Wounded SS Soldier during the Battle of the Bulge

Image size: 1518 x 1600 pixel. 610 KB
Date: Saturday, 16 December 1944
Place: La Gleize, Stoumont, Liège, Belgium
Photographer: John Florea of LIFE Magazine

Wounded German soldier of the Waffen-SS lying on a makeshift bedding after being taken prisoner during an attack on an American fuel depot at outset of the last major German offensive on the Western Front, a.k.a. the Battle of the Bulge. The Germans achieved a total surprise attack on the morning of 16 December 1944, due to a combination of Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with Allied offensive plans, and poor aerial reconnaissance. American forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties of any operation during the war. The battle also severely depleted Germany's armored forces, and they were largely unable to replace them. German personnel and, later, Luftwaffe aircraft (in the concluding stages of the engagement) also sustained heavy losses. The Germans had attacked a weakly defended section of the Allied line, taking advantage of heavily overcast weather conditions that grounded the Allies' overwhelmingly superior air forces. Fierce resistance on the northern shoulder of the offensive, around Elsenborn Ridge, and in the south, around Bastogne, blocked German access to key roads to the northwest and west that they counted on for success. Columns of armor and infantry that were supposed to advance along parallel routes found themselves on the same roads. This, and terrain that favored the defenders, threw the German advance behind schedule and allowed the Allies to reinforce the thinly placed troops. The furthest west the offensive reached was the village of Foy-Nôtre-Dame, south east of Dinant, being stopped by the British 21st Army Group on 24 December 1944. Improved weather conditions permitted air attacks on German forces and supply lines, which sealed the failure of the offensive. In the wake of the defeat, many experienced German units were left severely depleted of men and equipment, as survivors retreated to the defenses of the Siegfried Line.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bulge
https://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/news-photo/wounded-german-soldier-lying-on-makeshift-bedding-after-news-photo/50494163?fbclid=IwAR1SoAFMCqA_IX25BsfVt5drlt4dt6klEI85ZjpUleJzkmhJoxGh4pHHrk4

Japanese Buddhist Monks during Gas Mask Drill

Image size: 1600 x 1024 pixel. 427 KB
Date: Saturday, 30 May 1936
Place: Asakusa Temple, Tokyo, Japan
Photographer: Unknown

Buddhist priests of the Senso Temple in Asakusa prepare for the Second Sino-Japanese War as they wear gas masks during training against future aerial attacks in Tokyo, Japan, on 30 May 1936. The war was the result of a decades-long Japanese imperialist policy aiming to dominate China politically and militarily and to secure its vast raw material reserves and other economic resources, particularly food and labour. Before 1937, China and Japan fought in small, localized engagements, so-called "incidents". In 1931, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria by Japan's Kwantung Army followed the Mukden Incident. The last of these incidents was the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937, marking the beginning of total war between the two countries. Initially the Japanese scored major victories in Shanghai after heavy fighting, and by the end of 1937 captured the Chinese capital of Nanking. After failing to stop the Japanese in Wuhan, the Chinese central government was relocated to Chongqing in the Chinese interior. By 1939 the war had reached stalemate after Chinese victories in Changsha and Guangxi. The Japanese were also unable to defeat the Chinese communist forces in Shaanxi, which performed harassment and sabotage operations against the Japanese using guerrilla warfare tactics. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and the following day (December 8, 1941) the United States declared war on Japan.

Source :
https://teddymanyvanhpearlharbor.weebly.com/second-sino-japanese-war.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2011/06/world-war-ii-before-the-war/100089/

American Paratrooper Before D-Day

Image size: 1279 x 1600 pixel. 384 KB
Date: Monday, 5 June 1944
Place: Greenham Common Airfield, Berkshire, England
Photographer: Unknown 

Lieutenant Rodney Parsons of D Company / 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment (502nd PIR) / 101st Airborne Division 'The Screaming Eagles' was photographed in front of his plane by Captain George Lage, the 2/502 surgeon, at Greenham Common Airfield on June 5, 1944. In this interesting study of equipment, we can see a map case, Air Corps ammo pouches, leg scabbard for M1A1 carbine, assault gas mask carrier, binoculars in case, compass in pouch, wrist watch, M3 trench knife worn in M6 scabbard in front of belt, and white unit identification rag for 2/502 PIR around left shoulder. That night of nights, June 5, 1944, spelled a one-way journey to destiny for the 6,670 paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division who boarded more than four hundred C-47 transport aircraft at various air bases in England. The troopers were superbly conditioned and well trained, but they were totally inexperienced in combat and could not have known what was in store for them.

Source :

"101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles in World War II" by Mark Bando

Motor Units of LSSAH at Amsterdam (1940)

Image size: 1600 x 1081 pixel. 546 KB
Date: Thursday, 16 May 1940
Place: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Photographer: Unknown

On 16 May 1940, German troops marched into Amsterdam, including a Zündapp type KS 600 belong to motor units of Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (motorisiert). In early 1940 the LSSAH was expanded into a full independent motorized infantry regiment and later a Sturmgeschütz (Assault Gun) battery was added to their establishment. The regiment was shifted to the Dutch border for the launch of Fall Gelb. It was to form the vanguard of the ground advance into the Netherlands, tasked with capturing a vital bridge over the IJssel, attacking the main line of defense at the Grebbeberg (the Grebbeline), and linking up with the Fallschirmjäger of Generaloberst Kurt Student's airborne forces, the 7.Flieger-Division and the 22.Luftlande-Infanterie-Division. Fall Gelb—the invasion of France and the Low Countries—was launched on 10 May 1940. On that day, the LSSAH crossed the Dutch border, covered over 75 kilometres (47 mi), and secured a crossing over the IJssel near Zutphen after discovering that their target bridge had been destroyed. Over the next four days, the LSSAH covered over 215 kilometres (134 mi), and upon entering Rotterdam, several of its soldiers accidentally shot at and seriously wounded General Student. After the surrender of Rotterdam, the LSSAH left for the Hague, which they reached on 15 May, after capturing 3,500 Dutch soldiers as prisoners of war. After the surrender of the Netherlands on 15 May, the regiment was then moved south to France through Amsterdam.

Source :
"May 1940: The Battle for the Netherlands" by Herman Amersfoort and Piet Kamphuis

The First Arrival of German Delegation to Montgomery's Headquarter

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

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

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

The Capitulation of Greek Forces to SS Leibstandarte

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

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

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

Chinese Generals Chiang Kai-Shek and Long Yun

Image size: 1600 x 1065 pixel. 340 KB
Date: Saturday, 27 June 1936
Place: China
Photographer: Unknown

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, right, Chairman of the National Military Council, Chairman of the Nationalist Government of China, and President of the Republic of China, with General Long Yun, left, Warlord and Governor of the province of Yunnan, Nanking, on June 27, 1936. Many Chinese commanders had enjoyed regional autonomy too long to risk their lives and power merely at Chiang Kai Shek’s command. Governor Han Fuju, for example, ignominiously abandoned Shandong province to the Japanese, although he, in contrast to most, paid for his disregard of Chiang’s orders with his life. He was executed in January 1938. Kuomintang's Army was not, however, a united, national army, but a coalition of armies which differed in degrees of loyalty to the central government as well as in training, equipment and military capabilities. Long Yun, governor of Yunnan, for example, resisted central government encroaches upon his provincial power; Governor Yan Xishan, commander of the Second War Zone in North China and vice chairman of the Military Council, ruled his native Shanxi as an autonomous satrapy. He prohibited units of the Central Army from entering his war zone. Since 1941, Yan had even maintained close and amiable relations with the Japanese invader.

Source ;
https://www.flickr.com/photos/histolines/27372126450
https://www.marxist.com/the-chinese-communist-party-1937-49-the-unfolding-of-historical-necessity-chinas-great-revolution-part-two.htm
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2011/06/world-war-ii-before-the-war/100089/

Soldiers of 502nd PIR Donning the Equipment

Image size: 1153 x 1600 pixel. 440 KB
Date: Monday, 5 June 1944
Place: England
Photographer: Unknown

“Suiting up” - two members of the U.S. 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment (502nd PIR) of 101st Airborne Division donning equipment on the evening of June 5, 1944, in preparation for boarding a C-47. Notice the white residue typical of CC2. CC-2 Chloramide or CC2 chemical (to "protect" the uniform) was invented during the 1930’s although wide use impregnating garments doesnt begin really, until early in World War II. The 6,670 paratroopers of the 101st Airborne would be delivered in 432 C-47s, with most troopers jumping between 01:00 and 02:00 hours. The Air Corps called this the “Albany mission.” The 82nd Airborne would begin jumping after the 101st was on the ground, with most of their personnel landing between 02:00 and 03:00. The 82nd was delivered in 369 C-47s. This was known as the “Boston mission.” The drop zones for both divisions were all located in the Cotentin Peninsula, behind Utah Beach and south of the port city of Cherbourg. Although Commonwealth forces deployed their own paratroopers of the British 6th Airborne Division closer to Caen, no American paratroopers were dropped behind Omaha Beach.

Source :

"101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles in World War II" by Mark Bando

https://foxholefashion.wordpress.com/2016/07/24/reenacting-and-replica-cc-2-impregnated-uniforms-a-pursuit/comment-page-1/

German Prisoners at Enfidaville Tunisia

Image size: 1522 x 1600 pixel. 110 KB
Date: Wednesday, 12 May 1943
Place: Enfidaville, Tunisia
Photographer: Unknown

Photo from 12 May 1943, Enfidaville, Germans surrendering to New Zealand troops. Mixed emotions printed on the faces of the prisoners and their captors. For some anger and disappointment, for others relief "their war was over." The battle of Enfidaville (19-21 April 1943) was the Eighth Army's last significant battle in North Africa, and saw them fail to break through unexpectedly tough Axis resistance in the mountainous terrain around Enfidaville. After forcing the Axis troops to abandon the Gabes Gap (6 April 1943) the Eighth Army pushed north further into Tunisia. Sfax fell on 10 April, and in the process Monty won a bet with Eisenhower that the port would fall by 15 April. His prize was a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, which he insisted on collecting and used as his personal transport for the rest of the war. X Corps captured Sousee on 12 April and reached the outskirts of Enfidaville on 13 April. This was the eastern end of the Axis 'Last Stand' line, which ran north-west from Enfidaville towards Pon de Fahs, Medjez el Bab and Sedjenane. On 20 and 21 April there were heavy counterattacks, led by General Bayerlein, the commander of the German forces in the 1st Italian Army. The British were able to take Takrouna and part of Djebel Garci, twelve miles inland, but at heavy cost. The counterattacks and the heavy losses inland helped convince Montgomery that there was no point going on with the battle. The defenders had a series of strong positions, and were clearly willing to fight to hold onto them. On 21 April the Eighth Army attack was suspended, although at that point the plan was to renew the attack along the coast after four days.

Source :
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_enfidaville.html
http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/history-research-third-reich-ww2/you-war-over-period-photos-german-pows-686919/

Captured Afrikakorps after the Battle of Sened

Image size: 1600 x 1041 pixel. 212 KB
Date: Saturday, 27 February 1943
Place: Sened Station, Gafsa Governorate, Tunisia
Photographer: Unknown

This photo shows four captive prisoners of the famed German Afrikakorps that caught in the attack of the US forces (from the 168th Infantry Regiment) to the German-Italian defense position around the Sened train station, southern Tunisia, on February 27, 1943. They are all under 25 years old, while unarmed soldiers told the Allied guards that he was only 20. The position of the Axis defense forces in Sened itself was finally captured by the American troops on March 21, 1943 after going through a fierce battle. In the end, 152 German and Italian soldiers became prisoners of war (including an Italian general). Meanwhile, the same number was also recorded for those who were killed and injured. The capture of Sened Station has paved the way for American forces to master the next larger target: City of Maknassy. In addition, this success was very meaningful for the 168th Infantry Regiment (led by Colonel Thomas Drake), because this were their very first battle against the Axis forces!

Source :
https://wehrmachtss.blogspot.com/2019/05/tawanan-afrikakorps-dalam-pertempuran.html

General John Crocker with Soviet Delegation

Image size: 1600 x 1165 pixel. 584 KB
Date: Friday, 28 July 1944
Place: Somewhere in France
Photographer: Unknown

Lieutenant-General John Crocker (left, Commanding Officer of British I Corps) with members of a visiting Soviet delegation, 28 July 1944. Crocker (4 January 1896 - 9 March 1963) was not much of a talker and he was a lousy self-promoter because of it. Yet he was one of the most important British soldiers of the Second World War, commanding a corps in North Africa and subsequently being assigned “the most ambitious, the most difficult and the most important task” of any Allied corps commander during Operation Overlord. His influence was not limited to the period of the war either. He was intimately involved with the development of British armoured forces during the 1920s and 1930s, and after the war he oversaw the production of the doctrine and training publications that would guide the British Army for much of the Cold War. He also served as Commander-in-Chief Middle East Land Forces, and he finished his career as Adjutant-General to the Forces. Field Marshal Montgomery would have preferred it if Crocker had retired as Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), but in 1949 Prime Minister Clement Atlee chose Sir William Slim for the post instead.

Source :
"Corps Commanders: Five British and Canadian Generals at War, 1939-45" by Douglas E. Delaney

A Change of Command Ceremony of SS Division Wiking

Image size: 1600 x 1072 pixel. 450 KB
Date: Saturday, 20 May 1944
Place: Lublin, Poland
Photographer: Unknown

A change of command ceremony for the III.Bataillon of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment "Germania" / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking" on 20 May 1944. The entire battalion is present in a U-shaped formation, only partially visible in this photograph taken on the football field at the Lublin army barracks in Poland. The ceremony is seconds away from starting, and waiting in the wings at stage right to begin the transfer before their men are three commanding officers: The center officer is SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Dorr (Kommandeur SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment "Germania"). On the left is SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Hack, the out-going battalion commander who was moving up to take command of Wiking’s Westland Regiment. On the right is SS-Sturmbannführer Paul Kümmel, the new commander of the III. Bataillon, who was a commander of I.Abteilung / SS-Panzer-Regiment 5 "Wiking" before. Starting with Dorr, each of the officers in turn addressed the men of the III.Bataillon, who were fresh off from participating in the battles for the relief of the surrounded city of Kovel. The two halftracks is Sd.Kfz.251/1 Ausf.D.

Source :
https://reibert.info/threads/5-ja-tankovaja-divizija-ss-viking-ss-division-wiking-5-ss-panzer-division-wiking.24489/page-31