Wehrmacht MG Team

The Wehrmacht crew of a dug in MG nests secure the flank next to the advance route. It was only with a field mount that it possible to use the MG 34 as a heavy machine gun use and set the combat distance up to 1,200 meters to increase. The soldier in the middle shoot the targets according to the instructions of the Gruppenführer at right, while the soldier on the left takes care of the Ammunition feed. However, the withered camouflage should soon be renewed.

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

Wehrmacht Winter Training

 

Wehrmacht winter training in the barracks, pre-war or early-war period. The picture come from the color slide estate of Siegfried Keller. Looking at other frames, this unit appears to be a Machinengewehr-Bataillon (you can see "M" on their shoulder boards). It is most probably MG-Bataillon 8 whose peacetime base was Züllichau im Wehrkreis III. It is also interesting that the guy marching the formation is wearing a Schützenschnur. Still awarded today!

Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10223840436992333&set=gm.1743370425848373

German MG Gunner in Winter Camo

 

 

MG-Schütze from section machine gunner number 1 of a Heer combat team in the Ukrainian village, February 1944. The machine gunner case/pouch usually contains a Kreiskorn (AA sight), spare lock, muzzle cover, two wrenches (big and small), cartridge remover, one or two cartridge belt opening sections, asbestos patch for changing the barrel, and oil bottle. Naturally a gunner could tune his pouch a little if he wished. Photographer: Hugo Jäger

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=226247508965456&set=gm.2747210062212888

MG Gunner on a He 111 Cockpit

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

Afrikakorps MG 34 Crew in the Desert Nest

Afrikakorps Panzergrenadiere from Schützen-Regiment 115 / 15.Panzer-Division with an MG34 in the desert nest during Operation Scorpion. They were part of Kampfgruppe von Herff, commanded by Oberst Maximilian von Herff. Operation Scorpion or Unternehmen Skorpion, from 26–27 May 1941, was a military operation during the North African Campaign of World War II, fought between Axis forces under Oberst Herff and British forces under Lieutenant-General William "Strafer" Gott. A counter-attack was made on British positions at Halfaya Pass in north-western Egypt, which had been captured during Operation Brevity (15–16 May 1941). Skorpion was the second offensive operation commanded by Rommel in Africa (apart from the Siege of Tobruk) and pushed the British out of Halfaya Pass, back to the area from Buq Buq to Sofafi. The Germans and Italians fortified the pass and built other strong points back towards Sidi Azeiz as tank killing zones, ready to meet another British attack. The British continued preparations for Operation Battleaxe (15–17 June 1941). Battleaxe was another costly British failure that led to the sacking of General Sir Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief Middle East and other senior officers.

Source :
https://de.allbuch.online/wiki/Maschinengewehr_34
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Skorpion

Amphibious Assault Training of the American Infantry Unit

A few photographs of the U.S. 41st Infantry Division conducting amphibious assault training in Australia in early 1942. The Division was supposed to go to the Philippines in late 1941, but there wasn't enough shipping available to get it there. As a result, it was stuck at Fort Lewis until early 1942 when shipping became available. By then, the Philippines were a lost cause and the division was deployed to Australia as one of the first American units to get overseas in World War II. The photos come from the National Archives US Army Signal Corps collection (Record Group 111-SC). They clearly show that the unit was only partially re-equipped with the standard wartime gear most GI's carried.

Source :
http://airsoftpacific.com/viewtopic.php?t=11137&start=45
http://historylink101.com/ww2_color/WorldWarIIAmphibiousUnits/IMG_1548.html

Wehrmacht Machine Gun Crew take up Positions in the Rocky Terrain

Wehrmacht Machine gun crew take up positions in the rocky terrain. They're wearing tropenhemd (tropical shirt) with 1st patttern (right) and 2nd pattern tropenhelm (pith helmet). The Maschinengewehr 34 (MG 34) mounted on its tripod with long range sights for sustained fire role, as used by the Wehrmacht, still dressed in colonial garb from the campaign in the Western Desert, in their defense of southern Italy, summer 1943. The MG 34 in this picture were used as heavy machine-gun role on a Lafette 34. By removing the indirect fire sights and trigger, the MG 34 quickly converts to a light machine-gun. The most far-reaching feature of the MG 34 was tactical rather than mechanical; it was the first example of what is known today as the ‘General Purpose’ machine gun. Fitted with a bipod it functioned as the squad light automatic; on its tripod, which incorporated a sprung cradle to reduce the recoil and vibration and thus make continuous fire less fatiguing for the gunner, it functioned as a medium machine gun; and on a different pattern of light tripod and fitted with the saddle-drum magazine, it made a good anti-aircraft weapon.

Sources :
http://www.geocities.ws/pentagon/2833/heer/infantry/mg34/mg34.html
http://ww2-weapons.com/mg34/