Rommel Visiting the Sollum Front

 

Together with his staff officers, on 2 July 1941 General der Panzertruppe Erwin Rommel (left, Kommandierender General Deutsches Afrikakorps) made a visit to the headquarters of I.Bataillon / Schützen-Regiment 104 / 15.Panzer-Division in the Sollum front, which is on the border Libya-Egypt. During this visit, in particular "Der Wüstenfuchs" (The Desert Fox) congratulated the commander of the battalion, Hauptmann der Reserve Wilhelm Bech (walking at the forefront with Rommel), who in the battle a month earlier managed to withstand the British tank forces who were trying to break through the Halfaya Pass in order to free their comrades who were besieged in Tobruk, in a mass attack codenamed Operation Battleaxe (15-17 June 1941). For three full days Bach and his men endured wave after wave of enemy tank attacks, with only a platoon of Flak 88 cannons as their main weapon. Although Rommel himself had ordered the Bataillonskommandeur to retreat to a more adequate defensive location "if possible", Bach interpreted his commander's last words in the opposite direction: a counterattack that succeeded in repelling the British troops! For this phenomenal achievement, Bach - who is a former priest (!) - was awarded the prestigious Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on July 9, 1941, just a week after this photo was taken. The Flak 88 itself was originally an anti-aircraft gun, but it can be just as good when it comes to hitting tank targets on the ground. BTW, in April 1941 - which was only one month after Rommel arrived in North Africa - German forces managed to defeat the invading British army and driven it out of Libya, except for one stubborn ANZAC garrison which remained in the port city of Tobruk (despite being besieged by a combined force of Italian and German Afrikakorps). Over the next year, the re-capture of Tobruk became Rommel's biggest obsession, because without it all German efforts to conquer Egypt would be vulnerable. When the port city was finally occupied in June 1942, a grateful Hitler rewarded Rommel with an extraordinary promotion to Generalfeldmarschall.

Source :
https://www.bridgemanimages.com/en/search?filter_group=all&filter_region=GBR&filter_text=Erwin%20Rommel

Spanish Tank Troops during Parade

A Russian T-26 with a machine gun installed in the turret.

Tank troops of the Spanish army during a parade in the ruins of Madrid, 1939-1940. Soviet-made T-26, German Panzer.I and Italian L-3/33 tanks were demonstrated at the parade, passing the Carretera de La Coruña, Moncloa. The Pz.I and L-3/33 tanks were handed over to the Spanish nationalists (Francos) during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), while Soviet-made tanks were captured in battles with the Republicans. The picture was made by German photographer Otto Wunderlich.

The same previous tank with another on its side. In the background the Clinic.

Photograph similar to the previous ones.

A T-26 passes in front of the ruins of the Pérez Galdos school, in the background the buildings of the Plaza de la Mopncloa can be distinguished.

Source :
https://477768.livejournal.com/6484593.html?utm_source=3userpost
http://florentinoareneros.blogspot.com/2017/03/wunderlich-acorazados.html

Bio of SA-Obergruppenführer Hanns Ludin (1905-1947)

Hanns Elard Ludin (10 June 1905, in Freiburg – 9 December 1947, in Bratislava) was a German diplomat and SA-Obergruppenführer. Born in Freiburg to Friedrich and Johanna Ludin, Ludin began his Nazi affiliation in 1930 by joining the party, and was arrested for his political activities the same year. Imprisoned until 1931, he joined the SA on his release.

Ludin was lucky to survive the "Night of the Long Knives" in 1934 when Hitler purged much of the left-wing of the Nazi party. Ludin restored his reputation by joining the Foreign Office and became Ambassador to the Slovak Republic in 1941, replacing Manfred von Killinger. Ludin's activities included convincing the Slovak government to comply with deportations for slave labor and providing diplomatic cover to such activities. In 1943, he was promoted to SA-Obergruppenführer.

Ludin was arrested after the war and extradited to Czechoslovakia, where he was tried with SS-Obergruppenführer Hermann Höfle (not to be confused with SS-Sturmbannführer Hermann Julius Höfle). He was sentenced to death and was hanged on 9 December 1947.

Married to Erla von Jordan (1905 – 1997), Ludin had six children: Erika (1933 – 1997), Barbara (born 1935), Ellen (born 1937), Tilman (1939 – 1999), Malte (born 1942) and Andrea (born 1943). Hanns Ludin's youngest son, Malte Ludin, filmed a documentary about the impact of his father's involvement in the Third Reich on his family. The film, 2 oder 3 Dinge, die ich von ihm weiß, had its initial release in 2005. The movie's commercial run in New York City began on 24 January 2007 at the Film Forum.

Source ;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanns_Ludin
https://twitter.com/eugenij38848533/status/1071794893641650176?lang=en

HQ of Panzer-Abteilung z.b.V. 40 in Denmark

Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf. Bs of 1.Kompanie / Panzer-Abteilung z.b.V. 40 at the entrance of the Jørgensens Hotel in Horsens, Denmark, which housed the headquarters of the battalion, April 1940. The hotel is located at Søndergade Street no. 17.

Panzer-Abteilung zur besonderen Verwendung 40 (Panzer-Abteilung z.b.V. 40), translating as "panzer unit for special purpose utilization", was formed on March 8, 1940 for the German invasion of Norway and of Denmark. The unit consisted mostly of Panzer I and Panzer II light tanks. It took part in the invasion of Denmark on 9 April and then was transported to Norway in April 1940.

The unit consisted of an HQ section and three companies, one taken from 3rd, 4th and 5th Panzer Divisions, each with three platoons as the fourth platoon remained with the original division in each case. On April 9, 1940 the unit complement included 69 tanks (42 Panzer I, 21 Panzer II and 6 Panzer I Befehlswagen command tanks.) Most of Panzer I tanks were Ausf A while the Panzer II tanks were primarily the Ausf c variant.

With the invasions on April 9, 1940, the First and Second companies were sent to Denmark while the Third company was sent to Norway aboard the transport ships Urundi and Antaris H.[1] On April 10, 1940 Antaris H was sunk by the Royal Navy submarine HMS Sunfish with the loss of 15 tanks and crew. Only two tanks, a Panzer I and II, arrived in Norway. German forces in Norway were reinforced by the First and Second companies, who embarked on 20 April and arrived on 24 April.

Source :
https://477768.livejournal.com/5996713.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer-Abteilung_40
https://www.reddit.com/r/wwiipics/comments/k5lpr8/panzer_i_ausf_bs_of_panzerabteilung_40_at_the/
https://waralbum.ru/357345/