Group of Wehrmacht Soldiers Gathered Together

A privately made photograph of a group of Wehrmacht soldiers gathered together. The group of soldiers are laughing. Notice that at least 15 soldiers have wire attached on their helmets for camouflage purposes.

Source :
https://www.ea-militaria.com/wehrmacht-group-photograph-drahtung-helmets.html

SS Soldiers with StG 44 Assault Rifle

One of the most well-known photos with Sturmgewehr G44 (in fact it's an MP43/1) of SS-Panzergrenadiers from IV. SS-Panzerkorps engage in conversation during a break in Hungary, 1945.

 

 

Source :
https://equipment.fandom.com/wiki/M44_Erbsenmuster
https://twitter.com/StG44Geek/status/1221936827659116547
https://www.ww2-weapons.com/mp44-stug44-mp43/

Skijäger Brigade at Pripet region

Skijäger aiming his brand new MP.43/1 (Stg.44) assault rifle, with his LW gravity knife dangling from his belt. Note the protective rubber cap on the muzzle. The Fallschirmjäger gravity knife is not a standard issue for Skijäger, but  it was issued in significant numbers to them. The picture itself was taken in January 1944 at Pripet (Bug) region.

1. Skijäger Brigade at Pripet region, January/ February 1944. The unit had top priority in the distribution of MP 43 (later Stg.44). In January 1,553 assault rifles out of 5,400 were issued to the brigade. Each company fielded a shock-platoon armed with 30 of these revolutionary weapons.
LW gravity knives (Jäger in the middle) were standard issue just like Fallschirmjäger gas masks canvas containers were.

Carrying a wounded comrade. Skijäger Brigade in the Pripet region, January/ February 1944. Note the white-washed MP.43 magazine pouch and the man carrying the wounded which probably wears a StuG-Jacke.. Given the casual face of the 'wounded' man it is possible that this is just all for posing to the PK-Man. Note the right most man seems to be carrying a camera box himself. He's also armed with a G43. None of them seem to be wearing Bergschuhe these troops often were issued with.

Taking casualties even when the reporters are there. Skijäger Brigade in the Pripet area,March 1944. This is not the same chap that was carried in a previous photo, even though it's from the same film roll and Kriegsberichter. Looks like here is something real going on. Two on them are wearing Windblusen. It is a very good piece of over clothing. Nowadays we would retrieve the hand grenades and remove the web gear before giving assistance!

1 Skijäger Birgade in the Pripet marshes, February 1944.

1. Skijäger-Brigade in the Bug area (Pripet), February-March 1944. The MP 43 assault rifle is really white and it does show how well it blends in with the snowy background. All is in white-washed camo, with only the rifle sling and the shoes have not been painted.

1. Skijäger-Brigade patrol armed with MP 43/1, led by an officer. Bug area (Pripet) February-March 1944. The leading Skijäger has his LW gravity knife dangling at its belt. These men were clever enough to adapt their camouflage to their surroundings (wearing a white top would have outlined them against the forest of dark tree trunks behind!). The men were well supplied with MP 43s. Which is an excellent weapon for that terrain. The sub machine gun look identical to the MP44 but there are a few slight differences, mainly the muzzle nut is longer then the one used on the MP44.

Source :
ECPAD Archives, courtesy of Blanluet Christophe
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2360048380929060/

Fallschirmjäger Pioneer

 

 

Amiens (France), May-June 1943. Erprobung.Kommando from XI. Fliegerkorps. Judging by what is visible, this container is destined to engineers: smoke grenades, smoke canisters, explosive loads, fuzes, etc. Details in these photos are fantastic! All of the content seem to be smoke generating munitions (the fact that this packing is prior to a field exercise following a jump, lots of smoke ammo sounds logical). The bending lad is holding a 3 kg demolition slab with three types of fuzes.

Source :
ECPAD Archives, courtesy of Blanluet Christophe
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10158975562398308&set=gm.2742198149380746

1. Skijäger-Brigade Patrol

 

1. Skijäger-Brigade patrol armed with MP 43/1, led by an officer. Bug area (Pripet) February-March 1944. The leading Skijäger has his LW gravity knife dangling at its belt. These men were clever enough to adapt their camouflage to their surroundings (wearing a white top would have outlined them against the forest of dark tree trunks behind!). The men were well supplied with MP 43s. Which is an excellent weapon for that terrain. The sub machine gun look identical to the MP44 but there are a few slight differences, mainly the muzzle nut is longer then the one used on the MP44.

Source :
ECPAD Archives, courtesy of Blanluet Christophe
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2360048380929060/permalink/2740822902851604/?__cft__[0]=AZWuNFyXPGqbnTji8wcpcT7RyNUsAwMnU8qEFBc0ptTZpYietWzLFlxotJ_jGZ8kwaaYwYHv9c1_vRXv_G1MdNMxZtKq3bsS8-OoIw93gltw2QDdIWfCPm0x7b2m5iGy9JsFtGeF1COK79SuXN2qCq6I&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

Germans in White Camo in Positions

A squad from III. Abteilung, Armee-Nachrichten-Regiment 501 in positions in a Russian village during the winter of 1942-43. Part of the 16th Army, Army Group North, it spent most of the war on the northern part of the Eastern Front. The Soldiers are armed with an MP 38 submachinegun, an MG 34 machinegun, and Kar 98k carbines. Wearing reversible snow suits, they are better equipped for the winter than a year ago. The Germans used black and red armbands buttoned to the upper half of the sleeves for recognition purposes. The combination of colors and which sleeve they were worn on changed from day to day, just like code words, as a way of minimizing the risk of Red Army infiltrators.

Source :
Björn Hellqvist photo collection
https://ww2inphotos.wordpress.com/2017/07/27/its-grim-up-north/

German Sniper at Kandalaksha Front

German scharfschütze (sniper) at Kandalaksha Front. He is wearing his ski as a bipod for his Kar 98k Mauser rifle. He is also wearing a white smock for winter camouflage. This picture was taken by Kriegsberichter Strassl. In July 1941, during World War II, the town was the primary target of an unsuccessful German-Finnish offensive which attempted to cut the strategic Murman Railway.

Source :
'Mauser Military Rifles' by Neil Grant

SS Soldiers in France

German soldier from SS-Standarte "Der Führer" / SS-Division-Verfügungstruppe (motorisiert) in France in 1940. He wore a stahlhelm cover and a camouflage jacket of the Platanenmuster type. Shortly after the German military campaign in France, collar numbers were withdrawn from circulation for safety reasons, leaving only SS runes. This photo is taken from the book "Waffen-SS Im Westen: Ein Bericht In Bildern" by SS-Kriegsberichter Friedrich Zschäckel, published in 1941. The original caption reads: "Das Geschicht der Waffen-SS" (Face of the Waffen-SS).

Source :
"Waffen-SS Im Westen: Ein Bericht In Bildern" by Friedrich Zschäckel

Reichswehr Artillery Team

A gun team mans a 7.5cm Feldkanone (field gun) NA, during a pre-war Reichswehr exercise. Although the light artillery piece was used in World War I, it was extensively used to equip escort batteries, which were

established in 1939 to assist the attacking infantry.

Source :
Book "Sturmartillerie: Spearhead of the Infantry" by Thomas Anderson

Das Reich Soldiers During Barbarossa

A group of soldiers from the Das Reich Division stopped to consult a map and conduct a radio check during Operation Barbarossa in 1941.

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/150836145637/a-group-of-soldiers-from-the-das-reich-division

Face of War

Portrait of a Totenkopf Division soldier in the battlefield during Operation Barbarossa in 1941.

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/150921014022/portrait-of-a-totenkopf-division-soldier-in-the

SS Division Deutschland in Netherlands 1940

German SS soldiers of the SS-Division "Deutschland" (from 1943 onward, 2. SS-Panzer-Division "Das Reich"; previously, SS-Verfügungstruppe, or SS-VT) on motorcycles and in a Wanderer W-11 car drive down Amsterdam vaart street in Haarlem during the German invasion of the Netherlands and the beginning of the Battle of the Netherlands. The battle lasted from 10 May 1940 until the main Dutch forces surrendered on 15 May 1940, after the German Luftwaffe devastated the city of Rotterdam in a bombing campaign known as the Rotterdam Blitz and the subsequent threat by the Germans to begin bombing other large cities if the Dutch refused to surrender. Queen Wilhelmina and the Dutch government succeeded in escaping from the Netherlands before the surrender and formed a government-in-exile in London. Haarlem, North Holland, the Netherlands. May 1940.

Source :
http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/142034757750/german-ss-soldiers-of-the-motorized-ss-panzer

Officer of the 9. SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen

An officer of the 9. SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen busies himself with administration on 20 September 1944. He was photographed at house no. 6 on the Dreijenseweg street, Oosterbeek, Netherlands.

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/142697474557/an-officer-of-the-9-ss-panzer-division

Waffen-SS Radio Operator

German field radio operator from SS-Gebirgs-Division "Nord" in the northern sector of the Eastern Front. They are wearing SS-Palmenmuster camouflage smock.

Source :
http://www.panzergrenadier.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6309&p=138571

Radio Operator from HJ Division in Normandy

A radio operator from the 12. SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend" performs his duties near the town of Caen in July 1944 following the D-Day invasion that took place the previous month

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/140935166312/a-radio-operator-from-the-12-ss-panzer-division

HJ Division Soldiers with MG 42 in Normandy

Two soldiers from the 12. SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend" with a MG 42 machine gun position in the garden of a château in the Caen sector, Normandy, summer of 1944.

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/140936898547/two-soldiers-from-the-12-ss-panzer-division

Christian Frederik von Schalburg Surrounded by his Men

SS-Sturmbannführer Christian Frederik von Schalburg (center), commanding officer of Frikorps Danmark, surrounded by some of his men in 1942. In May 1942, the Danish volunteer unit was despatched to the front to support the Totenkopf Division and Heer units, which were involved in fierce defensive actions around Demyansk, south of Leningrad.

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/138695658022/ss-sturmbannf%C3%BChrer-christian-frederik-von

Joachim Peiper Decorates a Soldier of the SS Leibstandarte Division at the Battle of Kursk

SS-Sturmbannführer Joachim "Jochen" Peiper (right) decorates a soldier of the Leibstandarte Division with the Iron Cross Second Class during Operation Zitadelle in July 1943. Behind is his adjutant SS-Untersturmführer Werner Wolff, awarded the Knight’s Cross shortly afterwards.

Tank Commanders and Platoon Leaders of the SS Leibstandarte Division

Tank commanders and platoon leaders of the Leibstandarte Division’s 13./SS-Panzer-Regiment 1 proudly pose in front of their newly painted Tigers in Italy in the autumn of 1943 (from left to right): SS-Oberscharführer Otto Augst, SS-Untersturmführer Michael Wittmann, SS-Unterscharführer Ewald Mölly and SS-Oberscharführer Jürgen Brandt.

Soldiers of the Kampfgruppe Peiper in the Belgian Town of Honsfeld

Soldiers from the Kampfgruppe Peiper (Leibstandarte Division) in the Belgian town of Honsfeld on 17 December 1944 during the Ardennes Offensive. Peiper reported that the Americans were still sleeping when he entered Honsfeld with the main body of the kampfgruppe at about 06:00 and continued in the direction of Büllingen.