Crossing the River

 

Soldiers from unidentified Heer unit crossing the river in the Eastern Front. No other informartion available.

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

Luftwaffe HG Soldier in Sicily

 

 

Soldier of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 1 "Hermann Göring" in Sicily, August 1943 (between Augusta and Syracuse).

Source :

ECPAD Archive, courtesy of Blanluet Christophe

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10158873472923308&set=gm.2706887726245122

Germans Crossing Sabotaged Bridge in Yugoslavia

 

Gebirgsjäger in Yugoslavia: With a captured Italian AB.41 armoured car, the German forces crossing a sabotaged bridge under the watchful protection of an MG 42 crew. Notice the MG-Truppe: They seem to be wearing all Windblusen. As a schwere MG crew two have also been issued with the Koppeltragestell that is not often seen with the Gebirgsjäger. Both are the webbing variant but the right hand side is made of British material.

 

 

Source :

ECPAD Archive, courtesy of Blanluet Christophe

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10158877659343308&set=gm.2708289516104943

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/

Reichswehr MG Crew During Manoeuvre

Soldiers of the Reichswehr man a Maschinengewehr (MG) 08/15, during an exercise in the interwar years. The largescale introduction of the machine gun by all combatants before outbreak of World War I totally changed infantry warfare.

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

Great Display of Firepower by LSSAH

Great display of firepower from the soldiers of Leibstandarte Division along fenced area of a Ukrainian farmhouse during Operation Barbarossa in 1941. If the sniper fire is not adequate, a few bursts from the MG 34 machine gun will suppress any enemy activity.

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/147862177882/great-display-of-firepower-from-the-soldiers-of

German Machine Gunner in the Battle of Kursk

A German non-commissioned officer and a machine gunner zero in on an enemy Soviet position during the Battle of Kursk (German: Unternehmen Zitadelle); the Germans hoped to weaken the Soviet offensive potential for the summer of 1943 by cutting off a large number of forces that they anticipated would be in the Kursk salient. The Kursk salient or bulge was 250 kilometres (160 mi) long from north to south and 160 kilometers (99 mi) from east to west. By eliminating the Kursk salient, the Germans hoped to also shorten their lines, nullify Soviet numerical superiority in critical sectors (which would give the Germans time to regroup and plan another offensive against the Red Army) and regain the initiative from the Soviet Union. For the Germans, the battle was a failure, and the Soviets  were able to gain back territory along a 2,000 km (1,200 mi) wide front following the battle. Kursk Oblast, Russia, Soviet Union. July 1943. Image taken by Franz Grasser.

Source :
http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/142864374500/a-german-non-commissioned-officer-and-a-machine

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

Norwegian Soldiers on the Leningrad Front

Two Norwegian soldiers from the Den Norske Legion photographed on the Leningrad Front with a MG 34 (Maschinengewehr 34) machine gun mounted on an anti-aircraft tripod, summer of 1942. In the light-machine gun role, it was used with a bipod and weighed only 12.1 kg (26.7 lb). In the medium-machine gun role, it could be mounted on one of two tripods, a smaller one weighing 6.75 kg (14.9 lb), the larger 23.6 kg (52.0 lb). The larger tripod, the MG 34 Lafette, included a number of features, such as a telescopic sight and special sighting equipment for indirect fire. The legs could be extended to allow it to be used in the anti-aircraft role, and when lowered, it could be placed to allow the gun to be fired "remotely" while it swept an arc in front of the mounting with fire, or aimed through a periscope attached to the tripod. Mounted to the Lafette the effective range of the MG 34 could be extended out to 3,500 meters when fired indirectly.

SS MG Team on Training

A two-man SS machine gun unit standing at their firing positions in a neatly dug slit trench. Needless to say, this photograph was taken during an exercise on a training ground.

Training of Flemish SS Volunteer's MG Crew (part 3)

Recruits, either Germans, racial Germanic types or of Nordic stock, entering the Waffen-SS underwent a very rigorous training programme designed by the SS authorities to produce very efficient fighting material. This photograph show Flemish volunteers undergoing field training as a two-man machine gun crew. Taking whatever cover a shallow depression affords them, the crew set up their MG as stealthily as possible. The gunner pulls the MG into its firing position whilst the No.2, who has already opened the lid of the ammunition container, starts to observe his front through his binoculars. It was the task of No.2 to observe, usually through field glasses, the target ahead and to direct the fire of the MG onto the enemy.

Training of Flemish SS Volunteer's MG Crew (part 2)

Recruits, either Germans, racial Germanic types or of Nordic stock, entering the Waffen-SS underwent a very rigorous training programme designed by the SS authorities to produce very efficient fighting material. This photograph show Flemish volunteers undergoing field training as a two-man machine gun crew. They are spring up from their prone positions and start to cover the open ground as quickly as possible. At this moment they are most exposed to enemy counter fire.

Training of Flemish SS Volunteer's MG Crew (part 1)

Recruits, either Germans, racial Germanic types or of Nordic stock, entering the Waffen-SS underwent a very rigorous training programme designed by the SS authorities to produce very efficient fighting material. This photograph show Flemish volunteers undergoing field training as a two-man machine gun crew. Here, the No.2, armed with a Luger pistol, awaits the moment to dash forward to his next position. The Maschinengewehr 40 (MG 40) was carried by the gunner, the No.1, whilst spare ammunition, contained in its carrying case, and an extra machine gun barrel, carried in a special metal container, were both carried by the No.2