Die Deutsche Wochenschau is the title of the unified newsreel series released in the cinemas of Nazi Germany from June 1940 until the end of World War II, with the final edition issued on 22 March 1945. The co-ordinated newsreel production was set up as a vital instrument for the mass distribution of Nazi propaganda at war.
In this Die Deutsche Wochenschau video:
It only shows footage from the Eastern Front, starting with a short segment about Field Marshal von Brauchitsch visiting troops in the east, a segment about the deceased General Ritter von Schobert, and a visit of Göring to the supreme commander of the army.
It then shows footage of Ju-87 bombers attacking Soviet positions near Murmansk, Finnish troops attacking and occupying Vyborg, and German troops closing in on Leningrad.
The next section shows German Ju-88 bombers attacking Soviet positions on the Black Sea, and a lenghty section about the encirclement of Soviet troops around Kiev, and the occupation of the city itself.
Remarks:
01:07 Walther von Brauchitsch (1881-1948) was a German field marshal and chief of the German Army High Command from February 1938 to December 1941. He replaced Werner von Fritsch after the Blomberg–Fritsch crisis, and led, together with his chief of staff, Franz Halder, the German army during the invasion of Poland and France and the beginning of Operation Barbarossa but was blamed by Hitler for the failure to capture Moscow and was removed by Hitler, who took command of the Army High Command himself. After that, Brauchitsch held no more command until the end of the war. He was a witness during the Nuremburg trials and died in October 1948, before a trial was opened against him.
01:13 Eugen Ritter von Schobert (1883-1941) was a German general during WWII. He was known to be a pro-Nazi officer, which greatly helped advancing his career after 1933. He led the VII. Army Corps during the Invasion in Poland and France, and led the Army Command 11 during the invasion of the Soviet Union, which encompassed all the German and Romanian troops, although he couldn’t give orders to Romanian troops directly. He died on September 12th, 1941, when his Fiesler Storch airplane was forced to land, probably due to Soviet infantry fire, and landed in a minefield, where it hit a mine and exploded. He was the first German Army leader to die in WWII.
02:54 The Junkers Ju-87 was one of the most used dive bombers of the German Air Force during WWII, and also one of the most famous. Introduced in 1936, and built until November 1944, around 5,700 were made.
03:45 Vyborg became part of Finland after the country’s independence in 1917, but was ceded to Russia after the winter war in 1940. During the continuation war, it was captured by Finnish troops on August 29th, but re-captured by the Soviets on June 20th, 1944.
03:54 This is most likely a Russian M1877 106mm siege gun, which was captured by German troops during WWI and given to Finish forces in 1917, and they were used as late as WWII.
05:07 This gun is a Swedish Bofors 37mm AT-gun, developed in 1934 and produced from 1935 onwards. Initially a good gun, it became obsolete against heavier armor in later years. This gun was exported to many European nations, including Poland, the UK and the Netherlands. Finland bought 114 of these guns in 38/39, received 42 captured Polish guns from the Germans in 1940/41, and 355 were produced locally from 1939-1941. They remained in service with the Finnish army in reserve units until 1986.
05:21 This is a Soviet DP-27 light machine gun, produced by the Soviets from 1927 to the 1950s, with around 795,000 built in total. The Finns captured thousands of these guns during the Winter War and continued to use them in WWII. One of the most unique features of the DP-27 was its 47-rounds pan magazine, which can be seen here.
05:25 This is a Maxim PM M1910 heavy machine gun, produced by the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union from 1910 to 1939, and, after development of a successor failed, again from 1941 to 1945. Despite being outdated, it was commonly used by the Soviet Union, with over 650,000 built in total. Like the DP-27, the Finns also captured large numbers of PM M1910 during the Winter War and used them in WWII.
06:28 When Vyborg was captured by Finnish troops in August 1941, of the 6,287 buildings in the town, 3,807 have been destroyed, although I wasn’t able to find out if this was caused by the Soviets or simply by fighting in the town, I assume it’s a mix of both.
07:33 This artillery gun is a 122mm M1931 A-31 field gun, designed between 1927 and 1935, one of the first modern artillery pieces designed after the civil war in the USSR. Around 500 were built from 1935 to 1939, and many captured by the Germans in the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa, and used by German units afterwards. Some were even installed in the Atlantic Wall in France.
07:55 The gun being towed here is a 3,7cm PaK 36 AT-gun.
08:00 This tank is a Finnish Vickers 6-ton tank. The Vickers 6-ton tank was a tank bult by British Vickers company for the British army, which rejected it, the company was however able to sell it to various European countries (and also to Bolivia, making it the first tank to see combat in the Americas). Finland bought 33 tanks between 1938 and 1939, although they were bought without guns, optics, and radios, and were instead equipped by the Finnish with a variety of their own guns- some with short- barreled 37mm Puteaux guns, some with 37mm Bofors AT-guns, and some were re-equipped with captured Soviet long 45mm guns. This tank seen here is equipped with seemingly only an MG, while the tank in the next scene, at 08:03, is equipped with a captured Soviet 45mm gun.
08:10 The Fast Boats, or “Schnellboote” in German, designated by the Allies as “E-boats”, were fast attack crafts used by the German Navy during WWII. They were first introduced in 1931, but upgraded several times, the most commonly build type was the S38b from 1940-1943. In total, around 200 were built and served mostly in the Baltics and the English Channel. They were armed with two 533mm torpedo tubes, and a few light autocannons and AA-guns. In total, these boats destroyed 101 merchant ships, 12 destroyers, 11 minesweepers, 8 landing crafts and a variety of other vessels, and mines laid by these boats destroyed a further 37 merchant ships. They were basically the German equivalent to the US PT-boats, although the German boats had usually a higher range and were faster thanks to their stronger Diesel engines. These boats shown here belong to either the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 5th Fast Boat Flotilla, as these were deployed in the Gulf of Finland in 1941 during Operation Barbarossa.
09:55 These planes are Ju-88 bombers. Initially designed in 1935 as fast bombers which were to simply outrun enemy fighters, this was later changed in 1937 to a more conventional tactical bomber, but also giving the Ju-88 dive bomber capabilities, as the general idea in the German Air force was to make every bomber capable of dive bombing. The Ju-88 was a small, versatile bomber, but it was also basically not armored, only had 3 defensive MGs (this was later upped to 4 and then 7, but there was no overlapping fire radius, meaning only one MG could fire at the enemy at time), and, because of its small size, could only carry up to 2400kg of bombs (later upped to 3000kg). Later in the war, the Ju-88 was used for a variety of other roles, such as reconnaissance aircraft, heavy fighter, night fighter and ground attack plane, fitted with 3,7cm AT autocannons. In total, 14,882 planes were built from September 1939 to March 1945.
10:16 This is one of the defensive MGs of the Ju-88, probably a 7,92mm MG-15.
11:01 The Germans advanced on Leningrad, after the Battle of the Baltics and the capture of the reaming parts of northern Estonia until August 28th, in early September. On September 4th, the Germans began shelling the city, and on September 8th, Schlisselburg, an important city east of Leningrad, was captured, cutting Leningrad off.
11:16 These destroyed tanks are Soviet T-26 light tanks, developed in 1928-1931 of the Vickers 6-ton tank, and generally considered one of the most successful light tanks of the early 1930s. A 10-ton tank, armed with a 45mm 20k, and armored with up to 16mm steel plates. It proved to be superior to German and Italian tanks in the Spanish civil war, however, by the early 1940s, it was generally outdated due to advance in AT-guns. However, it was still dangerous to most German tanks, including Panzer III and IV, due to its powerful gun. 10,300 tanks produced between 1931 and 1941, making it one of the most produced Soviet tanks during the 1930s.
11:21 This is a heavy KV-1 Soviet tank. This tank was most likely captured by German troops and is now used by them or driven back for an evaluation, probably the latter.
11:25 This is an early model Panzer IV, most likely a Ausf. E. This was introduced in October 1940, and was a slightly updated Ausf. C, with additional 30mm steel plates bolted on the front armor. Still armed with the short barreled 7,5cm KwK 37, it was intended to be an infantry support tank. 206 were built between October 1940 and April 1941.
11:44 This is a Panzer 35(t), a Czech light tank designed by Skoda between 1934 and 1936. It was taken over by the Germans after the occupation of Czechoslovakia and used by the Germans during the Invasion of Poland, France and the early stages of Barbarossa, before being retired from frontline service in 1942. It was, like all tanks build by Skoda, a very good light tank for the mid 1930s, but by the early 1940s it was outdated and wasn’t much use, especially against the heavier French and Soviet tanks. 434 were made between 1936 and 1940. They were also bought by other countries, such as Romania or Bulgaria.
11:54 These APCs are Sd.Kfz 251, the standard German APC during WWII. Introduced in 1938, 15,252 were built until 1945, although most of them in 1943 (roughly 4250) and in 1944 (roughly 7800). In 1939, only 232 were built, followed by 337 in 1940 and 450 in 1941, making it still a rare vehicle by that point.
12:04 The vehicle on the left here is a Sd.Kfz 251/10, a variant of the Sd.Kfz.251 fitted with a 3,7cm PaK 37, to give mechanized infantry more anti-tank capabilities.
12:15 This is a sFH 18, a 15cm heavy artillery gun, which was the main heavy artillery piece of the Wehrmacht during WWII. 6,756 build between 1933 and 1945.
12:21 This is Sd.Kfz. 7, a half-tracked artillery tractor, usually used to pull heavier artillery and AA-guns, like the 8,8cm Flak 36 or, like shown here, the sFH 18. 12,187 build between 1938 and 1944.
12:27 This is again an Sd.Kfz. 7, this time pushing a 105mm leFH 18, the standard artillery piece of the Wehrmacht. 11,848 build between 1935 and 1943.
12:33 This is again a sFH 18, see entry above.
12:39 Writing messages (or often insults/profanities) on artillery shells or bombs was common during WWII and done by all sides.
12:49 This is an early model StuG III, either an Ausf. A or B. (These two were visually almost identical). 36 StuG III Ausf. A produced from January to May 1940, and around 300 Ausf. B produced from June 1940 to May 1941). It was armed with a short-barrel 7.5cm StuK 37/L24.
12:57 This is an leIG 18, a 7.5cm infantry gun and the standard German infantry support gun during WWII. Designed in 1927, around 12,000 were made between 1932 and 1945. Interestingly, this gun shown here is a pre-war production model, which can easily be seen by the wooden spoke-wheels. Wartime production models have rubber tires on steel wheels.
13:25 This is a light 20mm FlaK 38 AA-gun.
13:37 This is a heavy 8,8cm FlaK 36 AA/AT-gun.
13:41 It was common to use both light and heavy AA-guns against soft targets like bunkers or enemy MG positions etc., usually when tanks or infantry guns were not available.
14:35 The Duderhof Heights are a small highland area southwest of Leningrad, and they form the highest point of the otherwise flat land around Leningrad, with an elevation of between 100-167m.
15:04 This is a battery of 21cm Mörser 18, a heavy howitzer used by German troops during WWII. Designed in 1933, 738 guns were manufactured between 1939 and 1945.
15:14 These are Heinkel He-111 bombers, the standard bomber of the German Air Force used during WWII. Designed in 1935, initially as a civil airliner, it was used by the German Air Force from late 1936 onwards, and 7,603 were built between 1936 and September 1944. It was a decent plane in the early stages of WWII, but had insufficient defensive armament and armor, causing it to be outdated by the early 1940s. It was also used in a variety of other roles, as a supply plane and torpedo bomber, for example.
17:15 This referring to the Battle of Kiev from 23rd August to 26th September 1941, the worlds largest encirclement battle in history. After Hitler decided to shift focus from capturing Moscow towards Kiev, German armies, including Guderians 2nd Tank Group, which was re-deployed from Army Group Center to Army Group South, and von Kleist 1st Tank Group lead a large encirclement attack around Kiev. In the course of this battle, four Soviet armies (the 5th, 27th, 26th, 21st and 38th) were almost completely destroyed, and the 40th Army heavily damaged. All in all, the Soviets lost around 700,000-750,000 soldiers, including around 610,000 killed and captured. The loss in materials was also enormous, around 400 tanks and 28,000 guns and mortars were destroyed, with a further 884 tanks and 3018 guns captured by the Germans. Despite these large losses, the battle delayed German operations, and the re-assignment of the 2nd Tank Group from Army Group Center to Army Group South meant that German forces had not enough strength to attack Moscow. The Germans suffered around 100,000 death and wounded in this battle.
18:41 These are again 15cm sFH 18.
21:15 This gun is a light 3,7cm PaK 36 AT-gun.
21:57 This gun is a 76mm M1936 F-22 Soviet gun. It was designed to be used both as a field gun and an AA-gun. Designed in 1936, 2,932 were produced between 1937 and 1939, before production was stopped due to the introduction of the newer 76mm M1939 USV gun. It was mostly used as a field gun, sometimes as an AT-gun, but apparently never in its intended AA-gun function. Hundreds of these guns were captured by the Germans, which used them first as field guns, but then modified them for usage as AT-gun, with new shields, muzzle brakes and modified recoil system.
21:59 The gun in front here, with the short barrel, is a 76mm Regimental Gun M1927. Developed in 1927 and produced between 1928 and 1943, it was a Soviet infantry support gun intended to destroy light field fortifications, and sometimes, with HEAT ammunition, it was used as AT-gun. 18,116 manufactured; many of them captured by the Germans or Finnish and used in their armies.
22:02 This is again a 76mm M1936 F-22 (see entry above).
24:50 These are again StuG III, either Ausf. A or B.
25:30 This is an MG-34, the standard German MG of WWII.
30:46 Kiev was captured by German troops on September 19th, 1941.
31:09 It should be noted, however, that the Soviets managed to evacuate almost all the industrial complexes out of the city before it was occupied by the Germans.
31:28 These tanks are again Panzer 35(t), see entry at 11:46.
31:35 The song “From Finland to the Black Sea”, also called “Forward to the East”, was a song composed by orders of Goebbels for the German invasion of the Soviet Union, but it was delayed and not finished in time for the invasion, played for the first time on 29 June 1941, a few days after the beginning of Operation Barbarossa.
11:44 The Panzer 35(t) was only used in Panzer-Regiment 11 of 6th Panzer-Div., which indeed took part in the advance on Leningrad.
12:15 The letter "D" on the gun shows that it is the 4th gun of an artillery battery. The four guns of a battery were designated A - D.
12:20 The sign on the fender of the SdKfz 7 ist the tactical symbol for a motorized artillery battery. The number 9 besides it tells us that it's the 9th battery of an artillery regiment.
Below this sign you see a letter "Y" inside a circle (the "letter" is in fact the rune symbol for life). This is the divisional insignia of 12th Panzer-Div (which also took part in the advance on Leningrad).
The artillery formation of this division was Artillerie-Regiment(mot) 2. So now we know that the gun and the vehicle belong to 9th battery of this regiment.
12:51 On the side of this Sturmgeschütz, you can recognize a letter "E" or "F". As Sturmgeschütz units belonged to the artillery arm not to the tank arm, their companies were called batteries and they used the same designation system for their guns which I explained above: big letters instead of numbers. At this early stage of the war, these batteries had only six vehicles each, so they were designated A - F. Later in the war, when the batteries were raised to 10 and finally to 14 guns, they also used the three-digit designation system as the tank units.
20:21 The sidecar of this motorcycle shows a sword, the insignia of the SS-Kavallerie-Brigade. You see this symbol also on the plate of the car at 20:28. The car shows also a SS license plate.
The tactical symbol on the car's fender means 7th squadron of a cavalry unit. So this whole sequence of cars and motorcycles dashing through mud and water shows units of the SS Kavallerie-Brigade. The pictures are used to illustrate the advance of Heeresgruppe Mitte southwards to close the Kiew pocket. Too bad SS-Kavallerie-Brigade did not take part at all in this operation. Instead it was used for mopping up operations in the rear area of Heeresgruppe Mitte - and assisting the Einsatzgruppen in their murderous business.
So here some snippets of footage from one event were incorporated into the narration of a totally different event. This was not uncommon practice for the editors of the German Wochenschau. If some footage seemed usefull to illustrate the narration they wanted to convey to the public (here the difficult road conditions Herresgruppe Mitte was facing during its thrust southwards), they would not hesitate to incorporate it into a totally different context.
25:01 Here you can see the insignia of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 191, a ferociously attacking Büffel (buffalo). Therefore this unil was also nicknamed "Büffel-Brigade" after the Sturmgeschütz-Abteilungen were renamed to Sturmgeschütz-Brigaden in 1943. The unit indeed took part in the battle for Kiew.
31:28 As said above, the Panzer 35 (t) was only used in 6th Panzer-Div which fought in front of Leningrad and not in the battle of Kiew. Another case of using footage in a totally different context.
Source :
https://archive.org/details/die-deutsche-wochenschau-berita-mingguan-jerman-no.-577-24-september-1941-teks-indonesia
https://digitaler-lesesaal.bundesarchiv.de/en/video/5359/685430
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9mhtwSFepY
In this Die Deutsche Wochenschau video:
It only shows footage from the Eastern Front, starting with a short segment about Field Marshal von Brauchitsch visiting troops in the east, a segment about the deceased General Ritter von Schobert, and a visit of Göring to the supreme commander of the army.
It then shows footage of Ju-87 bombers attacking Soviet positions near Murmansk, Finnish troops attacking and occupying Vyborg, and German troops closing in on Leningrad.
The next section shows German Ju-88 bombers attacking Soviet positions on the Black Sea, and a lenghty section about the encirclement of Soviet troops around Kiev, and the occupation of the city itself.
Remarks:
01:07 Walther von Brauchitsch (1881-1948) was a German field marshal and chief of the German Army High Command from February 1938 to December 1941. He replaced Werner von Fritsch after the Blomberg–Fritsch crisis, and led, together with his chief of staff, Franz Halder, the German army during the invasion of Poland and France and the beginning of Operation Barbarossa but was blamed by Hitler for the failure to capture Moscow and was removed by Hitler, who took command of the Army High Command himself. After that, Brauchitsch held no more command until the end of the war. He was a witness during the Nuremburg trials and died in October 1948, before a trial was opened against him.
01:13 Eugen Ritter von Schobert (1883-1941) was a German general during WWII. He was known to be a pro-Nazi officer, which greatly helped advancing his career after 1933. He led the VII. Army Corps during the Invasion in Poland and France, and led the Army Command 11 during the invasion of the Soviet Union, which encompassed all the German and Romanian troops, although he couldn’t give orders to Romanian troops directly. He died on September 12th, 1941, when his Fiesler Storch airplane was forced to land, probably due to Soviet infantry fire, and landed in a minefield, where it hit a mine and exploded. He was the first German Army leader to die in WWII.
02:54 The Junkers Ju-87 was one of the most used dive bombers of the German Air Force during WWII, and also one of the most famous. Introduced in 1936, and built until November 1944, around 5,700 were made.
03:45 Vyborg became part of Finland after the country’s independence in 1917, but was ceded to Russia after the winter war in 1940. During the continuation war, it was captured by Finnish troops on August 29th, but re-captured by the Soviets on June 20th, 1944.
03:54 This is most likely a Russian M1877 106mm siege gun, which was captured by German troops during WWI and given to Finish forces in 1917, and they were used as late as WWII.
05:07 This gun is a Swedish Bofors 37mm AT-gun, developed in 1934 and produced from 1935 onwards. Initially a good gun, it became obsolete against heavier armor in later years. This gun was exported to many European nations, including Poland, the UK and the Netherlands. Finland bought 114 of these guns in 38/39, received 42 captured Polish guns from the Germans in 1940/41, and 355 were produced locally from 1939-1941. They remained in service with the Finnish army in reserve units until 1986.
05:21 This is a Soviet DP-27 light machine gun, produced by the Soviets from 1927 to the 1950s, with around 795,000 built in total. The Finns captured thousands of these guns during the Winter War and continued to use them in WWII. One of the most unique features of the DP-27 was its 47-rounds pan magazine, which can be seen here.
05:25 This is a Maxim PM M1910 heavy machine gun, produced by the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union from 1910 to 1939, and, after development of a successor failed, again from 1941 to 1945. Despite being outdated, it was commonly used by the Soviet Union, with over 650,000 built in total. Like the DP-27, the Finns also captured large numbers of PM M1910 during the Winter War and used them in WWII.
06:28 When Vyborg was captured by Finnish troops in August 1941, of the 6,287 buildings in the town, 3,807 have been destroyed, although I wasn’t able to find out if this was caused by the Soviets or simply by fighting in the town, I assume it’s a mix of both.
07:33 This artillery gun is a 122mm M1931 A-31 field gun, designed between 1927 and 1935, one of the first modern artillery pieces designed after the civil war in the USSR. Around 500 were built from 1935 to 1939, and many captured by the Germans in the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa, and used by German units afterwards. Some were even installed in the Atlantic Wall in France.
07:55 The gun being towed here is a 3,7cm PaK 36 AT-gun.
08:00 This tank is a Finnish Vickers 6-ton tank. The Vickers 6-ton tank was a tank bult by British Vickers company for the British army, which rejected it, the company was however able to sell it to various European countries (and also to Bolivia, making it the first tank to see combat in the Americas). Finland bought 33 tanks between 1938 and 1939, although they were bought without guns, optics, and radios, and were instead equipped by the Finnish with a variety of their own guns- some with short- barreled 37mm Puteaux guns, some with 37mm Bofors AT-guns, and some were re-equipped with captured Soviet long 45mm guns. This tank seen here is equipped with seemingly only an MG, while the tank in the next scene, at 08:03, is equipped with a captured Soviet 45mm gun.
08:10 The Fast Boats, or “Schnellboote” in German, designated by the Allies as “E-boats”, were fast attack crafts used by the German Navy during WWII. They were first introduced in 1931, but upgraded several times, the most commonly build type was the S38b from 1940-1943. In total, around 200 were built and served mostly in the Baltics and the English Channel. They were armed with two 533mm torpedo tubes, and a few light autocannons and AA-guns. In total, these boats destroyed 101 merchant ships, 12 destroyers, 11 minesweepers, 8 landing crafts and a variety of other vessels, and mines laid by these boats destroyed a further 37 merchant ships. They were basically the German equivalent to the US PT-boats, although the German boats had usually a higher range and were faster thanks to their stronger Diesel engines. These boats shown here belong to either the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 5th Fast Boat Flotilla, as these were deployed in the Gulf of Finland in 1941 during Operation Barbarossa.
09:55 These planes are Ju-88 bombers. Initially designed in 1935 as fast bombers which were to simply outrun enemy fighters, this was later changed in 1937 to a more conventional tactical bomber, but also giving the Ju-88 dive bomber capabilities, as the general idea in the German Air force was to make every bomber capable of dive bombing. The Ju-88 was a small, versatile bomber, but it was also basically not armored, only had 3 defensive MGs (this was later upped to 4 and then 7, but there was no overlapping fire radius, meaning only one MG could fire at the enemy at time), and, because of its small size, could only carry up to 2400kg of bombs (later upped to 3000kg). Later in the war, the Ju-88 was used for a variety of other roles, such as reconnaissance aircraft, heavy fighter, night fighter and ground attack plane, fitted with 3,7cm AT autocannons. In total, 14,882 planes were built from September 1939 to March 1945.
10:16 This is one of the defensive MGs of the Ju-88, probably a 7,92mm MG-15.
11:01 The Germans advanced on Leningrad, after the Battle of the Baltics and the capture of the reaming parts of northern Estonia until August 28th, in early September. On September 4th, the Germans began shelling the city, and on September 8th, Schlisselburg, an important city east of Leningrad, was captured, cutting Leningrad off.
11:16 These destroyed tanks are Soviet T-26 light tanks, developed in 1928-1931 of the Vickers 6-ton tank, and generally considered one of the most successful light tanks of the early 1930s. A 10-ton tank, armed with a 45mm 20k, and armored with up to 16mm steel plates. It proved to be superior to German and Italian tanks in the Spanish civil war, however, by the early 1940s, it was generally outdated due to advance in AT-guns. However, it was still dangerous to most German tanks, including Panzer III and IV, due to its powerful gun. 10,300 tanks produced between 1931 and 1941, making it one of the most produced Soviet tanks during the 1930s.
11:21 This is a heavy KV-1 Soviet tank. This tank was most likely captured by German troops and is now used by them or driven back for an evaluation, probably the latter.
11:25 This is an early model Panzer IV, most likely a Ausf. E. This was introduced in October 1940, and was a slightly updated Ausf. C, with additional 30mm steel plates bolted on the front armor. Still armed with the short barreled 7,5cm KwK 37, it was intended to be an infantry support tank. 206 were built between October 1940 and April 1941.
11:44 This is a Panzer 35(t), a Czech light tank designed by Skoda between 1934 and 1936. It was taken over by the Germans after the occupation of Czechoslovakia and used by the Germans during the Invasion of Poland, France and the early stages of Barbarossa, before being retired from frontline service in 1942. It was, like all tanks build by Skoda, a very good light tank for the mid 1930s, but by the early 1940s it was outdated and wasn’t much use, especially against the heavier French and Soviet tanks. 434 were made between 1936 and 1940. They were also bought by other countries, such as Romania or Bulgaria.
11:54 These APCs are Sd.Kfz 251, the standard German APC during WWII. Introduced in 1938, 15,252 were built until 1945, although most of them in 1943 (roughly 4250) and in 1944 (roughly 7800). In 1939, only 232 were built, followed by 337 in 1940 and 450 in 1941, making it still a rare vehicle by that point.
12:04 The vehicle on the left here is a Sd.Kfz 251/10, a variant of the Sd.Kfz.251 fitted with a 3,7cm PaK 37, to give mechanized infantry more anti-tank capabilities.
12:15 This is a sFH 18, a 15cm heavy artillery gun, which was the main heavy artillery piece of the Wehrmacht during WWII. 6,756 build between 1933 and 1945.
12:21 This is Sd.Kfz. 7, a half-tracked artillery tractor, usually used to pull heavier artillery and AA-guns, like the 8,8cm Flak 36 or, like shown here, the sFH 18. 12,187 build between 1938 and 1944.
12:27 This is again an Sd.Kfz. 7, this time pushing a 105mm leFH 18, the standard artillery piece of the Wehrmacht. 11,848 build between 1935 and 1943.
12:33 This is again a sFH 18, see entry above.
12:39 Writing messages (or often insults/profanities) on artillery shells or bombs was common during WWII and done by all sides.
12:49 This is an early model StuG III, either an Ausf. A or B. (These two were visually almost identical). 36 StuG III Ausf. A produced from January to May 1940, and around 300 Ausf. B produced from June 1940 to May 1941). It was armed with a short-barrel 7.5cm StuK 37/L24.
12:57 This is an leIG 18, a 7.5cm infantry gun and the standard German infantry support gun during WWII. Designed in 1927, around 12,000 were made between 1932 and 1945. Interestingly, this gun shown here is a pre-war production model, which can easily be seen by the wooden spoke-wheels. Wartime production models have rubber tires on steel wheels.
13:25 This is a light 20mm FlaK 38 AA-gun.
13:37 This is a heavy 8,8cm FlaK 36 AA/AT-gun.
13:41 It was common to use both light and heavy AA-guns against soft targets like bunkers or enemy MG positions etc., usually when tanks or infantry guns were not available.
14:35 The Duderhof Heights are a small highland area southwest of Leningrad, and they form the highest point of the otherwise flat land around Leningrad, with an elevation of between 100-167m.
15:04 This is a battery of 21cm Mörser 18, a heavy howitzer used by German troops during WWII. Designed in 1933, 738 guns were manufactured between 1939 and 1945.
15:14 These are Heinkel He-111 bombers, the standard bomber of the German Air Force used during WWII. Designed in 1935, initially as a civil airliner, it was used by the German Air Force from late 1936 onwards, and 7,603 were built between 1936 and September 1944. It was a decent plane in the early stages of WWII, but had insufficient defensive armament and armor, causing it to be outdated by the early 1940s. It was also used in a variety of other roles, as a supply plane and torpedo bomber, for example.
17:15 This referring to the Battle of Kiev from 23rd August to 26th September 1941, the worlds largest encirclement battle in history. After Hitler decided to shift focus from capturing Moscow towards Kiev, German armies, including Guderians 2nd Tank Group, which was re-deployed from Army Group Center to Army Group South, and von Kleist 1st Tank Group lead a large encirclement attack around Kiev. In the course of this battle, four Soviet armies (the 5th, 27th, 26th, 21st and 38th) were almost completely destroyed, and the 40th Army heavily damaged. All in all, the Soviets lost around 700,000-750,000 soldiers, including around 610,000 killed and captured. The loss in materials was also enormous, around 400 tanks and 28,000 guns and mortars were destroyed, with a further 884 tanks and 3018 guns captured by the Germans. Despite these large losses, the battle delayed German operations, and the re-assignment of the 2nd Tank Group from Army Group Center to Army Group South meant that German forces had not enough strength to attack Moscow. The Germans suffered around 100,000 death and wounded in this battle.
18:41 These are again 15cm sFH 18.
21:15 This gun is a light 3,7cm PaK 36 AT-gun.
21:57 This gun is a 76mm M1936 F-22 Soviet gun. It was designed to be used both as a field gun and an AA-gun. Designed in 1936, 2,932 were produced between 1937 and 1939, before production was stopped due to the introduction of the newer 76mm M1939 USV gun. It was mostly used as a field gun, sometimes as an AT-gun, but apparently never in its intended AA-gun function. Hundreds of these guns were captured by the Germans, which used them first as field guns, but then modified them for usage as AT-gun, with new shields, muzzle brakes and modified recoil system.
21:59 The gun in front here, with the short barrel, is a 76mm Regimental Gun M1927. Developed in 1927 and produced between 1928 and 1943, it was a Soviet infantry support gun intended to destroy light field fortifications, and sometimes, with HEAT ammunition, it was used as AT-gun. 18,116 manufactured; many of them captured by the Germans or Finnish and used in their armies.
22:02 This is again a 76mm M1936 F-22 (see entry above).
24:50 These are again StuG III, either Ausf. A or B.
25:30 This is an MG-34, the standard German MG of WWII.
30:46 Kiev was captured by German troops on September 19th, 1941.
31:09 It should be noted, however, that the Soviets managed to evacuate almost all the industrial complexes out of the city before it was occupied by the Germans.
31:28 These tanks are again Panzer 35(t), see entry at 11:46.
31:35 The song “From Finland to the Black Sea”, also called “Forward to the East”, was a song composed by orders of Goebbels for the German invasion of the Soviet Union, but it was delayed and not finished in time for the invasion, played for the first time on 29 June 1941, a few days after the beginning of Operation Barbarossa.
11:44 The Panzer 35(t) was only used in Panzer-Regiment 11 of 6th Panzer-Div., which indeed took part in the advance on Leningrad.
12:15 The letter "D" on the gun shows that it is the 4th gun of an artillery battery. The four guns of a battery were designated A - D.
12:20 The sign on the fender of the SdKfz 7 ist the tactical symbol for a motorized artillery battery. The number 9 besides it tells us that it's the 9th battery of an artillery regiment.
Below this sign you see a letter "Y" inside a circle (the "letter" is in fact the rune symbol for life). This is the divisional insignia of 12th Panzer-Div (which also took part in the advance on Leningrad).
The artillery formation of this division was Artillerie-Regiment(mot) 2. So now we know that the gun and the vehicle belong to 9th battery of this regiment.
12:51 On the side of this Sturmgeschütz, you can recognize a letter "E" or "F". As Sturmgeschütz units belonged to the artillery arm not to the tank arm, their companies were called batteries and they used the same designation system for their guns which I explained above: big letters instead of numbers. At this early stage of the war, these batteries had only six vehicles each, so they were designated A - F. Later in the war, when the batteries were raised to 10 and finally to 14 guns, they also used the three-digit designation system as the tank units.
20:21 The sidecar of this motorcycle shows a sword, the insignia of the SS-Kavallerie-Brigade. You see this symbol also on the plate of the car at 20:28. The car shows also a SS license plate.
The tactical symbol on the car's fender means 7th squadron of a cavalry unit. So this whole sequence of cars and motorcycles dashing through mud and water shows units of the SS Kavallerie-Brigade. The pictures are used to illustrate the advance of Heeresgruppe Mitte southwards to close the Kiew pocket. Too bad SS-Kavallerie-Brigade did not take part at all in this operation. Instead it was used for mopping up operations in the rear area of Heeresgruppe Mitte - and assisting the Einsatzgruppen in their murderous business.
So here some snippets of footage from one event were incorporated into the narration of a totally different event. This was not uncommon practice for the editors of the German Wochenschau. If some footage seemed usefull to illustrate the narration they wanted to convey to the public (here the difficult road conditions Herresgruppe Mitte was facing during its thrust southwards), they would not hesitate to incorporate it into a totally different context.
25:01 Here you can see the insignia of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 191, a ferociously attacking Büffel (buffalo). Therefore this unil was also nicknamed "Büffel-Brigade" after the Sturmgeschütz-Abteilungen were renamed to Sturmgeschütz-Brigaden in 1943. The unit indeed took part in the battle for Kiew.
31:28 As said above, the Panzer 35 (t) was only used in 6th Panzer-Div which fought in front of Leningrad and not in the battle of Kiew. Another case of using footage in a totally different context.
Source :
https://archive.org/details/die-deutsche-wochenschau-berita-mingguan-jerman-no.-577-24-september-1941-teks-indonesia
https://digitaler-lesesaal.bundesarchiv.de/en/video/5359/685430
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9mhtwSFepY
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