26 November 2014

Raising the American Flag on Iwo Jima


Image size: 1600 x 1223 pixel. 392 KB
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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25 November 2014

German Motorcycle Immobilized by Russian Mud


Image size: 1600 x 922 pixel. 352 KB
Date: Monday, 1 September 1941
Place: Soviet Union
Photographer: Unknown

Two Kradmelder ("Despatch Rider") struggle with their Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (Bavarian Motor Works Incorporated, or BMW) R75 motorcycle with sidecar during the Rasputitsa (Russian for "time without roads") in Fall 1941. Their Mantels (Rubberized Coats) are better protection against the mud then the average Landser (soldier) but they are still covered in it. As the Germans attempted to conquer Moscow before the snow fell, massive rains turned the dry steppe into a quagmire. Wilhelm Pruller (1916- ), a Sergeant in the 9th Panzer Division, wrote in his diary in July 1941, "We spent the night in the open. We made ourselves dugouts and covered them with sailcloth. After midnight it began to rain, and we couldn't stand it much longer in these holes. Wet and shivering with the cold, we waited for morning...When I see even at this time of how our vehicles, after it's rained a little, can barely make the grade, I just can't imagine how it will be in autumn when the rainy period really sets in...Yesterday it began to rain, and it hasn't stopped yet. It's enough to make you desperate." On August 4, 1941, a German Corporal wrote home, "The roads here are incredibly bad. At times of rainy weather hardly passable; fatiguing for man and horse. In general, you cannot get through any more with a motorcycle or auto." The BMW R75, of which 18,000 were made from 1941 to 1944, was one of the few vehicles that might make it out of a sticky bog, but the cloying mud went on for miles, and the mud stopped engines from running and exhausted horses and men. Germans and Russians alike were covered in mud until the winter freeze allowed movement again in November; soon after that, heavy snows set in. Some of the Red Army units had anti-freeze and winter uniforms, but the Germans did not. The ability to maneuver in Winter weather would give the Red Army's offensive an advantage. Two Kradmelder ("Despatch Rider") struggle with their Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (Bavarian Motor Works Incorporated, or BMW) R75 motorcycle with sidecar during the Rasputitsa (Russian for "time without roads") in Fall 1941. Their Mantels (Rubberized Coats) are better protection against the mud then the average Landser (soldier) but they are still covered in it. As the Germans attempted to conquer Moscow before the snow fell, massive rains turned the dry steppe into a quagmire. Wilhelm Pruller (1916- ), a Sergeant in the 9th Panzer Division, wrote in his diary in July 1941, "We spent the night in the open. We made ourselves dugouts and covered them with sailcloth. After midnight it began to rain, and we couldn't stand it much longer in these holes. Wet and shivering with the cold, we waited for morning...When I see even at this time of how our vehicles, after it's rained a little, can barely make the grade, I just can't imagine how it will be in autumn when the rainy period really sets in...Yesterday it began to rain, and it hasn't stopped yet. It's enough to make you desperate." On August 4, 1941, a German Corporal wrote home, "The roads here are incredibly bad. At times of rainy weather hardly passable; fatiguing for man and horse. In general, you cannot get through any more with a motorcycle or auto." The BMW R75, of which 18,000 were made from 1941 to 1944, was one of the few vehicles that might make it out of a sticky bog, but the cloying mud went on for miles, and the mud stopped engines from running and exhausted horses and men. Germans and Russians alike were covered in mud until the winter freeze allowed movement again in November; soon after that, heavy snows set in. Some of the Red Army units had anti-freeze and winter uniforms, but the Germans did not. The ability to maneuver in Winter weather would give the Red Army's offensive an advantage.


Source:
http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery/wwii0233

20 November 2014

German Soldiers Move into Burning Russian Villages


 Image size: 1600 x 995 pixel. 534 KB
Date: Thursday, 26 June 1941
Place: Soviet Union
Photographer: Unknown

German Schnelltruppen (Fast Troops) disembark from Hanomag Mittlere Schutzenpanzerwagen Ausf D (Medium Armored Cars Model D) SdKfz 251/10 (background) and 251/1 half tracks to attack a Russian village during the opening days of Operation Barbarossa, 26 June 1941. The 251/1, mounting three MG34 machine guns, was the standard armored personnel carrier for the soldiers to keep pace with the armored columns. The Schnelltruppen, later designated Panzergrenadiers in 1943, were trained to fight mounted in their vehicles or dismounted as regular infantry. The 251/10 mounted a 37mm (1.46 inch) Pak 36 cannon for light anti-tank and infantry artillery support. Each Schnelltruppe Zug (Platoon) would have three 251/1s and one 251/10. Each 251/1 could carry ten soldiers and two drivers. In combat, the 251s would be kept in reserve for mobile operations. When ordered to attack, the drivers would seek maximum tactical cover from hills and foliage to approach the target. When the point of disembarkation was reached, the commander would shout "Abspringen!" (Bale Out!) and the ten soldiers would take two MG34 machine guns and form a Schutzenkette (firing line) with the guns at the center with the squad leader or on the flanks. 16,000 Hanomag SdKfz 251s were built between 1939 and 1945; many were used in other roles, such as anti-aircraft, rocket platforms, or searchlights. While the 251 was a flexible platform, all these other uses distracted from the troop carrying role. Only one-third of Panzergrenadiers were carried into combat.


Source:
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/07/world-war-ii-operation-barbarossa/100112/
http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery/wwii0207

19 November 2014

Adolf Hitler Inspecting Gustav


Image size: 1600 x 1233 pixel. 601 KB
Date: Sunday, 4 April 1943
Place: Reichswerke Hermann Göring, Linz, Germany
Photographer: Walter Frentz

This picture was taken by Walter Frentz in 4 April 1943 at Reichswerke Hermann Göring, Linz (Germany), when Hitler visited the Eisenbahngeschütz 80 cm Kanone Schwerer Gustav. FLTR: Generalleutnant Walter Buhle (Chef vom Heeresstab im Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), Ingenieur Erich Müller (Wehrwirtschaftsführer), Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel (Chef des Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), Reichsleiter Martin Bormann (Stabsleiter im Amt des Stellvertreters des Führers), Adolf Hitler (Führer und Reichskanzler), Prof.Dr.-Ing.Albert Speer (Reichsminister für Rüstung und Kriegsproduktion), and SS-Gruppenführer Julius Schaub (not visible in this picture, Chefadjutant des Führers Adolf Hitler). Schwerer Gustav (Heavy Gustaf or Great Gustaf) was the name of a German 80 cm K (E) railway gun. It was developed in the late 1930s by Krupp as siege artillery for the explicit purpose of destroying the main forts of the French Maginot Line, the strongest fortifications then in existence. The fully assembled gun weighed nearly 1,350 tonnes, and could fire shells weighing seven tonnes to a range of 47 kilometres (29 mi). The gun was designed in preparation for the Battle of France, but was not ready for action when the battle began, and in any case the Wehrmacht's Blitzkrieg offensive through Belgium rapidly outflanked and isolated the Maginot Line's World War I-era static defenses, forcing them to surrender uneventfully and making their destruction unnecessary. Gustav was later employed in the Soviet Union at the siege of Sevastopol during Operation Barbarossa, where among other things, it destroyed a munitions depot buried in the bedrock under a bay. The gun was moved to Leningrad, and may have been intended to be used in the Warsaw Uprising like other German heavy siege pieces, but the rebellion was crushed before it could be prepared to fire. Gustav was destroyed near the end of the war in 1945 to avoid capture by the Red Army. It was the largest-calibre rifled weapon ever used in combat, the heaviest mobile artillery piece ever built in terms of overall weight, and fired the heaviest shells of any artillery piece. It is only surpassed in calibre by the British Mallet's Mortar and the American Little David mortar (both 36 inch; 914 mm).


Source:
http://elektra.bsb-muenchen.de/servlet/Top/frames/hitsframe#bildarc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwerer_Gustav

18 November 2014

Adolf Hitler Inspecting Dora


Image size: 1600 x 1133 pixel. 387 KB
Date: Friday, 19 March 1943
Place: Rügenwalde, Pomerania, Germany
Photographer: Walter Frentz

On 18-19 March 1943 Hitler visited the town of Rügenwalde/Pomerania (Germany) to see the 80 cm. Eisenbahngeschütz "Dora", the largest gun in the world. While Hitler was there the gun fired two granates. This picture was taken in 19 March 1943 by Walter Frentz and shows, from left to right: General der Artillerie Alfred Jodl (Chef Wehrmacht-Führungsamt), SS-Oberführer Prof. Dr.-Ing. e.h. mult. Ferdinand Porsche (Vorsitzender der Panzerkommission), Generaloberst Heinz Guderian (Generalinspekteur der Panzertruppen), Generalleutnant Walter Buhle (Chef vom Heeresstab im Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), Adolf Hitler (Führer und Reichskanzler), Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel (Chef des Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), Hauptdienstleiter Dipl.-Ing. Karl-Otto Saur (Staatssekretär im Reichsministerium für Rüstung und Kriegsproduktion), and SS-Gruppenführer Julius Schaub (Chefadjutant des Führers Adolf Hitler). Dora was the second giant railway gun to be produced by Germany. It was deployed briefly against Stalingrad, where the gun arrived at its emplacement 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) to the west of the city sometime in mid-August 1942. It was ready to fire on 13 September. It was quickly withdrawn when Soviet encirclement threatened. When the Germans began their long retreat they took Dora with them. Dora was broken up before the end of the war, being discovered in the west by American troops some time after the discovery of Schwerer Gustav.


Source:
http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/heavy-gustav-hitler-generals-inspecting-largest-caliber-rifled-weapon-ever-used-combat/

17 November 2014

Muslim Members of Handschar Division at Prayer during their Training in Germany


Image size: 1600 x 1086 pixel. 301 KB
Date: Tuesday, 9 November 1943
Place: Neuhammer, Silesia, Germany
Photographer: SS-Kriegsberichter Falkowski

Muslim soldiers from 13. SS-Freiwilligen-Bosnien-Herzegowina-Gebirgs-Division (Kroatien) at their morning prayer during Eid al Fitr celebration in Truppenübungsplatz (Training Ground) Neuhammer, 9 November 1943. The prayer was led by SS-Sturmbannführer Abdulah Muhasilović, the official Imam of the division, while behind him are two muslim officers from Handschar. Muhasilović would be replaced by SS-Obersturmführer Halim Malkoč in 21 October 1944 after led a mutiny at Cerna). The Division itself had at least nine Bosnian Muslim officers, the highest ranking of whom was SS-Obersturmbannführer Husejin Biščević Beg, who had been a Muslim officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army when Bosnia was under occupation. The romantic notions that Himmler had about the Bosnian Muslims were probably significant in the division’s genesis. He was personally fascinated by the Islamic faith and believed that Islam created fearless soldiers. He envisioned the creation of a Bosnian SS division constituted solely of Bosnian Muslims in a manner similar to the Bosnian divisions of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. Many of these soldiers came from Bosnia, and it was a conscious decision to fight the Communist Partisans and the nationalist Chetniks. The Nazis tried to cater to the Muslim religious needs of their recruits, but the soldiers themselves cared more about protecting their homeland (as promised by the Nazis), than anything else the SS and Himmler told them about racial equality/superiority to the inferior Jews. Riots and desertions were commonplace among the soldiers, often to the Communist Partisans led by Josip Broz Tito, who promised the soldiers amnesty if they joined the Partisans. The soldiers were only interested in protecting their homeland in Bosnia, so any incursions into Croatia or Serbia to help the Nazi allies or war effort there met with consternation among the soldiers, and even more desertions.


Sources:
Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1977-137-20
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1977-137-20,_Bosnische_SS-Freiwillige_beim_Gebet.jpg
http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/muslim-waffen-ss-13th-division-1943/

16 November 2014

Panzer 38(t) and Panzer II on the Move


Image size: 1600 x 1170 pixel. 302 KB
Date: Saturday, 1 June 1940
Place: France
Photographer: Unknown

Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) (SdKfz 140), extreme left, and Panzerkampfwagen II (SdKfz 121) climbing a grade, right, on the move. This is a rare color shot, which may be staged for the German war photographer. Please note that these two tanks have a clean rear deck and the helmets hanging over the side and rear of the Panzer II! It was taken in 1-10 June 1940 during the breakout of 7. Panzer-Division (Generalmajor Erwin Rommel) out of a valley near the Somme river. Originally the picture was published in the book "Entscheidende Stunden", a German propaganda book printed in 1941. When the Germans annexed the whole of Czechoslovakia, they took over management of the Skoda arms works. Skoda had developed the 38(t), which the Czechs called the LT-38, in 1935 and the first orders, for export, were placed in 1938. The Germans took over the production run, substituting the 38(t) for their PzKpfw III in the Panzer Divisions. It was armed with two 7.92mm machine guns and a 37mm main gun. At the time of the Invasion of France in 1940 Czech tanks made up a quarter of the Germans' panzer forces. The small turret didn't allow the tank to be upgraded, and production of the 38(t) ceased in 1942. the chassis was adapted into a number of successful self-propelled guns and tank destroyers. In combat, the Panzer II units would scout for the Panzer III and 38(t) units, identifying targets, troop strength and weak points for the heavier tanks to exploit. The Panzer II could not stand up to the Soviet heavy tanks and losses were high. Many crews fitted their vehicles with additional armor in the field.


Source:
http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery/wwii0116
http://www.ww2incolor.com/german-armor/ajr.jpg.html

Sepp Dietrich Receiving Brillanten from Hitler


Image size: 1600 x 1065 pixel. 462 KB
Date: Thursday, 10 August 1944
Place: Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze, Rastenburg, Ostpreußen/East Prussia (Germany)
Photographer: Unknown photographer from Heinrich Hoffmann firm

Presentation of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwerter und Brillanten #16 (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds) to SS-Oberstgruppenführer und Panzer-Generaloberst der Waffen-SS Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (Oberbefehlshaber 5. Panzerarmee) by Adolf Hitler (Führer und Reichskanzler). Dietrich already received the formal confirmation from 6 August 1944, and he got this highest bravery medal Germany could ever give for his performances at the Battle of Normandy as Kommandierender General I. SS-Panzerkorps. This picture was taken by one of the photographer from Heinrich Hoffmann firm in 10 August 1944 at Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze (Rastenburg). In the background are SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS Hermann Fegelein (blocked, Verbindungsoffizier der Waffen-SS zum Führerhauptquartier) and SS-Hauptsturmführer Otto Günsche (Persönlicher Adjutant Adolf Hitler).


Source:
Book "Fotos aus dem Führerhauptquartier" from Hermann Historica München

Sepp Dietrich Received by Hitler


Image size: 1600 x 1060 pixel. 519 KB
Date: Thursday, 10 August 1944
Place: Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze, Rastenburg, Ostpreußen/East Prussia (Germany)
Photographer: Unknown photographer from Heinrich Hoffmann firm

This picture was taken in 10 August 1944 outside the bomb shelter at Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze (Rastenburg), before Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwerter und Brillanten #16 (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds) award ceremony for SS-Oberstgruppenführer und Panzer-Generaloberst der Waffen-SS Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (Oberbefehlshaber 5. Panzerarmee) by Adolf Hitler (Dietrich already received the formal confirmation from 6 August 1944). Wearing the new rank insignia for his 1 August 1944 appointment to SS-Oberstgruppenführer, Sepp Dietrich is received by Adolf Hitler (Führer und Reichskanzler), who extends to him his left hand because his right hand was seriously affected by the assassination attempt on 20 July 1944. In the background are SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS Hermann Fegelein (Verbindungsoffizier der Waffen-SS zum Führerhauptquartier), SS-Hauptsturmführer Otto Günsche (blocked, Persönlicher Adjutant Adolf Hitler), and SS-Sturmbannführer Heinrich "Hein" Springer (Verbindungsoffizier der Waffen-SS im Oberkommando der Wehrmacht). Left: in the front of communication center called AnnaBu16 (partially still exists). Far right: driver's garages (still exists).

Source:
Book "Fotos aus dem Führerhauptquartier" from Hermann Historica München
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=46430&p=2016678#p2016678

08 November 2014

Sepp Dietrich After Brillanten Award Ceremony


Image size: 1076 x 1600 pixel. 463 KB
Date: Thursday, 10 August 1944
Place: Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze, Rastenburg, Ostpreußen/East Prussia (Germany)
Photographer: Unknown photographer from Heinrich Hoffmann firm

This picture was taken in 10 August 1944 outside the bomb shelter at Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze (Rastenburg), after Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwerter und Brillanten #16 (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds) award ceremony for Sepp Dietrich by Adolf Hitler (Dietrich already received the formal confirmation from 6 August 1944). In this day he also officially got promoted from SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS to SS-Oberstgruppenführer und Panzer-Generaloberst der Waffen-SS, in which one additional pips is pinned to his schulterklappen (shoulder boards) and kragenspiegel (collar tabs). Same with the formal confirmation for his Brillanten, Dietrich already received the telegram confirmation for his promotion from 1 August 1944. We can see that the Commanding General of I. Panzerkorps is now wearing SS-Oberstgruppenführer schulterklappen/kragenspiegel in his uniform, also Brillanten in his necks - compared with this picture that was taken before verleihung (ceremony). Background of the picture is totally faked. Right side probably communication center (partially still exists), left "guest air shelter" (partially still exists) or "all purpose air shelter in the zone 2" (partially still exists).

Source:
Book "Fotos aus dem Führerhauptquartier" from Hermann Historica München
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=46430&p=2016678#p2016678

Sepp Dietrich Before Brillanten Award Ceremony


Image size: 1600 x 1049 pixel. 463 KB
Date: Thursday, 10 August 1944
Place: Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze, Rastenburg, Ostpreußen/East Prussia (Germany)
Photographer: Unknown photographer from Heinrich Hoffmann firm

This picture was taken in 10 August 1944 outside the bomb shelter at Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze (Rastenburg), before Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwerter und Brillanten #16 (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds) award ceremony for Sepp Dietrich by Adolf Hitler (Dietrich already received the formal confirmation from 6 August 1944). In this day he also officially got promoted from SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS to SS-Oberstgruppenführer und Panzer-Generaloberst der Waffen-SS, in which one additional pips is pinned to his schulterklappen (shoulder boards) and kragenspiegel (collar tabs). Same with the formal confirmation for his Brillanten, Dietrich already received the telegram confirmation for his promotion from 1 August 1944. We can see that the ex-Commanding General of I. Panzerkorps still has SS-Obergruppenführer schulterklappen/kragenspiegel in his uniform. From left to right: SS-Oberstgruppenführer und Panzer-Generaloberst der Waffen-SS Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (Oberbefehlshaber 5. Panzerarmee), SS-Hauptsturmführer Otto Günsche (Persönlicher Adjutant Adolf Hitler), SS-Sturmbannführer Erich Kempka (Hitlers Fahrer), SS-Hauptsturmführer Hermann "Bibl" Weiser (Adjutant I. SS-Panzerkorps), and SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS Hermann Fegelein (Verbindungsoffizier der Waffen-SS zum Führerhauptquartier). The picture was taken in the front of so called "guest air shelter", Hitler's temporary office in the summer 1944 (partially still exists).


Source:
Book "Fotos aus dem Führerhauptquartier" from Hermann Historica München
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=46430&p=2016678#p2016678

05 November 2014

U-Boat Crew Yelled for Help after his Ship was Sunk


Image size: 1600 x 1306 pixel. 1.03 MB
Date: Saturday, 17 April 1943
Place: North Atlantic, Southwest of Ireland, in position 47.53N, 22.04W
Photographer: Jack January

The official Caption is "NAZI SEEKS AID: One of the Germans to escape, when a Coast Guard convoy cutter sank their submarine in the Atlantic, this Nazi lifts hands and voice in a plea for help." The picture itself was taken on 17 April 1943 by Jack January (Photo No. 1567). The German sailor was identified as Obersteurmann Helmut Klotzsch (born 12 February 1914) from U-175.  Some of the U-175's crew later joked that while still on board of the U-boat - just prior to abandoning ship - Klotzsch ordered the men not to call out for assistance once they entered the water! He was then rescued by USCGC (United States Coast Guard Cutter) Spencer. U-175 (commanded by Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Bruns) from 10. Unterseebootsflottille was sunk while preparing to attack Convoy HX-233. USCGC Spencer detected U-175 ahead of the convoy and conducted two depth charge attacks. Forty minutes later the boat was forced to surface and was scuttled by her crew. Spencer and USCGC Duane rescued 44 survivors


Sources:
United States National Archives (NARA). Identification Code: 26-G-1567
http://historisches-marinearchiv.de/projekte/crewlisten/ww2/ergebnis.php
http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-175Rescue.htm
http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/spencervsu175.asp
http://ww2db.com/image.php?image_id=2262