German paratroopers of 9. Fallschirmjägerdivision occupy a defensive position on the Seelow Heights. The soldiers are armed with an MG-42 Machine Gun, Mkb.42(H) Machine Carbine and Panzerfaust Grenade Launcher.
Brandenburg, Prussia, Germany. April, 1945.
From Asmus Remmer's diary:
“We were dropped off at the Pavlinovo train station (Kaluga region) in the Kirov forest near Moscow. We did a long night walk before seeing the first Russian village just before sunrise. The snow-covered houses appeared unexpectedly. Smoke rose from the chimneys into the pink morning sky. A Russian woman was drawing water from a well. I had the feeling that she was reading the Bible, and I exclaimed: "And here we are at war?" At that moment I felt bad and my companions took me to the cabin. When I woke up, I saw a Russian girl kneeling in front of me, who gave me hot milk and honey from a teaspoon. I said, "I could have killed your husband and you are worried about me."
When we passed through other Russian villages, it became clearer to me that it would be correct to make peace with the Russians as soon as possible. The Russians paid no attention to my military uniform and were quite friendly with me! In search of interesting stories, I was much more than my peers. In front of our column, I took a photograph of a long line of horse-drawn carriages among the picturesque trees. It's called "As in 1812." We walked more than 1000 kilometers deep in the Russian empire, and all this time the thought did not abandon me, in what state will we leave this country when we go... ".
All photographs: Kaluga region, 1942-1943. The works of the German photographer and soldier Asmus Remmer were shown at exhibitions in Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod in 2003.
France-Nord.- Oberleutnant Schmidt, chief of the 1st company of the 22nd Panzer Regiment of the 21st Panzer Division and another soldier in front of a shot down British tank destroyer "Achilles" (based on the American "M10 Wolverine"), summer 1944; / Photo by Propagandakompanie 698, photographer Scheck
Northern France.- German soldiers with captured American reconnaissance tank M8 Greyhound (M8 Light Armored Car) with Balkenkreuz, on a farm, autumn 1944; / Photos by Propagandakompanie 698, photographer Bernhard Kurth
Northern France.- German soldiers inspecting a captured American M8 Greyhound (M8 Light Armored Car); Early September 1944; / Photos by Propagandakompanie 698, photographer Hasse
Operation Ochsenkopf getting under way on February 26, 1943.
The Tiger is "131" of s.Pz.Abt.501 (not the same Tiger 131 that survives today) and the staff car holds Col. Lang (in the front right-hand seat) who is in charge of the operation. He has some map-reading to do, because the operation was put together very rapidly and there has been no reconnaissance of the route ahead.
Within a week the Colonel will have lost 7 Tigers, a serious blow to Afrika Korps morale. (text by David Byrden) German Federal Archive
On the evening of February 23, 1945, a small sleepy town Pforzheim had been attacked by Royal Air Force 379 heavy bombers and destroyed 80% of the city. 18.000 people was killed, 31% of the population (58.000). This is an unofficial world record in World War II. There was watchmaking factory and a train station in the city. The city was taken over by French Moroccan units on April 18, serious violence, rape and robbery had began. This was ended by the relocating of the U.S. Army troops. The rape and violence continued by the Moroccan Goumiers, (colonial troops of the French Expeditionary Corps units) later several times, like after the battle of Monte Cassino. But that is another part of the history.
Josef Goebbels' Propagandaministerium was very adept at conveying the apparent might of the German Wehrmacht via skillfully filmed newsreels and still photographs showing Panzer columns, massed Luftwaffe flypasts or Kreigsmarine battleships at sea etc.
However, when it came to the Heer, the fact that it was largely dependent on horse-drawn artillery and logistical support in an age of motorisation was usually conveniently overlooked.
This then, is what the cameras rarely showed...and was in fact typical throughout the entire war.
(LIFE / Hugo Jaeger)
When it comes to miltary signage this one was brief and to the point.
"Zur Front" / "To the front".
Just march towards the sound of the guns!
Poland, circa 1939.
(LIFE / Hugo Jaeger)
Northern France.- German soldiers inspecting a captured American M8 Greyhound (M8 Light Armored Car); Early September 1944; / Photos by Propagandakompanie 698, photographer Hasse
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