Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10222729821307635&set=gm.1640137202838363
December 8th, 1942. A light (10,5cm) howitzer from 168. Infanterie-Division rests in a position. Note protections on breech block and muzzle cover. They have whitewashed even the breech block leather cover!Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10222732878744069&set=gm.1640453822806701
Source :
https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/wwii-aerial-color-photos-scli-intl/index.html?fbclid=IwAR39-ktPbGNR_MRFH2FRT_-OzbptKQULuPCh1JzH8xM6hBiO4O8ntWSalrw
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=410989493503214&set=gm.1640011826184234
Anton Ludwig Friedrich August Mackensen (6 December 1849 – 8 November 1945, ennobled as von Mackensen in 1899) was a German field marshal. He commanded successfully during the First World War of 1914–1918 and became one of the German Empire's most prominent and competent military leaders. After the armistice of November 1918 the victorious Allies interned Mackensen in Serbia for a year. He retired from the army in 1920; in 1933 Hermann Göring made him a Prussian state councillor. During the Nazi era (1933–1945), Mackensen remained a committed monarchist and sometimes appeared at official functions in his First World War uniform. Senior NSDAP members suspected him of disloyalty to the Third Reich, but nothing was proven against him.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_von_Mackensen
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1639277556257661/?__cft__[0]=AZV8YeNxCoTwuTBsNRr3Gd-gYikNev2rn7Fixxdbakjg8Ic3tKlca_NXySMOyGYTzW8qX2Ts29voUmfaM6R4dGwajkHBO7GIsEg0a6ZAfsunxnhfS45ciYk9iKBVfIBPoNnltSYuL8ad8wbGM3b_nr1rebfgUBbuu1GVtZbyy2E2tbvIS6ygrF1iHPlJ1yMNuFM&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
Alois Hitler Sr. (born Alois Schicklgruber; 7 June 1837 - 3 January 1903) was an Austrian civil servant and the father of the dictator of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler. Alois Hitler was born illegitimately, and his paternity was never established. This led to claims that his wife Klara (Adolf's mother) may have been his cousin. It also meant that Adolf Hitler could not prove who his grandfather was and thus prove his own "Aryan descent". When Alois was promoted in the Customs service, he applied to be legitimised in the name of his stepfather Hiedler, which was entered in the register as 'Hitler', for unknown reasons.
In February 1895, Alois Hitler purchased a house on a 3.6-hectare (9-acre) plot in Hafeld near Lambach, approximately 50 kilometres (30 mi) southwest of Linz. The farm was called the Rauscher Gut. He moved his family to the farm and retired on 25 June 1895 at the age of 58, after 40 years in the customs service. He found farming difficult; he lost money, and the value of the property declined.
On the morning of 3 January 1903, Alois went to the Gasthaus Wiesinger (no. 1 Michaelsbergstrasse, Leonding) as usual to drink his morning glass of wine. He was offered the newspaper and promptly collapsed. He was taken to an adjoining room and a doctor was summoned, but he died at the inn, probably from a pleural hemorrhage. Adolf Hitler, who was 13 when his father died, wrote in Mein Kampf that he died of a "stroke of apoplexy". In his book, The Young Hitler I Knew, Hitler's childhood friend August Kubizek recalled, "When the fourteen-year-old son saw his dead father he burst out into uncontrollable weeping."
On 28 March 2012, by the account of Kurt Pittertschatscher, the pastor of the parish, the tombstone marking Alois Hitler's grave and that of his wife Klara, in Town Cemetery in Leonding, was removed by a descendant. The descendant is said to be an elderly female relative of Alois Hitler's first wife, Anna, who has also given up any rights to the rented burial plot. The plot was covered in white gravel and a tree which has since been removed. It is not known whether the remains of Adolf Hitler's parents are still interred there.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alois_Hitler?fbclid=IwAR1N_77NDrlQcUmdbhaU-Rkf7mY--krsa6D3rSOTTjA73UwlHRBjhqm2jwc
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1636903149828435/?__cft__[0]=AZU5q1b3O7oRHekJaIminlikQ6YJGb5IrYgRf9Uw-Hm9dPwhhc8eB5FCshZjIT7AelUXxp62dnsdtkAXMiXzvHV9zehH56-8nVcMvPzZLzcfflaR0c8RhsBiaIVbvc228Jt67CsBLo_5HXYS6g3qKaG9yRZLQRc-30LNcisWAWc8CmbrOf12BPiYNq6R9p_q2mI&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
Source :
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=408656880403142&set=gm.1637111489807601
Source :
"North Cape 1943: The Sinking of the Scharnhorst" by Angus Konstam
Source :
"RAF Fighters vs Luftwaffe Bombers; Battle of Britain" by Andy Saunders
Major der Reserve Gerhard Konopka
Born: 27 March 1911 in Tirschtiefel (Brandenburg )
Died: 29 January 1997 in Darmstadt (Hessia)
Born
in the small Brandenburg community of Tirschtiefel on 27 March 1911,
Gerhard Konopka trained to be an assistant forester as a youth. At the
age of 23, he entered the Reich Labor Service. It was there that the
goal-oriented young man rose to the officer rank of Oberarbeitsführer.
At the age of 29, he was called into the Army as an officer candidate.
After
his basic military training in the tradition-rich Infanterie-Regiment
8, he was commissioned as a reserve Leutnant and became a platoon
leader. Konopka participated in the successful campaigns in Poland,
Belgium and France. He was awarded the Iron Cross, Second Class for the
leadership he displayed in commanding his men and, in 1941, he went
through the transition of his division, as it was restructured and
redesignated from the 3. Infanterie-Division to a fully motorized
formation.
Starting in the summer of 1941, Leutnant Konopka led
his motorized infantrymen in fighting at Luga, Demjansk, Dünaburg and
Smolensk, before participating in the fighting at Roslawl and outside of
Moscow in the fall. By then, he had been awarded the Iron Cross, First
Class. After the various setbacks, the recovery from a wound and renewed
achievements in the Rshew Bend, the bravery and the leadership talent
of the young officer was rewarded with transfer to an elite formation.
In
the spring of 1942, Leutnant Konopka was designated as the platoon
leader of the Engineer Platoon of the famous motorized infantry
regiment, “Großdeutschland”, which was being expanded into first a
motorized and then a mechanized infantry division (with a special table
of organization and equipment, not dissimilar to the core SS divisions).
During the fighting that lasted for weeks on end in the Rshew
bridgehead west of Moscow, Konopka personally knocked out two Soviet
armored vehicles with Teller mines and hand grenades. In the offensive
against Woronesch that followed, Konopka led his engineers with both
bravery and circumspection. By then he had already been wounded twice.
When
the division was given the mission by the field-army group to be the
main effort in the establishment of a bridgehead over the Don, the
engineers, which had been expanded to a battalion, took their place
among the lead elements. Equipped with assault boats and covered by
artillery and machine guns, Konopka’s platoon and the others crossed the
Don at Radskorskaja and established a beachhead. With the engineers
turning back an enemy counterattack, the follow-on infantry and antitank
personnel were able to firm up the position. In December 1942, Konopka,
an Oberleutnant since 1 September, was awarded the German Cross in Gold
for this action. Konopka then participated in the hard winter fighting
at Woronesch and northwest of Stalingrad as commander of the
5./Pionier-Bataillon “Großdeutschland”, before he was able to enjoy a
respite from the action.
As the results of him personally
knocking out four enemy armored vehicles—1 September 1942, 22 September
1942, 23 September 1942 and 12 October 1942—as well as his vast
experience in the leadership of assault sappers and in tank
hunter/killer teams, Konopka was chosen to train soldiers at infantry
schools and at courses right behind the front. He did not return to the
fighting in the Soviet Union until the summer of 1943.
He was
designated as the acting commander of the II./Grenadier-Regiment (mot.)
“Großdeutschland” and experienced the intense fighting at Orel.
Personally leading his companies, he stormed the so-called “Yellow
Heights” at Alissowa and was able to render a strong system of
fortifications, consisting of trenches and bunkers, combat ineffective.
On the next day, the enemy’s new main line of resistance was pushed back
in heavy, close combat. In the process, however, the acting battalion
commander was badly wounded. He was submitted for the Knight’s Cross,
which was presented to him in the hospital. By the end of the war, a
total of 56 soldiers of Panzergrenadier- Division “Großdeutschland”
received the Knight’s Cross.
What was previously overshadowed was
the fact the Gerhard Konopka was the first person in the German armed
forces to meet the award criteria for the Close Combat Clasp in Gold,
which he was presented with on 25 June 1943.
Since the general
public was still largely uninformed about this new military decoration
at the time—as opposed to the Knight’s Cross—and because the war
correspondents also paid little attention to it, it was not until 2003
that it was realized from his surviving Wehrpaß that he had achieved 50
days of close combat so early! Wounded for the seventh time, he insisted
on returning to his battalion, where he was wounded once again in the
fall of 1943. This time, Konopka, promoted to Hauptmann on 1 November,
had such serious wounds to both of his upper thighs, that the military
physicians would no longer allow the dyed-in-the-wool soldier to be sent
back to the front.
Deeply disappointed, the experienced officer
was given a new assignment to an infantry school. By then, his golden
Close Combat Clasp was a guarantee for undivided attention when he
presented instruction in sapper and antitank tactics.
The
inadequate means of combating armor in the first few years of the
war—hand grenades, mines, Molotov cocktails—had led to high casualties
and the eventual introduction of the Panzerschreck, the German
equivalent of the bazooka. By 1943 and 1944, however, there were finally
adequate means for combating armor by soldiers on the ground:
flamethrowers, magnetic charges and, of course, the very effective
Panzerfaust. An individual soldier with the necessary courage could
engage a T 34. In 1942, a special award was initiated—the Individual
Tank Destruction Strip, which was worn on the right sleeve of the
uniform—that recognized this courage. It is estimated that by the end of
the war some 14,000 of these awards were presented!
Always
trying to get transferred back to the front, Konopka succeeded in doing
so in March 1945. Promoted to reserve Major on 1 April 1945, Konopka was
given command of Grenadier-Regiment 1 of the hastily formed
Reichsarbeits-Infanterie- Division “Friedrich-Ludwig Jahn”. This
formation, which barely reached brigade strength, consisted of remnants
of the former 251. Infanterie-Division and 7,000 men from the Reich
Labor Service, as well as elements from the Volkssturm. It was hardly
suited for employment against experienced Soviet forces. The following
could be read in a German Armed Forces High Command report about the
division: “…very poor training of the soldiers, almost no signals units,
few transport vehicles available, as well as the lack, in some
instances, of fundamental weapons.” The fighting morale was not too
high, either.
Nevertheless, Konopka fought at the head of his
hastily assembled formation and received orders from the acting division
commander, the experienced Oakleaves recipient, Oberst Weller. They
fought with the courage of desperation outside of Berlin and in the
efforts to relieve the Halbe Pocket. Through careful planning and a bit
of luck, Konopka was able to lead his regiment across the Elbe and to
the American lines. His last wartime commander, Franz Weller, later
became the first commandant of the new infantry school of the
Bundeswehr.
Until he retired, Konopka worked after the war as a
private businessman until he became responsible for training apprentices
in a large concern. He died on 29 January 1997 in Darmstadt (Hessia).
Awards and Decorations:
18.01.1940 Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse
01.07.1941 Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse
25.07.1941 Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen in Silber
23.02.1942 Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz
28.07.1942 Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber
01.09.1942 Sonderabzeichen für das Niederkämpfen von Panzerwagen
05.09.1942 Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten
09.12.1942 Deutsches Kreuz in Gold
12.10.1942 Sonderabzeichen für das Niederkämpfen von Panzerwagen
22.09.1942 Sonderabzeichen für das Niederkämpfen von Panzerwagen
23.09.1942 Sonderabzeichen für das Niederkämpfen von Panzerwagen
18.07.1943 Verwundetenabzeichen in Gold
25.06.1943 Nahkampfspange in Gold
29.08.1943 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes
Source :
"The Face of Courage: The 98 Men who Received the Knight's Cross and the Close-Combat Clasp in Gold" by Florian Berger
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=2310847#p2310847
German Machine-Gunner in the Cockpit of a two-engine Heinkel He-111 medium bomber, 1940. These He 111 crews of Kampfgeschwader 26 (KG) 26 had long flights over the North Sea from their bases in Norway to contend with, as well as the prospect of meeting RAF fighters off the northeast coast of Britain as they approached their targets.Source :
"RAF Fighters vs Luftwaffe Bombers; Battle of Britain" by Andy Saunders
Luftwaffe Generalmajor Erich von Falkenhayn (Kommandeur Luftwaffen-Bau-Brigade II) in the harsh winter of the Eastern Front, 1941/42
Generalmajor Erich von Falkenhayn
Born: 03 Jun 1881 in Küstrin
Died: 27 Apr 1950 in Tiefenbronn by Pforzheim
Promotions:
Leutnant (22 Mar 1900); Oberleutnant (18 Oct 1909); Hauptmann (27 Jan 1914); Charakter als Major (07 Jan 1920); Major (01 Oct 1934); Oberstleutnant (01 Apr 1935); Oberst (01 Oct 1937); Generalmajor (01 Nov 1941)
Career:
Entered the Army as a Company-Officer in the 145th Kings-Infantry-Regiment (22 Mar 1900-31 Mar 1912)
Detached to the War Academy (01 Oct 1908-00 Jul 1911)
Detached to the Grand General Staff (01 Apr 1912-21 Mar 1914)
With the Staff of the 145th Infantry-Regiment, Detached to the Flying Troop (22 Mar 1914-01 Aug 1914)
Pilot with the 39th Field-Flying-Battalion (02 Aug 1914-30 Oct 1916)
Commander of Flying of Army-High-Command 8 (21 Oct 1916-27 Jan 1918)
Commander of Flying 19 (28 Jan 1918-17 Dec 1918)
Demobilisation with the 8th Flying-Replacement-Battalion (18 Dec 1918-20 Jan 1919)
With Freikorps Faupel (21 Jan 1919-30 May 1919)
Company-Leader in the 145th Infantry-Regiment (31 May 1919-01 Jun 1919)
Company-Leader in Freikorps Görlitz (01 Jun 1919-26 Oct 1919)
Granted Leave (26 Oct 1919-07 Jan 1920)
Retired (07 Jan 1920)
Entered the Luftwaffe as a Supplemental-Officer (fully reactivated on 01 Nov 1941) and Liaison-Officer of the Luftwaffe to the General-Command of the VIII. Army-Corps (01 Oct 1933-31 Dec 1937)
Liaison-Officer of the Luftwaffe to the General-Command of the XII. Army-Corps (01 Jan 1938-02 Jan 1939)
Commander of Military-District-Command Pforzheim (03 Jan 1939-31 Mar 1941)
Commander of Luftwaffe-Construction-Brigade II (01 Apr 1941-09 Jul 1942)
Officer with Special Duties of the RLM and C-in-C Luftwaffe (10 Jul 1942-30 Nov 1942)
Retired (30 Nov 1942)
Decorations & Awards:
Unknown
Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1106475219537900
https://www.oocities.org/~orion47/WEHRMACHT/LUFTWAFFE/Generalmajor/FALKENHAYN_ERICH.html
Source :
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10221692457132054&set=gm.1634623866723030
The Tannenberg Memorial, in East Prussia (now Poland) in 1939. Photo by Hugo Jäger.The Tannenberg Memorial (German: Tannenberg-Nationaldenkmal, from 1935: Reichsehrenmal-Tannenberg) was a monument to the German soldiers of the Battle of Tannenberg (1914), the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes and the medieval Battle of Tannenberg (1410). The victorious German commander, Generalfeldmarschall Paul von Hindenburg, became a national hero and was later interred at the site. Dedicated by Hindenburg on the 10th anniversary of the Battle of Tannenberg in 1924 near Hohenstein (Ostpreußen) (now Olsztynek, Poland), the structure, which was financed by donations, was built by the architects Johannes and Walter Krüger of Berlin and completed in 1927. The octagonal layout with eight towers, each 20 metres high, was influenced by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II's Castel del Monte and Stonehenge. When Reichspräsident Hindenburg died in 1934, his coffin and that of his wife, who had died in 1921, were placed there despite his wishes to be buried at his family plot in Hanover. Adolf Hitler ordered the monument to be redesigned and renamed "Reichsehrenmal Tannenberg". As the Red Army approached in 1945, German troops removed Hindenburg's remains and partly demolished key structures. In 1949, Polish authorities razed the site, leaving few traces.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannenberg_Memorial?fbclid=IwAR0S9oJ-cGCE7aGXUEeUW2OZ7129JqEsuAlfl45ypVJBTHdAFfVtcXl1EjY
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=406894100579420&set=gm.1634933626692054
Soviet Union, Ukraine.- The 14th Panzer Division during the Russian campaign
The 14th Panzer Division (German: 14. Panzer-Division) was an armoured division in the German Army duringWorld War II. It was created in 1940 by the conversion of the 4th Infantry Division. The division took part in the invasion of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, eventually being destroyed in the battle of Stalingrad. Reformed, the 14th Panzer Division soon returned to the Eastern Front and eventually surrendered to Soviet forces in Courland in May 1945.
The 14th Panzer Division was formed in August 1940 from units of the 4th Infantry Division and 4th Panzer Division. The 4th Infantry Division provided both divisional staff and the infantry components, while the 4th Panzer Division provided the tank element by transferring 36th Panzer Regiment to the new division. In April 1941, the 14th Panzer Division took part in the Invasion of Yugoslavia, reaching Sarajevo on 15 April. Soon after, it returned to Germany in preparation for Operation Barbarossa. In June 1941, as part of Army Group South, the division took part in the invasion of the Soviet Union. It was involved almost continuously in the fighting throughout 1941, including the first winter on the Eastern Front. In early 1942, the division took part in the German summer offensives as Army Group South advanced through the Kharkov and Don regions. It was transferred to Friedrich Paulus' VI Army, which was encircled at Stalingrad soon after. By February 1943, the division had been destroyed in the fighting at the Battle of Stalingrad.
The division was reformed in Brittany, France. By November 1943, it was combat ready, transferring back to Army Group South on the Eastern Front. It now had an additional battalion of StuG assault guns, the III/36 Panzer Regiment. The division was part of Army Group South up to June 1944. In August, after being refitted, it was transferred to Army Group North to the Courland area (now Latvia and Lithuania). The refit included delivery of Panther tanks.
In January 1945, the Red Army launched a number of major offensives across the Eastern Front. Much of Army Group North - including the 14th Panzer Division - was bypassed and became trapped in the Courland Pocket, and remained there until Germany's surrender in May 1945. The division was disbanded during the last weeks of the war, with its personnel being formed into two panzer brigades. Parts of the division were evacuated to Germany in the last week of the war and surrendered to the Western Allies while those units remaining surrendered to Soviet forces on 10 May 1945.
Source :
Courtesy of Tobi Moll at https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1633137526871664/?__cft__[0]=AZWQt-1JEBRrs7SAXvdLrlVmxDoGRROQTtbIb_VDdTcfXb2HRbzRQ53vzXKpZQZw229zQAyTL9XBeLeM3dv3KmzpvB99bpUpRxnXpRcmAzrl8yWkUYfec-vSo783Z6aE3LuxieK5u-4KTU640dEzx9M_vAsjtS7DrQq5YFpoIW3tbGwlpsQIDQ3lhYlIROLUzx0&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
M.S. Hansestadt Danzig in service for Seedienst Ostpreußen. This color slide has unfortunately been heavily infected with mold, still showing nice color of this beautiful ship. Cloud-looking darker spots on the sky is the degradation of color. So the sky was actually very clean with little cloud. Also, the ship is entirely in white, cream-looking places are degraded colors.
M.S. Hansestadt Danzig built in the Oderwerke Stettin. Maximum speed 15 knots, 2431 GRT after conversion capacity: 1158-2061 passengers (depending on route) plus motor vehicles and bicycles.
Launched on 17 March 1926, the ship was operated by Norddeutscher Lloyd for the Seedienst Ostpreußen from 14 July 1926 to August 1939 as a passenger and car ferry, then used as a minesweeper for the navy with a crew of 83. It was sunk on 9 July 1941 near Öland, Sweden (by running into a Swedish-German mine barrier. The German captain as well as the OKM disregarded the Swedish warnings).
Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10222657066008798&set=gm.1632475266937890
https://sites.google.com/site/seedienstostpreussen/die-schiffe?fbclid=IwAR0LqWjg2tUZhkV10e9NGPTAcyYskHzlw7vhg4_gD9aqPL_2XiT5d_QUtc8
Panzergrenadiers of the German Wehrmacht driving through a burning village somewhere on the Eastern Front. 1944. Propaganda photo by SS-Kriegsberichter (war reporter) Grönert. Taken from “Signal” magazine, 5th year, issue 18, 1944.Source :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1630505800468170/?__cft__[0]=AZUc7whqFkzd07ifDVuONGhje1Yk965FgCPGWG8exXHdRwSpRCFcD07Jw8rZe8jAJ_ni5KEP9r7HGjrmxxErk988cX01Pg-Q4_Vd-RO3cdG0MkYyix22l7DHO8kZLJYL4cY16KllMghhaNOpW8_TtfXgb3wsnwGsprC9LuiQj_nwWTJezhiaWZ0fpWEnGrONQSQ&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
Reinhard Johann Heinz Paul Anton Suhren (16 April 1916 - 25 August 1984) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and younger brother of Korvettenkapitän (Ing.) and Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipient Gerd Suhren.
Suhren was born in Langenschwalbach, the second of three children, and grew up in the Weimar Republic and Third Reich. He joined the navy in 1935 and began his U-boat career in March 1938. He spent a year as 1st watch officer on U-48 where he received the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross for his contribution in the sinking of 200,000 gross register tons (GRT) of merchant shipping. In April 1941 he took command of U-564. As a commander, he is credited with the sinking of 18 merchant vessels of 95,544 GRT, 1 warship of 900 long tons (910 tonnes) and damaged four merchant vessels of 28,907 GRT for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
Suhren left the boat and became an instructor in October 1942. He then served in the 27th U-boat Flotilla along with Korvettenkapitän Erich Topp. During the last year of the war Fregattenkapitän Suhren was the Führer der Unterseeboote Norwegen (Leader of U-boats in Norwegian waters) and from September 1944 the Commander-in-Chief of U-boats of the North Sea. After the war he worked in the petroleum industry and died of stomach canceron 25 August 1984.
Source :
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=405108927424604&set=gm.1632605800258170
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhard_Suhren?fbclid=IwAR34bkhXQwU0JKghcGT0XHtrHT8Po6MfGCCEW1U8rKbMgMi-UYLsrwKsRC0
Source :
Akira Takiguchi collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10222643081499194&set=gm.1631006587084758
Balkans, Greece, Corinth.- War cemetery for fallen German Paratroopers who were killed at Operation Merkur (1941). The picture was taken in 1942. / Source Theodor Scheerer's estate.
The Battle of Crete was fought during the World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began in the morning of May 20th 1941, when Nazi Germany activated the airborne invasion of Crete. Greek forces and other Allied forces, along with the people of Crete, defended the island. After one day of fighting, the Germans had suffered appalling casualties and the Allied troops were confident that they would defeat the invasion. The next day, through communication failures, Allied tactical hesitation and German offensive operations, Maleme Airfield in western Crete fell, enabling the Germans to land reinforcements and overwhelm the defensive positions on the north-west of the island. After a few more days of fighting, Allied forces withdrew to the south coast. Over half were evacuated by the British Royal Navy and the remainder surrendered or joined the Cretan resistance. The defense of Crete evolved into a costly naval engagement, the Royal Navy’s eastern Mediterranean strength had been reduced to only two battleships and three cruisers.
The Battle of Crete was the first occasion where Fallschirmjäger (German paratroops) were used en masse, the first mainly airborne invasion in military history, the first time the Allies made significant use of intelligence from decrypted German messages from the Enigma machine, and the first time German troops encountered mass resistance from a civilian population. Due to the number of casualties and the belief that airborne forces no longer had the advantage of surprise, Adolf Hitler became reluctant to authorize further large airborne operations, preferring instead to employ paratroopers as ground troops. In contrast, the Allies were impressed by the potential of paratroopers and started to form airborne-assault and airfield-defense regiments.
Source :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1631273513724732/?__cft__[0]=AZVsjirq_HR7Tg37ZG0IklLD7zsQK5ggx5UqFU8id3GCH6HCkYfBZjCM8cxBw_-3l2kTAtJCUqXHoFiq_E6w9al6qiYzQ7nxY-Ovi0oIW3X43ydkkfObGzjluNLs0wquHafE6OGt9GCpYjEuLgFdSSXbTeyisKKbtlLnR6z2Vv5tOfk9rG89stSQeDFPl_Uqmz4&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
Source :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1630525563799527/?__cft__[0]=AZWnI8SaPckBTG7bB_6bPwTLINFTaT8qUsz97-1ZL8DZ_r8bW_UiiH1S1lMTFicHj4xgpQt5CayrCnHxs1UJPN3H-DE0imI6ugC2cluHBsKvVi23Bjpj8rr5A_Ootcqlt84VkPla0OyQ2qE-5IfJCiwU-SdfJ5G9dG5GaFtPGCIIJFI0XVvUQuNtZtfmN5RJ_h0&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10222602886174336&set=gm.1626894270829323
The MV Wilhelm Gustloff was a German armed military transport ship which was sunk on 30 January 1945 by Soviet submarine S-13 in the Baltic Sea while evacuating German civilian refugees from East Prussia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Estonia and military personnel from Gotenhafen (Gdynia) as the Red Army advanced. By one estimate, 9,400 people died, which makes it the largest loss of life in a single ship sinking in history. Originally constructed as a cruise ship for the Nazi Kraft durch Freude (Strength Through Joy) organisation in 1937, she had been requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine (German navy) in 1939. She served as a hospital ship in 1939 and 1940. She was then assigned as a floating barracks for naval personnel in Gdynia (Gotenhafen) before being armed and put into service to transport evacuees in 1945.
Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Wilhelm_Gustloff
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10222606779271661&set=gm.1627323930786357
General winter raging in Smolensk, winter 1941/1942. From the estate of Oberstleutnant Alfred Matthes, Kommandeur Flieger-Nachschub-Kolonnen-Abteilung (motorisiert) II/200. The winters of 1941-1942 were the coldest of the century!Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10222635470308919&set=gm.1630273493824734
During the last week of January 1942, Dr. Grögl moved from Przemyśl to Lwiw (Lemberg). On the way to Lwiw he took a series of pictures in Horodok (Grodek), including this one.Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10222179929720689&set=gm.1576258015892949
Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10222183575131822&set=gm.1576719519180132
The destruction of Catherine Palace in winter 1941/1942.The Catherine Palace (Russian: Екатерининский дворец, Yekaterininskiy dvorets) is a Rococo palace located in the town of Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), 30 km south of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian Tsars. A member of ZKO (Zentra Kraft Ost, see HERE) made a trip in the Heeresgruppe Nord area and took these photographs. The Catherine Palace was bombarded by the Russians to harass the Germans who had captured the old and beautiful palace (and stole a lot of treasures off it, including the famous amber room). At this time, the outside of the palace appears still more or less intact, but internally some serious damage, as shown in the photo.
Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1576760329176051/?__cft__[0]=AZWgPbA1u64Ibm10g0LwBW7Z6C4mapsoPyOIAo4HIoZK20oMKZpm8l1fC9iNoAmcHDyYDxJXixlWKQvDxz0rGiMJr309HaDNRoCiiOMtvUALDoj56SJdXdPyCD_cizd5_4rl0CWwZvmwzah2PnMqPQlF&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
Soviet equipments captured on the route of 16. Panzer-Division, 1942. A Soviet M1931 76mm Air Defense Gun and a GAZ-03-30 bus.Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10222239424968033&set=gm.1584419835076767
From Akira Takiguchi: Comparison of the shape of perforation of 1945 Agfacolor film and the standard wartime piece. I noticed that on my iPhone the pictures will not show. If you can't see the pictures, view this on a PC. In HERE Axel Urbanke discussed about the Agfacolor slide films that appeared in 1943 with better colors. Recently I acquired a film from 1945 Hungary which has roundish perforation, quite different from the classic Agfacolor film (see attached image). Before the arrival of the the film, I had thought that it must be a postwar copy due to the shape of the perforation - they looked like Kodachrome or postwar Agfa. When I received the film and examined frames in my hands, my thoughts changed. They simply doesn't look like optical duplicates - no loss of sharpness and contrast. So I started to wonder if new films had hit the market. I added a close up of a Waffen SS soldier in pea dot camo (Erbsentarn) uniform to show how good the film is.
Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1596740427178041/?__cft__[0]=AZVy5Lr9ZrnsRF5TSE7YyGfNngapRtEQYSH6JAzqqocKBEyDj0NYL7ygkhCxGwO8JA_QMmw0ZT5yYqBkL7QemHka03cARuBS0n2De_gHOe1wUNdG06Jz7pEQzdNxk0fotT20EYpyWjCg8IDthOT8m_GZ&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
Villagers photographed while Organization Todt works in a village in eastern Europe, 1943. Another slide (a few frames back) added - dance time. Mostly women and children, a few young lads and one older man from the village.Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1621195738065843/?__cft__[0]=AZVh0Uofo_RtYTAlS3_Z3kmliBbdIPBwud9ehnXi75oZyM-Od-41rELEu1jamMrM0UJ10dB2sKT5y8rLpGo-4sJf92YcN1zdElXqa4lnLj0SwyGOM0jcLPnBKibk8XiuziLH4Vv5sc-R7gmM9frZxTCK&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ritter_von_Greim?fbclid=IwAR2cBo17RDBRHAdDqjjioPQGKniGuH4rHWWWIR9Bxw8fAJ9rAyEv22vL5tw
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10222578406642363&set=gm.1624149901103760
Dietrich Puttfarken (30 April 1920 - 23 April 1944) received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 7 October 1942 as Oberleutnant and Flugzeugführer in 1.Staffel / I.Gruppe / Kampfgeschwader 51 (KG 51). The medal was awarded after flying about 250 sorties, during which he claimed to have destroyed the following enemy materiel while on the Eastern front:
- Several merchant ships (totalling 14500 GRT)
- 1 submarine
- 30 aircraft and 1 flying boat on the ground
- 9 tanks
- 200+ trucks
- 13 locomotives
- About 100 railway cars
- 3 important bridges over the Don river
Source :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1623226754529408/?__cft__[0]=AZUNtpJEK4XTaSjDzHFhaEHHtkq7uoS_cvjjOdE9AJjmm316-nrzdP5KkYCZZ0Uw7j6JH12uE4l9k95fQvNW8C0KEVJRCRi2AL-I75Hn6BMCR-ffKC3JvEby3ykBo9zrOOjRdHG2MXSQ8drgp4cCIQyjdSRUHKN-BUCreaC4xZJFvPCh1RG2uEMpy3A17jh5DOA&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/25721/Puttfarken-Dietrich.htm
Friedrich Heyl (26 August 1881 - 24 December 1957) was born in Bayreuth in 1881. He joined up the Army in July 1900 and attained officer rank in the artillery in March 1902. He was an Oberleutnant and battery commander at the start of World War I and was promoted to Hauptmann in December 1914. He was later a brigade adjutant and a battalion commander before joining the general staff. He ended the war as IIa of an army. Heyl was selected for the Reichsheer and commanded a mortar company before assignment as a mortar instructor. He was promoted to the rank of Major in February 1924 and retired as an Oberstleutnant in April 1929. In October 1933 Heyl returned to the army as a staff officer at Wehrkreis VII. He was promoted to Oberst in October 1936 when he assumed command of Wehrbezirkskommando München IV. The following month he transferred to head Wehrbezirkskommando München II and he remained there until his retirement at the end of August 1943. He was promoted to Generalmajor rank on 1 October 1941. Friedrich Heyl died in Munich on Christmas Eve 1957.
Source :
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=228524&hilit=friedrich+Heyl
http://www.geocities.ws/orion47.geo/WEHRMACHT/HEER/Generalmajor/HEYL_FRIEDRICH.html
https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/hugo-jaeger?family=editorial&phrase=hugo%20jaeger&sort=mostpopular#license
Generalmajor Maximilian Jais
Born: 04 Mar 1891 in Munich (München)
Died: 24 Jan 1957 in Traunstein
Promotions:
Gefreiter (01 Apr 1913); Unteroffizier (01 Aug 1913); Vizefeldwebel der Reserve (28 Jun 1914); Leutnant der Reserve (15 Feb 1915); Oberleutnant der Reserve (15 Mar 1918); Oberleutnant (05 May 1919); Hauptmann (01 Feb 1927); Major (01 Sep 1934); Oberstleutnant (01 Mar 1937); Oberst (01 Mar 1940); Generalmajor (01 Oct 1942)
Career:
Entered Army Service (01 Oct 1912)
One Year Volunteer in the 7th Bavarian Field-Artillery-Regiment (01 Oct 1912-30 Sep 1913)
Discharged to Reserve as an Officer-Aspirant (30 Sep 1913)
Reserve-Exercise A (06 May 1914-30 Jun 1914)
Called Up from Reserve (04 Aug 1914)
With the 7th Bavarian Field-Artillery-Regiment (04 Aug 1914-23 Mar 1915)
Transferred into II. Replacement-Battalion of the 8th Bavarian Field-Artillery-Regiment (23 Mar 1915-19 May 1915)
Transferred into the 21st Bavarian Field-Artillery-Regiment (19 May 1915-11 Nov 1917)
Detached to Course of the Field Artillery Firing School Beverloo (03 Aug 1917-06 Sep 1917)
Battery-Leader in the 21st Bavarian Field-Artillery-Regiment (11 Nov 1917-18 Jun 1918)
Wounded, in Hospital (18 Jun 1918-21 Aug 1918)
Battery-Leader in the 21st Bavarian Field-Artillery-Regiment (21 Aug 1918-03 Jan 1919)
Retired (03 Jan 1919)
Entered Active Army Service (05 May 1919)
Company-Leader in Volunteer-Detachment Voithenleitner, Freikorps Epp (05 May 1919-20 May 1919)
Company-Leader in the 2nd Rifle-Regiment (20 May 1919-01 Jan 1921)
Transferred into the 19th Infantry-Regiment (01 Jan 1921-01 Feb 1927)
Detached to Mortar-Course Königsbrück (22 Feb 1921-16 Apr 1921)
Supervision-Officer with the Course for Mortar-Officers in Jüterbog (01 Dec 1925-30 May 1926)
Company-Chief in the 19th Infantry-Regiment (01 Feb 1927-01 Oct 1933)
Administrator with the Infantry Training Staff, Jüterbog (01 Oct 1933-01 May 1935)
Instructor at the Infantry-School Jüterbog (01 May 1935-06 Oct 1936)
Commander of II. Battalion of the Infantry-Instruction-Regiment (06 Oct 1936-12 Oct 1937)
Commander of III. Battalion of the Infantry-Instruction-Regiment (12 Oct 1937-12 Apr 1939)
Detached to the Staff of XVIII. Army-Corps (12 Apr 1939-26 Aug 1939)
Führer-Reserve - Military-District-Command XVIII (26 Aug 1939-04 Jan 1940)
Commander of the High-Mountain-Firing-School Salzburg (04 Jan 1940-15 Jun 1940)
Führer-Reserve OKH (15 Jun 1940-21 Jun 1940)
Commander of the 104th Rifle-Regiment (21 Jun 1940-10 Dec 1940)
Führer-Reserve OKH (10 Dec 1940-21 Dec 1940)
Commander of the 331st Infantry-Regiment (21 Dec 1940-08 Apr 1941)
Commander of the 141st Mountain-Infantry-Regiment (08 Apr 1941-05 Dec 1941)
Führer-Reserve OKH (05 Dec 1941-01 Apr 1943)
Commander of Division 188 (01 Apr 1943-08 Oct 1943)
Commander of the 188th Reserve-Mountain-Division (08 Oct 1943-20 Oct 1943)
Commander of Division 418 (01 Nov 1943-20 Mar 1944)
Führer-Reserve OKH (22 Mar 1944-01 May 1944)
Wehrmacht-Commandant of Luxembourg (01 May 1944-10 Sep 1944)
Commander of Section-Command Jais at the Westwall (10 Sep 1944-00 May 1945)
Commander of Division Jais (10 Sep 1944-00 Sep 1944)
In Captivity (00 May 1945-12 May 1947)
Released (12 May 1947)
Awards & Decorations:
- Ritterkreuz (504): am 17.09.1941 als Oberst und Kommandeur des Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiments 141
- 1914 EK I: 01.03.1918
- 1914 EK II
- Kgl. Bayer. Militär-Verdienstorden IV. Klasse mit Schwertern
- Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer: 21.12.1934
- Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung IV. bis II. Klasse: 02.10.1936
- Verwundetenabzeichen, 1918, in Schwarz: 24.11.1936
- Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung I. Klasse: 08.10.1938
- Spange zum EK I: 26.04.1941
- Spange zum EK II: 25.04.1941
- Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen
- Wehrmachtbericht: 11.06.1941
- Ärmelband "Kreta": 01.06.1942
- Medaille "Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/1942": 20.07.1942
Source :
http://www.geocities.ws/orion47.geo/WEHRMACHT/HEER/Generalmajor2/JAIS_MAXIMILIAN.html
https://www.pinterest.fr/pin/483081497511978707/
Dr.rer.pol. Hermann Hohn received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes #2375 on 28 November 1943 as Oberst and stellvertretender Führer 72. Infanterie-Division. Starting on 14 November 1943 Hohn and his battered Division were stationed as the primary defenders of the city of Cherkassy, a cornerstone of the Dnieper front, against a much superior enemy. On 15 November 1943, in response to the formation of the dangerous Soviet bridgehead around Swidowok, Hohn launched a flank attack that got as far as Swidowok itself by dangerously exposing the remainder of his front. The risk paid off however, and by doing so he prevented the penetration of strong Soviet forces into the flank and rear of the German lines. Later, on 22 November 1943, the Soviets launched a powerful combined arms assault with 7 regiments backed up with AFVs and artillery. It managed to create a broad gap in the German frontline and penetrate into the rear of the defense, while advancing eastwards. Coupled with the simultaneous massed assaults east of Cherkassy itself, there was a real danger the city would be encircled. In response Hohn made the independent decision to send a Kampfgruppe from the south into the flank and rear of the penetrating enemy, which busted open the encirclement ring southeast of Cherkassy. Hohn would subsequently play a major role in destroying the Soviet forces that were trapped by this maneuver. He would later be awarded the Ritterkreuz for his notable defensive achievements during this time.
Hohn received the Eichenlaub #410 for his Ritterkreuz on 1 March 1944 as Oberst and Führer 72. Infanterie-Division. The following newspaper article (dated 8 March 1944) describes why Hohn received the Eichenlaub: “During the fierce combat west of Cherkassy in February 1944 the 72. Infanterie-Division belonged to the Kampfgruppe of General der Artillerie Stemmermann. Oberst Hohn was the soul of the resistance of his Division on this occasion also. He repeatedly reorganized the defenses, built up new defensive fronts on his own initiative and prevented the enemy’s sought-after breakthrough through the encircled Kampfgruppe via furious countermoves of his own. He and his men formed the vanguard during the smashing of the Soviet encirclement ring. Despite the weeks of heavy fighting in the muddied-up terrain he was able to draw on his own outstanding bravery and tireless energy to inspire his Grenadiers to give their best and force the breakthrough of the enemy lines.”
Finally, Hohn received the Schwerter #109 for his Ritterkreuz on 31 October 1944 as Generalmajor and Kommandeur 72. Infanterie Division. The medal was awarded for the outstanding leadership of his Division during the fighting in summer 1944 in the Sandomierz-Opatow-Ostrowice area.
Source :
http://www.historicalwarmilitariaforum.com/topic/6937-ritterkreuztr%C3%A4ger-photos-in-color-thread/
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/6830/Hohn-Hermann.htm?c=aw