Major Heinrich Gerlach

Heinrich Gerlach (as a Hauptmann) playing with a swine / pig. He was the glider pilot who fled Mussolini out of his confinement at Gran Sasso in 1943, and received Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for that feat

Source:
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5617990&highlight=gerlach#post5617990

German Soldiers March To The Front In Fall Blau

German soldiers from 25.Infanterie-Division/LIII.Armeekorps/2.Panzerarmee/Heeresgruppe Mitte marching to the front in the peak of "Fall Blau" (Case Blau), August 1942. In the background we can see the building of Savior Transfiguration Cathedral (Spaso-Preobragenskij Cathedral), built in 1841-51 to a design by one of Konstantin Thon's disciples

Source:
http://www.ww2incolor.com/german/troops_retreat.jpg.html

Panzer IVs Pass Knocked Out Universal Carrier

Two Deutsche Afrikakorps Panzer IV ausf F including turmnummer (turret number) 413 pass a knocked-out captured Carden Lloyd Universal Carrier Mark 1 serial number T33417 armed with a Boys .55 caliber (13.9mm) anti-tank gun. The Universal Carrier is painted in the Caunter camouflage scheme, which used grey, blue, black, sand, and brown paint, or whatever was available, to form straight angular lines that were thought to "dazzle" whomever saw the vehicle in the desert, making it hard to judge size and distance. The Carrier has a Nazi flag over it to prevent an air attack by friendly German aircraft; this was common practice to mark captured vehicles with the Swastika flag

Source:
http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0137

French Troops Supported by American Tanks During the Fighting of the Italian Campaigns

Free French colonial troops supported by American tanks during the fighting of the Italian campaigns, May 1944 (LIFE has wrongfully captioned the month as August 1944!). They passed in front of abandoned Italian M42 Semovente 75/18 850(i) from German Panzerjäger-Abteilung 171/71.Infanterie-Division "Kleeblatt" (Cloverleaf). The Airfix White M3 Halftrack comes with an optional "canvas tilt" piece to cover the back (omitting the Five-oh and mount), and Red Cross markings

Source:
LIFE photo collection
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/80ae46c55ea6d803.html

French Troops Supported by American Tanks During the Fighting of the Italian Campaigns

Free French colonial troops supported by American tanks during the fighting of the Italian campaigns, May 1944 (LIFE has wrongfully captioned the month as August 1944!). They passed in front of abandoned Italian M42 Semovente 75/18 850(i) from German Panzerjäger-Abteilung 171/71.Infanterie-Division "Kleeblatt" (Cloverleaf). The Airfix White M3 Halftrack comes with an optional "canvas tilt" piece to cover the back (omitting the Five-oh and mount), and Red Cross markings

Source:
LIFE photo collection
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/80ae46c55ea6d803.html

Oberleutnant Karl Hanke in a Panzerkampfwagen IV

Panzerkampfwagen IV ausf.D (turmnummer 432) commanded by Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant) Karl Hanke and assigned to the Panzer Regiment 25/7.Panzer Division under Generalmajor Erwin Rommel during the Battle of France. This propaganda photo appeared in Signal magazine in 1940

Source:
Signal magazine 1940

Panzerkampfwagen IVs of the Afrika Korps

A column of Panzerkampfwagen IVs on the move. Some of the men appear to be wearing the tropical hat (tropenhelm) first issued in 1941

Source:
Signal magazine

Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf N Unloaded in North Africa

Panzerkampfwagen III ausf N medium tanks are unloaded form a transport at Bizerte, Wilāyat Binzart, Tunisia, 23 November 1942

Source:
Signal magazine

Panzerkampfwagen III Crews at Rest and Playing Cards

The crews of a group of german panzers benefit from a pause during the advance to resume the never-ending card game, interrupted so many times. They were came from the 12. Armee commanded by Generalfeldmarschall Siegmund Wilhelm List during Operation Marita

Source:
Signal Magazine, June 1941 

Panzer III and Panzergrenadier Advances Through the Kuban Steppe

Panzerkampfwagen III of Heeresgruppe Süd (Army Group South) advances through the Kuban Steppe on the Caucasus Mountains during Operation Blue (Unternehmen Blau/Fall Blau)

Source:
Signal Magazine, November 1942

Panzer III and Panzergrenadier Advances Through the Kuban Steppe

Panzerkampfwagen III of Heeresgruppe Süd (Army Group South) advances through the Kuban Steppe on the Caucasus Mountains during Operation Blue (Unternehmen Blau/Fall Blau)

Source:
Signal Magazine, November 1942

Panzer III and Panzergrenadier Advances Through the Kuban Steppe

Panzerkampfwagen III of Heeresgruppe Süd (Army Group South) advances through the Kuban Steppe on the Caucasus Mountains during Operation Blue (Unternehmen Blau/Fall Blau). The Panzer III is from the 6. Kompanie, 3. Zug and is tank number 3, going by its turret number '633'; there're a couple of symbols on the right rear mudgard- the one on the right might be that of the 1. Panzer-Division. Original caption from Signal magazine: "tank 633 spots a Russian anti-tank emplacement and at once opens fire"

Source:
Signal Magazine, November 1942

Disarmed French soldiers file pass German officers on the outskirts of Dunkirk

German forces move into Dunkirk. Disarmed French soldiers file pass German officers on the outskirts of Dunkirk. The evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force had been completed a few hours earlier

Source:
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/listing/object-205012729?items_per_page=10&page=1

A beached French coastal patrol craft at low tide at Dunkirk

German forces move into Dunkirk hours after the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force was completed. A beached French coastal patrol craft at low tide at Dunkirk. The ship is armed with a 75mm canon on its foredeck and probably dates from the First World War. A British Universal Carrier and a bicycle lie abandoned half buried in the sand

Source:
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/listing/object-205012729

German officers inspect the Louis Bleriot memorial

German forces move into Dunkirk hours after the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force. Curious German officers inspect the memorial to the French aviation pioneer, Louis Bleriot on the sea front at Dunkirk. It is surrounded by German vehicles and the litter of the British evacuation

Source:
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/listing/object-205012729

German officer interrogates two captured French officers

On the outskirts of Dunkirk, a German officer interrogates two captured French officers who sit under guard near a roadside table laden with wine bottles. A German inflatable rubber dinghy is visible behind the table

Source:
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/listing/object-205012729

German officers confer by their vehicles at Dunkirk roadside

On the outskirts of Dunkirk, German officers confer by their vehicles at the roadside before moving into the town

Source:
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/listing/object-205012729

German troops pulling a 37mm anti-tank gun along a road near Dunkirk

German troops pulling a 37mm anti-tank gun along a road near Dunkirk. Immobilised British Scout carriers are parked at the side of the road

Source:
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/listing/object-205012729

German Junkers Ju 52 transport plane in white winter camouflage colours prepares to take off

Winter landscape: a German Junkers Ju 52 transport plane in white winter camouflage colours prepares to take off in the snow after the onset of the Russian winter

Source:
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/listing/object-205012729

Vehicles and troops of the German mobile assault unit Motorensturm 13

German forces arrive in Dunkirk. The sea front at Dunkirk photographed immediately after the completion of the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force earlier in the day. Vehicles and troops of the German mobile assault unit Motorensturm 13, drawn up on the sea front at Dunkirk near one of the unit's light anti-tank guns

Source:
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/listing/object-205012729

Crew of a German Light Anti-Aircraft Gun at Dunkirk

A photo taken by Hermann Weper, an officer serving with Maschinengewehr-Bataillon 52, on 4 June 1940 following the seizure of Dunkirk: German forces arrive in Dunkirk. The sea front at Dunkirk photographed immediately after the completion of the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force earlier in the day. The crew of a 20mm Flak 38 gun of the German mobile assault unit Motorensturm 13 stand guard on the seafront. The gun is covered with a camouflage shelter quarter. Debris left by the evacuating British forces is visible in the background.

Source:
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/listing/object-205012729

Conference at 6. Panzer-Division HQ

Late summer 1941: a front-line conference at the forward HQ of 6. Panzer-Division. From left to right: Generalmajor Franz Landgraf (Kommandeur 6. Panzer-Division); General der Panzertruppe Georg Hans Reinhardt (Kommandierender General XXXXI. Panzerkorps); unknown officer; and Major im Generalstab Johann-Adolf Graf von Kielmansegg (Ia Erster Generalstabsoffizier 6. Panzer-Division). The last one would rose after the war to general's rank in the Bundeswehr and commanded NATO-AFCENT

Source:
Book "The 6th Panzer Division: 1937-45" by Oberst a.D. Helmut Ritgen

Panzer III of 11. Panzer-Division in a Russian Village

Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf.H tanks of 11. Panzer-Division enter a Soviet village. Note the equipment covered by tarps and the extra track on the Panzer III ("21") in the background. Behind the front tank we can see the Ghost emblem of the Division. Crews would live out of their vehicle. The Panzer III in the foreground has a Swastika flag strapped on the turret for identification by German aircraft. Soon fighting would ground to a halt as both the Germans and the Soviets would seek to survive the Russian winters

Source:
http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii120

Panzer III Negotiating a River Crossing

Panzerbefehlswagen (Command Tank) III Ausf H(U) Tauchfahrig (Submersible Motor Vehicle), also known as Tauchpanzer or U-Panzer (Submersible Diving Tank, Underwater Tank), negotiating a river crossing in central Europe during World War II

Source:
http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/044596

Panzer III Negotiating a River Crossing

Panzerbefehlswagen (Command Tank) III Ausf H(U) Tauchfahrig (Submersible Motor Vehicle), also known as Tauchpanzer or U-Panzer (Submersible Diving Tank, Underwater Tank), negotiating a river crossing in central Europe during World War II

Source:
Book "A Photo History of Tanks in Two World Wars" by George Forty, page 80

Sherman Tanks of 7th Armored in St. Vith

M4 Sherman medium tanks of the 40th Tank Battalion, Combat Command R, 7th Armored Division, take up defensive positions in a field near St. Vith after retaking the village from the Germans

Source:
http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0082

Spanish Foreign Volunteers of the Wehrmacht

Spanish member of 1.Bataillon/Infanterie-Regiment 263/250.Infanterie-Division. Men from this division were called "Blue Division" (División Azul) because of the blue Falangist shirt they wearing in the siege of Leningrad. The fahnenträger (flag holder) is wearing gasplane (gas mask bag), MP40 ammo pouch, and stahlhelm with Wehrmacht/Spanish flag decals. Also he is holding the banner of his batallion. Note the Spanish award on their uniform! The red one is the "Cruz al Mérito Militar con Distintivo Rojo"; the yellow one is the "Medalla de Mutilado de Guerra por la Patria"

Source:
http://ww2images.blogspot.com/2012/12/member-of-250-infanterie-division.html

French Foreign Volunteers of the Wehrmacht

French soldiers (with MP40) of the Légion des Volontaires Français (soon to be 33.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS "Charlemagne"), when still part of the Wehrmacht. They are in anti-Partisan operation and wearing Heer uniform with french tricolore armelwappen "FRANCE". They were came from Infanterie-Regiment 638 (Französischer). This regiment was subordinated to the 286. Sicherungs-Division (Security Division) from February 1944

Source:
 "Signal" magazine Nr.3, 1 February 1942 edition

USS Alabama (BB-60) Anchored at Lynn Haven

USS Alabama anchored at Lynn Haven roads on 1 December 1942

Source:
http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/60b.htm

M3 Stuart Light Tank in North Africa

American Late production M3 light tank with a D58101 version welded turret. These late production M3s were called "Stuart Hybrids" by the British. Note that it still has the sponson (side mounted) machine guns and welded hull construction. There is a star atop the turret for aircraft recognition. The sponsons were remotely fired by the driver, but were found to have limited use and were deleted in the M3A1 model

Source:
http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0079

A column of German Wehrmacht paraded in Paris

A column of German occupation troops paraded in the streets of Paris after change of the guard ceremony. Please note the German precise in this pic: The front row looks like stair-steps, and when you look at the later rows, it appears that they are organized by size from left to right as well!

Source:
Book "Les Parisiens sous l’Occupation: Photographies en couleurs d’André Zucca" by Jean Baronnet