HISTORY IN IMAGES: Pictures Of War, History , WW2: December 2009

German soldiers in Russia: Part 4

A German soldier with a MG-34 machine gun with optical sights. German technology at work

This man has a bite to eat. He has a machine gun and a hand grenade by his side

German sniper in camouflage mask, armed with a carbine Mauser 98 K with an optical sight.

A soldier catches his dead colleague on film

Having a rough time. A horse has collapsed and there is a traffic jam

The Germans are retreating and are not making things easy for the approaching Russians. This contraption is breaking up the rail track.

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The pictures in this article are rather grim. They show the brutal side of German soldiers

The Soviet POW stands glumly in a German army truck. Wonder what happened to the man later

German flame-thrower all set for action

These men are trying out the gallows before it is used on Russians

Killing Russians

A soldier sets the dog on a captured Russian POW

German soldiers in the town square in a captured Russian town with a statue looking on

This image is symbolic. This is what happened to the German army in Russia

A German soldier met his end clutching a porcelain article which he had looted

A trophy. Banner of the USSR

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Taking a break after a hard day. Or has the bad news started coming in?

This man is reading a letter from home. His mother or his girlfriend or wife?

This German is writing back

Bonding together. Hard to imagine that these men were made out to be monsters. They look like just a bunch of, say American soldiers lazing off.

There is a guy with specs here. He hardly looks like a hard fighting machine. People are the same anywhere

Ahhh! The Russian rains and snow. Stuck in the mud.

Looks like a formal platoon photo being taken

Having a drink. The nightmare at Stalingrad came later.

Seems like a burial

Fresh recruit

These men are enjoying the bike ride

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This is a dismal picture from the Russian Front. A dull, foggy day. German soldiers bid farewell to their departed colleagues

Socialising. A relaxed lull in the war

Captured guns from the Russians?

Seems like there is a Soviet soldier around. The German soldier is alert and nervous. The officer is calm and collected. Almost amused.

Trying out captured Soviet guns

This Wehrmacht officer takes time out to read

Captured Russian soldiers

Early days in the eastern front. The soldiers are all spic and pan. And fresh. The troubles began later.

Seems like celebrating Christmas

An eerie picture. Notice the graveyard on the side? That is where most German soldiers in Russia landed up

Typical German scientific approach; even to war

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Fall of France. May 1940

French soldiers examine the remains of a German light bomber Heinkel He 111, after it was shot down. France had not fallen yet.

There are thousands of pictures that show the fall of France in May, 1940. But given below are some (I think are) rare images of that moment in history.

French POWs. Two of them seem to want something. The German soldier seems quite attentive.

Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, leading Winston Churchill to remark, shortly afterwards, 'Thank God for the French Army'. To Churchill at that time, France's army seemed a powerful bulwark against possible Nazi aggression towards other European nations.

The defeat of this powerful army in a mere six weeks in 1940 stands as one of the most remarkable military campaigns in history.

A German machine-gunner with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

In 1939, as World War Two loomed, the British and French planned to fight an updated version of what happened in 1914-18 during World War One, but with some essential differences. The French had suffered massive casualties in frontal attacks in 1914. This time they were going to remain on the defensive in western Europe, while mobilising their military forces and industrial base to fight a total war. They planned to take the offensive some two to three years after the start of hostilities.

The 'Maginot Line' replaced the crude trenches in which so much of the 1914-18 war was fought. It consisted of a sophisticated series of fortifications, which were confidently expected to protect France's frontier with Germany, although crucially the line did not cover the Franco-Belgian frontier. In general, the slow-tempo, attritional fighting of World War One heavily influenced French military doctrine at the outbreak of World War Two.

British cartoonist Illingworth portrayed the fall of France thus.

For these French soldiers the war is over.

Hitler was eager to follow up his victory over Poland in 1939 by attacking in the west, but bad weather forced the planned offensive to be postponed. Then, in January 1940, a German plane crashed in neutral Belgium, with a copy of the attack orders on board.

Hitler was forced to rethink, believing the plan compromised he turned for advice to General Erich von Manstein, who argued for a daring campaign. In effect, Manstein recognised that the Maginot Line was too formidable for a direct attack from Germany. Instead, he proposed a subsidiary attack through neutral Holland and Belgium, with the main blow against France to be launched a little later through the Ardennes. This was a hilly and heavily forested area on the German-Belgian-French border, where the Allies would be unlikely to expect an attack. The plan was to rely heavily on surprise blitzkrieg ('lightning war') techniques.

German soldiers march through a French town

German legendary and 'gentleman' general, Erwin Rommel is seen with captured British soldiers

WW2: Germany takes over Sudetenland. Poland bites off parts of Czechoslovakia

Sudeten Germans knock down the Czech border post separating it from Germany

THE SUDETEN CRISIS

Before 1938, Britain had already given way to Hitler on a number of occasions, but it was the events of the Sudeten crisis which showed appeasement in action – trying to buy off Hitler by giving way to his demands.

On 11 March 1938, Hitler invaded Austria. It was clear he wanted to do the same in the Sudetenland.

On 7 September 1938, the German Sudeten Party demanded union with Germany.

There were riots.

German newsreels showed ‘evidence’ of Czech ‘atrocities’ against the Sudeten Germans.

Hitler threatened to support the Sudeten Germans with military force.

Then Chamberlain intervened.

Chamberlain met Hitler at Berchtesgaden

Hitler promised him that this was the ‘last problem to be solved’.

Chamberlain decided Hitler was ‘a man who can be relied upon’.

He persuaded the Czechs to hand over the Sudetenland.

Chamberlain met Hitler at Bad Godesberg

Hitler made more demands.

At first Chamberlain refused, but then he decided that Czechoslovakia was not one of the ‘great issues’ which justified war, but just ‘a quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing’.

Britain and France met Hitler again and made a Pact with him at Munich (29 September).

They gave the Sudetenland to Germany.

On 30 September, Chamberlain returned to England with his famous piece of paper. ‘I believe it is peace for our time’, he told the cheering crowd.

Czechoslovakia was not even invited to the talks. The Czechs were free to fight if they wished, but they had no support. They chose not to fight.

On 1 October 1938, Hitler marched unopposed into the Sudetenland. He said that it was the start of a 1000-year German Reich (empire).

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British cartoonist Low shows how Hitler became more powerful as Western leaders showed no spine

Chief of Wehrmacht general Brauchitsch salutes a parade by German tanks to celebrate the ceding of Czech Sudetenland into Germany. October 1938.

Sudeten Germans of the town of Ash (which was predominantly German) welcome German soldiers

Polish Marshal Edward Rydz-Smigly and the German Attache, Colonel von Bogislava Studnitz greet each other at a parade of "Independence Day" in Warsaw on November 11, 1938. less than a year later Poland would cease to exist.

Polish troops occupy the Czech village Jörg during the operation of the annexation of the Czech area of Spisz.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA CEASES TO EXIST

Chamberlain essentially sacrificed Czechoslovakia on the altar of appeasement. In exchange for the Sudetenland, Hitler promised to guarantee the new Czech borders. Eduard Benes immediately resigned, and Czechoslovakia would not be guaranteed. Parts of the country were broken off by Poland and Hungary, and on March 15, 1939, German troops entered Prague. Czechoslovakia ceased to exist.

Polish tanks roll into the Czech town of Tesin

A Polish and German soldier exchange pleasantries on the bridge near Bohumin

German officers watch as Poland occupies the Czech town of Bohumin

Points To Ponder

WHY WAS THE FIGHTING ON THE RUSSIAN FRONT SO FIERCE DURING WW2?

It is difficult to distinguish between the quality of both the German and Russian soldiers. Both were motivated by their love for their motherland. But there were others factors that drove the two sides to such desperate fighting.

One, both sides knew that this was a no-holds bar war. Not fighting was thus not an option.

Second, both Hitler and Stalin had squads that killed any deserter. Turning away from fighting was just not possible.

Thus was seen some of the most bitter, brutal and desperate fighting on the WW2 eastern (Russian) Front.

Quotes....

"Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."
--Hermann Goering

SOME WW2 FACTS..........The Germans had an aircraft carrier called “Graf Zeppelin” that never left port due to lack of finishing. After the war, the USSR used it to learn ways to sink Western carriers. The USSR had limited experience in naval combat during WW2 and was seeking ways to learn about carrier combat..........The invasion of Okinawa was larger than that of D-Day..........The US & UK actively worked on ways to assist their own POWs to escape prison camps. The United Kingdom had a very interesting method – Send care packages via the Red Cross that contained maps. The maps were made out of cloth Monopoly boards and contained secret codes..........Thousands of American servicemen were killed off the coast of the United States by the German submarines. In fact, this is the reason the saying “Loose Lips Sink Ships” became so popular. The US government’s intention wasn’t to avoid ship route information being leaked to the Germans (Granted, that certainly could have been a side benefit). The primary reason was to prevent American morale from faltering if Americans knew that German submarines were operating in as little as a few hundred yards off the coast. Sinking ships and killing American sailors who had very little defense. An etimated 609 American ships were lost during the ‘Second happy time’ for a total loss of 22 German U-boats..........The first Tiger tanks could actually act as submarines. Each tank was fitted with a snorkel that would allow the tank to operate underwater as long as it could reach fresh air. This was intended to allow tanks to drive through deep rivers in Russia. Eventually the parts were dropped in favor of making the tanks easier to produce..........Between December 7th 1941 and September 22nd 1945 it was illegal to sell a new car in the United States. In fact, new cars simply wouldn’t be produced during the entire war period. Any individual caught storing or selling new cars risked imprisonment..........Nickel was so valuable in the United States that the metal was actually removed from the 5-cent piece during the war. It was substituted with silver, which was considered less valuable for war. If you happen to find a nickel minted between 1942 and 1945, it most likely contains 35% silver content, which is worth anywhere between $1 and $2 depending on market prices. Pennies in Canada and the United States were also stripped of their copper content and replaced with galvanized steel..........Although making up around 2% of total naval tonnage, the United States submarine force accounted for more than 50% of enemy ships destroyed..........A battalion of Japanese Americans liberated the Dachau prisoner camp. Initially American soldiers in the camp feared that soldiers from the Empire of Japan were there to kill them. The soldiers quickly realized they were mistaken when the soldiers spoke English and started passing out cigarettes..........On November 11, 1940, Molotov met with Ribbentrop in Berlin, where the German Foreign Minister insisted that Britain was “finished.” Then an air raid alarm blared, and everybody went to the shelter, and waited out the bombing. Molotov asked acidly, “If the British are finished, why are we sitting here, and whose bombs are falling on us?” Ribbentrop had no answer..........Pearl Harbor was bombed a total of three times during ww2. Twice on December the 7th, 1941, and again on March 4th 1942. The first two attacks resulted in significant devastation to the US navy. The third attack resulted in no American casualties, the bombs dropped by the Japanese however did damage some private property..........The French government recruited SS and former Wehrmacht prisoners to fight against the Vietnamese in the French-Indochina war..........A total of 236 submarines were used by the United States during WW2. A total of 52 were destroyed, resulting in a 22% casualty rate, the highest of any branch during WW2..........Nicknamed the “White Mouse”, a Australian citizen by the name of Nancy Wake led a one-woman army through occupied France and parts of Germany. She managed to kill (by some estimates) dozens of German soldiers while blowing up no less than one munitions factory..........Source: KnowledgeGlue