First Arrival of German Delegation to Montgomery's Headquarter

Image size: 1600 x 1598 pixel. 527 KB
Date: Thursday, 3 May 1945
Place: Lüneburger Heide, Hamburg, Germany
Photographer: Captain E.G. Malindine

The first arrival of the German delegation to the headquarters of the British 21st Army Group in the Lüneburger Heide (Luneburg Heath), east of Hamburg, to discuss a ceasefire on May 3, 1945. The Germans offer to surrender the Heeresgruppe Vistula - who was surrounded by Soviet troops - to the Allies, was rejected by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (Commander of the 21st Army Group), because he wanted the unconditional surrender of German troops in the north-west Germany, as well as in the Netherlands and Denmark. The German delegation replied that they were not given the power to determine this, and had to negotiate it first with their leader, Großadmiral Karl Dönitz (the successor to Hitler who committed suicide a few days earlier). Finally Montgomery allowed them to return home, and gave 24 hours for the answers to be given. This photo was taken by Captain E.G. Malindine (British No. 5 Army Film and Photographic Unit) and shows Marshal Montgomery standing second from the left, while the German delegation starts with their leader Generaladmiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg (Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine) who holding the document in the middle, followed to the right as follow: General der Infanterie Eberhard Kinzel (Chef des Generalstabes Operationsstab Nord), Konteradmiral Gerhard Wagner (Admiral z.b.V. Beim Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine), and Major i.G. Hans Jochen Friedel (half visible, Stabsoffizier Operationsstab Nord).

Source :
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2010/01/killed-in-action-pictures-koleksi-foto_12.html
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Timeloberg_%E2%80%93_030545.jpg

German POWs Trudge Past a Sherman Tank

Image size: 1600 x 1079 pixel. 120 KB
Date: Friday, 19 January 1945
Place: Höngen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Photographer: Unknown

German prisoners trudge past a Sherman tank of the British 8th Armoured Brigade in a German frontier village of Höngen, 19 January 1945, during Operation Blackcock. Operation Blackcock was the code name for the clearing of the Roer Triangle formed by the towns of Roermond, Sittard and Heinsberg. It was conducted by the British Second Army between 14 and 26 January 1945. The objective was to drive the German 15th Army back across the Rivers Rur and Wurm and move the frontline further into Germany. The operation was carried out under command of Lieutenant General Neil Ritchie's XII Corps, by three divisions, the 7th Armoured Division, the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division and the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division. The operation, named after the Scottish black male grouse, is relatively unknown despite the sometimes fierce battles that were fought for each and every village and hamlet within the "Roer Triangle". 

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8th_Armoured_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205203000
http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/the-sherwood-rangers-in-january-1945.57430/

American Gunner Minutes Before His Death

Image size: 1600 x 1042 pixel. 141 KB
Date: Wednesday, 18 April 1945
Place: Leipzig, Sachsen, Germany
Photographer: Robert Capa

Leipzig, 18 April 1945, Private First Class Raymond J. Bowman (right) of “D” Company, 23rd Infantry Regiment and his fellow comrade, Lehmann Riggs, set up their .30 Browning machine gun on an open balcony in order to provide cover for the American troops of the 2nd US Infantry Division, who were advancing over a bridge. This balcony had an unobstructed view on the bridge however this same clear view would turn out to be a deadly mistake for Pfc. Raymond J. Bowman. After taking half of the city, the commanding officer ordered the heavy weapons squad to climb to the third floor of the Jahnallee apartment building (nr. 61). Together with them was famed war photographer Robert Capa. Capa, who was standing just a few feet away from Raymond Bowman when all of this occurred, would later have these photographs published in the May 14, 1945 issue of Life magazine, under the headline “Americans Still Died.” However the identity of the men in the picture was a mystery. It was only after Lehmann Riggs himself shared his memories of that day and the family of Raymond J. Bowman, who identified him by the pin bearing his initials on his collar, that the mystery was solved and later revealed. “We had to go across these bridges to get to the other side of the city. They had blocked the bridges with burned-out tanks and streetcars, anything that would obstruct us from going across. There was a park in front of this building, and they were dug in and we couldn’t see them. We had orders to go up to the third floor of this apartment building and set up our guns to spray that area out there in the park to try to keep them pinned down until our troops could cross that bridge.“, said Lehmann Riggs. Adding “We only fired with one person at a time, and we alternated…one person being exposed all the time. I had just been firing the gun, and I just stepped back off the gun and he had taken over. In 30 seconds, I happened to look up and see the bullet pierce his nose. The bullet that hit him killed him, ricocheted around the room, and it’s a miracle that it didn’t hit me. As soon as he got hit, somebody had to take the gun. I had to jump over him and start firing the gun.” Raymond J. Bowman was born in Rochester, New York on April 2, 1924, the fifth of seven children. After graduating high school, Bowman was drafted into the United States Army on June 21, 1943. While serving in Company D of the 23rd Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division. In January 1944, he was sent overseas to the United Kingdom in preparation for Operation Overlord. Raymond J. Bowman served in France, where he was wounded in action on August 3, 1944. He went on to fight during the Battle of the Bulge and the final battles in Germany. He was decorated with a Bronze Star Medal, an Army Good Conduct Medal and two Purple Hearts. Robert Capa recalled in an interview in 1947: “So it made no sense whatsoever but he (Bowman) looked so clean cut, like it was the first day of the war and he was very earnest. So I said ‘All right, this will be my last picture of the war.’ And I put my camera up and took a portrait shot of him, and while I shot my portrait of him he was killed by a sniper. It was a very clean and somehow a very beautiful death.“ In 2015, the city of Leipzig voted to name the street in which the apartment building is located to “Bowmanstraße”, in honor of Raymond J. Bowman. The renaming took place on April 17, 2016. The apartment building (called Capa House) now contains a small memorial with Capa’s photographs and information about Bowman.

Minutes prior to his death, Raymond J. Bowman (seen left now) with his fellow comrade Lehmann Riggs (on the right). 

Pfc. Raymond J. Bowman after he was struck by the German sniper

 Pfc. Raymond J. Bowman after he was struck by the German sniper. Another soldier of his squad takes over the machine gun

Source :
https://www.argunners.com/raymond-j-bowman-story-behind-dramatic-photo/
http://www.panzernet.com/foro4/showthread.php?11073-Uniformes-mezclados/page4

U.S. M8 Greyhound Near the German Border

Image size: 1600 x 1320 pixel. 682 KB
Date: Friday, 26 January 1945
Place: Near the Luxembourg-German border
Photographer: Unknown

Near the German border. January 26, 1945. An M8 Greyhound of U.S. 80th Infantry Division. Three crew members wear the helmet Mk 1 for British motorcyclists (Dispatch rider). The soldier who climbs the vehicle carries a set of USA winter suit. The German sign at left prohibits stopping and parking. In the Battle of the Bulge, The 80th was moved northward to Luxembourg and was hurled against the German salient, fighting at Luxembourg and Bastogne. By Christmas Day, men of the 80th were side-by-side with the tanks of the 4th Armored Division, battering forward through murderous opposition to help the 101st Airborne Division, besieged in Bastogne. Over frozen, snow-covered terrain, the attack gained nine bitter miles despite constant machine gun and mortar fire. The next day, the gap between the rescuers and the besieged was narrowed to 4000 yards. On 28 December, the 80th broke through, bringing relief to the 101st before driving the enemy across the Sure to Dahl and Goesdorf, 7 January 1945, and across the Clerf and Wiltz Rivers by 23 January. On 7 February 1945, the division stormed across the Our and Sauer Rivers at Wallendorf (Eifel), broke through the Siegfried Line, pursued the fleeing enemy to Kaiserslautern, 20 March, and crossed the Rhine, 27–28 March, near Mainz.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80th_Division_(United_States)
http://www.panzernet.com/foro4/showthread.php?11073-Uniformes-mezclados/page3

Dutch Civilian Load a Canadian Truck with Food

Image size: 1600 x 1584 pixel. 52,4 KB
Date: Thursday, 3 May 1945
Place: Wageningen, Netherlands
Photographer: Alex Stirton

Along the Rhenen-Wageningen road, Netherlands: Dutch civilians unloading food from a Canadian truck to the town dump, following agreement amongst Germans, Dutch and Canadians about the ground distribution of food to the Dutch population. 3 May 1945. Air drops of food by the British and United States had started on April 29th and lasted till May 8th. At the meeting in Achterveld on April 30 both sides decided that the transport by air alone would not suffice. A second operation, codenamed Faust, would also be launched. Two hundred allied trucks from the 21st Army Group would bring food to Rhenen, starting May 2nd.  Rhenen was at that moment a city on the German side of the frontline. In Rhenen the trucks would go over in the hands of Dutch truck drivers, who would take the food further into occupied Holland. According to the plan, 1000 tons of food would be transported daily by the Wageningen - Rhenen road. This photograph was taken by Alex Stirton.

Source :
http://operationmanna.secondworldwar.nl/foodtrucks.php
http://www.mapleleafup.ca/ve1.html

Food Negotiations Between German and the Canadians

Image size: 1600 x 1205 pixel. 403 KB
Date: Monday, 30 April 1945
Place: Achterveld, Netherlands
Photographer: Ernest DeGuire

Food negotiations begin. German and Canadian negotiators arrive at a schoolhouse, where they secretly discuss supplying food to the starving Dutch people still in German-held areas. While 2nd Corps of the 1st Canadian Army was crossing the Rhine River in late March 1945, 1st Corps was on a massive redeployment from the Italian front — through the Mediterranean and up through the south of France — to join the 1st Canadian Army advance into Germany and The Netherlands. Moving into northern Netherlands the Canadians effectively cut off the 117,000 German troops in western Holland, leaving them with no means of escape. The Germans were defeated and the exhausted Canadian soldiers could see the end. Nobody wanted to be the last man killed in this war in the cold bleak months of early 1945. But the occupying Germans were still fighting, and the occupied Dutch were still suffering serious privation under them. The oppressors had flooded the farmlands of western Netherlands and blockaded food and supplies to civilians. The abject neglect of the Dutch by the occupying Germans caused the death of at least 18,000 civilians in the terrible famine known as the Hunger Winter. The picture was taken by Ernest DeGuire on 30 April 1945 at Achterveld, Netherlands.

Source :
http://www.mapleleafup.ca/ve1.html

American, Soviet and British Soldiers at Elbe

Image size: 1432 x 1600 pixel. 695 KB
Date: Wednesday, 25 April 1945
Place: Torgau an der Elbe, Germany
Photographer: Unknown

An American, a Soviet and a British soldier share Camel Cigarettes, at Torgau an der Elbe, April, 25th 1945. On that day American and Soviet - even some British troops - decided to meet each other at the Elbe River near Torgau, Germany. It took some work, translators, and lots of discussion through the translators and officers on the radio but, the now famous meeting was put together. Soviet, British, and American forces embraced each other, some even kissed one another, out of joy that Germany had been split in two and the war was finally coming to a close. However, the war was not yet won and many would still be killed. Some were not even killed in combat but by drunks, accidents, etc. The Meeting at the Elbe became a popular example of peace once had and chances of peace during the Cold War. Several songs were written about it and its date, April 25th, was even considered being made a “World Peace Day” but unfortunately it was rejected by the UN. However, those who were there never forgot it and for many it touched them deeply. The picture was colorised by Paul Kerestes from Romania.

Source :

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkC3G6GnsG8/

https://www.world-at-war.co.uk/?p=57&

U-861 at Trondheim Submarine Base

Image size: 1600 x 963 pixel. 468 KB
Date: Thursday, 19 April 1945
Place: Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway
Photographer: Unknown

Monsoon boat U-861 was in rather battered condition when it sailed into the submarine base in Trondheim, Norway, on 19 April 1945. Behind the boat lay a 13 ½ week trip home following its departure from the base in Surabaya (Java, Indonesia) on 15 January the same year. The big Type IX D2 boat had departed Kiel on its first sortie on 20 April 1944 under the command of Ritterkreuzträger (Knight’s Cross wearer) Kapitänleutnant Jürgen Oesten. Initially assign to an area of operations off the Brazilian coast and then the east coast of Africa, U-861 sank four ships totaling 22,040 GRT and damaged the 8,139 ton tanker “Daronia” before arriving at the island base of Penang (Malaysia) on 23 September 1944. By then the boat had been at sea for five months! The U-boat stayed in Penang until 1 November 1944, undergoing necessary maintenance and allowing the crew time to rest. On 1 November U-861 left Penang for Surabaya, arriving there on 5 November after a stop in Singapore. The boat remained there until it left for Germany on 15 January 1945. It carried a load of vital war materials, for example molybdenum ore, which was stowed in zinc containers in the ballast keel, and raw rubber. Armament was limited to two torpedoes for self defense. The safe return of the boat was the first priority, not the destruction of enemy shipping. This was jeopardized during the final phase of the journey when U-861 ran into pack ice south of Greenland. The resulting “sheet metal damage” was minimal, however, and thanks to the experience of the captain and crew the boat reached its destination albeit with just 800 liters of diesel in its fuel bunkers! Note the repainted area around the Panther emblem. Georg Högel’s book “Embleme, Wappen, Malings” depicts the emblem as a panther climbing a globe. According to Jürgen Oesten, the globe was never part of the emblem. Part of the word “Lekas” is visible on the conning tower. The word is Malay in origin and means “fast”.

Source:

"U-Boot im Focus" magazine 2nd edition - 2007