Adler 3 Gd of Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 139 Towing Anti-Tank Gun

Despite the poor roads, the Germans were ready to rely on their Mittlere Kübel-Personenwagen (medium car) Kfz.12 Adler (3 Gd) "Geländewagen", a precursor to modern-day SUVs. Following up a report of the enemy in the direction of Lake Jelettijärvi, the squad from Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 139 / 3.Gebirgs-Division shown here is trying to tow a desperately needed anti-tank gun to the front near Louhi on 15 May 1942. The Finnish hinterlands were to prove a poor operating theatre for the Wehrmacht’s advanced war machinery, designed for more accessible fronts.

Source :

Book "Finland at War: The Continuation and Lapland Wars 1941-45" by Vesa Nenye, Peter Munter, Toni Wirtanen and Chris Birks

http://www.militaryimages.net/media/adler-car-of-german-gebirgsjger-regiment-139.10955/

German Prisoners Captured Near Leningrad

A column of German POWs captured near Leningrad are marched through the ruins of a small village as Russian civilians look on. Approximately three million German prisoners of war were captured by the Soviet Union during the war, most of them during the great advances of the Soviet forces in the last year of the war. The POWs were employed as forced labor in the Soviet wartime economy and post war reconstruction. According to Soviet records 381,067 German Wehrmacht soldiers died in Soviet labor camps (356,700 German nationals and 24,367 from other nations). Other sources put this number at close to one million. By 1950, five years after the war, most of the surviving German POWs were released. The last remaining German POWs in Soviet custody were released in 1956, eleven years after the end of the war. Near Leningrad (now, Saint Petersburg), Leningrad Oblast, Russia, Soviet Union. December 1942. Image taken by Simon Friedland.

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http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/130655411180/a-column-of-german-pows-captured-near-leningrad

German Soldier with His Dog at an Airfield in Norway

A German soldier cradles his pet dog as other troops carry supplies from aircraft at an airfield in Norway during Operation Weserübung, the German assault and invasion on Denmark and Norway and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. In the early morning of 9 April 1940 (Wesertag; “Weser Day”), Germany invaded both Denmark and Norway, ostensibly as a preventive maneuver against a planned, and openly discussed, Franco-British occupation of Norway with Norwegian consent. In April, the U.K. and France came to Norway’s aid with an expeditionary force. Despite moderate success in the northern parts of Norway, Germany’s invasion of France in May eventually compelled the Allies to withdraw and the Norwegian government to seek exile in London. The campaign ended with the occupation of Norway by Germany and the continued fighting of exiled Norwegian forces from abroad and Norwegian partisans on the home front. Norway. 10 April 1940.

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http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/130838024915/a-german-soldier-cradles-his-pet-dog-as-other

Luftwaffe Prisoners Taken in a Jeep

 Two German Luftwaffe Unteroffizieren (Corporals) are photographed on the hood of an American-made Willys MB jeep after being taken as POWs by Dutch soldiers of the Royal Netherlands Motorized Infantry Brigade (Prinses Irene Brigade) in neighboring Belgium. Near Beringen, Limburg, Belgium. September 1944.

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http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/131443691765/two-german-luftwaffe-unteroffizieren-corporals

US Prisoners in the Battle of the Bulge

 U.S. soldiers of the 422nd and 423rd Regiments of the 106th Infantry Division are photographed after their surrender to the Germans during the Ardennes Offensive of the Battle of the Bulge. On 16 December 1944 over 8,000 German artillery pieces opened up on the Ardennes sector. What would follow in the next few days would become known as the largest defeat of the U.S. Army during the war. Over the next three days, the 422nd and 423rd Regiments became completely cut off from the rest of the divison. Reinforcements from the U.S. 7th Armored Division weren’t able to break trough and an ammunition drop failed to arrive. On 19 December the ammunition reserves for the two Regiments were exhausted and the U.S. Commanders Col. Descheneaux and Col. Cavender decided that further fighting would do more harm than good. To save what was left of their men, they surrendered the remainders of their Regiments. Over 7,000 men of the 106th went into German captivity and would spend the duration of the war in a series of POW camps. Near Schönberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. 22 December 1944.

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http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/131444057260/us-soldiers-of-the-422nd-and-423rd-regiments-of

German Troops Pass Danish Civilians on the Streets of Copenhagen

 German troops pass Danish civilians on the streets of Copenhagen the day German authorities declared martial law in the country. Since the German occupation of Denmark on 9 April 1940, German authorities found the majority of Danes to be exceedingly uncooperative. After the Danes scuttled several warships in the harbor and six other ships escaped to Sweden, an additional 3,000 German troops were sent to Denmark causing civilians to riot. Attacks on factories which were supplying the German war machine became more frequent, and Denmark’s refusal to hand over Danish Jews to German authorities enraged Germany. Germany enacted martial law throughout the country in August 1943 and swift reprisals followed. Copenhagen, Zealand, Denmark. 29 August 1943.

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http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/131651477895/german-troops-pass-danish-civilians-on-the-streets

German Soldiers Gather on the Place de la Concorde

German soldiers gather on the Place de la Concorde in Paris for the victory parade following the successful invasion of France and subsequent surrender of French forces in the Battle of France. On 22 June 1940, an armistice was signed between France and Germany, which resulted in a division of France, whereby Germany would occupy the north and west, Italy would control a small Italian occupation zone in the south-east and an unoccupied zone, the zone libre, would be governed by the collaborationist Vichy government led by Marshal Pétain. France remained under Axis occupation until the occupation of the country by the Allies after the Allied landings in June 1944. Paris, Île-de-France, France. June 1940.

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http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/131721909245/german-soldiers-gather-on-the-place-de-la-concorde

German Soldiers and Wounded British POW After St. Nazaire Raid

 German soldiers place wounded British POWs on the bed of a truck to be taken to a medical dressing station following the Saint-Nazaire Raid. The raid (codename: Operation Chariot) was a successful British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Louis Joubert Lock at Saint-Nazaire in German-occupied France. The operation was undertaken by the British Royal Navy and British Commandos under the auspices of Combined Operations Headquarters. Saint-Nazaire was targeted because the loss of its dry dock would force any large German warship in need of repairs, to return to home waters rather than having a safe haven available on the Atlantic coast. Although the operation was a British success, 169 British soldiers were killed and 215 became POWs. Saint-Nazaire, Loire-Atlantique, France. 28 March 1942.

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http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/131847694190/german-soldiers-place-wounded-british-pows-on-the

Polish Prisoners Marched to a Collection Site

 Polish soldiers, taken as POWS after the German declaration of war on Poland, are marched to a collection site under guard of German soldiers after the Poles were defeated in battle in Walrubien (Warlubie) and surrounding areas in West Prussia. Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia, Schwetz an der Weichsel, Germany (now, Warlubie, Świecie County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland). September 1939.

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http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/132582927570/polish-soldiers-taken-as-pows-after-the-german

Member of a Flemish SS Unit at Fort Breendonk Prison Camp

Portrait of a member of a Flemish Schutzstaffel (SS) unit who served as a prison guard at Fort Breendonk prison camp, now interred at the same camp following its liberation by Allied forces. Shortly after the Belgians surrendered to the Germans, the Germans transformed Fort Breendonk into a prison camp. On 20 September 1940 the first prisoners arrived. Initially, the prisoners were petty criminals, people deemed anti-social, or violators of the new race laws. Later on, resistance fighters, political prisoners and innocent hostages were detained as well. Another section of the camp was used as a transit camp for Jews being sent to death camps in the east such as Auschwitz. After the camp’s liberation by the British in late 1944, it was briefly used as an internment camp for Belgian collaborators with the Nazi occupiers. This period of Breendonk’s existence is known as “Breendonk II”. The internees were later moved to Dossin Barracks in Mechelen on 10 October 1944. Fort Breendonk, Breendonk, Province of Antwerp, Belgium. September 1944. Image taken by George Rodger.  

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http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/133033064175/portrait-of-a-member-of-a-flemish

German Prisoner and US Soldier at the Battle of the Bulge

A U.S. Army soldier takes a German soldier as a POW during the Battle of the Bulge; a major German offensive campaign launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg. The surprise attack by the Germans caught the Allied forces completely off guard. The U.S. forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties for any operation during the war. The battle also severely depleted Germany’s armored forces on the western front, rendering Germany largely unable to replace them as the Soviets launched an offensive days earlier in the East. Near Bastogne, Luxembourg Province, Belgium. 23-26 December 1944. Image taken by Robert Capa.

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Wehrmacht Soldier Receives a Haircut in the Eastern Front

A German Wehrmacht soldier receives a haircut in the field during a pause in hostilities of the Battle of Belgorod, a combat operation executed as part of Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev by the Soviets against the German occupying forces that followed the decisive Soviet victory at the Battle of Kursk. Belgorod Oblast, Russia, Soviet Union. July 1943. Image taken by Franz Grasser.

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http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/140355464780/a-german-wehrmacht-soldier-receives-a-haircut-in

German Prisoners After the Liberation of Maastricht

A U.S. Army soldier with his M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle leads surrendered German soldiers to a POW collection area following the liberation of Maastricht. Maastricht was the first Dutch city to be liberated by Allied forces and the nearby village of Margraten would become the home of the Netherlands American Cemetery, the only U.S. military cemetery in the Netherlands, where 8,301 U.S. soldiers who were killed in combat are buried. Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands. September 1944.

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http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/140814451235/a-us-army-soldier-with-his-m1-garand

German and Italian Officers in the Ukrainian Church

Fascist Italian Army officers (left) and a German Wehrmacht Gebirgsjäger (alpine soldier, right) officer stand in front of the battle-scarred Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Virgin in the town of Staromykhailivka as inquisitive local children look on from behind. Staromykhailivka and the surrounding region would become part of Reichskommissariat Ukraine in September 1941; a German civilian administration created for the pacification of the region and the exploitation of its resources and people for German benefit. Staromykhailivka, Stalino Oblast (now, Donetsk Oblast), Ukraine, Soviet Union. October 1941.

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http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/141452565105/fascist-italian-army-officers-left-and-a-german

Young French Woman with German Soldier

A young French woman, who began a romantic relationship with a German Wehrmacht soldier during the German occupation of France, refuses to leave his side as he and other German soldiers were taken as prisoners after the Allies had liberated the area around Orléans. Near Orléans, Loiret, France. August 1944.

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 http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/141508924635/a-young-french-woman-who-began-a-romantic

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.

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

German Soldier with a Destroyed T-34

A German soldier is photographed next to a destroyed Soviet T-34 medium tank on a road near the Russian town of Luga during Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, and just prior to the Siege of Leningrad. Luga, Leningrad Oblast, Russia, Soviet Union. July 1941.

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http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/142706882910/a-german-soldier-is-photographed-next-to-a

German Pilot Rides into Captivity in US Jeep

 A German Pilot rides into captivity after his plane, from which he was strafing American positions near Weisweiler, was brought down by anti-aircraft fire out of a formation of 25 Luftwaffe aircraft during Operation Queen. The operation was aimed against the Rur river, as a staging point for a subsequent thrust over the river to the Rhine into Germany. It was conducted by the 1st and 9th U.S. Armies and was a German defensive victory. Weisweiler, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. 9 December 1944.

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http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/142814969600/a-german-pilot-rides-into-captivity-after-his

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.

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

Fallschirmjäger at the Fornebu Aerodrome

German Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers) of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 (FJG 1) rest and regroup at the Fornebu aerodrome after capturing the surrounding area during Operation Weserübung; the German invasion of Norway. On 9 April 1940, both Denmark and Norway were simultaneously invaded by German troops. Controlling Norway was important to Germany for three primary reasons: securing the western coast as part of the defensive Atlantic Wall, as a base for naval units, including U-boats to target Allied shipping in the North Atlantic, and to secure shipments of iron-ore from Sweden through the port of Narvik. Fornebu, Bærum, Norway. April 1940. Image taken by Willi Ruge.

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http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/143396722415/german-luftwaffe-fallschirmj%C3%A4ger-paratroopers

German Soldiers in the Battle of Stalingrad

A German Wehrmacht Oberstabsfeldwebel (Sergeant-Major) and a non-commissioned Stabsfeldwebel officer (First Sergeant, or Master Sergeant equivalent) battle enemy Soviet troops outside of Stalingrad, just prior to the Battle of Stalingrad. The German offensive to capture Stalingrad began on 23 August 1942, using the German 6th Army and elements of the 4th Panzer Army. The attack was supported by intensive Luftwaffe bombing that reduced much of the city to rubble. The fighting degenerated into pitched house-to-house fighting as both sides poured reinforcements into the city. Near Stalingrad (now, Volgograd), Volgograd Oblast, Russia, Soviet Union. 10 July 1942.

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http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/143290010165/a-german-wehrmacht-oberstabsfeldwebel

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.

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

SS-Sturmbannführer Dr. Egon Skalka

SS-Sturmbannführer Dr. Egon Skalka, chief medical officer of the Hohenstaufen Division, photographed in early 1945. Skalka was instrumental in arranging the truce to evacuate wounded from the Oosterbeek pocket to hospitals in Arnhem in September 1944, which resulted in the lives of many wounded British paratroopers being saved.

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http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/142916927032/ss-sturmbannf%C3%BChrer-dr-egon-skalka-chief-medical

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.

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

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