Wehrmacht Light Field Howitzer

Large parts of the Wehrmacht were not motorized, but mounted. This was also the case for this artillery unit with a 10.5 cm leFH 18 leichte Feldhaubitze (10.5 cm light field howitzer 18). The gun was pulled by six horses, and the operating crew rode along on the Protze. The gun remained in use throughout the war, was continually improved and partly motorized. From 1935 to the end of the war, 11,848 were produced, along with 10,265 of the leFH 18/40 variant.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10.5_cm_leFH_18
https://www.zinnfigur.com/en/Books-Media/Others/Calendars/Zweiter-Weltkrieg-in-Farbe-2023.html

German Halftrack Towing Artillery during Barbarossa

German artillery on the advance in the Ukraine: Sd.Kfz.7 KM m8 half-track pulling a field gun, summer 1941. The use of half-tracked prime movers for artillery was common in the German forces but not elsewhere. Compared to wheeled vehicles, half-tracks are more difficult to maintain, they often suffer track breakages, and are slower on roads. However, they have better off-road mobility compared to wheeled vehicles. Photographer: Artur Grimm.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sd.Kfz._7
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/soviet-union-ukrainian-ssr-world-war-ii-german-artillery-on-news-photo/548129269

German Coastal Artillery in Norway

German coastal artillery in Norway. Photo by Bildberichterstatter Gundlach.

In the beginning of the Norwegian campaign, there were 6 Marineartillerie-Abteilungen: MAA Horten, MAA Kristiansand, MAA Stavanger, MAA Bergen, MAA Drontheim, and MAA Narvik. These units were to man captured Norwegian Coastal Fortresses. In June 1940, the MAA’s got number designations, the first ones for just 1 month, before they got permanent numbers.

The German MAA’s were divided into companies, each company manned a battery. Each MAA usually consisted of 6 companies, but this could range from 2 – 12 coys. The commander of a MAA was usually Korvettenkapitän, but could also be Fregattenkapitän or Kapitänleutnant.

Army artillery units designed for coastal defense appeared in Norway in 1941. They established several Heeresküstenartillerie-regimenter (HKAR), Heeresküstenartillerie-Abteilungen (HKAA) and 160 Heeresküsten-Batterien (HKB). At the end of the war, there were 221 batteries divided into 29 units & 10 regiments. The Germans had serious problems in commanding and controlling this effectively. The mix-up between army and naval artillery also caused serious problems when it came to effective command.

The Heeresküstenartillerie had standard army OOB, but had guns of varying quality.They were also equipped with tanks, mostly French captured ones, like the Somua. The coastal defense had a big need of men. In 1930, the whole Kriegsmarine counted 15000 men. In Norway, the total number of Army / Naval Coast defense personnel was about 65000 (1945). Artillery Schools were established several places, amongst them Rauöy in the Oslo-fjord, and Stavern.

Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/posts/1906782666173814/?__cft__[0]=AZUuO_vSByS790n9KaQIsAbuwn8LeoffMWol5IX4nTf8sMPB_b34YSFLfnbFNMHPXLxRg0lkaLFjrhIf2gtox2fDPXMGqWLcR0qR6L5drmcG2BYeiqK9p9N8otNjwmO1Rf-6ZdxwqD1wJhtPEqRwEXJ0&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
https://www.feldgrau.com/ww2-german-norway-coastal-defence/

German Horse-Drawn 150mm Feldhaubitze 18

German horse-drawn 15cm gun marching into enemy territory, 1940. Though almost invisible, the gun barrel has a muzzle cover with a red reflector. From a Farbdias group of a (later) ZKO officer. A fantastic photograph on many levels that would grace any book on World War II - also rare in that it shows German troops in relaxed mode. Don't forget the small details, such as the steam still coming off the horses! It maybe the only colour photograph to show the 150mm Feldhaubitze 18 in horse.

Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10224447831776823&set=gm.1821186171400131

Artillerie-Regiment 213 on the March in Poland

Artillerie-Regiment 213 on the march with drawn units on a country road in Poland, September-October 1939. The regiment is a part of 213. Infanterie-Division. During the Invasion of Poland, the 213th Infantry Division served in the reserves of Heeresgruppe Süd (Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt). It did not play a significant role in the Poland campaign. After the campaign, the division served under XXXV. Armeekorps.

Source :
Bundesarchiv B 206 Bild-GD-06
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/213th_Security_Division_(Wehrmacht)

German Flak 88 Artillery

 

The 8.8 cm Flak 18/36/37/41 is a German 88 mm anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery gun, developed in the 1930s. It was widely used by Germany throughout World War II and is one of the most recognized German weapons of that conflict. Development of the original model led to a wide variety of guns.

The name applies to a series of related guns, the first one officially called the 8.8 cm Flak 18, the improved 8.8 cm Flak 36, and later the 8.8 cm Flak 37. Flak is a contraction of German Flugabwehrkanone (also referred to as Fliegerabwehrkanone) meaning "aircraft-defense cannon", the original purpose of the weapon. In English, "flak" became a generic term for ground anti-aircraft fire. In informal use, the guns were universally known as the Acht-acht ("eight-eight") by Germans and the "eighty-eight" by the Allies.

Air defense units were usually deployed with either a Kommandogerät ("command device") fire control computer or a portable Würzburg radar, which were responsible for its high level of accuracy against aircraft.

The versatile carriage allowed the 8.8 cm FlaK to be fired in a limited anti-tank mode when still on its wheels; it could be completely emplaced in only two and a half minutes. Its successful use as an improvised anti-tank gun led to the development of a tank gun based upon it: the 8.8 cm KwK 36, with the "KwK" abbreviation standing for Kampfwagen-Kanone (literally "battle vehicle cannon", or "fighting vehicle cannon"), meant to be placed in a gun turret as the tank's primary armament. This gun served as the main armament of the Tiger I heavy tank.

In addition to these Krupp designs, Rheinmetall later created a more powerful anti-aircraft gun, the 8.8 cm Flak 41, which was produced in relatively small numbers. Krupp responded with another prototype of the long-barreled 8.8 cm gun, which was further developed into the anti-tank and tank destroyer 8.8 cm PaK 43 gun used for the Elefant and Jagdpanther, and turret-mounted 8.8 cm KwK 43 heavy tank gun of the Tiger II.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8.8_cm_Flak_18/36/37/41
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10159051694138817&set=gm.1648104402041643

German Heavy Field Howitzer in Action

 

The moment of a shot from a 210 mm German heavy field howitzer. Ukraine, summer 1941. The color slide was made by Leutnant Herbert Achenbach, member of the 3.Batterie / schwere Artillerie-Abteilung 681 (3rd Heavy Artillery Battery, Section 681) in the southern section of the Eastern Front. The estate with 247 slides is in Axel Urbanke archive. Achenbach was KIA on March 30, 1945 at the Hockenheim-Ring (racing car circuit) in the Reich.

The 21 cm Mörser 18 (21 cm Mrs 18), or 21 cm Mörser M 18/L31, was a German heavy howitzer used by independent artillery battalions and batteries. A number were also used by coastal artillery units. The Mrs 18 was an enormous weapon that was transported in two pieces, as was common for such large weapons. For travel the barrel was slid on to a separate trailer. The carriage carried an integral firing platform that was lowered to the ground when emplacing the howitzer. The wheels were then cranked up off the ground and it was now ready for firing. A rear castor-wheel jack was used to raise the rear spade off the ground if the gun needed to be traversed more than the 16° allowed by the mount proper.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21_cm_M%C3%B6rser_18?fbclid=IwAR1QPccH7uxfVb9pXopazAK1mi9FghGgN_aE8YimhpI1lZnK0xLf4xLC-e8#/media/File:21cmM%C3%B6rser18FortSillRear2005.jpg
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=417302729538557&set=gm.1648093895376027

Winter Camo for German Artillery

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

Detached Soldiers Wait for Assignment

One of war's lighter moments: Detached soldiers wait for assignment (no further information). Photo by Hugo Jaeger.

Source :
Tobi Moll photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/?post_id=1532316880287063&__cft__[0]=AZVmjIs-W2TUd9r-I4dXNkOa3e0kJww68PDB9F803dM01uRxlqQFf0ekoEE1KoPdnYBfNr4MpOSlEJdV5U8e11sGuprFGal65UG-RUOWjwqzrp3neKzWn6wKLW-2eVagdSUe7HJo2CEsCdUqK7sz3-wZFJDpaQdB2JAyThIwADCpO8seiw4f2wIi7ps8b1Y4jAQ&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

German Artillery on the Way to Stalingrad

Advancing to Stalingrad: 10cm guns of 16.Panzer-Division, August 1942. These are sK18 10cm guns firing at flat trajectory. Note the sighting poles in two colors (white/red and white/black).

Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10221356362772030&set=ms.c.eJxNzckNQkEQA9GMkN12b~%3BknhuDPIK7vUEVEUFmq6A4ILx6JtmKH~_wi3FVtdQhxppeVh1RUtRRc1utIb4SZz~%3B8SZDPIRNIkuY~_4ddO0oUTodIDDNTd3XRzbI9ORXsPSoas30T8ppr~%3BrpoAdtJbiYIyoUG57lGzSgNYY~-.bps.&type=3&theater&ifg=1

Indian Legion Training

Possibly this is the only color photo that shows member of the Legion Freies Indien (Free Indian Legion) of the Wehrmacht! This photo is came from the French "Historia" magazine (Hors série n° 21 Les SS Vol 2 : L'Enfer Organisé) that published in 1971, and shows two member of the Indian Legion who were practicing the operating of artillery weapon. From the turban on their head, we know that they are Sikhs. We can also clearly see the shield on their arms, which shows a Bengal tiger against the background of the Indian national flag.

Source :
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2010/07/album-foto-sukarelawan-india-legion.html
http://www.mourningtheancient.com/truth13b.htm

An Artillery NCO with Woman and Pet

A noncommissioned officer of a German Army Artillery regiment - specializing in Transmissions - posing with a woman (probably his spouse) and puppy, near Tempelhof, Berlin, summer of 1943. The strange thing is the color of his uniform, a cinnamon color, while if it were summer it should be white. This picture is a part of Thomas Gade photo collection.

Source :
http://www.medienarchiv.com/Drittes%20Reich/1940-1943/page3.htm
http://www.panzernet.com/foro4/showthread.php?11073-Uniformes-mezclados/page2

Sd.Kfz.7 Towing Artillery Crossing the K-Gerät Bridge

The halftrack prime mover shown in this picture (towing a 15cm sFH18 heavy howitzer battery) is the Sd.Kfz.7 mittlerer Zugkraftwagen (8-ton). It was the most widely used prime mover type of which 10,257 units were built. The K-Gerät  (Kastenträger-Gerät) moveable bridge and simple broad leaf camouflage is interesting too. K-Gerät is a light self-supporting 16-ton bridge on three part pontoons or blocks with length 78,8m. Its design was copied from the British Small Box Girder bridge in the mid-1930s. The K-Gerät used the same panel length as the SBG, but slightly amended the bracing details. A 1943 article in the German military magazine describes the bridge being used on the Russian Front in conjunction with pontoons and goes on to say that 'the bridge has given good service and is similar to bridges used in enemy armies'

Source :
Book "One More River To Cross" by J.H. Joiner
http://www.feldgrau.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7775
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=152334&hilit=equipment&start=330
http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2011/12/uk-military-bridging-equipment-pre-wwii-equipment-bridging/
http://www.ww2incolor.com/german-artillery/ale.jpg.html

German heavy coastal artillery of the Atlantikwall preparing to fire

German heavy coastal artillery of the Atlantikwall preparing to fire. The successful German offensive in May and June 1940 placed Calais and its environs under the control of an enemy of the United Kingdom for the first time since the end of the Napoleonic Wars, 125 years earlier. In the initial directive for the invasion of the United Kingdom, codenamed Operation Sealion, which was issued on 2 July 1940 by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, the supreme command of the German armed forces, the requirement was stated for powerful coastal artillery to "provide additional cover... against English naval attack". In a further directive on 10 July, the purpose of the guns was stated to be "for covering the front and flanks of a future crossing and landing" and they were placed under the overall control of Erich Raeder, the Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine. Work to assemble and begin emplacing every Army and Navy heavy artillery piece available, primarily at Pas-de-Calais, commenced on 22 July 1940. The heavy construction work was undertaken by the Organisation Todt. The first such guns to be put in place were Wehrmacht guns on the French coast, which began to be installed around the end of 1940. First came Siegfried Battery at Audinghen, south of Cap Gris Nez, with one 38 cm (15 in) gun (later increased to 4 and renamed Todt Battery), shortly followed by: Three 30.5 cm (12 in) guns at Friedrich August Battery, to the north of Boulogne-sur-Mer; Four 28 cm (11 in) guns at Grosser Kurfürst Battery at Cap Gris Nez; Two 21 cm (8.3 in) guns at Prinz Heinrich Battery just outside Calais; Two 21 cm (8.3 in) guns at Oldenburg Battery in Calais; Three 40.6 cm (16 in) guns (from among the so-called Adolf Guns) at Lindemann Battery between Calais and Cap Blanc Nez (the battery was named after the fallen commander of the battleship Bismarck, Kapitän zur See Ernst Lindemann)

Sources :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-Channel_guns_in_the_Second_World_War
https://www.pinterest.com/danielesorgato/artiglieria/

German Mortar Training

A German mortar crew prepares to fire the 8cm schwere Granatwerfer 34 during training. After 1942 German Mortars and range chart were attached to the middle of the tube below the collar. This enabled them to correctly - not only tell the number of charge Increments on the round to use - but also the elevation for the tube (the US Troops in Iraq used the white line down the centre of the tube as did the Germans). This was for accurate laying of the mortar . Most German mortar Crews carried shovels to dig in the baseplate . They were trained bed in the baseplate quickly . Mortars caused more casualties in Normandy than any other weapon . The main reason why was that their is no incoming sound, so no warning to take cover

Source:
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=28557
http://thirdreichcolorpictures.blogspot.com/2010/07/german-mortars-in-color.html

Hitler Inspecting Railway Gun Gustav

This picture was taken by Walter Frentz in 4 April 1943 at Reichswerke Hermann Göring, Linz (Germany), when Hitler visited the Eisenbahngeschütz 80 cm Kanone Schwerer Gustav. FLTR: Generalleutnant Walter Buhle (Chef vom Heeresstab im Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), Ingenieur Erich Müller (Wehrwirtschaftsführer), Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel (Chef des Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), Reichsleiter Martin Bormann (Stabsleiter im Amt des Stellvertreters des Führers), Adolf Hitler (Führer und Reichskanzler), Prof.Dr.-Ing.Albert Speer (Reichsminister für Rüstung und Kriegsproduktion), and SS-Gruppenführer Julius Schaub (not visible in this picture, Chefadjutant des Führers Adolf Hitler)...

Source:
http://elektra.bsb-muenchen.de/servlet/Top/frames/hitsframe#bildarc