Germany's Heroes Remembrance Day 1940

 

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Date: Sunday, 10 March 1940
Place: Unter den Linden, Berlin, Germany
Photographer: Unknown

Heldengedenktag (Heroes Remembrance Day) 1940 on Unter den Linden boulevard in Berlin. Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler, accompanied by Reich Marshal Hermann Göring, Grand Admiral Erich Raeder and Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, greets the honor battalion of the Wehrmacht marching past. March 10, 1940. In 1919, the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge) proposed a Volkstrauertag (people's day of mourning) for German soldiers killed in the First World War. It was first held in 1922 in the Reichstag. In 1926, Volkstrauertag became a feature on what Catholics considered Reminiscere (the second Sunday of Lent.). On 27 February 1934, the National Socialists introduced national holiday legislation to create Heldengedenktag ("Day of Commemoration of Heroes"), cementing the observance. In the process, they completely changed the character of the holiday: the emphasis shifted to hero worship rather than remembering the dead. Furthermore, five years later the Nazis abolished Buß- und Bettag as a non-working day and moved its commemoration to the following Sunday, to further the war effort. Joseph Goebbels as Propaganda Minister, issued guidelines on content and implementation, instructing that flags no longer be flown at half-mast. The last Heldengedenktag was celebrated in 1945. Photo by Popperfoto.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkstrauertag
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=412210326714464&set=gm.1641608349357915

KNIL Marching in Australia

Image size: 1600 x 1190 pixel. 427 KB
Date: Monday, 14 June 1943
Place: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Photographer: Unknown photographer from Herald Newspaper

Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), 14 June 1943. Watched by a small boy waving an Australian flag, troops of the K.N.I.L. (Netherlands East Indies Army) move along Swanston Street during the United Nations Flag Day march through the city. During the Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–42, most of the KNIL and other Allied forces were quickly defeated. Most European soldiers, which in practice included all able bodied Indo-European males, were interned by the Japanese as POWs. 25% of the POWs did not survive their internment. A handful of soldiers, mostly indigenous personnel, mounted guerilla campaigns against the Japanese. These were usually unknown to, and unassisted by, the Allies until the end of the war. During early 1942, some KNIL personnel escaped to Australia. Some indigenous personnel were interned in Australia under suspicion of sympathies with the Japanese. The remainder began a long process of re-grouping. In late 1942, a failed attempt to land in East Timor, to reinforce Australian commandos waging a guerrilla campaign ended with the loss of 60 Dutch personnel. Four "Netherlands East Indies" squadrons (the RAAF-NEI squadrons) were formed from ML-KNIL personnel, under the auspices of the Royal Australian Air Force, with Australian ground staff. KNIL infantry forces (much like their counterparts in the UK), were augmented by recruitment among Dutch expatriates around the world and by colonial troops from as far away as the Dutch West Indies. During 1944–45, some small units saw action in the New Guinea campaign and Borneo campaign.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Netherlands_East_Indies_Army

The Grave of Oberleutnant Joachim Sonntag at Rzhev

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Date: Monday, 30 November 1942
Place: Bossino, Belyj, Rzhev Salient, Soviet Union
Photographer: Achim von Bredow

"Half Jew" Oberleutnant Joachim Sonntag’s grave on the Russian front. This picture was taken in the end of November 1942 by Achim von Bredow, a “37.5 percent Jew” according to Nazi law. Sonntag (20 August 1917 - 29 November 1942) was killed in a place about 30 kilometers southeast of Bossino, Belyj, during the Battle of Rzhev against the Red Army. In the fierce battle at Belyj, the Kampfgruppe Krüger - which was part of the 1. Panzer-Division - managed to resist a massive attack by Soviet troops from the 41st Army. Soviet offensive against the Rzhev salient, held by Heeresgruppe Mitte (Army Group Centre), was launched on 25 November 1942. On its western side, Soviet 41st Army units managed to break through the German defences south of Belyj, advancing deep into the German-held front. However, not only did they fail to seize Belyj, defended by 1. Panzer Division’s Kampfgruppe Krüger – which included Panzergrenadier Regiment 113 (Kampfgruppe von Wietersheim, with the bulk of II./SR 113, I./Panzer Regiment 33 from 9. Panzer Division and II./Artillerie Regiment 73), along with two Kampfgruppen from 246. Infanterie Division and 10. Infanterie Division (mot) plus the Füsilier Regiment ‘Grossdeutschland’ – but they also faced stubborn resistance from other elements of 1. Panzer Division. To face the Soviet breakthrough, Kampfgruppe von der Meden was deployed on the eastern bank of the Natscha River. Under the command of Panzergrenadier Regiment 1, it included II./PzRgt 1 (the only tank unit with 1. Panzer Division), I and II./PzGrenRgt 1 and the Kradschützen Bataillon 1. Gruppe Holste, including Panzerjäger Abteilung 37 and Panzer Pionier Bataillon 37, deployed to the south to defend the vital town of Wladimirskoje. These units were to hold their positions until the relief force, made up of 12, 19 and 20. Panzer Divisions, dealt with the enemy breakthrough and restored the defence line. Although the attack by the 41st Soviet Army focused on Belyj, its 1st Mechanized Corps pressed on, and by 27 November had managed to cross the Natscha River in several places to the north and the south of Bossino. Only the stubborness of Kampfgruppe von der Meden’s units, most notably of Kradschützen Bataillon 1, prevented an enemy breakthrough and complete disaster. However, Kampfgruppe von der Meden’s defence line was broken into two; from now on the northern group at Stepankowa could only be supplied via a path opened across the woods. The German situation worsened on 28 November when a new Soviet attack southeast of Belyj broke through the defences and opened the way to the Soviet 47th Mechanized Brigade’s drive north. The stubborn defence put up by the Germans and a slowing in the Soviet attack (particularly with the decision to focus on Belyj) prevented outright disaster, but the German situation gravely worsened. Between 29 and 30 November the gap between Kampfgruppe Kruger at Belyj and Kampfgruppe von der Meden widened, allowing the Soviet 47th Mechanized Brigade to advance north to the Otscha River, before eventually being halted by the Kradschützen Bataillon ‘Grossdeutschland’. To the east, the German front disintegrated, leaving only a series of strongpoints that the Soviets could apparently overrun at will. On 30 November a decisive attack was launched by the Soviet 1st Mechanized Corps. In the morning, following a heavy snowfall, 75th Rifle Brigade and 4th Tank Regiment eventually failed, simply because the German defenders clung to their positions and fought to the last. In four days of combat, II./PzRgt 1 destroyed more than 40 Soviet tanks, and by 30 November it still had two PzKpfw III operational. Although desperate, the German situation was not hopeless. By mid-afternoon the leading elements of 12. Panzer Division joined Kampfgruppe von der Meden’s southern group and counter-attacked the Soviet spearheads at Ssemenzowo, pushing on to Petelino to relieve the encircled Kradschützen Bataillon 1 and eventually linking up with I./PzGrenRgt 1 before nightfall. The Soviet 1st Mechanized Corps switched to the defensive, now aware that the opportunity had been lost and that the German front was going to be restored.

Source :

“Hitler’s Jewish Soldiers” by Bryan Mark Rigg 

"Panzer Divisions: The Eastern Front 1941-43" by Pier Paolo Battistelli

https://www.volksbund.de/graebersuche/detailansicht.html?tx_igverlustsuche_pi2%5Bgid%5D=b2de1544127617159dff27517ef0a1b7&cHash=e81e2d7b8de3356cee04c37e458510c7

British Commonwealth Troops with Captured Nazi Flag at Monte Cassino

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Date: Thursday, 18 May 1944
Place: Monte Cassino, Latin Valley, Southeast of Rome, Italy
Photographer: Carl Mydans

British and South African soldiers show off a prize, a swastika Nazi flag, after finally conquering Monte Cassino, 18 May 1944. By May 1944 the historic Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino had been reduced to rubble. As part of Operation Diadem, the task of capturing it was given to Polish II Corps, but their attack on the night of May 11th/12th failed. The German positions in and around the ruins high on the mountain (atop which the soldiers above are standing on) were simply too strong. Further to the south, however, French troops managed to find a way through the Aurunci Mountains, which the German's believed are impassable, and could now overlook the Liri Valley, through which highway 6 ran to Rome. A second attack on Monte Cassini by the Poles, on May 17th, made some progress, but because of the French advance German troops were already withdrawing from the Gustav Line. The following morning the Polish flag was hoisted over the ruins of the abbey. The capture of Monte Cassino came at a high price. The Allies suffered around 55,000 casualties in the Monte Cassino campaign. German casualty figures are estimated at around 20,000 killed and wounded. Total Allied casualties, spanning the period of the four Cassino battles and the Anzio campaign with the subsequent capture of Rome on 5 June 1944, were over 105,000. This image is in beautiful and original Kodachrome, and was taken by Carl Mydans from LIFE magazine.

Source :
http://historyinphotos.blogspot.co.id/2016/01/world-war-ii-in-color.html
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg_fluFnn01/
http://www.vintag.es/2013/07/color-photos-of-italian-campaign-of.html

Jagdtiger Abandoned in Neustadt

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Date: Friday, 23 March 1945
Place: Landauer Strasse, Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Photographer: Unknown
 

Panzerjäger Tiger Ausf.B mit 12,8cm PaK 44 L/55 "Jagdtiger"(Sd.Kfz.186) Nr. 331 of schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 653 after she was abandoned in Landauer Strasse in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse. The vehicles are shown here being examined by American soldiers from the 10th Armored Division, on 23 March 1945. Leutnant Kasper Geoggler commanded the Jagdtiger No.331, also the third Kampfgruppe from 3.Kompanie / sPzJg.Abt.653. Geoggler had nerves of steel, and was very keen to prove himself. He was awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (German Cross in Gold) on 10 May 1943 whilst fighting on the Eastern Front. He had already had several kills to his credit with his Jagdtiger. In 22 March 1945, Geoggler had three Jagdtigers including his own placed into a good position north of Neustadt with a commmanding view of the approach roads to the town. From camouflage postions, the three Jagdtigers engaged in U.S. tank column; the first and last vehicles were shot up followed by the rest. The Shermans and M10 tank destroyer returned fire. Two Jagdtigers - Geoggler's and another, No.323 - were hit ten times between them. They withdrew into Neustadt. After the battle, 25 US tanks were claimed destroyed, while none of the Jagdtiger crew suffered any serious injuries! The thick sloping-armor had done its job.

Source:

http://ww2colorfarbe.blogspot.com/2015/01/jagdtiger-no331-of-leutnant-kasper.html

Raising the American Flag on Iwo Jima

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Date: Friday, 23 February 1945
Place: Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan
Photographer: Joe Rosenthal

U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment of the Fifth Division raise the American flag atop Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, on Feb. 23, 1945. Joe Rosenthal, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his immortal image of six World War II servicemen raising an American flag over battle-scarred Iwo Jima. On orders from Colonel Chandler Johnson—passed on by Captain Dave Severance—Sergeant Michael Strank, Corporal Harlon H. Block, Private First Class Franklin R. Sousley, and Private First Class Ira H. Hayes (all four from the Second Platoon, Easy Company) spent the morning after the first flag raising laying a telephone wire to the top of Mt. Suribachi. Severance also dispatched Private First Class Rene A. Gagnon, a runner, to the command post for fresh SCR-300 walkie-talkie batteries. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Albert Theodore Tuttle had found a larger (96-by-56 inch) flag in nearby Tank Landing Ship USS LST-779. He made his way back to the command post and gave it to Johnson. Johnson, in turn, gave it to Rene Gagnon, with orders to take it up to Lt. Schrier on Mt. Suribachi and raise it. The official Marine Corps history of the event is that Lt. Tuttle received the flag from Navy Ensign Alan Wood of USS LST-779, who in turn had received the flag from a supply depot in Pearl Harbor. However, the Coast Guard Historian's Office recognizes the claims made by former U.S. Coast Guardsman Quartermaster Robert Resnick, who served aboard the USS Duval County (USS LST-758) at Iwo Jima. "Before he died in November 2004, Resnick said Gagnon came aboard LST-758 the morning of February 23 looking for a flag. Resnick said he grabbed one from a bunting box and asked permission from commanding officer Lt. Felix Molenda to donate it. Resnick kept quiet about his participation until 2001." The flag itself was sewn by Mabel Sauvageau, a worker at the "flag loft" of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. Although former Easy Company commander, Capt. Severance, had confirmed that the second larger flag was in fact provided by Alan Wood, former Second Battalion adjutant, Lt. G. Greeley Wells, who was officially in charge of the battalion's flags including the two American flags flown on Mount Suribachi, stated in the New York Times in 1991: that Lt. Col. Johnson ordered him (Wells) to get the second flag, that he (Wells) sent Marine runner Rene Gagnon to the ships on shore for the flag, and that Gagnon returned with a flag and gave it to him (Wells), and that Gagnon took this flag up Mt. Suribachi with a message for Schrier to raise it and send the other flag down. Wells stated that he received the first flag back from Gagnon and secured it at the Marine headquarters command post. Wells also stated, he had handed the first flag to Lt. Schrier to take up Mouint Suribachi. The Marines reached the top of the mountain around noon, where Gagnon joined them. Despite the large numbers of Japanese troops in the immediate vicinity, the 40-man patrol made it to the top of the mountain without being fired on once, as the Japanese were under bombardment at the time. Rosenthal, along with Marine photographers Bob Campbell and Bill Genaust (who was killed in action after the flag-raising), were climbing Suribachi at this time. On the way up, the trio met Lowery, who photographed the first flag-raising. They considered turning around, but Lowery told them that the summit was an excellent vantage point from which to take photographs. Rosenthal's trio reached the summit as the Marines were attaching the flag to an old Japanese water pipe. Rosenthal put his Speed Graphic camera on the ground (set to 1/400th of a second shutter speed, with the f-stop between 8 and 16) so he could pile rocks to stand on for a better vantage point. In doing so, he nearly missed the shot. Along with Navy Pharmacist's Mate Second Class John H. Bradley, the five Marines began raising the U.S. flag. Realizing he was about to miss it, Rosenthal quickly swung his camera up and snapped the photograph without using the viewfinder. Ten years after the flag-raising, Rosenthal wrote: "Out of the corner of my eye, I had seen the men start the flag up. I swung my camera and shot the scene. That is how the picture was taken, and when you take a picture like that, you don't come away saying you got a great shot. You don't know." Bill Genaust, who was standing almost shoulder-to-shoulder with Rosenthal about thirty yards away, was shooting motion-picture film during the second flag-raising. His film captures the second event at an almost-identical angle to Rosenthal's famous shot. Of the six men pictured – Michael Strank, Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, John Bradley, and Harlon Block – only three (Bradley, Gagnon, and Hayes) survived the battle. Strank was killed on March 1, six days after the flag-raising, when a shell, likely fired from an offshore American destroyer, tore his heart out; Block was also killed on March 1, by a mortar, a few hours after Strank was killed; Sousley was shot and killed by a sniper on March 21, a few days before the island was declared secure.


Source:

http://dataomaha.com/media/news/2014/iwo-jima/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_the_Flag_on_Iwo_Jima

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American Prisoners of War Celebrate the Fourth of July at Camp Casisang

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Date: Saturday, 4 July 1942
Place: Camp Casisang, Malaybalay, Philippines
Photographer: Unknown

American prisoners of war celebrate the 4th of July in the Japanese prison camp of Casisange in Malaybalay, on Mindanao, P.I. It was against Japanese regulations and discover would have meant death, but the men celebrated the occasion anyway. The Visayan-Mindanao Force under US Army Brigadier General William F. Sharp was composed of the 61st, 81st, and 101st Infantry Divisions of the Philippine Army. Major General Jonathan M. Wainwright, in nominal command of all the Allied Forces in the Philippines, ordered Sharp to surrender on May 9. Sharp complied and most of his men entered captivity at Camp Casisang, Malaybalay, on May 10. Camp Casisang had been a training ground for the Philippine Constabulary. The barracks were of crude construction, some with corrugated steel roofs but most were made of either thatched wood or nipa palm fronds. Water was a scarce commodity and the prisoners were limited to one canteen of water per day for all purposes. One pump was the sole source of water for about 1,000 Americans and 11,000 Filipinos. On August 15, 1942, All Generals, Full Colonels and their orderlies left Camp Casisang. There had been a large number of full Colonels plus five Generals at the camp. One of them was Philippine General Manuel Roxas, who after the war became the President of the Philippines in 1946. The Japanese gathered 268 men and marched them to Bugo where they boarded the Tamahoko Maru on October 3, 1942 for a 3-day voyage to Manila. At Manila they were marched to Bilibid Prison to wait for transportation to Japan. Many did not survive the war. On October 15, 1942 Camp Casisang was closed. All remaining prisoners were moved on the Japanese frieghter Maru 760 to Davao. 

Source:

NARA (National Archives)  #: 111-SC-333290
WAR & CONFLICT BOOK #: 1301

http://www.defenseimagery.mil/imageRetrieve.action?guid=7d7f71b7d98e8bc85447a111385d630a9e72363d&t=2

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii1150

First Flag Raising on Iwo Jima

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Date: Friday, 23 February 1945
Place: Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan
Photographer: Staff Sergeant Louis R. Lowery, USMC, staff photographer for "Leatherneck" magazine

The 1st flagraising atop Mount Suribachi by E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Regiment, 5th Marine Division. Visible are 1st Lieutenant Harold G. Shrier (sitting behind Jacobs), Private 1st Class Raymond Jacobs, Sergeant Henry Hansen (cloth cap), Unknown (lower hand on pole), Sergeant Ernest "Boots" Thomas (back to camera), Pharmacist's Mate 2nd Class John Bradley (helmet above Thomas), Private 1st Class James Michels (with M1 carbine), and Corporal Charles Lindberg (above Michels). On the morning of February 23, 1945, Lieutenant Schrier was ordered to take a reinforced platoon of 40 men to the top of Mount Suribachi, the extinct volcano that dominated Iwo Jima, and if he made it to the top, to raise an American flag. Significant Japanese elements were still occupying the area, but after sustained bombardment from aircraft and battleships, they remained inside their caves and tunnels. The patrol was unmolested as they reached the top at 1020 Hours. Charles Lindberg said, "Two of our men found a great big long pole up there, about 20-feet long. We tied the flag to it, carried it to the highest spot we could find, and raised it. Boy, then the island came alive down below. The troops started to cheer, the ships' whistles went off, it was quite a proud moment." Scattered Japanese resisters threw grenades and opened rifle fire when the flag went up. The flag, 54 by 28 inches from the transport USS Missoula (APA-211), was deemed to be too small, and a larger flag from LST-779 was brought to the top and replaced the 1st one. Little fanfare from the ships and men below accompanied the second flag raising. 

Source:

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/i04000/i04150c.htm

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii1107

Member of 250. Infanterie-Division (División Azul)

Image size: 1422 x 1600 pixel. 619 KB
Date: 1941
Place: Unknown
Photographer: Unknown

Spanish member of 1.Bataillon/Infanterie-Regiment 263/250.Infanterie-Division. Men from this division were called "Blue Division" (División Azul) because of the blue Falangist shirt they wearing in the siege of Leningrad. The fahnenträger (flag holder) is wearing gasplane (gas mask bag), MP40 ammo pouch, and stahlhelm with Wehrmacht/Spanish flag decals. Also he is holding the banner of his batallion. Note the Spanish award on their uniform! The red one is the "Cruz al Mérito Militar con Distintivo Rojo"; the yellow one is the "Medalla de Mutilado de Guerra por la Patria". The formation of what would become 250. Infanterie-Division (División Azul) was first suggested by Serrano Súñer, foreign minister and the most trusted advisor of the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, following the German invasion of the USSR 1941 as an alternative to a declaration of war. Recruitment of volunteers began 28 June and a large number of members of the fascist Falange (the full name of the party was Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las J.O.N.S (FET)) volunteered, including six members of the FET National Council and several provisional governors. The Spanish Army however insisted on keeping control of the unit rather than have it run by the FET and in the end all the officers came from the regular army as well as about 70% of the volunteers, most of them veterans of the Spanish Civil War. The commander of the unit would be Agustín Muñoz Grandes, former secretary general of the FET and one of the few Falangist generals. The unit was technically subordinate to the Spanish Ministry of the Army but served under German command. The first volunteers left for Germany 17 July for further training and remained in Grafenwöhr for training until being sent to the Eastern Front Aug 1941. They saw their first action 12 Oct 1941 at Lake Ilmen and remained on the front near Leningrad until it was disbanded Oct 1943, most famous and costly battle being Krasny Bor during Operation Polar Star.

Source:

http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=3849