German Soldiers in the Trenches

German soldiers crowded in the trenches, reminiscence of World War I. No information about place or date.

Source :
https://www.sutori.com/en/story/ww11-timeline--NzaxvEFFK32SoJX1ys9MJ8eK

The Thousand-Mile Stare of Soldier from Panzergrenadier-Regiment 126

 

 

Soldier of I.Bataillon / Panzergrenadier-Regiment 126 / 23.Panzer-Division in Romania, April-August 1944. His face showing the thousand mile-stare: a mixture of sheer exhaustion, everyday fear, endless boredom and despair...

Source :
ECPAD Archives, courtesy of Blanluet Christophe
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10158997833213308&set=gm.2748717868728774

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

Two Luftwaffe Instructors with Their Charges During Training

Two Luftwaffe instructors with their charges during initial training. The recruits are wearing white denim clothing, which was popular both on land and for general work aboard ships. The trucks on which they are sitting were quite common at the time. They were used on building sites, quarries and other places where heavy loads had to be moved. The tracks were often laid temporarily along the roads to overcome the problem of carrying heavy loads over soft ground or rough cobblestones. Heavy loads were still moved by horses and carts until some time after World War II. Lorries composed only a tiny fraction of the traffic on roads, many of which were unsurfaced tracks - even the more busy highways were covered with bumpy cobblestones. The vast majority of modern, tarmac surfaces did not appear on the continent of Europe until long after the war.

Source :
Book "Wolfpacks At War: The U-Boat Experience In WWII" by Jak Mallmann Showell

Armenian Volunteers of the Wehrmacht in France

Armenian soldiers of the German Wehrmacht’s Armenische Legion (Armenian Legion) arrive in the south of France to strengthen the coastal defenses on the Mediterranean. Approximately 33,000 Armenian men served in German field battalions, while another 7,000 served in logistical and other non-combat units. The majority of the soldiers in the legion were former Soviet Army soldiers who were taken as POWs by the Germans and opted to fight for the Germans rather than face the appalling conditions of Nazi POW camps. Smaller numbers freely joined the Germans as nationalists who opposed Armenia’s inclusion as a Soviet republic. German military authorities found the Armenians to be poorly trained, poorly motivated and often apt to desert, defect, revolt and aid the enemy. Following the war, soldiers of the Armenian Legion were repatriated to the Soviet Union where most were tried for treason and executed or sent off to die in the gulags. Near Toulon, Var, France. February 1944. Image taken by Erwin Schultz.

Source :
http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/143600472505/armenian-soldiers-of-the-german

Fritz Augustin from 260. Infanterie-Division

German soldier Fritz Augustin from II.Bataillon / Infanterie-Regiment 470 / 260.Infanterie-Division

Source :
http://wordpress.260id.de/?page_id=2692

Sepp Dietrich Visiting Hitlerjugend Shooting Match

The notorious SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Josef “Sepp” Dietrich is seen here at Innsbruck in October 1943 at a visit to a shooting match organized by the Hitlerjugend. Around his neck the famous Waffen-SS commander wears the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern (Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords).

Flemish SS Volunteers Undergo Instruction in the use of Kar98k Rifle

In these five photographs, Flemish volunteers undergo instruction in the use of the German Mauser Kar98k rifle under the watchful eye of junior SS officers and NCO. Political indoctrination, physical fitness, drill on the parade ground, sports and field exercises, skill with weapons and a smart turn out were all part of the daily routine inculcated into an SS recruit, aimed at producing as an end result an efficient, smart and fully trained soldier. Weapon training was an essential aspect of a recruit's life. The handling, stripping, cleaning, re-assembling and actual firing of all personal weapons played an important part in his daily routine.

Flemish SS Volunteers Take a Break during Field Exercise

Flemish SS volunteers take a break during a field exercise. Their rifles are clearly shown stacked in groups of three or four in the traditional manner that kept them neatly in one position and allowed for their rapid recovery whilst at the same time keeping the important working parts of the weapon off the ground and away from dirt and damp