German Armored Parade in Oslo

Image size: 8308 x 6236 pixel. 17 MB
Date: Tuesday, 1 October 1940
Place: Oslo, Norway
Photographer: Unknown

The German military parade of the Panzertruppen (Tank Troops) unit which were held at Karl Johans Gate, Oslo, the capital of Norway, on October 1, 1940. These Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf.B type tanks were from the Panzer-Abteilung z.b.V. 40 led by Oberstleutnant Ernst Volckheim (1898-1962), seen here giving a military salute accompanied by one of his officer. Volckheim is dressed in a black Panzer uniform. The Universitetsplassen square is surrounded by buildings of the University of Oslo.. Ernst Volckheim himself went down in history as one of the founders of the German panzer force, apart from the more famous Heinz Guderian. From 1924 he had written on the theory of tank warfare, drawing on his experiences in the First World War as a member of the Imperial German Tank Corps. Ironically, the one who then received wider publication was Guderian, who had just written his masterpiece, "Achtung Panzer!", only in 1937! This is because it was the latter who introduced the armored unit to German leader Adolf Hitler, who was then so impressed by Guderian's presentation that he immediately said enthusiastically, "This is what I need! This is what I want to have!"

The Norwegian "Aftenposten" newaspaper described the parade on page 2 in its evening issue on Tuesday 1 October 1940, as follows: "German armored vehicles parade on Karl Johan. Just before half past ten this morning, a large German military music corps marched down Karl Johan and lined up just opposite the University on the occasion of German armored vehicles parade for its commander, Colonel Volksheim. It was not long after the band had lined up, before people gathered along the curb to watch the parade. And on the University Stairs, a number of students had gathered, who had a short break between lectures. Before the parade itself, the units that were to participate were gathered on Tullinløkken and marched from there to their tanks, which were meanwhile parked in the side streets. Shortly after, the long wagon column came up in Karl Johan and passed over Drammensveien. When Colonel Volksheim had taken his place, the first tank passed the colonel a moment later, while the music played a military march. Armored car after armored car rolled past on its belts. Different types of passers-by, followed by open cars, which brought everything an armored battalion needs to be effective. When the last carriage in the column had passed, Colonel Volksheim drove away, the music was silent and the parade was over. A few minutes later, the traffic went back to normal on Karl Johan."

Source :
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fo30141711070017_WW2_Norway_1940-10-01_Wehrmacht_Panzertruppen_Ernst_Volckheim_Panzerkampfwagen_German_Tank_troops_parade_salute_Karl_Johans_gate_Universitetsplassen_Oslo_NTBs_krigsarkiv_Riksarkivet_CC_BY_Rettighetshaver_etc_krediteres.jpg

Bus Trapped in the Crater at Balham Station

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

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




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

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/

German POWs Trudge Past a Sherman Tank

Image size: 1600 x 1079 pixel. 120 KB
Date: Friday, 19 January 1945
Place: Höngen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Photographer: Unknown

German prisoners trudge past a Sherman tank of the British 8th Armoured Brigade in a German frontier village of Höngen, 19 January 1945, during Operation Blackcock. Operation Blackcock was the code name for the clearing of the Roer Triangle formed by the towns of Roermond, Sittard and Heinsberg. It was conducted by the British Second Army between 14 and 26 January 1945. The objective was to drive the German 15th Army back across the Rivers Rur and Wurm and move the frontline further into Germany. The operation was carried out under command of Lieutenant General Neil Ritchie's XII Corps, by three divisions, the 7th Armoured Division, the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division and the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division. The operation, named after the Scottish black male grouse, is relatively unknown despite the sometimes fierce battles that were fought for each and every village and hamlet within the "Roer Triangle". 

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8th_Armoured_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205203000
http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/the-sherwood-rangers-in-january-1945.57430/

German Troops Push into Barrikady Gun Factory

Image size: 1600 x 1079 pixel. 541 KB
Date: Friday, 16 October 1942
Place: Stalingrad, Soviet Union
Photographer: Kriegsberichter Kurt Heine

Infanterie-Regiment 577 of 305. Infanterie-Division, supported by Sturmgeschütz III Ausf.E assault gun of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 245, push into the Barrikady gun factory from the north of Stalingrad on 16 October 1942. The collapsed building is the warehouse on the northwest side of the factory. Assault guns supported the infantrymen as they pushed into the chaotic tangle of railway sidings, gutted warehouses and stacks of gun barrels that lined the western edge of the Barrikady Gun Factory, the assault guns in turn being guided on to their targets by the soldiers. The large-scale German attack on that day sweeping south through the brickworks and into the factory. Despite the menacing bulk of the factory’s workshops, progress was quite good. The panzers of 14. Panzer-Division suffered an initial setback when they lost 17 of their number to dug-in T-34s. Nevertheless, by the end of the day, the overall balance favoured the attackers: a large section of the gun factory was in German hands, as was a lengthy stretch of the Volga cliffs east of the brickworks and tractor factory. These operational successes were not as apparent to the weary infantrymen as was the loss of so many long-time comrades. 305. Infanterie-Division lost 1 officer and 30 men killed, 5 officers and 74 men wounded, and 1 officer and 13 men missing; 14. Panzer-Division lost 2 officers and 21 men killed, 4 officers and 121 men wounded, and 2 men missing. The photographer was Kriegsberichter Kurt Heine, and most of his photos were taken in November 1942 around the Barrikady Factory ruins.

Source :

"Island Of Fire: The Battle For the Barrikady Gun Factory In Stalingrad November 1942 - February 1943" by Jason D. Mark

https://www.facebook.com/pg/wehrmachtinstalingrad/posts/

German Convoy in Amsterdam 1940

Image size: 1154 x 1600 pixel. 768 KB
Date: Thursday, 16 May 1940
Place: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Photographer: Unknown

16 May 1940. German troops, after the capitulation of the Dutch Armed Forces, on the Reguliersbreestraat and Rembrandtplein in the center of Amsterdam, on their way to Utrecht. In the background we can see the Munttoren ("Mint Tower") or Munt. It stands on the busy Muntplein square, where the Amstel river and the Singel canal meet, near the flower market and the eastern end of the Kalverstraat shopping street. On the left is cafeteria Heck’s Popularis. Despite being neutral, the Netherlands in World War II was invaded by Nazi Germany on 10 May 1940, under orders of Adolf Hitler. On 15 May 1940, one day after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces surrendered. The Dutch government and the royal family saved themselves by going to London. Princess Juliana and her children moved on to Canada for additional safety. The Netherlands was placed under German occupation, which endured in some areas until the German surrender in May 1945. Active resistance was carried out by a minority, which grew in the course of the occupation. The occupiers deported the majority of the country's Jews to Nazi concentration camps.

Source :

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munttoren

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_in_World_War_II

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/49047083425596505/

Tank of SS Prinz Eugen in Split Croatia

Image size: 1600 x 1018 pixel. 151 KB
Date: Monday, 27 September 1943
Place: Split, Croatia, Yugoslavia
Photographer: Dr. Gruber

Armoured units of the SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division "Prinz Eugen" and the Grenadier-Regiment 92 passing through the streets of the newly-captured city of Split, Croatia, during Operation Achse. In the foreground: A French-built Hotchkiss H38 tank (captured by the Germans after 1940) of the "Prinz Eugen" Division's armoured company, photographed from a vehicle of the 92nd Grenadier Regiment. Operation Achse (German: Fall Achse, "Case Axis"), originally called Operation Alaric (German: Unternehmen Alarich), was the codename for the German plan to forcibly disarm the Italian armed forces after the armistice with the Allies in 1943. Several German divisions had entered Italy after the fall of Benito Mussolini in July 1943, while Italy was officially still an ally of Germany, despite the protests of the new Italian government under Pietro Badoglio. The Armistice of Cassibile was made public on 8 September. German forces moved rapidly to take over the Italian zones of occupation in the Balkans and southern France, and to disarm Italian forces in Italy. In some cases, the Italian troops, that had no superior orders and suffered many desertions, resisted the Germans, most notably in the Greek island of Cephalonia, where over 5,100 men of the 33rd Acqui Division were massacred after running out of ammunition and surrendering; in Rome, after the royal family and the government had fled, a disorganized defense by the Italian troops stationed around the capital was unable to defeat the German attack. Additionally, individual soldiers or whole units, like the 24th Pinerolo Division in Thessaly, went over to the local resistance movements. Only in Sardinia, Corsica, Calabria and in the southern part of Apulia were Italian troops able to offer successful resistance and hold off the Germans until relieved by the arrival of the Allies.

Source :
http://bandenkampf.blogspot.com/2015/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Split
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Achse

American Gunner Minutes Before His Death

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Date: Wednesday, 18 April 1945
Place: Leipzig, Sachsen, Germany
Photographer: Robert Capa

Leipzig, 18 April 1945, Private First Class Raymond J. Bowman (right) of “D” Company, 23rd Infantry Regiment and his fellow comrade, Lehmann Riggs, set up their .30 Browning machine gun on an open balcony in order to provide cover for the American troops of the 2nd US Infantry Division, who were advancing over a bridge. This balcony had an unobstructed view on the bridge however this same clear view would turn out to be a deadly mistake for Pfc. Raymond J. Bowman. After taking half of the city, the commanding officer ordered the heavy weapons squad to climb to the third floor of the Jahnallee apartment building (nr. 61). Together with them was famed war photographer Robert Capa. Capa, who was standing just a few feet away from Raymond Bowman when all of this occurred, would later have these photographs published in the May 14, 1945 issue of Life magazine, under the headline “Americans Still Died.” However the identity of the men in the picture was a mystery. It was only after Lehmann Riggs himself shared his memories of that day and the family of Raymond J. Bowman, who identified him by the pin bearing his initials on his collar, that the mystery was solved and later revealed. “We had to go across these bridges to get to the other side of the city. They had blocked the bridges with burned-out tanks and streetcars, anything that would obstruct us from going across. There was a park in front of this building, and they were dug in and we couldn’t see them. We had orders to go up to the third floor of this apartment building and set up our guns to spray that area out there in the park to try to keep them pinned down until our troops could cross that bridge.“, said Lehmann Riggs. Adding “We only fired with one person at a time, and we alternated…one person being exposed all the time. I had just been firing the gun, and I just stepped back off the gun and he had taken over. In 30 seconds, I happened to look up and see the bullet pierce his nose. The bullet that hit him killed him, ricocheted around the room, and it’s a miracle that it didn’t hit me. As soon as he got hit, somebody had to take the gun. I had to jump over him and start firing the gun.” Raymond J. Bowman was born in Rochester, New York on April 2, 1924, the fifth of seven children. After graduating high school, Bowman was drafted into the United States Army on June 21, 1943. While serving in Company D of the 23rd Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division. In January 1944, he was sent overseas to the United Kingdom in preparation for Operation Overlord. Raymond J. Bowman served in France, where he was wounded in action on August 3, 1944. He went on to fight during the Battle of the Bulge and the final battles in Germany. He was decorated with a Bronze Star Medal, an Army Good Conduct Medal and two Purple Hearts. Robert Capa recalled in an interview in 1947: “So it made no sense whatsoever but he (Bowman) looked so clean cut, like it was the first day of the war and he was very earnest. So I said ‘All right, this will be my last picture of the war.’ And I put my camera up and took a portrait shot of him, and while I shot my portrait of him he was killed by a sniper. It was a very clean and somehow a very beautiful death.“ In 2015, the city of Leipzig voted to name the street in which the apartment building is located to “Bowmanstraße”, in honor of Raymond J. Bowman. The renaming took place on April 17, 2016. The apartment building (called Capa House) now contains a small memorial with Capa’s photographs and information about Bowman.

Minutes prior to his death, Raymond J. Bowman (seen left now) with his fellow comrade Lehmann Riggs (on the right). 

Pfc. Raymond J. Bowman after he was struck by the German sniper

 Pfc. Raymond J. Bowman after he was struck by the German sniper. Another soldier of his squad takes over the machine gun

Source :
https://www.argunners.com/raymond-j-bowman-story-behind-dramatic-photo/
http://www.panzernet.com/foro4/showthread.php?11073-Uniformes-mezclados/page4

German Soldiers Surrender at Vilnius (1944)

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Date: Tuesday, 11 July 1944
Place: Vilnius, Lithuania
Photographer: Fyodor Kislov

German soldiers surrender to the Red Army in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, 11 July 1944. The picture was taken by Fyodor Kislov. During the battle for the city, the Soviet 5th Army and 5th Guards Tank Army engaged the German garrison of Fester Platz Vilnius (consisting of Grenadier-Regiment 399 and Artillerie-Regiment 240 of the 170. Infanterie-Division, Grenadier-Regiment 1067, a battalion from the Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 16, the anti-tank battalion of the 256. Infanterie-Division, and other units under the command of Luftwaffe Generalmajor Rainer Stahel. The Soviet 35th Guards Tank Brigade initially took the airport, defended by the battalion of paratroopers; intense street-by-street fighting then commenced as the Soviets attempted to reduce the defence. While the German aim of holding Vilnius as a Fester Platz or fortress was not achieved, the tenacious defence made a contribution in stopping the Red Army's drive west for a few precious days: most importantly, it tied down the 5th Guards Tank Army, which had been instrumental in the initial successes of the Red Army during Operation Bagration. This delay gave German forces a chance to re-establish something resembling a continuous defence line further to the west. Hitler recognised this achievement by awarding Stahel the 76th set of the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross awarded during the war. Nevertheless, the outcome fell far short of what the German command had hoped for, and the continuous frontline that was established only held for a short time. Without the traffic network based on Vilnius, the German position in the southern Baltics was untenable. By the end of July, the 3rd Belorussian Front was ordered to conduct the Kaunas Offensive Operation to further extend the gains of Operation Bagration.  

Source :
https://menofwehrmacht.blogspot.com/2019/02/german-soldiers-surrender-at-vilnius.html

British War Correspondent in Holland (1944)

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Date: Sunday, 29 October 1944
Place: Tilburg, Netherlands
Photographer: Unknown

This picture shows a photographer accompanying the British 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division at Tilburg, Netherlands, 29 October 1944. He wore the British Cap (Service Cap) with the British badge for war correspondents. For his pants, he wore a Battledress 37/40 Pattern 37/40 with the British Army leggings and boots. He also wore a USA M1942 parachute jacket in ocher color, shoulder pads with sleeves that bear the insignia with the letters "British War Correspondent". The camera is a German photographic Rolleiflex Automat Type 1B or Type 2 with lens hood attached to the lens. The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that served with distinction in both World War I and World War II. In World War I the 15th (Scottish) Division was formed from men volunteering for Kitchener's Army and served from 1915 to 1918 on the Western Front. The division was later disbanded, after the war, in 1919. In World War II it was reformed as the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division on 2 September 1939, the day before war was declared, as part of the Territorial Army (TA) and served in the United Kingdom and later North-West Europe from June 1944 to May 1945.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_(Scottish)_Infantry_Division
http://www.panzernet.com/foro4/showthread.php?11073-Uniformes-mezclados/page4

Bombing of Blauwburgwal Amsterdam (1940)

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Date: Friday, 11 May 1940
Place: Blauwburgwal, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Photographer: Cas Oorthuys

This picture shows the building in Blauwburgwal that was struck by a bomb causing severe structural damage. The bomb came from a German Aircraft which was hit by flak over Sloterdijk. It continued its flight, but The pilot decided to release two bombs in case the plane crashed. One of the bombs bounced over the bridge into the water of the Blauwburgwal, the other hit the houses on the corner. Twelve buildings were destroyed and forty-four people lost their lives. This was very much a one-off: the speed of the German occupation meant that Central Amsterdam was hardly damaged at all, though the incident at Blauwburgwal alone cost 44 lives. Blauwburgwal is Amsterdam shortest canal, no more than 100 meters in length and connects the two innermost canals, Singel and Herengracht

Source :
"May 1940: The Battle for the Netherlands" by Herman Amersfoort and Piet Kamphuis
"The Rough Guide to Amsterdam" by Rough Guide
https://www.amsterdamforvisitors.com/blauwburgwal-amsterdams-shortest-canal/
https://www.backtonormandy.org/the-history/timeline/1940/126122-german-bombardement-in-amsterdam.html
https://www.flickr.com/photos/13185747@N02/3300948489
https://nimh-beeldbank.defensie.nl/memorix/7f6b169c-1f51-9e86-6455-52dfa6c38086
https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/node/1309751

KNIL Marching in Australia

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

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

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

Dutch Soldier Negotiating the Capitulation in 1940

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Date: Tuesday, 14 May 1940
Place: Willemstad, North Brabant, Netherlands
Photographer: Unknown

A Dutch officer equipped with the M.27 helmet negotiating the capitulation with a German officer in Willemstad on 14 May 1940. After the devastating bombing of Rotterdam by the Luftwaffe on that fateful day, the Germans threatened to bomb other Dutch cities if the Dutch forces refused to surrender. The General Staff knew it could not stop the bombers and ordered the Dutch army to cease hostilities. At 1900 hrs all hostilities were ceased, except in the province Zeeland. The battle of Holland had ended.

Source :
"The Dutch Steel Helmet 1916-1946" by Kevin de Joode
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Netherlands
http://www.waroverholland.nl/index.php?page=part-iii-capitulation