S-Minen Preparation by Afrikakorps

 

S-Minen preparation with a vast array of fuzes (pressure and trip). Mines are for defending but also for slowing down the enemy. Booby traps not forgotten. The picture was taken when the Axis troops were in full retreat in Lybia, December 1942.

Source :
ECPAD Archives, courtesy of Blanluet Christophe
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10158979917633308&set=gm.2743536849246876

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

Pionier Soldier with Smoke Grenade

 

Soldier of a military engineering unit from the battles of Lorraine. We know that he is a pionier based on the pouches on each side. Also the smoke grenade marked with the white strip. Photographer: Heinz Pollmann.

Source :

https://classic.europeana.eu/portal/en/record/2024909/photography_ProvidedCHO_United_Archives_01850082_jpg.html?q=who%3A(Heinz%20Pollmann)&fbclid=IwAR2YTyxym5G0nRjstuJ7zVK9plWTHKEuTN6tmuBVhbH_9vjYl4PsPmraSes#dcId=1605438223778&p=6

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=198775975045943&set=gm.2714826438784584

Pioniere Trained with Landmines

 

Soldiers of a military engineering unit leaving their vehicles and run to their preordered area to cover it with landmines, Germany 1940s. Photographer: Heinz Pollmann.

Original-Bildunterschrift: Pioniere einer Minen-Kompanie beim Legen einer Minensperre im Gelände, die Männer verlassen im Sprung die Kraftfahrzeuge und laufen in die befohlene Stellung zum Minenlegen, Deutschland 1940er Jahre

 

 

 

Source :

https://classic.europeana.eu/portal/en/record/2024909/photography_ProvidedCHO_United_Archives_01850072_jpg.html?q=who%3A(Heinz%20Pollmann)&fbclid=IwAR2FRr9q53RqsePpAVTnTo8UBtWd8TgSZJYOVf58ydxCq5TFnr9opLxkXhU#dcId=1605443079286&p=2 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2360048380929060/permalink/2714882852112276/?__cft__[0]=AZXIhiTsKKXr_UauFmuC6ltNOVDjwJ2UaFrZTx-gUbZN86y6b-SB33rpOIqwC6N5aqGezMRY5diJp3ffCBS5_oBgP0qsJ-6p4rcLFsQ0TBxoI3xzOMTgjZTNde6ist8lchq7cHtZGRrqbIZqYaQ5uLJkaCnxQ6yzN7fxgLDdsVjS27d4Hqp4Qw7OL3NEAR5ZSqo&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

Reconnaissance Raid near Tobruk 1941

A DAK assault team climbs aboard a PzKpfw III Ausf.G. Location and date unknown. Supposedly taken during the siege of Tobruk (April to November, 1941). An interesting display of German war material and personal equipment including a flamethrower (Flammenwerfer 35) carried by the soldier already atop the tank. The soldier to the left carries an MG34 ammo drum and a MG spare barrel (the tube on his back); to his right another soldier carries two bags filled with grenades. On the right, what was most probably the team leader has laid his MP-38 or 40 on the vehicle before climbing aboard. Note the 2 canteens per soldier and the makeshift helmet covers.

Source :
Courtesy of Blanluet Christophe of ECPAD Archive
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1728158044141689/
https://www.facebook.com/TheTruthInColor/photos/a.853308841373560/2212145122156585/?type=3&theater

Young Platoon Commanders from Pionier-Bataillon 25

Four young Zugführer (Platoon Commanders) from Pionier-Bataillon 25, pictured in the summer of 1942. From left to right: Leutnant Emil Gräf (1. Kompanie), Leutnant Anton Locherer (2. Kompanie), Leutnant Fritz Molfenter (2. Kompanie), and Leutnant Karl Vögele (2. Kompanie). The battalion was an excellent blend of experience and youth. Most of the officers had been soldiers or NCOs in the battalion during the Polish or French campaigns: the battalion was one of the fortunate few where men would spend their entire careers. If they were wounded, retrained or promoted, chances were very good that they would return to their beloved Pionier-Bataillon 45.

Source :

"Island Of Fire: The Battle For the Barrikady Gun Factory In Stalingrad November 1942 - February 1943" by Jason D. Mark

Wehrmacht Soldiers Pose with Abandoned Soviet Tank

Men of Pionier-Bataillon 45 pose atop one of the many Soviet tanks that littered the vast battlefield west of Kalach, summer of 1942. “We passed through the steppe near Kalach and saw the results of a clash between 6. Armee and a Russian tank army”, recalls Gefreiter Karl Krauss from 2. Kompanie, “about one thousand shot up and derelict Russian tanks – from T-34s up to the 152mm equipped KV2s – covered the battleground, and amongst all these were countless quantities of guns and other materiel. Did Ivan still have the power to resist?”

Source :

"Island Of Fire: The Battle For the Barrikady Gun Factory In Stalingrad November 1942 - February 1943" by Jason D. Mark

Pioneers Carrying an Extended Charge

Two Heer pioneers rush forward in training carrying an extended charge (Gestreckteladung) as their Unteroffizier looks on. This consisted of 200g charges wired to planks at 10-15cm (4-6in.) intervals.

Source :
Book "German Pionier 1939-45: Combat Engineer of the Wehrmacht" by Gordon L. Rottman

Crossing a Pontoon Bridge at Night

Crossing a pontoon bridge at night, under the supervision of the Pioniere during an exercise (note the coloured bands on helmets and caps). Brückengerät B bridge construction was a rather complicated procedure that required a reconnaissance of the area to determine the most suitable site to build the bridge and determine the type of bridge required. The Brückengerät B pontoon bridge sections could be assembled in three different configurations: a 130m-long version with a maximum capacity of 4 tons, an 80m-long version with a capacity of 8 tons, and a 50m-long version that could carry up to 20 tons.

Source :
Book "German Pionier 1939-45: Combat Engineer of the Wehrmacht" by Gordon L. Rottman

Inflatable Boats are Loaded with Troops

5.5m medium inflatable boats are loaded with German troops. It was these boats that were paddled across countless rivers to secure the far shore and allow a bridgehead to be established enabling the pioneers to build bridges and operate ferries.

Source :
Book "German Pionier 1939-45: Combat Engineer of the Wehrmacht" by Gordon L. Rottman

Corduroy Road in the Frontline

A completed corduroy road made by the German pioniertruppen was often settled in by running a tank or other heavy vehicle down it before the 'ribbon-cutting ceremony'. The guide rails on the edges were a standard fixture. Beneath the surface logs are at least five stringer logs running the length of the road surface. Depending on the depth of the mud it might require several layers of cross-laid logs. Ideally a layer of sand, earth, or gravel would be laid on the surface for a smoother ride.

Source :
Book "German Pionier 1939-45: Combat Engineer of the Wehrmacht" by Gordon L. Rottman

German Infantry Crossing the River

Improvisation and ingenuity were characteristic of the German Pioniere, even though their makeshift solutions could not always be fully appreciated by the men using them. This improvised footway, built using medium-sized inflatable boats, planks, and timber, enables the infantry to get across the river, but judging from the look of the machine gunner in the foreground something more stable would have been appreciated.

Source :
Book "German Pionier 1939-45: Combat Engineer of the Wehrmacht" by Gordon L. Rottman

Leutnant Wolfgang Stein in Stalingrad

Leutnant Wolfgang E. F. Stein, commander of the 2.Kompanie / Pionier-Bataillon 635, remembers his experience in Stalingrad during the battle on 18 October 1942: “As the oldest lieutenant, I became company commander. We were ordered to blow up bunkers on the bank of the Volga in close combat. During the night we advanced through the Red Barricade gun factory, near the fuel depot. There I was severely wounded during the attack. I suffered a high loss of blood and was lying there senseless. At dawn my comrades brought me back while using smoke and hand grenades and brought me to the battalion command post. My friend, assistant doctor Dr. Lechtken, saved my life; I was flown out to Stalino severely wounded. In this action my friend and comrade Leutnant Fritz Bauch also was severely wounded; he lost his right leg. Of my unit, Oberleutnant Fröhlich, Leutnant Hartung, Gefreiter Bethke, Pionier Straubinger, and Pionier Fischbacher were killed.”

Source :
Book "Winter Storm: The Battle for Stalingrad and the Operation to Rescue 6th Army" by Hans Wijers

Gebirgs Motorcyclists Crossing the River

Two motorcyclists, wearing their distinctive rubberised coats, wade across a stream during a Gebirgs units drive through southern Poland, September 1939. A pioneer with a spade has been attempting to erect a temporary crossing for the motorcycles, but without much luck.

Source :
Book "Images of War: Hitler's Mountain Troops 1939-1945" by Ian Baxter

Oberleutnant Richard Grimm in Stalingrad

Oberleutnant Richard Grimm, one of the company commander from Pionier-Bataillon 305 / 305.Infanterie-Division, at Goroditsche, 13 October 1942. The picture was taken by Rudolf Freigang

Source :
Book "Winter Storm: The Battle for Stalingrad and the Operation to Rescue 6th Army" by Hans Wijers