"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/

Hitler Arrived in an Airfield in Poland

Image size: 2048 x 1339 pixel. 1 MB
Date: Monday, 25 September 1939
Place: Alexandrow Airfield, between Bzura and the Vistula River, Poland
Photographer: Kriegsberichter Falk of Propaganda-Kompanie 367 (Ost)

On 25 September 1939, Adolf Hitler flew from Zoppot to the area around Warsaw, Poland. He made visits to the 8. Armee (General der Infanterie Johannes Blaskowitz) and 10. Armee (General der Artillerie Walther von Reichenau), as well as the German army headquarters in Grodjisk Mazowieki. After that he returned to Godentow-Lanz by airplane. The next day (26 September 1939 at 09:30 am), Hitler returned to Berlin boarding the Führersonderzug "Amerika". He arrived in the German capital at 17:05 in the afternoon. The Führer only returned to Poland again on 5 October 1939 to take part in the German victory parade. This photo was taken by Kriegsberichter Falk from Propaganda-Kompanie 367 (Ost) on 25 September 1939 in the area of 10. Armee, which located between Bzura and the Vistula River (facing west of Warsaw), and shows the moment Hitler had just arrived at the nearest airfield at Alexandrow. For the identification, front row from left to right: General der Artillerie Franz Halder (Chef des Generalstabes des Heeres), Reichsleiter Martin Bormann (Persönlicher Sekretär bzw. Stabsleiter des Stellvertreters des Führers Rudolf Hess), Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe Süd), Generaloberst Walther von Brauchitsch (Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres), Generaloberst Wilhelm Keitel (Chef Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), Adolf Hitler (Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht), Generalmajor Erwin Rommel (Kommandeur Führer-Begleit-Bataillon), General der Artillerie Walther von Reichenau (Oberbefehlshaber 10. Armee), Generalmajor Friedrich Paulus (Chef des Generalstabes 10. Armee), and SS-Gruppenführer Karl Wolff (Verbindungsoffizier zwischen dem Reichsführer-SS und dem Führerhauptquartier).

 

Source :
Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-013-0060-20
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2016/09/kunjungan-adolf-hitler-ke-front.html

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/

Wiking Officers Strolling at Nurzec rail station

 

Image size: 1600 x 1246 pixel. 684 KB
Date: Saturday, 22 July 1944
Place: Nurzec-Stacja, Poland
Photographer: SS-Kriegsberichter Ernst Baumann

Three officers of the III.Bataillon / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 “Germania” / 5.SS-Panzer-Regiment "Wiking" stroll along a road near the Nurzec rail station on 22 July 1944 at the village of Nurzec-Stacja in eastern Poland. The tower shown in the background still stands in modern times. The three Wiking officers are, left to right: SS-Hauptsturmführer Friedrich Hannes (Chef 12.Kompanie), SS-Hauptsturmführer Helmut Schumacher (Chef 9.Kompanie) and SS-Hauptsturmführer Paul Scholven (III.Bataillon executive officer). The village had just been captured by the Germans that day and the fighting is over for now. Due to the presence of Scholven it may perhaps be that these men are on their way to a meeting with III.Bataillon commander SS-Sturmbannführer Paul Kümmel. The barefoot German Heer soldier is an officer of the Grenadier Battaillon z.b.V.("zur besonderen Verwendung" or For Special Employment unit) 560 which was established as a Bewährungs-Battaillon or a probationary battalion created for soldiers who had been convicted of minor crimes or disciplinary offenses. Presumably this officer had earlier been captured by the Soviets and stripped of his boots and uniform insignia. Only several thousand meters to the north of Nurzec-Stacja the Gren.Btl.z.b.V. 560 had been surrounded by Soviet forces in the small village of Zerczyce for three days and was the objective for Kümmel’s III.Bataillon ”Germania” and their attack that day, successfully relieving the trapped and battered penal battalion which had suffered heavy losses.

 

The tower near the Nurzec rail station in present time

Source :
"Kampfgruppe Mühlenkamp: 5. SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking", Eastern Poland, July 1944" by Douglas E. Nash and Remy Spezzano
https://www.facebook.com/2ssPanzerPionierBtl5Wiking/posts/three-officers-of-the-iiibataillon-ss-panzergrenadier-regiment-9-germania-stroll/657866484397502/
http://www.wieze.geotor.pl/wieze_cisn/nurzec_stac_1/nurzec_stac_1.htm?fbclid=IwAR0060NkbNJUXfdvzuVJSXyUu9SZ2NnaGZ0MtlD5pR-i9O8-1TDoExSVM7Q

SS NCO Ferdinand Breitfelder with Captured British Weapon

 

Image size: 2048 x 1362 pixel. 687 KB
Date: Saturday, 22 July 1944
Place: Montenegrin-Serbian border, Yugoslavia
Photographer: Kriegsberichter Ernst-Alexander Zwilling

SS-Hauptscharführer Ferdinand Breitfelder examines a captured British submachine gun in the company of Albanian soldiers from the battle group SS-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 21 shortly after the arrival of a companies of recruits from the SS-Skanderbeg Division to help I.Bataillon / SS-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 14, on 22 July 1944. A few days later, unit of Breitfelder would be surrounded by Tito's partisans, and he himself will be mortally wounded on the heights south of Andrijevica and will die from the consequences of his wounds in early August 1944. This picture itself was taken by veteran Kriegsberichter Ernst-Alexander Zwilling during "Unternehmen Draufgänger" (Operation Daredevil), a German Wehrmacht military operation against the Yugoslav Partisans at the Montenegrin-Serbian border area, aimed at breaking the Partisan foothold on the Lim river which was a potential penetration point into Serbia.

Source :
ECPAD Archives
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Draufg%C3%A4nger
https://www.facebook.com/groups/691098008051629/permalink/1025552444606182/?__cft__[0]=AZWtYgzBGoVpbdLbEaNS_viXPahYJmbQ2Rq0CpE0NBNpbGnJu7zX21dthnKGAn0vsXoM1-tXJP1xl4ReP2u9oYr666tMisoyZqDyCSliHUcZnjTWnToQWU_ZgODos7-L5n-gbSt9Q5Wle7lTHy0qijhE&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
https://reibert.info/threads/21-ja-gornaja-divizija-ss-skanderbeg-21-waffen-gebirgs-division-der-ss-skanderbeg-alb-nr-1.281809/

Max Wünsche and 12th SS Soldiers at Rots Normandy

 

Image size: 1186 x 1600 pixel. 484 KB
Date: Friday, 9 June 1944
Place: Rots, Calvados, Normandy, northwestern France
Photographer: SS-Kriegsberichter Siegfried Woscidlo

One of a famous set of photographs taken of the soldiers of 12. SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend" in Rots just after their disastrous assault on Canadian-held Norrey-en-Bessin on June 9th 1944. The photo shows SS-Obersturmbannführer Max Wünsche (with his head bandaged), speaking to SS-Hauptscharführer Wilhelm Boigk and members of III.Zug / 15.(Aufklärungs-) Kompanie / III.Bataillon / SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 25. From left to right: SS-Unterscharführer Peter Koslowski (Adjutant III.Zug), unknown, SS-Obersturmbannführer Max Wünsche (Kommandeur SS-Panzer-Regiment 12 "Hitlerjugend"), SS-Oberschütze Klaus  Schuh (soldat in 3.Gruppe / III.Zug), SS-Sturmmann Otto Funk (in the background, soldat in 3.Gruppe / III.Zug), SS-Hauptscharführer Wilhelm Boigk (Zugführer III.Zug), and SS-Hauptsturmführer Rudolf von Ribbentrop (Chef 3.Kompanie / I.Abteilung / SS-Panzer-Regiment 12 "Hitlerjugend"). The attack was undertaken by 12 Panthers of the 3.Kompanie / SS-Panzer-Regiment 12 with the 15th company of SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 25 in support. "After leaving Rots on the southern road, the 3rd kompanie tanks passed beneath the rail embankment via an underpass and turned right facing west towards Norrey. They planned to use the embankment on their right as cover northwards as they moved towards their objective. Speed had been stressed by Wünsche as the highest priority. The Panthers quickly left most of the infantry behind in the dust. As they passed a linesman's cottage and crested the hill, they began to take accurate 6 pounder fire from the Canadian positions in Norrey. They had planned for this, angling their tanks appropriately and keeping up their speed. What they hadn't counted on was a squadron of Sherman's including Fireflies which had, by chance, taken a detour on their way to their defensive position, placing them a few hundred metres north of the panthers. Canadian fire from the 6 pounders and machine guns from Norrey was intense, but when the Shermans opened fire from their perfect ambush position, the 3rd Kompanie's Panthers began to brew up with horrific consequences. Burning crewmen hurling themselves out of their machines anyway they could. The Firefly commanded by Lt. G. K. Henry of the 1st Hussars accounted for 5 Panthers in that engagement. His gunner, Trooper Chapman, accomplished that feat with only 5 shots! Minutes later, the accompanying infantry of 15/25th arrived up behind the Panthers to support them. It became immediately apparent things had gone horribly wrong. To make things worse, as the attack began to stall, accurate naval artillery fire from Allied ships off-shore began to fall along the length of the rail embankment. A retreat was ordered and a few of the 12 original Panthers were able to fall back. The wounded crewmen and panzergrenadiers crawled back along the embankment towards the cover of the underpass and back up the road to Rots. The photos were taken as the exhausted men got back to the village.”


Source :
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2011/10/foto-12-ss-panzer-division-hitlerjugend.html
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10158834881874890&set=gm.1114336335675141
http://www.historicalwarmilitariaforum.com/topic/11462-15-ss-panzer-grenadier-regiment-25/

Captured of General der Infanterie Ferdinand Neuling

 

Image size: 2048 x 1633 pixel. 183 KB
Date: Sunday, 20 August 1944
Place: Southern France
Photographer: Unknown

Captured German general smokes a cigarette. Official caption on front: "7/MM-44-25007." Official caption on reverse: "Sig Corps photo 20 Aug 44 (25007) France. German general surrenders. Cigarette-smoking Lt. Gen. (his rank is actually General der Infanterie) Ferdinand Neuling (Kommandierender General LXII. Armeekorps), 60 year old commander of the German 62nd Corps in Southern France, wears an expression of resignation after his capture by driving American forces from the new French beachhead". Since 1942 he commanded LXII ArmeeKorps in France. On 18 August 1944, his corps was crushed by advancing units of the US Army. Neuling was taken prisoner and transferred to the POW camp in Clinton, Mississippi. He returned to Germany in 1947 and died in Hildesheim in 1960. He never faced any charges concerning crimes committed during the war. Sig Corps radio telephoto from Italy #." France. 20 August 1944. The picture was taken from the service of Brigadier General Terence John Tully, a West Point graduate, Signal Officer during the African landings, Chief Signal Officer, Allied Force Headquarters Africa/Italy for all Mediterranean operations. Tully served with the Signal Corps in Italy and North Africa documenting the 5th Army specifically. Later he was Commander of Camp Crowder, Missouri.


Source :
https://www.ww2online.org/image/captured-german-general-smokes-cigarette-france-1944

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

Reception for Soviet's Foreign Minister at Hotel Kaiserhof

Image size: 2048 x 1492 pixel. 302 KB
Date: Wednesday, 13 November 1940
Place: Hotel Kaiserhof, Berlin, Germany
Photographer: Unknown

At the Hotel Kaiserhof, left to right: Head of the personal staff of German Foreign Ministry Walther Hewel (2 January 1904 – 2 May 1945), German Minister of Foreign Affairs Joachim von Ribbentrop (30 April 1893 - 16 October 1946); Head of the Defense and Economic Office of the Wehrmacht General der Infanterie Georg Thomas (29 February 1890 - 29 December 1946), State Minister of the Rank of a Federal Minister and Chief of the Presidential Chancellery of the Führer and Reich Chancellor Doctor Otto Meissner (13 March 1880 - 27 May 1953); and Soviet People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov (9 March 1890 - 8 November 1986). Ribeentrop threw a lavish reception for the Soviet delegation at the Hotel Kaiserhof, just down Wilhelmstrasse from the German Foreign Ministry. Molotov was in Berlin to discuss joining the Axis Powers. the day before, Reichkanzler Adolf Hitler could not convince Molotov to give up Soviet interests in the Balkans. Hitler did not even attend the Kaiserhof reception or the Soviet reception at their embassy the next day. Molotov left Berlin without the Soviet Union joining the Axis. General Thomas, in charge of economic cooperation with the Soviet Union, wrote after the war, "The Russians executed their deliveries up to the eve of the attack, and in the last days the transport of rubber from the Far East was expedited by express trains." After being implicated in the July 20 plot, Thomas survived a concentration camp. He died in American captivity in 1946. Ribbentrop was hung as a war criminal. Meissner survived the war and wrote his memoirs. The Hotel Kaiserhof was leveled by British bombs in 1943; the North Korean Embassy stands there today.

Source :
https://worldwar2database.com/gallery/wwii0244

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

German Soldiers Looking for Low-Flying Enemy Aircraft

Image size: 1600 x 1074 pixel. 545 KB
Date: 2-3 August 1944
Place: Beauchêne and Ger, Normandy, France
Photographer: Unknown

“Low flying fighter in sight!” was the original caption to this picture when it was first published in the German press in 1944. For many years it believed to have been taken in June shortly after D-Day, while this photo is actually part of a set shot by Kriegsberichter Theobald depicting men of the 84. Infanterie-Division (probably Grenadier-Regiment 1052) moving in to relieve the 116. Panzer-Division prior to Operation ‘Lüttich’, referred to in Allied sources as the 'Mortain counterattack'. This dates the set to the 2nd or 3rd of August, not June. Given the urgency of the situation, the soldiers would most probably not be allowed to stop just to indulge a photographer, so Theobald probably took advantage of a short rest stop to snap this photo near La Haute-Louverie, a small hamlet half-way between Beauchêne and Ger. Typical of German divisions formed during 1944, the 84. Infanterie-Division was a mix of decorated veterans transferred from other units and young recruits, some quite young from what we can see here. Of the first four men from the left, all veterans, three have the Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen (Infantry Assault badge) and the left-most NCO displays also a Verwundetenabzeichen (wound badge) and what seems to be the Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse (Iron Cross 2nd Class). Unknown to these men, the division would not survive the August retreat to the Seine River, being destroyed in the Falaise pocket.

Colorized by Rui Candeias.

 

Source :
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJcsRWUn-d0/

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

Germany's Heroes Remembrance Day 1940

 

Image size: 2048 x 1370 pixel. 457 KB
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

Bus Trapped in the Crater at Balham Station

Image size: 1600 x 1156 pixel. 195 KB
Date: Monday, 14 October 1940
Place: London, England
Photographer: Unknown

On 14 October 1940 at 8.02pm, a 1400 kilo semi armour piercing bomb from Luftwaffe bombers penetrated 32 feet underground and exploded just above the cross passage between the two platforms at Balham Underground station, London. Above ground a No.88 London double decker bus, travelling in blackout conditions, plunged into the crater created by the bomb. The dramatic spectacle of the trapped bus was to become emblematic of the dangers of the Blitz, a series of pictures of it appeared in publications around the world. The water and gas mains, along with the sewage pipes, had been broken: water poured down, flooding the tunnels below, and gas hampered rescue efforts. Almost all of the casualties would have resulted from the blast and debris. Yet stories soon developed of trapped people drowning in the flood waters and of miraculous escapes by people swimming along the tunnels to the next station. In total sixty six people died, although over the years there has been confusion over the exact number and only recently Transport for London has agreed to revise the memorial plaque at the station. The recovery of bodies was to take almost until Christmas yet remarkably the damage was repaired and trains were running through the station on 8th January 1941, and the station itself reopened on the 19th January.




Source :
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=3334514389935729&set=gm.1545682382283846
http://ww2today.com/14th-october-1940-disaster-at-balham-tube-station?fbclid=IwAR3glFnTFkJsTblkhY5a8a3B1xxHSjgn5OQT4QMp1jP5j0rdrcd6Xnz_kYA

Giraud and de Gaulle Shaking Hands at Casablanca Conference

Image size: 1600 x 1308 pixel. 666 KB
Date: Sunday, 24 January 1943
Place: Casablanca, Morocco
Artist: Lieutenant H.A. Mason

On 24 January 1943, the final day of Casablanca Conference, Morocco, the journalists assembled on the lawn behind Roosevelt’s villa. Four white chairs sat empty before the scrum of reporters. Shortly after noon, the door to the villa opened, and Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, and Henri Giraud walked out, while Franklin Roosevelt was carried to his chair. The whirling of film and clicking of cameras quickly replaced the murmurs of disbelief.

“When the Press reporters saw us both they could scarcely believe their eyes, or, when they were told we had been there for nearly a fortnight, their ears,” wrote Churchill.

Roosevelt and Churchill hoped to bring the competing factions of the French resistance together in Casablanca, but their attempt proved futile. There would be no headlines touting a new, unified French war effort. But photographs showing American, British, and French leaders together would galvanize Allied propaganda efforts. As Giraud, Roosevelt, and Churchill traded small talk and offered occasional smiles for the cameras, a solemn-faced de Gaulle smoked a cigarette. A photographer wanted more—something that didn’t smack of a command performance—and urged Giraud and de Gaulle to shake hands. The generals ignored the suggestion, until the president prodded them. “Why not shake hands?” said Roosevelt. “You two Frenchmen are loyal to your country, and that warrants a cordial handshake anytime.”

They stood, de Gaulle pulling the cigarette from his mouth and holding it to the side, and managed a fleeting handshake. Unable to capture the moment, the photographers called for them to do it again. The second shake was no less awkward. After Giraud and de Gaulle departed, Churchill moved over to sit by Roosevelt and talk further with the reporters and war correspondents gathered before them. Roosevelt began by reading a background statement and then spoke from some notes for about fifteen minutes.

Source :
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/1943_en_France
https://www.gettyimages.com/search/2/image?family=editorial&phrase=giraud+de+gaulle
https://www.spiegel.de/geschichte/casablanca-film-mit-humphrey-bogart-und-ingrid-bergman-a-1170512.html
https://time.com/5101354/churchill-fdr-casablanca-photo/

Hermann Göring Visit "Der Sieg im Westen" Exhibition

Image size: 1600 x 1159 pixel. 550 KB
Date: Monday, 18 November 1940
Place: Heldenplatz, Vienna, Ostmark (Austria)
Artist: Unknown

This photo was taken on 18 November 1940, and it shows Nazi and Wehrmacht officials as guests at the Wehrmacht exhibition entitled "Der Sieg im Westen" (Victory in the West), which were held at Heldenplatz, Vienna, Ostmark (Austria). This exhibition features a series of propaganda relating to the resounding victories of German troops in the invasion of France and the Lower Countries a few months earlier. The identification of the persons pictured here are, front row from left to right: Hugo Jury (Gauleiter Reichsgau Niederdonau und Reichsstatthalter Niederösterreich), Baldur von Schirach (Gauleiter und Reichsstatthalter Reichsgau Wien), Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe), and Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm List (Oberbefehlshaber 12. Armee). Some additional identification: in the back row between Jury and Schirach is Character als Generalmajor Edmund Glaise-Horstenau (General z. B.V. beim Oberkommando der Wehrmacht); whose head blocked by Göring is SS-Gruppenführer Dr.jur. Ernst Kaltenbrunner (Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer Donau); between Göring and List is General der Kavallerie Eberhard von Mackensen (Chef des Generalstabes 12. Armee); and at the far right behind List is Generalleutnant Hans Graf von Sponeck (Kommandeur 22. Luftlande-Infanterie-Division).

Source :

https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=1385037#p1385037

https://ww2colorfarbe.blogspot.com/2020/08/goring-at-wehrmacht-exhibition.html

German Generals Captured in Tunisia

Video size: 00:00:48 - 5.40 MB
Date: Thursday, 13 May 1943
Place: Maison Blanche aerodrome, southeast of Algiers, Algeria
Cameraman: J.F. Gunn of U.K. War Office Film Unit

German high ranking officers arrested by the Allies in Tunisia were seen as having just arrived at Maison Blanche aerodrome, Algeria, on 13 May 1943. Their identities were later checked by the authorities. Afterwards, these generals boarded the plane that would take them to a temporary POW camp in England. Some faces that can be recognized include: General der Panzertruppe Gustav von Vaerst (Oberbefehlshaber 5. Panzerarmee. Arrested on 9 May 1943 in Bizerte), Generalleutnant Karl Bülowius (General der Pioniere Heeresgruppe "Africa" ​​und Kommandeur Panzer-Division "Von Manteuffel". Arrested on 9 May 1943 in Tunis), Generalleutnant Willibald Borowietz (Kommandeur 15. Panzer-Division. Arrested on 10 May 1943 in Tunis), Generalmajor Fritz Krause (Kommandeur 334. Infanterie-Division. Arrested on 9 May 1943 in Bizerte), Generalmajor der Luftwaffe Dipl.Ing. Gerhard Bassenge (Kommandant Festungsbezirks Tunis-Bizerte. Arrested on 9 May 1943 in Methelin), Generalmajor der Luftwaffe Georg Neuffer (Kommandeur 20. Flak-Division. Arrested on 10 May 1943 in Tunis), and Oberst im Generalstab August-Viktor von Quast (Chef des Generalstabes 5. Panzerarmee. Arrested on 9 May 1943 in Bizerte). Three of them were Ritterkreuzträger: Gustav von Vaerst, Willibald Borowietz and Georg Neuffer, while only one is Eichenlaubträger: Willibald Borowietz.

Source :
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060034955 

554. Infanterie-Division at Donaueschingen

Image size: 1600 x 1172 pixel. 682 KB
Date: Saturday, 3 August 1940
Place: Donaueschingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Artist: Unknown

This picture was taken on 3 August 1940 at Donaueschingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Generale with the red arrows, from left to right: Generalleutnant z.V. Anton Freiherr von Hirschberg (Kommandeur 554. Infanterie-Division) and Generalleutnant Erwin Oßwald (Kommandierender General Stellvertretendes Generalkommando V. Armeekorps). 2nd from left is Oberstleutnant i.G. Karl Schall (Ia Erster Generalstabsoffizier 554. Infanterie-Division), while at far right is Oberst (E) Erich von Kirchbach (Chef des Generalstabes Stellvertretendes Generalkommando V. Armeekorps). The 554. Infanterie-Division was formed on 15 February 1940 from Divisionstab z.b.V. 441 as part of the 9. Welle (wave). Organized as a static division, it manned the West Wall on the Upper Rhine conducting border security, training and air raid protection duties. After the invasion of France, during which it advanced with the 7. Armee into Alsace, the division was disbanded on 13 August 1940.

Source :
https://www.axishistory.com/other-aspects/150-germany-heer/heer-divisionen/3437-554-infanterie-division
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=2282990#p2282990
https://menofwehrmacht.blogspot.com/2020/07/554-infanterie-division-at.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

Bf 109s of JG 53 vs Hurricanes of No.145 Squadron

Image size: 1194 x 1600 pixel. 398 KB
Date: Monday, 12 August 1940
Place: Isle of Wight, English Channel

Artist: Mark Postlethwaite

On 12 August 1940, Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) was tasked with carrying out a ‘Freie Jagd’ off Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight in support of Ju 88s of KG 51 that were attacking Portsmouth harbour and Ventnor radar station on the Isle of Wight. Leading 1./JG 53 was Hauptmann Hans-Karl Mayer, who was flying a Bf 109E-4 coded ‘White 8’. His Rottenflieger was Unteroffizier Heinrich Rühl in a Bf 109E-1 coded ‘White 10’. Flying at 8500 m, Mayer spotted three Hurricanes below attacking a lone Bf 110 at 1220 hrs, and although he quickly engaged the enemy fighters the Bf 110 pilot bailed out. Mayer selected the right Hurricane and Rühl the left, the former firing a total of 20 20 mm shells and 80 7.92 mm machine gun rounds into the RAF fighter, which immediately burst into flames and dived into the sea for what would be Mayer’s tenth victory of the war. Having already exhausted his supply of cannon shells, Rühl fired 200 machine gun rounds at his Hurricane, which then hit the sea in a gentle curve. Mayer now turned his attention to the remaining Hurricane, which had been engaged by the rest of his Staffel. This combat was not as one-sided, however, for his Bf 109E was hit six times. Mayer’s combat report noted; ‘After my first kill I flew back to the dogfight with the last remaining Hurricane against several aircraft of my Staffel. I immediately attacked and was able to open fire twice, and also received some hits myself. The damaged aircraft tried to escape in the direction of the coast but I stayed close to it, while my Staffel lost me in the haze. At first it made only slight evasive actions, and so I was able to get in several well-aimed bursts. The aircraft started emitting black smoke, went down in a shallow dive and disintegrated on impact.’ Mayer had achieved his second victory of the mission, firing ten cannon and 250 machine gun rounds at the Hurricane, which, after hitting the sea, sank immediately. Although it cannot be said for certain, it is believed that Mayer and Rühl accounted for Plt Off John Harrison, Acting Flt Lt Wilhelm Pankratz and Sgt Josef Kwiecinski of No 145 Sqn, all of whom were reported missing in action off the Isle of Wight at times that matched the three German claims.

Source :
"Jagdgeschwader 53 'Pik-As' Bf 109 Aces of 1940" by Chris Goss

General Alfred Gutknecht Captured by the US

Image size: 1213 x 1600 pixel. 638 KB
Date: Tuesday, 29 August 1944
Place: Near Fismes, France
Photographer: Snyder

This NARA (National Archives) photo collection, made by war correspondent Snyder, shows some time after Generalmajor Alfred Gutknecht (Höherer Kommandeur der Kraftfahrtruppen beim Oberbefehlshaber West) was captured by the US Army, on August 29, 1944. He was arrested when the vehicle carrying him crossed path with a convoy of American armored vehicles - which was advancing at high speed toward territory still controlled by Germany - near Fismes, France, which was located on the road between Reims and Soissons. You could say that this was the peak of the general's sadness and depression (clearly visible from the expression on his face, which was in sharp contrast to the grinning look of the Military Police next to him!). When he was transferred from his position as Officer of Staff Grenzabschnittskommando Nord to Staff 16. Armee on the Western Front shortly after the end of the German invasion of Poland, Gutknecht Beurteilung (Evaluation) document stated that he - who was still in the rank of Oberst - openly wept and asked to ask to remain stationed in the East in order to stay close to his sickly wife in the Ostpreußen region. His personnel were affixed with scathing comments: "If we cannot prevent the whiny colonel in our military, at least we can still prevent him from becoming a crybaby general!" While in Allied detention in the Berlin prison camp, Gutknecht received the tragic news that his beloved wife had died. Unable to bear the pain any longer, he later committed suicide on November 12, 1946.

Source :
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=160170&hilit=leyser
https://wehrmachtss.blogspot.com/2018/10/penangkapan-jenderal-jerman-oleh.html

German and Finnish Officers at a Ferry on Lake Ladoga

Image size: 1600 x 1024 pixel. 577 KB
Date: Monday, 10 August 1942
Place: Lake Ladoga, Lahti, Finland
Photographer: Carl Gustav Rosenqvist

This interesting, original color photo by Carl Gustav Rosenqvist was taken on August 10, 1942 and shows German and Finnish high-ranking officers crossing the Ladoga lake in Finland using Siebelfähre (Siebel's Freight / Ferry Boat) owned by Einsatzstab Fähre Ost (EFO), a Luftwaffe unit in Finland. This ferry operates around the Lake Ladoga region along with Italian MTB (12. Squadriglia MAS) and German mine ships from C-Gruppe / 31.Minensuch-Flottilla. From left to right: Oberstleutnant der Reserve Friedrich-Wilhelm Siebel (Kommandeur Einsatzstab Fähre Ost); Finnish Colonel Eino Iisakki Järvinen (Commander of the Lake Ladoga Beach Brigade), and two unknown Luftwaffe officers (the one on the far right is from the Flak unit based from his waffenfarbe). Original description from SA-Kuva - Finland: "During an inspection of the German Navy (Einsatzstab Fähre Ost) in Lahti, the invited guests set out on an infantry boat from where Colonel Keller received the parade. Bay bottom, Ladoga." Please note that if it's referred to Generaloberst Alfred Keller, so the ID is wrong because it is NOT him.

Source :
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=41944&p=374911&hilit=Colonel+E.+J%C3%A4rvinen#p374911
https://wehrmachtss.blogspot.com/2018/11/perwira-jerman-dan-finlandia-di-danau.html

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

Ritterkreuz Award Ceremony for Alexander von Hartmann in Stalingrad

Image size: 1170 x 1600 pixel. 0.98MB
Date: Thursday, 8 October 1942
Place: Stalingrad, Soviet Union
Photographer: Unknown

Ritterkreuz award ceremony for Generalmajor Alexander von Hartmann (Kommandeur 71. Infanterie-Division), which was held on October 8, 1942 in Stalingrad. The two generals who put the medal were Hartmann's two bosses, from left to right: General der Artillerie Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach (Kommandierender General LI. Armeekorps) and General der Panzertruppe Friedrich Paulus (Oberbefehlshaber 6. Armee). When his division (and all 6. Armee) could no longer escape from the Soviet siege around the city, Hartmann spoke to his officers calmly: "It is a great honor when an officer died in a battle. I will not kill myself, but I will sell my life dearly." He then took the rifle and headed for the embankment of the Stalingrad train located in the south. In front of the remaining members of his division (3 officers, 7 noncommissioned officers, and 183 soldiers), von Hartmann started firing at the Russian soldier who was invading ... while standing still! At 8:00 a.m. on January 26, 1943, he finally fell as he wished, shot right in the head. Also killed in the same day and in the same embankment were Oberstleutnant Kurt Corduan (Kommandeur Infanterie-Regiment 191) and Major Bayerlein (Kommandeur Infanterie-Regiment 211). Hartmann was promoted to General der Infanterie posthumously (he was promoted to Generalleutnant previously, on December 1942).

Source :
https://wehrmachtss.blogspot.com/2018/11/upacara-penganugerahan-ritterkreuz.html