Abandoned "Porscheturm" Königstiger of s.Pz.Abt.503 in Normandy

Image size: 1600 x 964 pixel. 462 KB
Date: Wednesday, 30 August 1944
Place: Amiens, Normandy, France
Photographer: unknown

Panzerkampfwagen IV ausf B (Sdkfz 182) with turret designed by Krupp for the Tiger II designed by Professor Doctor Ferdinand Porsche (September 3, 1875 – January 30, 1951). This Tiger II of Schwere Panzer Abteilung 503 was abandoned by Leutnant Rambow's crew during the Normandy Campaign. Rambow was leading two Tigers through Beauvais when one threw a track on the Rue Antoine Caron. The crew of the other Tiger started repairs when the British 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards of the 8th Armoured Brigade entered the town and fired on the disabled Tiger. The crew fled and made it back to German lines. Leutnant Rambow fought the British to Amiens, where he ran out of fuel and ammunition. His crew set fire to the vehicle, causing the suspension to settle. Note missing outer road wheels.

In 1941, Doctor Porsche was contracted, along with Henschel und Sohn, to design the Tiger II tank. Porsche's design used more copper wiring, which led to the adoption of the Henschel design as the production Tiger II on November 11, 1942. Porsche was so sure that his design would be accepted he had ordered Krupp to begin production of their turret for his design; fifty were completed when the contract was canceled. Henschel began designing the new Tiger II, but to move the project along, the Porsche turrets were fitted to the new Henschel design. These tanks were issued first to Schwere Panzer Abteilung 503. Twelve Porscheturm (Porsche Turret) Tiger IIs and two Henshelturm (Henschel Turret) Tiger IIs were issued between May 1944 and June 1944, when Panzer Abteilung 503 left for Normandy. The Porscheturm Tiger IIs had a stronger turret because of the curved surface deflecting anti-tank rounds, but a shot trap caused rounds that hit under the curved gun mantlet were deflected into the driver's compartment, killing the driver and the radio operator. However, most Tiger IIs were not lost to Allied tanks; artillery and fighter-bombers were the chief combat losses of Tiger IIs. More than that, the Tiger II suffered from poor road performance and its heavy weight caused French and Belgian bridges to collapse. More Tiger IIs were lost to mechanical breakdown than in combat. Of the twenty-six Tiger IIs Panzer Abteilung 503 was issued during the Normandy Campaign, only two survived.

Source :
https://maquettes-missiles.blogspot.com/2018/04/le-char-super-lourd-maus.html
https://www.modellismopiu.it/modules/newbb_plus/print.php?forum=8&topic_id=24606
https://worldwar2database.com/gallery/wwii0152

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/

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/

John Crocker and Rod Keller in Normandy

Image size: 1600 x 1314 pixel. 630 KB
Date: Sunday, 25 June 1944
Place: Normandy, Northern France
Photographer: Unknown

Lieutenant-General John Crocker (right) speaking with the troubled commander of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, Major-General Rod Keller, 25 June 1944. Ten days after this photo was taken, Crocker - the Commanding General of the British I Corps - recommended that Keller be relieved of his command. Major-General Keller himself was popular with his troops, who appreciated his manners and outspoken language; however, a drinking problem and several breaches of security measures before D-Day cost him the support of both his superior officers and his own staff. During the first month ashore in Normandy, it was noted he was "jumpy and high strung". His immediate superiors in I British Corps and 2nd British Army considered him unfit to command the division, but Lieutenant General Guy Simonds, who was scheduled to command II Canadian Corps upon its activation in Normandy, held off on making a decision about his relief, even refusing a resignation by Keller who himself admitted to the strain. During the Battle for Caen, Keller handled Operation Windsor poorly, sending a reinforced brigade in to handle a divisional operation and delegating the planning to one of his brigadiers. Keller was also reportedly shell-shy by August, and rumours began to spread among the division that "Keller was yeller." Despite the continued complaints from above and below, Simonds, and General Harry Crerar, another of his admirers, refused to relieve him. Fate intervened when he was wounded by friendly fire on 8 August 1944. US bombers accidentally carpet bombed his divisional headquarters during Operation Totalize. Keller received no further active military command. He died ten years later, in 1954, while visiting Normandy

Source :
"Corps Commanders: Five British and Canadian Generals at War, 1939-45" by Douglas E. Delaney
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Keller

Heer Officer Served in Luftwaffe Field Division

Image size: 1026 x 1600 pixel. 307 KB
Date: Monday, 28 August 1944
Place: Northern France
Photographer: Bernhard Kurth (PK 698)

This photograph was taken on 28 August 1944 in Northern France by Kriegsberichter Bernhard Kurth of PK (Propaganda-Kompanie) 698, and showed a Heer (Army) officer that served in the Luftwaffe Field Division (possibly 19. Feld-Division [L]). He is wearing a Luftwaffe camouflage smock with the Luftwaffe breast eagle on it, while his uniform is still a Heer one. His helmet is also painted with a rough/textured paint. When the Luftwaffe Field Divisions came under Heer control in November 1943 and were re-designated as Feld-Divisionen (L), Heer uniforms were also adopted at this point, though supply was slow and mixed dress was apparently quite common (if photos are anything to go by). The Jäger Regiments of such divisions wore green waffenfarbe, as they had done in Luftwaffe service. To add even more confusion to the mix, some German units wore Italian Camo instead of their regular issue gear, since they thought it looked nice, and was perhaps more effective than what they were originally given.

Source :
https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/archives/barchpic/search/_1549362310/?search%5Bform%5D%5BSIGNATUR%5D=Bild+101I-301-1952-13
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-301-1952-13,_Nordfrankreich,_Soldat_mit_Karte.jpg
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=316219
http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/steel-helmets/german-stahlhelm-period-photos-22536-2/

Three German Commanders in St.-Lô area

Image size: 1600 x 1094 pixel. 434 KB
Date: Sunday, 16 July 1944
Place: Villebaudon, St.-Lô, Normandy, France
Photographer: Unknown

Three senior German commanders in the Battle against Allied troops in St.-Lô area, Normandy, 16 July 1944. From left to right: General der Fallschirmtruppe Eugen Meindl (Kommandierender General II. Fallschirmkorps), SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Paul Hausser (Oberbefehlshaber 7. Armee), and Generalleutnant Dipl.Ing. Richard Schimpf (Kommandeur 3. Fallschirmjäger-Division). Behind Schimpf is SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl-Heinz Boska (Adjutant Oberbefehlshaber 7. Armee). In this meeting Meindl told his commander, Hausser, that the German defense position at St.-Lô was untenable any longer due to the superiority of the Allied forces on land and in the air. The next day Hausser forwarded this message to his commander, Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe B). Unknowingly, on the same day Rommel was badly wounded by Allied air strikes and went to the intensive treatment at the hospital! This photo is most likely taken at Villebaudon which is the base of II. Fallschirmkorps.

Source:

https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=29879&p=2124764&hilit=schimpf#p2124764

http://www.specialcamp11.co.uk/General%20der%20Fallschirmtruppe%20Eugen%20Meindl.htm

Canadian AA Crew with Bofors Gun in Normandy on D-Day

Image size: 1562 x 1600 pixel. 857 KB
Date: Tuesday, 6 June 1944
Place: Bernières-sur-Mer, Juno Beach, Normandy
Photographer: Unknown

Photograph of four soldiers from 3rd Canadian Infantry Division Sergeant Traplin, Bombardier Heldon, Bombardier Blank and Sergent Kennedy with their Swedish-made 40mm/L60 Bofors Anti-Aircraft Gun after shooting down a Luftwaffe aircraft over the beachhead near their emplacement at Bernières-sur-Mer near Juno Beach (Normandy), 6 June 1944. At the time of the photo German Luftwaffe war planes were still active in the area. 30,000 Canadians had been landed, and 340 lost their live in the battles for the beachhead. The person to the rear of the position facing left is using the British-designed Stiffkey Sight, a mechanical computer that moved the gunners sights to account for leading a fast moving target. The Bofors gun in mobile form was commonly towed by either a GMC or Dodge 6x6 truck, and had a total crew of 8 including truck crew to include truck driver, gunner, two loaders, direction setting, elevation setter, radio operator and the gun commander.


Source:

http://www.stolly.org.uk/ETO/index34.html

http://ww2colorfarbe.blogspot.com/2014/12/canadian-anti-aircraft-gun-crew-at.html

A Young SS Hitlerjugend Soldier Captured by the Canadian at Normandy

Image size: 1600 x 1530 pixel. 464 KB
Date: Wednesday, 9 August 1944
Place: Caen, Basse-Normandie, France
Photographer: Unknown

A captured Panzergrenadier of the SS-Panzer-regiment 25 / 12.SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend" taken by a Canadian Intelligence Unit during the fighting for Caen. The official Public Archives of Canada caption for this photo taken a month after the activities in question, contains no information about the prisoner other than his division. Note: both allied soldiers are wearing the British P-1944 "Turtle" Mk III steel helmet, which was introduced shortly before D-Day. The Mk III helmet was much superior to the conventional "Brodie" helmet normally worn by British & Commonwealth soldiers. The soldier nearest the camera is holding a .303" Lee Enfield rifle in his right hand.. Canadians have mistreated prisoners because: In June 7th (one day after D-Day), the 25th Panzer-Grenadier Regiment under the command of SS-Standartenführer Kurt Meyer (Kurt Adolf Wilhelm Meyer, “Panzermeyer”) in conjunction with the 12th SS Panzer Regiment managed to repel the Canadians, and destroyed 28 tanks, and infantry regiment “Highlanders Nova Scotia “(born Nova Scotia Highlanders) suffered heavy losses. In this case, the loss of the German divisions were only six people! During the operation, the soldiers of 12. SS-Panzer-Division executed 20 Canadian prisoners of war in the Abbaye d’Ardenne. The "Hitler Youth" Division itself had the lowest percentage of prisoners. Of the original 21,300 men, in Gosostava 1945 it survived only 455 officers and men! The average age of the member of the Division was 17 – 18 years old!

Source:

Public Archives of Canada image

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:12SSHJPOW.jpg

http://albumwar2.com/captive-ss-man-and-canadian-soldiers/

Captured Foreign Volunteers in the German Army

Image size: 1600 x 1543 pixel. 510 KB
Date: Thursday, 15 June 1944
Place: Normandy, France
Photographer: Bert Brandt

Original caption: "They fought for Hitler. Somewhere in France – Not all of the German Army prisoners taken on the battlefields of France are stalwart, blonde Aryans who were born to rule the world. Not quite so exclusive these days, the 'Herrenvolk' is hob-nobbing with men of all races—anyone, as a matter of fact, who can carry a gun for Adolf. Among the prisoners captured in France were: (left to right) front row: a Yugoslav; an Italian; a Turk; a Pole; (back row) a German; a Czech; a Russian who was forced into the army when the Nazis occupied his town; and a Mongol!"

Source:

http://www.arkmilitaryheritage.com/exhibits/wwii/Gallery127.htm

Oberleutnant Franz Ludwig Discussing Strategy With His Men

Image size: 1113 x 1600 pixel. 501 KB

Date: Saturday, 8 July 1944

Place: Bois de Bavant, Normandie, France

Photographer: Kriegsberichter Scheck from PK (Propaganda-Kompanie) 698

Oberleutnant Franz Ludwig  (Chef 2.Batterie/Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 1346) discussing the strategy with his men minutes after he knocked-out his 16th victim, a British tank, at Bois de Bavant, which is situated right up towards the coast near Ranville/Pegasus Bridge, Normandy, in 8 July 1944 (some sources said as 10 July 1944). Behind them is Sturmgeschütz III 7,5cm Stu.K. 40 mit Topfblende Ausf. G (Sd.Kfz. 142/1) with 16 kill rings (panzerabschuße). StuG III has the "saukopf" mantlet and "waffle plate" zimmerit under all the foliage. Previously, Ludwig (born in 24 January 1913) had received Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes in 24 June 1944, but he would died in combat a few months later in 14 August 1944. In the battle of Normandy, his unit were attached to the regular German infantry division, 346. Infanterie-Division (this division operated in the British sector east of Orne, Normandy, from as early as the 7th of June 1944, and largely destroyed at Falaise-Gap. Later rebuilt in Holland). 10 StuG III were transferred to the division in 10 May 1944, before the Allied landing. The above moment (photographed by Kriegsberichter Scheck from Propaganda-Kompanie 698) also published in the German newsreel, "Die Deutsche Wochenschau" (as it seemed to be often the routine to have photographers and cinematographers working in teams - on both sides of the lines). Please note that Ludwig's men wears two different uniforms: StuG wrapper with skull collar patches and collar litzen.  There was some uniform order that the traditional style collar tabs were to replace the "death's head" collar tabs for assault-gun crew (Sturm-Artillerie) uniform. It wasn't enforced so that's why you see both types of collar tabs in these units. For the video of the ceremony please click HERE

Source:

Book "Defending Fortress Europe: The War Diary of the German 7th Army in Normandy, 6 June to 26 July 1944" by Mark J. Reardon

Bundesarchiv photo collection

Photo courtesy of Doug Banks

http://www.network54.com/Forum/47207/thread/1322760396/Stug+members+-+I.D

http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=658838&page=11

Korean Yang Kyoungjong Captured in Wehrmacht Uniform

Image size: 1306 x 1600 pixel. 521 KB
Date: Tuesday, 6 June 1944
Place: Utah Beach, Normandy, France
Photographer: Unknown US Army personnel

American paratroopers in Normandy in June 1944 thought they had captured a Japanese soldier in German uniform, but he turned out to be Korean. His name was Yang Kyoungjong. Yang (March 3, 1920 – April 7, 1992) was a Korean soldier who remarkably fought during World War II in the Imperial Japanese Army, the Soviet Red Army, and later the German Wehrmacht! In 1938, at the age of 18, Yang was in Manchuria when he was conscripted into the Kwantung Army of the Imperial Japanese Army to fight against the Soviet Union. At the time Korea was ruled by Japan. During the Battles of Khalkhin Gol, he was captured by the Soviet Red Army and sent to a labour camp. Because of the manpower shortages faced by the Soviets in its fight against Nazi Germany, in 1942 he was pressed into fighting in the Red Army along with thousands of other prisoners, and was sent to the European eastern front. In 1943, he was captured by Wehrmacht soldiers in Ukraine during the Battle of Kharkov, and was then pressed into fighting for Germany. Yang was sent to Occupied France to fight in a battalion of Soviet prisoners of war known as the "Eastern Battalion" (Ostbataillon), serving in a battalion located on the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy, located close to Utah Beach. After the D-Day landings in northern France by the Allied forces, Yang was captured by paratroopers of the United States Army in June 1944. The Americans initially believed him to be Japanese in German uniform, and he was placed in a prisoner-of-war camp in the United Kingdom. At the time, Lieutenant Robert Brewer of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, reported that his regiment captured four Asians in German uniform after the Utah Beach landings, and that initially no one was able to communicate with them! He was freed from a POW camp in Britain on May 1945 and moved and settled in America in 1947. He lived near the Northwestern University in Illinois until he died on April 7, 1992. He lived as an ordinary US citizen without telling his unbelievable life story even to his two sons and one daughter! His amazing story was the subject of a recent Korean movie; "My Way" (2011).

Source:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2153688/Second-World-War--German-Japanese-soldier-stories-change-perception-ever.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Kyoungjong
http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/movie-tv-room/62237-they-making-movie-about-kyoungjong-yang.html

Americans Approach Panther Ausf A in Periers, France

Image size: 1600 x 1144 pixel. 331 KB
Date: Tuesday, 1 August 1944
Place: Periers, Normandy, France
Photographer: Fred Ramage

A Panzerkampfwagen V Panther ausf A is used as a target for a staged series of photos of American troops engaging it. The Panther was hit by two bazooka teams placed on opposite sides, then American infantry moved up to attack the tank directly. In actual combat, this would have been suicidal if the crew was still alive and operating the three MG42 7.92mm (.31 caliber) machine guns would be used to cut down the infantry. Since this tank is missing a tread, it's unlikely it's a combat photo. Since none of these soldiers are carrying automatic weapons or grenades, it's unlikely they will be able to force their way into the tank. Periers was liberated by the 2nd Battalion, 359th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division, VIII Corps, on July 27, 1944. Within a few hours the 4th Armored Division's M4 Sherman medium tanks were moving through Periers on their way to drive on Saint Lo as part of Operation Cobra, the breakout from Normandy that will liberate Paris on August 25, 1944. The village erected a monument of four statues of Americans who served with the 90th Infantry Division or attached units: Private Richard E. Richtman (1924-1944), Sergeant Andrew J. Speese (1912-1944), Private First Class Virgil J. Tangborn (1920-1944) and Sergeant Tullio Micaloni (1913-1944). 

Source:
http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0142

Overturned 12. SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend" Panther Ausf A

Image size: 1600 x 978 pixel. 345 KB
Date: Saturday, 9 June 1945
Place: Norrey-en-Bessin, Normandy, France
Photographer: Unknown

A heavily damaged Panzerkampfwagen V Panther ausf A of the 3.Kompanie/1.Abteilung/SS-Panzer-Regiment 12/12.SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend" lies flipped over next to the road between Norrey-en-Bessin and Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse. Note the sign attached that says "remove gearbox." After the failure of the 1st Abteilung's 1st and 4th Companies of the 12th SS Panzer Regiment to seize Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse on the night of June 8-9, 1944, SS-Oberführer (later SS-Brigadeführer) Kurt "Panzer" Meyer ordered the recently arrived 3rd Company to attack Norrey in a daring daylight armored thrust. Again outpacing their infantry with orders to stop only to fire, the Panthers turned from the Caen-Bayeux Highway into the fields to attack the 1st Battalion, The Regina Rifle Regiment, 3rd Canadian Division. However, expecting the Canadians to open fire with their 6-pounder 57mm (2.24 inch) anti-tank guns and thus turning towards them to put their 80mm frontal armor to the Canadians, the Panthers under Hauptmann Luedemann exposed their side and rear flanks to fire from nine Canadian Shermans of C Squadron, 25th Armored Delivery "Elgin Regiment" who were bringing replacement tanks as reinforcements from Juno Beach. The Elgins' tanks included Sherman Fireflies armed with a 17-pounder 77mm (3 inch) anti-tank gun. Seven Panthers were destroyed; fifteen of thirty-five crewmen were killed; the rest were burned or wounded. As the Panthers withdrew, they were hit by artillery fire from the Canadians and Allied ships offshore. Later, this Panther was overturned by Allied Engineers to remove it from the road. It is often reported that this tank was hit by fighter-bombers; the damage to the hull bottom is the result of tests by the engineers to see what explosives could damage the tank. 

Source:

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0141

12. SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend" Panther Ausf G

Image size: 1600 x 988 pixel. 737 KB
Date: Tuesday, 20 June 1944
Place: Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse, Normandy, France
Photographer: Frank L. Dubervill

A Knocked out Panzerkampfwagen Panther ausf G, commanded by Untersturmfuhrer Paul Teichert (born 5 August 1924) from the 4.Kompanie/1.Abteilung/SS-Panzer-Regiment 12/12.SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend" outside 75 Rue de Bayeux in Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse. The suspension has failed in the fire and the tank has settled to the ground. On the night of June 8-9, 1944, the 1st Abteilung and the 25th Panzergrenadier Regiment made an attack on the 1st Battalion, The Regina Rifle Regiment, 3rd Canadian Division, with twenty-two panthers under SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Max Wünsche, two batteries of self-propelled artillery and a motorcycle company led by SS-Oberführer (later SS-Brigadefuhrer) Kurt "Panzer" Meyer. The Reginas had suffered heavy casualties in the landing on Juno Beach on June 6, but with reinforcements moved towards Caen and occupied Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse, Norrey, and Cardonville; other Canadian units occupied other towns, including Putot. The 12th SS "Hitlerjugend" Division was made up of sixteen- and seventeen-year-old Hitler Youth and commanded by SS-Brigadefuhrer Fritz Witt. Witt received orders to drive the Canadians into the sea. Meyer expected the Canadians to falter under a concentrated armored attack, a successful tactic on the Eastern Front. At 1100 Hours the attack began. Lacking heavy anti-tank weapons, the Reginas had to stop the Panthers with 6-pounder 57mm (2.24 inch) guns and Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank (PIAT), a spigot mortar with a 12 pound (5 kilogram) high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) shaped charge; the 6-pounders and the PIATs could only penetrate the lesser rear armor of the Panthers. The Reginas also had a large quantity of small arms and aummunition. One PIAT team - Rifleman Joseph E. LaPointe, Rifleman Gill A. Carnie and Lance Corporal Clarence V. Hewitt - took up a position 15 yards (14 meters) from the Regina Rifles Headquarters near Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse's Church. The flaw in Meyer's plan was that his units, having just arrived at the front, lacked coordination with other attacking Hitlerjugend elements; he also sent his Panthers without much infantry down the Rue de Bayeux, allowing the Reginas to deal with them one at a time. The Reginas claimed twelve Panthers were destroyed; Meyer would only later admit to six lost. The Panther in this photo closed to within 30 yards (27 meters) of the Regina's Headquarters at 0000 Hours; LaPointe, exposing himself to the tank's machine gun fire, struck the Panther with repeated PIAT hits. The Panther, attempting to escape, hit an improvised mine of 75 grenades. LaPointe received the Military Medal. A second Panther, seeing the first explode, fired wildly but only struck the first Panther, fracturing the rear of the turret. The crew of the stricken Panther bailed out and were shot down by the Canadians. Meyer was able to reclaim the nearby town of Putot from the Winnepeg Rifles, but the Reginas held Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse throughout the campaign for Caen. Witt was killed on June 14 in a naval bombardment. 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend ceased to exist during the Normandy campaign; some 1,500 of their 21,500 officers and men were killed, wounded or captured by September 1! Kurt Meyer was captured on September 6, 1944 and after the war was tried for the war crime of killing thirty-seven Canadian prisoners at the Abbey Ardennes on June 7, the day before the battle for Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse. Canadians were outraged that he was given only nine years in prison. Max Wünsche was captured on August 20 after driving a German vehicle through the liberated town of St. Lambert. This Panther was the first to be knocked out in ground combat in the Normandy campaign. 

Source:
National Archives of Canada, PA-130149 
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/Canada/CA/Normandy/Normandy-2.html

American Soldier Inspects Panther Ausf A

Image size: 1600 x 1060 pixel. 351 KB
Date: Monday, 21 August 1944
Place: Falaise, Calvados Department, Basse-Normandie, France
Photographer: Unknown

A knocked out Panzerkampfwagen V ausf A Panther is investigated by an American soldier. The tank "brewed up" and burned, causing the Zimmerit anti-magnetic paste (to prevent magnetic mines from being attached) to crack and burn off. There were 576 Panthers available to the Germans in Normandy between the landings on June 6 and August 25, 1944. Over 400 were destroyed, mostly by concentrated artillery fire and air attacks. As the remains of the German 7. and 15. Armee were constricted to pass through the area of Falaise in August 1944, fighter-bombers (German: Jager-Bombern or "jabos") of the British Royal Air Force and the Americna 9th Air Force, mostly Hawker Tempests and Typhoons and Republic P-47 Thunderbolts armed with rockets, attacked the retreating Axis columns that were now forced to travel in the open daylight. While thousands of Germans escaped, hundreds of vehicles and artillery pieces and tens of thousands of men were killed. The rockets, while inaccurate, had the firepower of a broadside of a naval cruiser, causing devastating damage. Even the 80mm front hull armor of the Panther, which could not be breached by any Allied main tank gun, would crack under a hit from a airborne rocket. The Allies' air superiority was the chief means of dealing with the Panther; the number of Panthers and their superior armor and firepower took a heavy toll of American tanks. 37% of the Allied Shermans were casualties; the expected loss rate was 7%. The 3rd Armored Division alone lost 1,100 Shermans destroyed or damaged out of service in 1944-1945, a loss rate of 580%. The ausf A made up the majority of Panthers in Normandy. Benefitting from the inauspicious combat debut of the Panther at the Battle of Kursk, the ausf A had a machine gun for defense against infantry, and more reliable mechanics than the ausf D that preceeded it. Still, the Panther required more maintenance than the American Sherman, which also greatly outnumbered it. 6,000 Panthers were produced against 50,000 Shermans and 50,000 T-34s. 

Source:

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0138

Destroyed Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.J in Normandy

Image size: 1600 x 1239 pixel. 521 KB
Date: Thursday, 3 August 1944
Place: Pont-Farcy, Basse-Normandie, France
Photographer: Unknown

In a village left in ruins, a GMC truck passes behind the German medium tank PzKpfw IV Ausf. J of the German 2. Panzer-Division, destroyed by soldiers of the 35th U.S. Infantry Division, August 2, 1944. Looks like knocked out in airstrike or by heavy artillery barrage. Note barrel appears still secured for travel, and also note shattered buildings and wall. this Panzer IV of the 2. Panzer-Division (the three-pronged fork is visible on the frontal shielding side controls) formed part of the 8 Kompanie of Panzer Abteilung II of Panzer-Regiment 3 which blocked circulation with the crossroads of the center of Pont-Farcy, it was pushed back on the other side of the crossroads. Membership of the tank is determined by the tactical sign - yellow trident. The tank can be seen scattered fragments of uniforms, including pants, hanging on the gun. In the background you can see a passing American Sanitary triaxial truck GMC CCKW 353 2.5 ton 6X6 U.S. Army ensuring a medical mission (Red flag Cross). Picture taken during the period from 3 to 5 August 1944. The village is liberated on August 2 by the 35th Infantry Division.

Source:

Conseil Régional de Basse-Normandie / National Archives USA

http://www.archivesnormandie39-45.org/specificPhoto.php?ref=p013049

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf H of 12. SS-Panzer-Division

Image size: 1600 x 927 pixel. 570 KB
Date: Wednesday, 7 June 1944
Place: Caen, Basse-Normandie, France
Photographer: Unknown

Panzerkampfwagen IV ausf H (turmnummer 626) of 6.Kompanie/SS-Panzer-Regiment 12/12.SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend" passes a garage on its way to the front at Caen. Note Schurzen (armored skirt) that protected the bogies and road wheels from light anti-tank rounds. One unit to field the Panzer IV H was the Hitlerjugend Division, with the formation’s combat debut occurring on 7 June 1944 as German forces began a ferocious defense of Caen in the Normandy area against Canadian and British units. It was one of the closest divisions to the landing beaches. The 12. SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend" was formed in April 1943 from sixteen- to eighteen-year-old Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth) volunteers and experienced SS veterans from the Eastern Front. By September 1943 16,000 Hitler Youth had completed a four-week crash training course that emphasized realistic live fire exercises and atypical interaction between the officers and enlisted men that resulted in very high morale. 12th SS was one of the Panzer Divisions held in reserve on June 6, 1944 for several hours by Hitler's Headquarters. When they finally reached Caen, they were pounded by Allied fighter-bombers. Their 34-year-old commander SS-Brigadeführer Fritz Witt was killed on June 14 by naval gunfire. Over the next four weeks, the division managed to halt all Allied attempts to take Caen, despite the Allies' superior numbers and overwhelming air supremacy. While they fought hard, 20 percent were killed and 40 percent were wounded or missing. Bitter reprisals led to war crimes on both sides. The remains of 12th SS Panzer escaped the Falaise Pocket in September 1944; only 600 survived. No tanks or supplies came with them. The Division was reformed with younger volunteers and draftees. It supported the Ardennes Offensive and fought in Hungary. On May 8, 1945, numbering just 455 soldiers and one tank! the 12. SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend" surrendered to the US 7th Army. 

Source:

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii132

Otter Scout Car of 4th Armored Division, II Canadian Corps

Image size: 1267 x 1600 pixel. 526 KB
Date: Wednesday, 9 August 1944
Place: May-sur-Orne, Normandy, France
Photographer: Unknown

Canadian soldier of Governor General's Foot Guards, 4th Canadian Armoured Division, II Canadian Corps in an Otter Mark I Scout Car the day after liberation of May-sur-Orne. At the end of July 1944 in Normandy, II Canadian Corps under Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds attempted to eliminate the German resistance south of Caen. Two SS Armored Divisions tenaciously held each Norman town, turning the rubble into a fortress. On August 7, the Operation Totalize began. May-sur-Orne was pulverized by British and Canadian aircraft. Tanks and infantry attacked in the morning hours of August 8. In the vicinity of May-sur-Orne a deluge of artillery and machine-guns fire stopped dead two assaults of the Canadians. The allied attack was renewed with support of Crocodiles flame-thrower tanks; after fierce resistance, the German garrison withdrew, around 1800 Hours. The Fusiliers Mont Royal led II Canadian Corps into May-sur-Orne. The Otter Light Reconnaissance Car (LRC) was developed by General Motors Canada. Between 1942 and 1945, 1761 units were produced in Oshawa, Ontario. The vehicle was based on the 4x4 Chevrolet C15 truck. The armament consisted of a hull-mounted Boys anti-tank rifle and a .303 caliber Bren light machine gun in a small open-topped turret. 

Source:

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii112

Generals Dwight Eisenhower, Omar Bradley and Lawton Collins

Image size: 1258 x 1600 pixel. 659 KB
Date: Wednesday, 5 July 1944
Place: VII Corps HQ at Le château de Francquetot à Carquebut, Manche, Normandie, France
Photographer: Unknown

General Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (left), Supreme Allied Commander, confers with two of his Generals in France at the VII Corps Headquarter. With him are: Lieutenant-General Omar Nelson Bradley (center, Commanding General US First Army) and Major-General Joseph "Lightning Joe" Lawton Collins (Commanding-General VII Corps). U.S. VII Corps organized at the end of World War I on 19 August 1918, at Remiremont, France and was deactivated in 1919. It then reactivated at Fort McClellan, Alabama 25 November 1940 and participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers staged as the US Army prepared for World War II. In late December 1941, VII Corps HQ was moved to San Jose, California as part of the Western Defense Command and as it continued to train and prepare for deployment. Its first return to continental Europe took place on D-Day in 1944, as one of the two assault corps for US First Army during Operation Overlord, targeting Utah Beach with its amphibious assault. For Overlord, the 101st Airborne and 82nd Airborne Divisions were attached to VII Corps. After the Normandy Campaign the Airborne units were assigned to the newly crated XVIII Airborne Corps. Subsequently, the unit participated in many battles during the advance across France and Germany until the surrender of the Third Reich. The corps was deactivated in 1946. In this day (5 July 1944) on the Normandy Front, Operation Windsor, planned by general Dempsey, which began on July 4, continues. The 8th Brigade of the 3rd Canadian Infantry division, Royal Winnipeg Riffles Regiment, North Shore Regiment, Queen's Own Riffles Regiment and the Canadien French Regiment la Chaudiere control the Southern part of the airport which was still, the day before, controlled by the 12nd German SS Panzer Division. The 3rd Canadian Infantry division meets many difficulties to dislodge the Hilterjugend fanaticized soldiers who defend each farm, each crossroads and who fight until death. Their keen defense prevents the Canadians from progressing. On the American front, the US troops of the 7th Corps fight painfully in direction of Periers and La-Haie-du-Puits. The losses are terrifying: between July 4 and July 5, nearly 1,500 American soldiers were put out of fight whereas the 7th Corps progressed only by 200 meters. Saint-Jores is liberated by the soldiers of the 90th American Infantry division.

Source:

 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/photosnormandie/8200725428/in/photostream

American Troops Stand Guard Behind German Soldiers Captured Near the Town of Le Gast During the Normandy Invasion

Image size: 1600 x 1081 pixel. 639 KB
Date: Saturday, 29 July 1944
Place: Le Gast, Basse-Normandie, France
Photographer: Frank Scherschel

American troops stand guard behind young German Heer (Army) soldiers captured near the town of Le Gast during the Normandy invasion, June 1944. Although the branch color seems to not match up (happened often), it's a high chance that these guys are from Panzergrenadier-Regiment 156, part of the 116. Panzer Division "Der Windhund". It is the fifth day of the Operation Cobra which, since the day before, seriously made progress the American troops which infiltrated with more than thirteen kilometers inside the German lines. On July 29, three principal axes of attack are distinguished: to the West, the 3rd Armoured division progresses in direction of the South of the town of Coutances, attacked the day before and liberated this day. In the center and the East of the opening, the 2nd Armoured division progresses towards Saint-Denis-le-Gest and Villebaudon. The Germans try to gather on the line more connecting the villages of Brehal and Cerences to the West and Percy in the East. This line is called the "Weisse Linie" (White Line). However, many soldiers belonging to the 84th Corps are encircled in the surroundings of Roncey by the 2nd and the 3rd American armoured divisions. Columns of vehicles try to escape from the surrounding and move towards Coutances but it is too late. Three American divisions attack the pocket and reduce it by violent bombardments. Nearly 1,500 German soldiers are put out of fight and 4,000 others are prisoners. The American forces wish to continue to attack the German troops and to destroy them. They also want to attack the "White Line" installed by the infantry and Panzer SS divisions. At the evening of July 29, the American forces reaches in the South the villages of Cerences, Cambry, Lengronne, Saint-Denis-le-Gast. The 2nd Armoured division attacks in direction of Percy.From D-Day until Christmas 1944, German prisoners of war were shipped off to American detention facilities at a rate of 30,000 per month! It’s no mystery why images of unremitting violence spring to mind when one hears the deceptively simple term, “D-Day.” We’ve all seen — in photos, movies, old news reels — what happened on the beaches of Normandy (codenamed Omaha, Utah, Juno, Gold and Sword) as the Allies unleashed an historic assault against German defenses on June 6, 1944. But in color photos taken before and after the invasion, LIFE magazine’s Frank Scherschel captured countless other, lesser-known scenes from the run-up to the onslaught and the heady weeks after: American troops training in small English towns; the French countryside, implausibly lush after the spectral landscape of the beachheads; the reception GIs enjoyed en route to the capital; the jubilant liberation of Paris itself. As presented here, in masterfully restored color, Scherschel’s picture feel at-once profoundly familiar and somehow utterly, vividly new. A note on the photographer: Frank Scherschel (1907-1981) was an award-winning staff photographer for LIFE well into the 1950s. His younger brother Joe was a LIFE photographer, as well. In addition to the Normandy invasion, Frank Scherschel photographed the war in the Pacific, the 1947 wedding of Princess Elizabeth, the 1956 Democratic National Convention, collective farming in Czechoslovakia, Sir Winston Churchill (many times), art collector Peggy Guggenheim, road racing at Le Mans, baseball, football, boxing, a beard-growing contest in Michigan and countless other people and events, both epic and forgotten.

Source:
LIFE magazine
http://life.time.com/history/d-day-rare-color-photos/attachment/1268272/