Nice pics, very cool.
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AngiePangey
General Raver and Misbehaver
Thanks for posting...really interesting info and can't believe how different the colour makes the pictures look!
The kid sitting on top of the tank with his finger up his nose is a priceless photo!
G
GreiRoad
Internet Warrior
awesomeness, great thread
A partial colourisation of General der Panzertruppe Erwin Rommel visiting Italian gun emplacements in the area of Tobruk during September 1941.
There is a story that Erwin Rommel met with a group of Italian officers in the early stages of the war and during the social part of the visit, one of the Italian Officers, apparently unaware of Rommel's career, asked where he had earned his 'Pour le Mérite' (Blue Max), to which (according to the story) Rommel responded in a matter of fact sort of way, "Caporetto."
(referring to the Battle of Caporetto on the Italian Front of 1917)
A US 3rd Armored Division M5A1 "Stuart" Light tank crosses through "La Vauterie," a hamlet of St Fromond a village situated on the left side of the Vire river in Normandy. This village was liberated on the 7th of July 1944 by the 117th U.S. Inf. Rgt. under the command of Colonel Henry E. Kelly of the 30th U.S.I.D.; the engineers of the 105th and 247th Engineer Battalion repaired the old stone-bridge and built another one (on dinghies) under German artillery fire + a pontoon-bridge and a foot-bridge for infantry. 3 days were necessary to resolve the traffic jam and organise the continuation of the assault progression towards "Pont-Hébert" and "St Jean de Daye".
On the wall there are two "séances récréatives" (small country shows) placarded, many bullet holes and shrapnel impacts are visible. In front, a doll abandoned by her little owner is lying on a stone in sitting position.
Members of the 'Hagakure-Tai' , a ramming division of the 244th Sentai, pose for a group photo at Chofu airfield, Tokyo in November 1944.
These pilots are, from left to right,
1st Lt. Toru Shinomiya (leader), Cpl. Masao Itagaki, M/Sgt. Takao Yoshida and Cpl. Tadashi Abe.
(They flew Kawasaki Ki-61'Hien' but are seen here in front of parked up Nakajima Ki-84-1a "Hayate")
(Promoted, Major Shinomiya was KIA 29 April 1945 during a 'kamikaze' mission in defence of Okinawa)
(Cpl. Itagaki survived the war as one of only two known double Bukosho recipients)
(M/Sgt.Yoshida was KIA 27 December 1944 when attempting to ram the B-29 'Uncle Toms Cabin Nº2' of the 498th BG)
(Promoted Sgt. Tadashi Abe survived a crashed landing at Kikaiga Shima off of Okinawa in 1945)
The tactic of using aircraft to ram American Boeing B-29 Superfortresses was first recorded in late August 1944, when B-29s from Chinese airfields attempted to bomb the steel factories at Yawata.
Sergeant Shigeo Nobe of the 4th Sentai intentionally flew his Kawasaki Ki-45 into a B-29; debris from the explosion severely damaged another B-29, which also went down. Other attacks of this nature followed, as a result of which individual pilots determined it was a practicable way of destroying B-29s.
On 7 November 1944, the officer commanding the 10th Hiko Shidan (Air division) made ramming attacks a matter of policy by forming ramming attack flights specifically to oppose the B-29s at high altitude. The aircraft were stripped of their fuselage armament and protective systems in order to attain the required altitudes.
Although the term "kamikaze" is often used to refer to the pilots undertaking these attacks, the word was not used by the Japanese military. The units assigned to the 10th Hiko Shidan included the 244th Hiko Sentai (Fighter group), then commanded by Captain Takashi Fujita, who organised a ramming flight called "Hagakure-Tai" ("Special Attack Unit"), which was composed out of volunteers from the three Chuatai (squadrons) of the 244th: the 1st Chutai "Soyokaze", 2nd Chutai "Toppu", and the 3rd Chutai known as "Mikazuki".
First Lieutenant Toru Shinomiya was selected to lead the Hagakure-Tai. On 3 December 1944 Shinomiya, along with Sergeant Masao Itagaki and Sergeant Matsumi Nakano, intercepted a B-29 raid; Shinomaya rammed one B-29, but was able to land his damaged Ki-61, which had lost most of the port outer wing, back at base. After attacking another B-29, Itagaki had to parachute from his damaged fighter, while Nakano rammed and damaged B-29 'Long Distance' of the 498th BG and crash-landed his stripped-down Ki-61 in a field. Shinomaya's damaged Ki-61 was later displayed inside Tokyo's Matsuya department store while Nakano's Ki-61 was displayed outside, alongside of a life-size cut-away drawing of the forward fuselage of a B-29. These three pilots were the first recipients of the Bukosho, Japan's equivalent to the Victoria Cross or Medal of Honor, which had been inaugurated on 7 December 1944 as an Imperial Edict by Emperor Hirohito (there are 89 known recipients, most of whom fought and scored against B-29s).
The existence of the ramming unit had been kept confidential until then, but it was officially disclosed in the combat results announcement and officially named "Shinten Seiku Tai" ("Body Attack Detachment") by the Defense GHQ. On 27 January 1945, Itakagi survived another ramming attack on a B-29, again parachuting to safety, and received a second Bukosho; he survived the war as only one of two known double-Bukosho recipients. Sergeant Shigeru Kuroishikawa was another distinguished member of the unit. However, these pilots gained no reprieve and despite their successes they were obligated to continue these deadly and dangerous ramming tactics until they were killed, or else wounded so badly that they could no longer fly. They were regarded as doomed men and were celebrated among the ranks of those who were going to certain death as Tokkotai (kamikaze) pilots.
Some other Ki-61 pilots also became well-renowned, among whom was Major Teruhiko Kobayshi of the 244th Sentai, who was credited by some with a dozen victories mostly due to conventional attacks against B-29s.
The Hiko Sentai, usually referred to as Sentai, was the basic operational unit of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, composed of three or more Chutai (companies or squadrons). A Sentai had 27 to 49 aircraft, with each Chutai having 16 aircraft and pilots plus a maintenance and repair unit. Several sentai had other units under their operational control, most notably the Hagakure-Tai ("Special Attack Units") of the 244th Sentai. By 1944, with the depredations of Allied attacks on supply lines and airfields, as well as the loss of pilots and aircraft through combat attrition and accidents, few sentai were able to operate at full strength.
(info extracted from the publication of Osprey Aviation Elite -5 "B-29 Hunters of the JAAF")
French children surround a U.S. Army soldier as he lets them rummage through his rucksack for sweets following the U.S. victory of the Battle of Carentan and the liberation of the village from German forces. Carentan, Manche, Lower Normandy, France. 15 June 1944.
In the immediate aftermath of the landings, the priority for the Allies at Utah Beach was to link up with the main Allied landings further east, and this job was tasked to the 101st division, who had landed in the area and had been conducting raids against inland targets—mainly artillery emplacements helping secure and cut off the landings from such threats as well as reinforcements. On June 9, the 101st Airborne Division had reorganised sufficiently from the haphazard scattering of its component units and managed to cross the flooded Douve River valley exploiting their superior training and utilising the few causeways passing through the flooded fields, and they captured Carentan the next day after a dawn attack in the all-day hard fought house to house fighting in the Battle of Carentan, where the German troops fought from strong prepared positions amongst the stone houses of the town. The capture of the town gave the Allies a continuous front joining Omaha to Utah Beach and the other three lodgements to the east of Utah. Possession of the town was maintained despite a German armour reinforced counterattack just to the south-west of town on the 13th known as the Battle of Bloody Gulch.
A captured Panzergrenadier of 2.SS-Panzer-Division 'Das Reich' being searched by a US soldier during the German counter offensive near Mortain (Operation Lüttich), Normandy on August 7 – 13th 1944.
The German high command saw an opportunity of driving westwards to Avranches with the hope of cutting-off the American spearheads.
Generalfeldmarschall Günther von Kluge was given the task and developed a hasty plan to counter-attack through Mortain and on to Avranches. Time was not on the side of the Germans, so the attack went ahead before all the planned forces were assembled. 2nd SS Panzer Division 'Das Reich' led the attack during the early hours of the 7th August.
Allied aircraft inflicted severe losses on the attacking troops. In the open ground the Panzers became exposed targets and by the 13th of August the counter offensive had halted. Over 150 Panzers involved in the counter attack were lost to Allied air strikes, over half of those committed. Nevertheless, the offensive would continue around Mortain for several more days.
(Generalfeldmarschall Günther von Kluge committed suicide on the 17th August 1944, after having been recalled to Berlin for a meeting with Hitler in the aftermath of the failed coup and attempted assassination of the Fuhrer on the 20th July.
Stanisław Skalski DSO, DFC and two Bars (27 November 1915 – 12 November 2004) was a Polish fighter ace of the Polish Air Force in World War II, later rising to the rank of Generał Brygady. Stanisław Skalski was the top Polish fighter ace of WW II and the first Allied fighter ace of the war, credited, according to official list, with 18 11/12 victories and two probable. Some sources, including Skalski himself, give a number of 22+ victories.
During his time with RAF 501 Squadron he was shot down on the 5th of September 1940, this is his later account of the incident:
"I was flying in S/L Harry Hogan's Hurricane V6644, squadron code SD-B. I got one He-111 and two Me-109s and still had ammunition, so I went off to do some hunting by myself. I didn't know who shot me down until he made a slow roll in front of me--by then I was already on fire. He had come up from below and behind me. He hit my reserve tank, located behind the engine, but I would have been even less fortunate if he had hit my main tank. I preferred to use the main tanks first; if I used up the fuel in the reserve tank, there would be fumes left in it, and if a bullet hit it, it could have exploded and I would have been killed. As it was, I was on fire, including my tunic and other clothing. I used to fly without goggles--I put my hands over my eyes and opened the cockpit, but the pressure kept me in my seat. I used my right hand to try to get out while the plane dove from 28,000 feet at 600 mph. Once my head was out of the cockpit, the wind pulled me out. I probably collided with the right fuselage or tail. My hand is still injured--I can't play tennis--and my knee also hurts. I was probably unconscious after hitting the airplane, but a sixth sense told me not to open my parachute until the fire was out. Three years ago, I found out in a medical journal that when you are between life and death, something in your head tells you what you have to do. When I opened my eyes, I was floating 200 feet above the ground. I landed in a field, and a police car came from the bushes. The policemen asked me, "German?" "No," I said, "I'm from Poland." They took me down to a hospital with a Canadian unit. A few weeks later, I was visited by a squadron mate, Sergeant James H. "Ginger" Lacey, who would become a 28-victory ace. I asked him to fill out a report on my claims that day for the intelligence officer, which he promised to do, but for some reason the three victories I scored that day were not officially confirmed." (After six weeks in hospital, he returned to action).
After the war he returned to Poland in 1947 and joined the Air Force of the Polish Army. In 1948 however he was arrested by the communist regime under the false charge of espionage. Sentenced to death, he spent three years awaiting the execution, after which his sentence was changed to life imprisonment in Wronki Prison.
After the end of Stalinism in Poland, in 1956 he was released, rehabilitated, and allowed to join the military.
Infantry of the 2nd Battalion, The Wiltshire Regiment, 5th Division supported by "Churchill" tanks of the 6th Guards Tank Brigade, British Second Army, clear a pocket of resistance south of Lübeck, the largest German port on the Baltic Sea, 50 Km. NE of Hamburg.
2nd of May 1945. (hostilities ended 6 days later on the 8th of May.)
A German Kriegsmarine Bootsmann wielding a machete knife taken from the immobilised and deserted Churchill tank ("Boar" T32049) of Sgt. J Sullivan, B Squadron, 8 Troop Calgary Regiment (14th Canadian Tank Regiment). Taken on the Puys beach at Dieppe shortly after the failed raid. August 1942
Operation 'Jubilee' - Wednesday, 19th August 1942
The raid took place on the northern coast of France at Dieppe. The assault began at 05:00 and by10:50 the Allied commanders were forced to call a retreat. Over 6,000 infantrymen, predominantly Canadian, were supported by a Canadian Armoured regiment and a strong force of Royal Navy and smaller Royal Air Force landing contingents. It involved 5,000 Canadians, 1,000 British troops, and 50 United States Army Rangers.
The plan called for thirty Churchills to be landed (the last Churchill to exit towing out a support vehicle) the remaining twenty-eight tanks to stay on board their LCTs as a floating reserve. Twenty-nine tanks successfully exited the LTCs, unfortunately two into water deeper than the six-foot wading depth for which they had been modified, the Calgary's Commanding Officer, Lt. Colonel J.G.Andrews' tank being one of them. The third Churchill, commanded by Major J. Begg Second-in-Command, was unable to disembark and subsequently returned to England.
The climb up the beach was not an easy one, especially on chert. However, of the twenty-seven Churchills that made it ashore, fifteen managed to climb up and over the seawall on to Dieppe's promenade. Due to the many road blocks (which the Engineers failed to blow-up as planned) further progress was impossible, thus ten of the tanks returned to the beach. One of those left behind had fallen into quite a deep hole and was abandoned after attempts to tow her out had failed.
However, despite the problems, encountered by the Calgary Regiment at Dieppe, the Churchill tank proved itself to be a not only safe tank to crew, but one capable of ascending to places not expected by the enemy, amply proven later when Churchills went into full-scale operation in North Africa and Italy.
A total of 3,623 of the 6,086 men (almost 60%) who made it ashore were either killed, wounded, or captured. The Royal Air Force failed to lure the Luftwaffe into open battle, and lost 96 aircraft (at least 32 to flak or accidents), compared to 48 lost by the Luftwaffe. The Royal Navy lost 33 landing craft and one destroyer. The events at Dieppe influenced preparations for the North African (Operation Torch) and Normandy landings (Operation Overlord).
Soviet Army Sgt. Fyodor Konoplyov and his crew fire a DShK M1938 anti-aircraft gun at strafing German Luftwaffe bombers during the Siege of Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Russia, Soviet Union.
The Fortress and Cathedral of Saints. Peter and Paul can be seen on an island in the Neva River.
9th of October 1942.
The 872-day Siege of Leningrad, Russia, resulted from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad in the Eastern Front of World War II. The siege lasted from September the 8th 1941 to January the 27th 1944 and was one of the longest and most destructive sieges in history, causing considerable devastation to the city of Leningrad.
Two young German soldiers armed with Panzerfausts (anti-tank weapons) and Mauser rifles, march along Bankowa street in Lubań (Lauban), Lower Silesia. Towards the end of the war, German boys as young as fourteen and fifteen were often sent into battle to augment the dwindling numbers of able-bodied men. March 1945.
M-10 tank destroyers of "A" Company, 634th TD Battalion, 1st. Infantry Division firing their 3-inch guns at defenses in Aachen, Germany
October the 14th 1944.
(Signal Corps photo from the National Archives.)
634th. Battle Report.
The Battalion worked to close all roads leading to Aachen to cut off all supplies and reinforcements to the Germans garrisoned there. The Tank Destroyers and the Infantry bombarded the enemy occupied buildings and pillboxes. With the support of the 634th, the strongholds were softened up enough for the Infantry to move in and take the areas with minimal casualties.
On the 10th. of October an ultimatum was delivered to the German Garrison Commander, allowing him 24 hours to surrender. No answer was given and on the 11th. the battle for Aachen began. By midnight on the 17th of October the ring around Aachen was closed to sever all supply lines to the defenders in the city. The Germans were mounting numerous attacks against the roadblocks to try to relieve the encircled troops in Aachen. Companies 'C' and 'B' held the lines from Stolberg to Haaren.
Aachen was taken by the Americans on the 21st. of October 1944.
A twin engined Fighter Bomber - Messerschmitt Bf 110D-0/B (S9+CK) W.Nr.3341 - 2.Staffel, Erprobungsgruppe 210 on public display in Garnault Place, Finsbury, London EC1. Late August 1940.
The pilot Oblt. Alfred Habisch and Wireless Operator Uffz. Ernst Efner had left Denain aerodrome, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France on the 15th August 1940 on a bombing mission over Southern England.
They bombed Croydon aerodrome prior to being attacked by fighters, the wireless operator being wounded and the undercarriage damaged. The pilot managed to make a forced landing at Hawkhurst in Kent at 19.10 hrs., damaging the engines and airscrews. Both the crew survived and were entered into captivity.
The aircraft was exhibited at Hendon and in a London street, to raise money for the Spitfire Fund. It was later shipped to Los Angeles, aboard the SS Montanan in April 1941, where it was reassembled and evaluated by the Vultee Aircraft Company.
(Ultimate fate of the airframe not known)
A U.S. infantryman of the 331st Infantry Regiment., 83rd Inf. Div. takes aim at a sniper during street fighting in Rue de la Gardelle in Paramé, Saint-Malo, Brittany, France.
8th of August, 1944.
Eleanor Lettice Curtis, a British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) climbs into a Spitfire (probably a Mk IX) ready to ferry it to a front line squadron.
She learned to fly in 1937/8 earning a B class licence. In early July 1940 she became one of the first women pilots to join the ATA, remaining with the unit until 30 November 1945, when the organisation was closed down.
In 1942, she became the first woman to fly a four-engined bomber, a Halifax, and went on to ferry a total of 1,467 aircraft.
This included 364 four-engined bombers, 162 Spitfires and 125 Mosquitoes. She even survived an emergency landing in a Hawker Typhoon.
She flew continually during World War II from various Ferry Pool locations delivering all types through all weather to various destinations. According to one source, she flew "thirteen days on, two off, for sixty-two consecutive months", between July 1940 and September 1945.
After the war, she worked as a technician and flight-test observer at Boscombe Down and then with Fairey Aviation at White Waltham.
'Lettice' took part in air racing and raced planes including a Spitfire and a Wicko G-AF JB.
In 1991, aged 76, she obtained a helicopter licence.
The pilot is also known for her 1971 book, 'The Forgotten Pilots'.
She passed away on Monday, July 21st 2014 aged 99.
Ensign Robert "Bob" T. King in his damaged TBM-3 'Avenger' White 113 of VT-82, USS Bennington (CV-20), 18th of February 1945.
(Standard early 1945 colours were blue overall with the Bennington 'Christmas tree', or arrowhead, repeated on the upper starboard wing, overlapping the aileron.)
This Avenger was subject to one of the most dramatic aircraft photos of World War 2.
A mid-air collision resulted in the loss of nearly half the port wing, in addition to a five foot section of fuselage decking immediately aft of the turret. Bob King skilfully retained control of his doomed TBM long enough to make a successful water landing.
On February 18,1945 his squadron was to attack shipping and waterfront installations at Chi Chi Jima in the China Sea. (240 kilometres/150 miles north of Iwo Jima).
As they were approaching the waterfront installations they came under heavy anti-aircraft fire. An Avenger in a flight above them got hit by the anti-aircraft fire and it's right wing was blown off, it went into a spin and crashed into Bob King's plane. The propeller took off about four feet of the left wing and damaged the fuselage. The first Avenger crashed into the sea with no known survivors.
Starting to lose control of his plane, Bob King ordered his crew to bail out. As he started to lose altitude he was able to regain some control of his plane and was able to make it back to the task force and made a water landing and was rescued.
His crew of (Gunner) Grady Alvan York and (Radio) James Wesley Dye landed safely but were captured by the Japanese and both executed in captivity, on the orders of Japanese Navy Captain Shizuo Yoshii, who in 1947 was tried as a war criminal on Guam, found guilty, hanged and buried in an unmarked grave.
An unknown Soviet Female Corporal (ефрейтор)
There were 800,000 women who served in the Soviet Armed Forces during the war. Nearly 200,000 were decorated and 89 eventually received the Soviet Union’s highest award, the Hero of the Soviet Union. Some served as pilots, snipers, machine gunners, tank crew members and partisans, as well as in auxiliary roles.
On 21 May 1943, a formal decree established the Central Women’s School for Sniper Training. In a matter of only two years, that school was able to turn out 1,061 snipers and 407 instructors, and these women snipers are credited with having killed or wounded thousands of Wehrmacht officers and men.
If these women were captured, they were subject to violations and atrocities while being imprisoned that made being executed seem a better option. This explains why many Soviet women combatants saved their last bullets for themselves, and only 500 (of the original 2,000) women Soviet snipers survived the war.
Three US infantrymen advance at a crouching run using a Bocage hedgerow and embankment as cover. This picture shows to advantage the close nature of fighting in Normandy bocage country where the Germans became adept at digging into these hedgerows turning each field into a potential ambush.
June/July 1944.
The Battle of Stalingrad, September 1942.
In September 1942, the German commander of the Sixth Army, General Paulus, assisted by the Fourth Panzer Army, advanced on the city of Stalingrad. His primary task was to secure the oil fields in the Caucasus and to do this, Paulus was ordered by Hitler to take Stalingrad. The Germans final target was to have been Baku.
Stalingrad was also an important target as it was Russia’s centre of communications in the south as well as being a centre for manufacturing.
In early September 1942, the German Army advanced to the city. The Russians, already devastated by the power of Blitzkrieg during Operation Barbarossa, had to make a stand especially as the city was named after the Russian leader, Joseph Stalin. For simple reasons of morale, the Russians could not let this city fall. Likewise, the Russians could not let the Germans get hold of the oil fields in the Caucasus. Stalin’s order was "Not one step back".
British Army Indian soldiers inspect a captured Italian Semovente self-propelled gun (Nr. 201 Semovente da 75/18) with German markings (from Pz.Jg.Abt 278 of 278 Infanterie Division) at an Allied exhibition of enemy equipment in Forli, Emilia-Romagna, Province of Forlì-Cesena, Italy.
30th of January 1945.
For the liberation of Italy, 5773 British Indian Soldiers died in Italy, mostly Sikhs, along with the Allied forces. Besides Forli, Sikhs had also fought in Cassino, Florence, Ravana and Sangro River during World War II (1943-45).
Major David V. Currie (left with hand gun) of the 29th Canadian Armoured Reconnaissance Regt. (The South Alberta Regiment), is in conversation with R. Lowe of 'C' Company, at the time that members of 2.Pz.Div., commanded by Hauptmann Siegfried Rauch are surrendering to Sgt.Major G. Mitchell in Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives, Calvados.
Library and Archives Canada, pa-111565)
(Colourised by Doug)
Major Currie's original citation was for a Distinguished Service Order but the commanding officer of the SARs, Lt.-Col. Wotherspoon, changed it to a Victoria Cross on or about the 26 August 1944. The citation is reproduced in it's entirety below. While the SP M-10s are noted as being in Currie's task force, they in fact ended up with RHQ on Hill 117 and were not in the village of St. Lambert itself.
From the time he was awarded the Victoria Cross, Major Currie himself stressed the fact that any of the SAR squadrons could have done the same job he did in St. Lambert. He took pains to ensure that the battle in St. Lambert was viewed in it's proper context; that being as only a single part of the whole regimental battle.
On 18th August 44 C Squadron 29 Cdn. Regt. (SAR) with under command B company A & S H of C and one troop 17 pounder self-propelled antitank guns was ordered to advance to Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives to cut the Trun-Chambois escape route. Major D. V. Currie was in command of this force, the strength of which was 175 all ranks, 15 tanks and 4 self-propelled anti-tank guns.
By 2000 hrs. the armoured element of the force, moving in advance of the infantry, had reached the outskirts of the village where it was engaged by strong enemy forces. The two leading tanks had entered Saint-Lambert but had been knocked out by 88 mm guns. Their crews were unable to get out of the village. Major Currie realised that only by immediate infantry attack could the village be captured that night, and, since the supporting infantry had not yet arrived, requested permission to dismount his squadron and attack the enemy position on foot. This request was not granted.
At last light Major Currie was given permission to proceed into the village to reconnoitre the enemy defences and to extricate the crews of the disabled tanks. Although his approach route was under heavy mortar fire, he proceeded into the village on foot through enemy outposts, made his reconnaissance, personally directed the evacuation of the tank crews, remained until they were clear and then returned to his headquarters.
On his return, the supporting infantry and anti-tank guns had arrived and Major Currie personally visited their positions to co-ordinate their defences and re-site their weapons to cover all possible enemy approaches to his position. He then reported to his Commanding Officer and was ordered to attack the village at first light the following morning.
At 0535 hrs. 19 Aug. ten minutes before the attack was to start, he was advised that the expected artillery support would not be available since the guns were out of range. Nevertheless Major Currie personally led the attack in the face of intense opposition by enemy armour, artillery, and infantry, and by noon succeeded in reaching a point approximately half-way into the village. Here, realising his attack was losing its impetus in the face of increasing enemy reinforcements, he decided to consolidate this position before proceeding further. He organised the position accordingly, and again made a tour of weapon pits, gun sites and tanks, encouraging the men by his calmness, his sound orders and his complete disregard for the numerical superiority of the enemy.
The enemy promptly counter-attacked this position but so skilfully had Major Currie's defence been organised that the attack was repulsed with severe casualties to the enemy. During the following 36 hours a series of further counter-attacks increased in strength and ferocity throughout the period they were successively beaten off in very heavy fighting by the stubborn resistance of Major Currie's force.
At dusk on 20 Aug., from the squadron position, enemy infantry could be seen massing for an attack which later proved to be the final effort on the enemy's part. Major Currie personally sited one troop of tanks to engage this force and directed their fire so effectively that the attack was never mounted. The destruction of this attacking force was the turning point in this action. During the morning of 21 Aug. 800 all ranks from this force alone surrendered; by noon the German morale was broken and Major Currie's force had completed the capture of the village. As a result the Trun-Chambois escape route was completely denied to the remnant of two German armies.
Throughout the three days' action Major Curries' conduct and self-sacrifice were a magnificent example to all ranks of the force under his command. On one occasion he personally directed the fire of his command tank onto a Tiger tank which had been harassing his position and succeeded in knocking it out. During another attack, while the guns of his command tank were taking on other targets at longer ranges, he used a rifle from the turret to deal with individual snipers who had infiltrated to within fifty yards of his headquarters. On the one occasion when reinforcements were able to get through to his force, he led the forty men forward into their positions and explained the importance of their task as a part of the defence. When, during the next attack, these new reinforcements withdrew under the intense fire brought down by the enemy, he personally collected them and led them forward into position again, where, inspired by his leadership they held for the remainder of the battle. His employment of his artillery support, which became available after his original attack went in, was typical of his cool calculation of the risks involved in every situation. At one time, despite the fact that short rounds were falling within fifteen yards of his own tank, he ordered fire from medium artillery to continue because of its devastating effect upon the attacking enemy in his immediate area.
During this operation the casualties to Major Currie's force were very heavy. However, he never considered the possibility of failure or allowed it to enter the minds of his men. In the words of one of his non-commissioned officers. "We knew at one stage that it was going to be a fight to the finish but he was so cool about it, it was impossible for us to get excited." Since all the officers under his command were either killed or wounded during the action he had virtually no respite from his duties and in fact obtained only one hour's sleep during the entire period. Nevertheless he did not permit his fatigue to become apparent to his troops and throughout the action took every opportunity to visit weapon pits and other defensive posts to talk to his men, to advise them as to the best use of their weapons and to cheer them with words of encouragement. When his force was finally relieved and he was satisfied that the turnover was complete he fell asleep on his feet and collapsed.
There can be no doubt that the success of this force's task on and stand against the enemy at Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives can only be attributed to this officer's coolness, inspired leadership and skilful use of the limited weapons at his disposal.
The courage and complete disregard for personal safety shown by Major Currie will forever be an inspiration to his regiment; his conspicuous bravery and extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy an example to the Canadian Army for all time.
The Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory In Stalingrad.
November 1942 - February 1943.
An MG.34 team with a Soviet Mosin rifle in the foreground.
An M4 Sherman named 'Lucky Legs II' of 754th Tank Battalion leads the attack with infantrymen following close behind with fixed bayonets on the perimeter of the 129th Infantry, 37th Division, Bougainville (Papua New Guinea, in the Solomon Sea).
16th of March 1944.
Generals Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley share a laugh as they leave General Ira Wyche’s 79th Division headquarters in Huanville, Normandy, France, July 4, 1944.
(US National Archives)
A German mortar team operating an 8 cm. Granatwerfer 34 close to a 'knocked out' T-34/76 Soviet tank near Stalingrad.
c. September 1942
US Medics attend to a wounded soldier following the liberation of the village of La Haye-du-Puits in Normandy by the U.S. 79th Infantry Division from German occupation on 9th of July 1944.
This was the 79th Division's last battle in Normandy, after which they were withdrawn back to England.
Around La Haye du Puits there was fought a very bloody battle for Montgardon, referred to as 'Hill 84'.
The Division fought for this area for five days at a cost of 1,500 casualties.
When added to the casualties who fell in the battle for 'Hill 122' Montre Castre which was just to the east of the town, the number rose to 5,000 killed or injured.
The wounded GI wears a "Clearance Station Tag". Besides bandaging, splinting, applying tourniquets, administering sulfar, and injecting morphine, Aidmen were supposed to fill out an Emergency Medical Tag for each casualty. This provided the basic records of the patient’s identity and initial treatment.
Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.G (Sd.Kfz.161) Nº 633 of 3.Zug / 6.Kompanie / SS-Panzer-Regiment 2 / 2.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Das Reich".
Photo taken on the 7th of August 1943, with a new crew during a refit after the Battle at Kursk,
Left to right: Tank commander, SS-Unterscharführer Gustav Schinner gunner Rottenführer SS-Kurt Bunzeck; driver-mechanic Rottenführer SS-Georg Colemonts; Loader SS-Schütze Zülcke; MG.gunner/radio operator SS- Heinz Wentzel.
Lieutenant Robert Boscawen on the left with radiophones, commander of 2 Troop, 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards, Guards Armoured Division, XXX Corps, in a Sherman Firefly IC Hybrid with a 17-pounder anti-tank gun as it's main armament,
Patrolling the river Muese at Namur in Belgium.
Monday, December 25, 1944
US Army M1919 Browning machine gun crew (possibly the 2nd Battalion, 26th Inf.Regt.) in action against German defenders in the streets of Aachen on the 15th October 1944.
The German city of Aachen, located near the Belgian border, was a pivotal battleground for American soldiers breaching the fortified Siegfried Line during the latter part of 1944.
The defenders of Aachen were made up of elements of the 3rd Panzer Division and a few Waffen SS. Kampfgruppen. The ancient city was hallowed ground for Germany, as the birthplace and site of the coronation of Charlemagne, Aachen was the home of the Holy Roman Empire. As the first major city on German soil to face invasion from the Allies, Hitler personally directed that Aachen be held — at all costs.
In the thickest of the fighting were the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, supported by the 745th Tank Battalion. They attacked from the southern suburbs, with the 30th Infantry Division moving into the city from the north. But resistance was fierce; in a matter of days the 30th Infantry Division sustained more than 2,000 casualties. Elements of the 29th Infantry Division had to be called in to help. When the last remaining defenders surrendered on October the 21st, the Germans had lost over 5,000 casualties and 5,600 prisoners. U.S. losses were put at 5,000 killed, wounded or missing.
In spite of more than 170 tons of bombs and nearly 10,000 rounds of artillery shells fired into the city, the City's great cathedral that housed the tomb of Emperor Charlemagne emerged intact.
U-553 Type VIIC U-boat.
U-553 returning to Saint-Nazaire, Loire-Atlantique, France from its second combat patrol on the 19th of July 1941, she came home with two combat pennants and a badly-damaged attack periscope.
During her 2nd Patrol on the 12th of June 1941 and after five days at sea, Kapitänleutnant Karl Thurmann came upon stragglers from the westbound convoy 'OG-64' north of the Azores. At 01.22 hours Thurmann sank the British steamer "Susan Maersk" (2,355 tons), which went down in 90 seconds with a loss of all of her 24 crew. Because of the darkness and the speed with which the ship sank, only a rough tonnage estimate was possible, thus the gross registered tonnage on the sinking pennant is incorrect. Later that same day, at 15.05 hours U-553 attacked the Norwegian tanker "Ranella" (5,590 tons). A torpedo struck the ship, but it didn't sink, a further shot was attempted at 1536 but also failed. After that attempt, Thurmann turned away in the direction of the steamer, passing under the bow of the "Ranella", which was now stopped. The periscope, which was not fully lowered, struck the tanker and and the top two metres were bent backwards. Finally, at 1635 hours, a third torpedo struck its target, causing the ship to break in two. It still didn't sink, however 100 rounds from the 88-mm deck gun were needed to finally sink the two parts of the wreck. The 29-man Norwegian crew had already left the ship and safely reached the Azores, 300 miles away after 12 days at sea.
U-553's tenth and final sortie began with her departure from La Pallice, La Rochelle on the 16th of January 1943. On the 20th, she sent a radio message: "Sehrohr unklar" (periscope unready for action), and was never heard from again. She had suffered no casualties to her crew until this date but all hands were lost. She most probably sank because of technical problems and was officially declared missing on 28 January 1943.
This image is regularly posted on the internet as;
Private First Class Alvin C. Dunlap (see the name on the helmet cover) US 5th Marines Division, 27th Regiment, directing artillery and mortar fire against Japanese positions on Iwo Jima, 20th February 1945.
We think, because the soldier (Marine) in this image is holding a map and giving the orders, he is more than likely an officer and not a Private. We suggest therefore, that he is in fact;
Captain Robert Hugo Dunlap, US Marine Corps Reserve, 1st Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division. Iwo Jima 20-21st February 1945.
This his Medal of Honor Citation:
"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of Company C, 1st Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces during the seizure of Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands, on 20 and 21 February, 1945. Defying uninterrupted blasts of Japanese artillery. mortar, rifle and machine gun fire, Capt. Dunlap led his troops in a determined advance from low ground uphill toward the steep cliffs from which the enemy poured a devastating rain of shrapnel and bullets, steadily inching forward until the tremendous volume of enemy fire from the caves located high to his front temporarily halted his progress. Determined not to yield, he crawled alone approximately 200 yards forward of his front lines, took observation at the base of the cliff 50 yards from Japanese lines, located the enemy gun positions and returned to his own lines where he relayed the vital information to supporting artillery and naval gunfire units. Persistently disregarding his own personal safety, he then placed himself in an exposed vantage point to direct more accurately the supporting fire and, working without respite for 2 days and 2 nights under constant enemy fire, skillfully directed a smashing bombardment against the almost impregnable Japanese positions despite numerous obstacles and heavy marine casualties. A brilliant leader, Capt. Dunlap inspired his men to heroic efforts during this critical phase of the battle and by his cool decision, indomitable fighting spirit, and daring tactics in the face of fanatic opposition greatly accelerated the final decisive defeat of Japanese countermeasures in his sector and materially furthered the continued advance of his company. His great personal valor and gallant spirit of self-sacrifice throughout the bitter hostilities reflect the highest credit upon Capt. Dunlap and the U.S. Naval Service."
'Mission Albany'
Taking off just after midnight 6th June 1944 over 2000 airborne troops would spearhead the D-Day landings by dropping behind enemy lines 5hrs before the first troops got their boots wet on the Normandy beaches.
'The rear gunner in his position in a Vickers Wellington bomber'.
Probably of Nº 149 Squadron at RAF Mildenhall in 1941.
The slang term for a tail gunner was "Tail-end Charlie"
He was subject to the most violent movements of the aircraft. Squeezed into the cramped metal and perspex cupola, the Rear Gunner had so little leg space that some had to place their flying boots into the turret before climbing in themselves. Many rear gunners removed a section of the 'plexiglas' to improve their view, so with temperatures at 20,000 feet reaching minus 40ºF, frostbite was a regular occurrence. Through the entire operation, the Rear Gunner knew that the Luftwaffe fighter pilots preferred to attack from the rear and under the belly of the bomber, so he was often 1st in line for elimination. During World War II - 20,000 air gunners were killed while serving with Bomber Command."
"During an operation, the only sounds the gunner would hear, aside from the constant deafening roar of the engines, would be the hiss of the oxygen and the occasional crackling, distorted voices of other crew members in his earphones. From take off to landing, at times for as long as 10 hours, the air gunner was constantly rotating the turret, scanning the surrounding sky, quarter by quarter, for the grey shadow that could instantly become an attacking enemy fighter. The air gunner's closest friends were likely his crew members in the forward section of the bomber and the relaxation of his vigilance for even a moment could mean death for them all."
'Snaking' on take off or when taxiing may have been seen as 'normal' and 'under control' by the Pilot and other Crew up front, but in the solitude of the Rear Turret, sitting almost over the tail wheel it was something different! It sometimes felt as if the tail wheel was made of wood everything at the back end strained, banged, shook and rattled, and it was a tense 'hold on to everything' few moments, including the stomach. Ammunition jostled and rattled in the fuselage as the Turret swayed shook and vibrated it was the closest one could get to being airsick on the ground. When the Tail of the aeroplane lifted into the air, one could then 'relax............'.
SS-Sturmmann Otto Funk of SS Aufklärungs Kompanie 15, III Zug, SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 25.
Pictured at Rots near Norrey-en-Bessin, Normandie. 9th June 1944
He is seen here wearing an Italian Camo coverall.
Right of centre in the photo, is SS-Schütze Klaus Schuh (KIA 26.06.1944).
Otto Funk was wounded near Cheux on June 26 1944 but continued to fight till the bitter end. On May 8 1945, the survivors of 12.SS-Panzer-Division Hitlerjugend surrendered to the U.S. 65th Infantry Division, 7th Army, near Enns in Austria. In a final act of defiance, the division refused to drape their vehicles with white flags, as the Americans had ordered.
He died on the 11th. September 2011
June 1944, England by the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, Signal Corps, U.S. Army
Caption reads, "Pvt. Clarence C. Ware, 438 W. 15th St., San Pedro, Calif., gives a last second touch to Pvt. Charles R. Plaudo, 210 N. James, Minneapolis, Minn., make-up patterned after the American Indians. Somewhere in England."
The direct inspiration for the Dirty Dozen, the Filthy Thirteen was a demolitions unit in the 506th Parachute Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Known for ‘going the extra mile’ in combat missions, the units exploits were made famous when this iconic image of Ware and Plaudo was printed in The Stars & Stripes, the official American Armed Forces newspaper. The origins of the name referred to the units aversion of cleaning themselves, with the mohawks inspired by Acting Sergeant Jake McNeice’s Native American heritage.
Tangmere, Sussex, July 1944: in front of a Spitfire IX of 332 (Norwegian) Squadron, a standard 45 gallon Typhoon/Hurricane ‘Torpedo’ jettison tank modified for use on the Spitfire (because of an expected shortage of 45-gallon shaped or slipper tanks) is filled with PA ale from two wooden casks supplied by the Chichester brewer Henty & Constable, for flying over to Normandy while an RAF ‘erk’ writes a cheery message on the tank. The pilot sitting on the wing is wearing a Norwegian Air Force cap-badge.
Here is an account of 270 gallons of beer that was flown in drop tanks slung under three Spitfire Mk IXbs from Tangmere to an airfield at Bény-Sur-Mer in Normandy, some 110 miles south of England and three miles from the sea, on June 13 1944, D-Day plus seven: the first known landing of beer during the invasion.
One of the pilots was Flight Lieutenant Lloyd Berryman of 412 Squadron, 126 Wing, Second Tactical Air Force Royal Canadian Air Force. The airstrip at Bény-Sur-Mer would not, in fact, be finished officially for another two days when Berryman’s boss, Wing Commander Keith Hudson, singled him out at a briefing at the wing’s Tangmere base to deliver a “sizeable” beer consignment to the airstrip, known as B4. Berryman recalled:
“The instructions went something like this, ‘Get a couple of other pilots and arrange with the officers’ mess to steam out the jet [jettison] tanks and load them up with beer. When we get over the beachhead drop out of formation and land on the strip. We’re told the Nazis are fouling the drinking water, so it will be appreciated. There’s no trouble finding the strip, the battleship Rodney is firing salvoes on Caen and it’s immediately below. We’ll be flying over at 13,000 [feet] so the beer will be cold enough when you arrive.’
“I remember getting Murray Haver from Hamilton and a third pilot (whose name escapes me) to carry out the caper. In reflection it now seems like an appropriate Air Force gesture for which the erks (infantrymen) would be most appreciative. By the time I got down to 5,000 the welcoming from the Rodney was hardly inviting but sure enough there was the strip. Wheels down and in we go, three Spits with 90-gallon jet tanks fully loaded with cool beer.
“As I rolled to the end of the mesh runway it was hard to figure … there was absolutely no one in sight. What do we do now, I wondered, we can’t just sit here and wait for someone to show up. What’s with the communications? Finally I saw someone peering out at us from behind a tree and I waved frantically to get him out to the aircraft. Sure enough out bounds this army type and he climbs onto the wing with the welcome: ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ Whereupon he got a short, but nevertheless terse, version of the story.
“‘Look,’ he said, ‘can you see that church steeple at the far end of the strip? Well it’s loaded with German snipers and we’ve been all day trying to clear them out so you better drop your tanks and bugger off before it’s too late.’ In moments we were out of there, but such was the welcoming for the first Spitfire at our B4 airstrip in Normandy.”
German SS gunners (probably 1st SS-Pz.Div. LSSAH) man a 7.5cm le.IG 18 Light Infantry Gun (7,5-cm-leichtes Infanteriegeschütz 18, or 7,5 cm le.IG 18) during the Battle of Uman; the German and Axis allied encirclement of the 6th and 12th Soviet armies south of the city of Uman during the initial offensive operations of German Army Group South. Near Uman, Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine, Soviet Union. 18 August 1941.
Group Captain Adolph Gysbert "Sailor" Malan in the Spitfire Mk IX (FY-F) of Australian Squadron Leader Hugo 'Sinker' Armstrong, CO of 611 Squadron RAF at Biggin Hill on the 2nd January 1943.
Armstrong was shot down and killed in this Spitfire a month later, on 5th February. He was 'bounced' by eight Fw 190s of 5/JG26 over Boulogne.
'Unteroffizier im Kampf'
A posed propaganda photo of a Stielhandgranate-24 being thrown.
Junkers Ju 87R-2 Trop 'Stuka' 4 Staffel II./StG2 (T6+M) Gambut, Libya, 1941.
Axis forces captured Gambut on the 17th June 1941, after the Battle of Tobruk. This was a significant blow to the Allies as the airfield had been used to provide air-support to the Allied forces besieged at Tobruk. The airfield saw use by the German Luftwaffe until its recapture by the New Zealand 4th Infantry Brigade on the 25 November '41.
A 76mm M4A1 Sherman tank of the 67th Armor Regt., 2nd US Armored Division passes through Saint-Sever-Calvados, Normandy. August 1944.
captain mcChaos
Capt'n McChaos!
Good old World war 2 yehaaaa
Fantastic thread OP, thanks for the stories and pictures.
blue.beard
Fresh Meat
Excellent pics, excellent coloring, excellent documentation. Also excellence in organizing this massive thread. Thank you.
yellowbelly83
Forum Veteran
KABOOM. That is my mind being blown. Thank you Kyuss for posting these.
A Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger I (8,8 cm L/56) Ausf. E (Sd.Kfz. 181) turmnummer '332' of schwere Panzer-Abteilung 3./503 carefully trying to make it's way out of the mud.
In October 1943, the battalion was in a rest area near Znamenka, Tambovskaya oblast, Soviet Union, where it had time to maintain and repair vehicles and conduct training.
This image shows recovery training that was conducted on the 4th of October 1943.
Inauguration of "Birdie Schmidt A.R.C" B24 Liberator.
392nd Bomber Group, 8th Airforce, Wendling Air Base, Norfolk, England.
August the 8th 1944.
Birdie Schmidt; "On Tuesday afternoon at 3 o'clock the christening ceremonies took place in the dispersal area opposite the Flying Control Tower. It was a beautiful sun-shiney day. Just before the ground ceremonies began, they thrilled us by having the P-47 stationed here buzz the ship".
RAF 35 Squadron Aircrew from left to right:
1. Sgt FJ Soan (Mid-upper Gnr)
2. Sgt DV Durie (Rear Gnr)
3. F/Sgt EJL Hall(Navigator)
4. F/Sgt WN Mercer (Pilot – with officer rank, probably Pilot Officer)
5. Sgt HV Gash (Wireless Op) (03/04/23-10/03/2009) - My Uncle
6. F/Sgt Brenner (Bomb Aimer)
7. W.J. (John) Cunningham (Flight Engineer)
A sniper from "C" Company, 5th Battalion, The Black Watch, 51st (Highland) Division, in position in the loft space of a ruined building in Gennep, Holland, 14th February 1945.
(© IWM B 14628)
The Reichswald and Gennep
After the winter campaign in the Ardennes, the 51st Highland Division returned to Holland. The Battle for the Rhineland started on 8th February 1945. There was a sudden thaw and everywhere roads turned to mud. The Allies entered the Reichswald just across the Germany Border. The 5th Battalion The Black Watch was on the southern edge of the forest.
On 11th February the 5th Battalion The Black Watch was ordered south to take the Dutch town of Gennep on the river Niers. B Company took the bridge, church and hospital. C Company then got into the main street and took the right hand side of the town. There was fierce fighting.
An M4 Sherman tank of the 745th Tank Battalion, attached to the 1st Infantry Division, U.S. First Army, rolls through a former German road block in Gladbach, Germany. 1st March 1945.
The famous bull terrier owned by General Patton was purchased on 4 March, 1944. He was named Willie, short for "William the Conqueror."
He was devoted to the general and followed him everywhere. General Patton doted on his dog and even threw a birthday party for him.
The general wrote in his diary on July 15th, 1944 "Willie is crazy about me and almost has a fit when I come back to camp. He snores too and is company at night.”
On his encounter with General Patton and Willie, cartoonist Bill Mauldlin wrote:
"Beside him, lying in a big chair was Willie, the bull terrier. If ever dog was suited to master this one was. Willie had his beloved boss's expression and lacked only the ribbons and stars. I stood in that door staring into the four meanest eyes I'd ever seen".
One day before Patton was to return to the United States in December, 1945, he was involved in an automobile accident which broke his neck and he died a few days later.
Willie was sent home to live out the rest of his life as the beloved dog of a fallen warrior with the General’s wife and daughters.
This picture of Willie, a lost little dog, was taken a few days after the General’s death as preparations were made to send home his effects
Pilot and co-pilot in the cockpit of their Nº.149 RAF Squadron Vickers Wellington bomber, at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, 1941. The pilot is Flight Lt. David Donaldson, who was promoted to Wing Commander in 1943 at the age of 28.
Men of No 3 Platoon, R Company, 1st Parachute Battalion, 1st (British) Airborne Division armed with Bren gun and No. 4 rifles defend a large shell hole outside Arnhem, during Operation 'Market Garden', 17th September 1944.
(© IWM BU 1167)
The 1st Airborne Division landed at 13:30 without serious incident but problems associated with the poor plan began soon after. Only half of the Division arrived with the First Lift and only half of these (1st Parachute Brigade) could advance on the bridge. The remaining troops had to defend the drop zones overnight for the arrival of the Second Lift on the following day. Thus the Division's primary objective had to be tackled by less than half a brigade. While the paratroopers marched eastwards to Arnhem, the Reconnaissance Squadron was to race to the bridge in their jeeps and hold it until the rest of the Brigade arrived. The unit set off to the bridge late and having travelled only a short distance the vanguard was halted by a strong German defensive position; the squadron could make no further progress
Dispositions on the Gothic Line August-September 1944,
Defending the section of the line around Florence was I Fallschirm Korps of the Fourteenth Army. The 356. Infantry Division was positioned on the eastern flank, the 4. Fallschirmjäger Division was in the centre and the 362nd Infantry Division was on the western flank. They faced forces from the British 13th Corps and the US IV Corps.
A pilot of No. 175 Squadron RAF scrambles to his waiting Hawker Typhoon Mark IB at B5 Airstrip Le Fresne-Camilly, Calvados, France following a call from the Group Control Centre ordering an air strike.
24th July 1944
'Flying Fortress' 1942
December 1942, a year after Pearl Harbor. "Production. B-17 heavy bomber. A nearly complete B-17F 'Flying Fortress' at Boeing's Seattle, Washington plant."
Photo by Andreas Feininger for the Office of War Information.
3,405 were built: 2,300 by Boeing, 605 by Douglas, and 500 by Lockheed (Vega). These included the famous Memphis Belle. 19 were transferred to the RAF, where they served with RAF Coastal Command as the Fortress II. Three examples of the B-17F remain in existence in the 21st century, including the under-restoration Memphis Belle.
Fallschirmjäger Regiment 3. in Sicily August 1943.
The Battle of Centuripe was fought from the 2 to 4 August 1943, as part of the Allied invasion of Sicily during World War II. Forces of the British Eighth Army, engaged in fierce fighting around the town of Centuripe in the central portion of Sicily in the hill country between the Rivers Dittaìno and Salso. The battle focused around Centuripe which the German Wehrmacht had heavily fortified the hill town set on a very high rocky pinnacle and approached by only one steep and twisty road. Centuripe itself was the key to the whole Adrano position and the capture of Adrano would in turn force the Germans to withdraw to new positions. The British troops captured the town after heavy fighting and as a result caused the Germans to start contemplating abandoning Sicily altogether.
The key position in the German defence line across Sicily was Centuripe, a village perched on the top of a formidable line of steep hills along with its precipitous sides which gave it an almost impregnable position. The lesser hills round it were well defended by the Germans and it was necessary for them to be mastered before Centuripe could be tackled. Defending this position was the crack Hermann Göring Division comprising mostly of the 3rd Fallschirmjäger regiment as part of Kampfgruppe von Carnap under Ludwig Heilmann. As well as the regiment, the kampfgrugge consisted of an artillery regiment and a number of reconnaissance units which included a number of tanks with supporting infantry units. Heilmann had replaced the commander Oberstleutenant Von Carnap after he had been killed by British artillery fire in late July.
An LCT approaches Coast Guard-manned USS Admiral C. F. Hughes (AP-124).
She put in at Guam on April 30, 1945, and all her passengers disembarked. After taking another group on board, including 221 Japanese prisoners of war from a Tank Landing Craft (LCT), she stood out of Apra Harbor on May 3. The transport made a two-day stop at Pearl Harbor from May 10-12 to disembark the prisoners and then continued her voyage back to the west coast.
While over 420,000 German and Italian POWs were held in American camps, only 5,000 Japanese were detained by the war's end. This was partly because of explicit and implicit orders to fight to the death, a reluctance by Americans to take prisoners, and an increasingly obvious threat to the Japanese Home Islands. Many Japanese fighting men preferred to die in combat rather than be taken prisoner. Moreover, the official Japanese Military Field Code commanded each Japanese soldier to remember that "rather than live and bear the shame of imprisonment by the enemy, he should die and avoid leaving a dishonourable name!" Capture by the enemy, even if wounded or unconscious and unable to move, was equated with irrevocable shame. Japanese soldiers were directed to save the last round of ammunition for themselves or to charge the enemy in a suicidal assault.
About 2,500 were held at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin. The rest were dispersed to Camp Huntsville, Camp Hearn and Camp Kenedy in Texas, Camp Clarinda in Iowa, and Camp Livingston in Louisiana. Camp Kenedy housed most of the Japanese POW officers.
No sooner was the war over than Washington began repatriating
Japanese POWs as promptly as shipping permitted. While Japanese prisoners in the Philippines, Hawaii, and Okinawa were not
released for another year-due as much to Allied fears for the security
of postwar Japan as to the need for cheap labor-the prisoners in the
U.S. started home less than a month after the war ended. Beginning in
October 1945, the Japanese POWs at McCoy, Clarinda, Hearne,
Kenedy, and Huntsville were sent to a cluster of holding camps at
Lamont, California. There they kept busy with the usual military
post-related tasks as carpenters, cooks, and janitors and also as con-
tract workers on local farms. By the end of December 1945, vessel
space became available for 1,120 men (including 675 sick and badly
wounded) and the captives were trucked to the Los Angeles Port of
Embarkation for immediate shipment overseas.
L/Cpl Paddy McGiven, Sapper Charles Grier and wounded Sapper Dick Robb all from B troop, 1 Para Squadron, Royal Engineers.
This picture was taken at 1530hrs on Wednesday the 20th September 1944, in a builders yard near their last position held at the Van Limburg Stirum School in Arnhem.
The British 1st Parachute Brigade had been ordered to enter Arnhem on 17 September 1944 and, besides its own three battalions, had been allotted various smaller units; for example the 1st Parachute Squadron, Royal Engineers. This was commanded by 31 year-old Major Douglas Murray, with orders to render harmless any demolition charges found under the railway bridge at Oosterbeek, and the ship bridge and road bridge in Arnhem. Murray’s company was split into smaller groups and attached to others, so that more units would have engineers at their disposal during the advance.
West of Arnhem, the rest of the division fought on around Oosterbeek. With Arnhem now securely in their hands, the Germans could concentrate their full force on Urquhart's men. The remaining paras fought on for five more days, and on September 25 the 1st Airborne Division was evacuated. Of the 11,000 men who had landed on September 17, only 2,300 made it safely back to Allied lines.
Too often overlooked in accounts of the fighting at Arnhem, the defence of the Van Limburg Stirum schoolhouse by 60 brave men was a crucial element of Frost's gallant four-day defence of the bridge. Without the stand made by Major Lewis and others, the Germans would have been able to concentrate their full force on Frost, forcing him from his position sooner. This would have allowed the Germans to move more men against 1st Division forces fighting around Oosterbeek, and might have ended with even more men winding up on casualty lists or as POWs. Although it ultimately ended in a British defeat, the fight at the schoolhouse should be remembered as one of the greatest examples of a defence in urban terrain ever carried out by the British army.
As a footnote to the epic defence of Arnhem Bridge, (renamed after the war by the Dutch, 'Frost Bridge') S.S. General Harmel, commanding the 10th S.S. Panzer Division 'Frundsberg', congratulated the wounded with Lieut Col Frost with words, 'You command very fine soldiers. Not even at Stalingrad have I seen such bravery or such stubborn resistance.' Such was the respect that the panzer grenadiers had for our wounded that Frost says that they were kind, chivalrous, even comforting, as they carried our men out of the burning building
An M4.Sherman tank of Montgomery's 8th Army, passes through Nicastro in Southern Italy on the 11th September 1943.
(© IWM NA 6902)
On 3 September 1943, 13th Corps of Montgomery's 8th Army crossed the Straits of Messina from Sicily to mainland Italy. The crossing, preceded by a massive artillery bombardment of the Italian shore, was uneventful; the 8th Army established itself in the town of Reggio, facing Messina, without serious opposition.
Further progress northward was more difficult. After the Allied conquest of Sicily, German forces had largely abandoned the south of Italy, but not before sabotage groups were deployed to slow the Allied advance: roads were mined and bridges blown up.
Advancing up both coasts of the south western 'toe' of boot-shaped Italy, 13th Corps' progress was slow. On 10 September the Corps paused to regroup at Nicastro and Catanzaro, about 160km (100 miles) north of Reggio; there was no further progress until 14 September. By then, the 8th Army's 5th Corps had established itself at Taranto in south east Italy following landings of airborne troops on 9 September.
Both the 8th Army landings were organised in support of the primary Allied landing in mainland Italy, Operation Avalanche. This took place at Salerno on 9 September, carried out by Clark's US 5th Army.
The explosion of an oil storage tank and clouds of smoke from other tanks, hit during the first Japanese air raid on Australia's mainland, at Darwin on February 19, 1942. In the foreground is HMAS Deloraine, which escaped damage.
(Australian War Memorial ID Number: 128108)
Four IJN aircraft carriers (Akagi, Kaga, Hiryū, and Sōryū) launched 188 aircraft during the morning of 19 February. These comprised 36 A6M Zero fighters, 71 D3A "Val" dive bombers, and 81 B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers. All the aircraft were launched by 8.45 am. This raiding force was led by Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, who had also commanded the first wave of attackers during the raid on Pearl Harbor. The carrier aircraft had the objective of attacking the ships in Darwin Harbour as well as the town's port facilities.
The air raids caused chaos in Darwin, with most essential services including water and electricity being badly damaged or destroyed. Fears of an imminent invasion spread and there was a wave of refugees, as half of the town's civilian population fled inland.
The raid was the first and largest of almost 100 air raids against Australia during 1942–43.
The four IJN aircraft carriers that participated in the Bombing of Darwin were later sunk during the Battle of Midway in June 1942.
A U.S. Navy Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless of bombing squadron VB-16 flies an antisubmarine patrol low over the battleship USS Washington (BB-56) en route to the invasion of the Gilbert Islands, 12 November 1943. The ship in the background is USS Lexington (CV-16), the aircraft's home carrier. Note the depth charge below the SBD.
USN VB-16 consisted of 36 Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless operating from the USS Lexington from September 1943 – June 1944. Starting in June 1943 the aircraft carried the new tri-color national insignia with a red surround with false gun ports painted on the wings leading edges. However in mid September 1943 the red surround slowly began to be replaced by Insignia Blue. In November 1943 the U.S. Marines began their assault on the Gilbert Islands and the SBD-5's of VB-16 took part with some still wearing the red surround.
USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24)
Burning aft after she was hit by a Nakajima B6N 'Jill' Kamikaze, while operating off the Philippines on 30 October 1944. Flight deck crewmen are moving undamaged TBM torpedo planes away from the flames as others fight the fires.
USS Franklin (CV-13), was also hit during this Kamikaze attack.
USS Belleau Wood, an 11,000-ton Independence class small aircraft carrier, was built at Camden, New Jersey. Begun as the light cruiser New Haven (CL-76), she was converted to a carrier before launching and was commissioned in March 1943. Her original carrier hull number was CV-24, which was changed to CVL-24 in July 1943 at the time she arrived in the Pacific to join the war against Japan. During the rest of 1943, Belleau Wood took part in raids on Tarawa and Wake Islands and the invasion of the Gilbert Islands.
In the first half of 1944, Belleau Wood was part the carrier force that supported the Marshall Islands operation, raided enemy positions throughout the Central Pacific and helped conquer Saipan. During the Battle of the Philippine Sea, in mid-June, one of her Grumman TBF Avengers torpedoed the Japanese aircraft carrier Hiyo.
Following a brief overhaul, she rejoined Task Force 58 for further operations to take Guam, the Palaus and Morotai, as well as raiding the Philippines, Okinawa and Formosa. In late October 1944, Belleau Wood participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. While operating off the Philippines on 30 October, she was hit aft by a Kamikaze suicide plane and set afire. Badly damaged, with 92 of her crew killed or missing and 54 injured and also 12 of her aircraft destroyed, she had to return to the United States for repairs.
Belleau Wood returned to the Western Pacific war zone in February 1945, in time to help in raids on the Japanese Home Islands and support Marines on Iwo Jima. The rest of the war was spent on further attacks on targets in and around Japan. Her planes participated in the massed aircraft flyover that followed the Formal Surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945. After supporting occupation operations into October, Belleau Wood transported U.S. service personnel back to the United States until early 1946. Generally inactive from then on, she was placed out of commission in January 1947.
Belleau Wood was reactivated in 1953 for loan to France. Under the name Bois Belleau, she served the French Navy until 1960, when she was returned to U.S. custody and sold for scrapping.
Members of the 'Kompania Koszta' stand on the corner of Sienkiewicz and Marszalkowska, reading a leaflet from the German General von dem Bach calling for the surrender of all 'Insurgents' during the Polish uprising in Warsaw during August 1944.
In this group are (l.) Jerzy Chyliński "Karol", Tadeusz Suliński "Radwan" (in glasses), Andrzej Główczewski "Marek", Wacław Krupiński "Belina" and Janusz Chyliński "Janusz".
During the uprising, 43 soldiers of this company were killed and 39 were wounded, which accounted for 70%.
On October 5th this company, along with other branches of the regiment laid down their arms and went into captivity.
Crew members chipping the ice off the deck-lockers and ventilators on board a 'Town Class' light cruiser in northern waters during the winter.
One of the cruiser's 6 inch gun turrets can be seen behind the crew.
(© IWM A 8666)
The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union - primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk, both in modern-day Russia. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945 (although there were two gaps with no sailings between July and September 1942, and March and November 1943), sailing via several seas of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.
About 1400 merchant ships delivered essential supplies to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease program, escorted by ships of the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, and the U.S. Navy. Eighty-five merchant vessels and 16 Royal Navy warships (two cruisers, six destroyers, eight other escort ships) were lost. The German Kriegsmarine lost a number of vessels including one battleship, three destroyers and at least 30 U-boats as well as a large number of aircraft. The convoys demonstrated the Allies commitment to helping the Soviet Union, prior to the opening of a Second Front, and tied up a substantial part of Germany's Navy and Air Force.
The Arctic route was the shortest and most direct route for lend-lease aid to the USSR, though it was also the most dangerous. Some 3,964,000 tons of goods were shipped by the Arctic route; 7% was lost, while 93% arrived safely. This constituted some 23% of the total aid to the USSR during the war.
Excellent historical photos ! Wish my WW2 vet Dad was alive to see them!
Jessetangrong
NewbieX
牛逼。。。有没有天朝的人在？
K
Keka
Internet Warrior
Shi dei, yingyu zhiyou zai zheli, qing xieie
Yes, English only here, please.
Good stuff. Killer pics.
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