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Photos Colour and Colourised Photos of WW2 & earlier conflicts
- Thread starter BravoZulu
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Period NS- Fliegerkorps (NSFK/National Socialist Flyers Corps) poster. Text reads "German Air Sports is calling you! Donate for the German Aviation. Become a member of the German Air Sports Association". 1933-1937
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30 March 1945
A British Humber Scout Car Nº F-196184 and a Cruiser A34 Comet Nº T-335042 "Cobra" both of the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, 129th Armoured Brigade, 11th Armoured Division drive through a captured town in North Germany.
The 11th Armoured was held in reserve until 28 March, when it crossed the Rhine at Wesel, heading for the river Weser. Despite sporadic pockets of resistance, it reached Gescher on the evening of 30 March. 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (3 RTR) arrived at the river Ems in Emsdetten; they then reached the Dortmund-Ems canal the following day.
Comet tanks of the 2nd Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, 11th Armoured Division, crossing the Weser at Petershagen, Germany, 7 April 1945
After crossing the canal on 1 April, the 11th Armoured approached Ibbenbüren and was heavily engaged on the heights of the Teutoburger Wald. The villages of Brochterbeck and Tecklenburg were captured, albeit at a high price. Further east, the wooded hills were defended by companies of NCOs, who savagely counter-attacked the 3rd Monmouthshire Regiment. The intervention of the 131st Infantry Brigade (7th Armoured Division) later on, made it possible to overcome their opposition, but the Monmouthshires, already weakened during previous campaigns, had to be replaced by the 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment.
Divisional units continued toward the Osnabrück canal. After crossing via a captured bridge, it moved towards the Weser, reached by leading elements near Stolzenau on 5 April. A week later, the 11th Armoured liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. A local agreement with German commanders made it possible to declare the neighbourhood of the camp an open area, and the fighting moved northeast. The Division reached the river Elbe near Lüneburg on 18 April.
A British Humber Scout Car Nº F-196184 and a Cruiser A34 Comet Nº T-335042 "Cobra" both of the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, 129th Armoured Brigade, 11th Armoured Division drive through a captured town in North Germany.
The 11th Armoured was held in reserve until 28 March, when it crossed the Rhine at Wesel, heading for the river Weser. Despite sporadic pockets of resistance, it reached Gescher on the evening of 30 March. 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (3 RTR) arrived at the river Ems in Emsdetten; they then reached the Dortmund-Ems canal the following day.
Comet tanks of the 2nd Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, 11th Armoured Division, crossing the Weser at Petershagen, Germany, 7 April 1945
After crossing the canal on 1 April, the 11th Armoured approached Ibbenbüren and was heavily engaged on the heights of the Teutoburger Wald. The villages of Brochterbeck and Tecklenburg were captured, albeit at a high price. Further east, the wooded hills were defended by companies of NCOs, who savagely counter-attacked the 3rd Monmouthshire Regiment. The intervention of the 131st Infantry Brigade (7th Armoured Division) later on, made it possible to overcome their opposition, but the Monmouthshires, already weakened during previous campaigns, had to be replaced by the 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment.
Divisional units continued toward the Osnabrück canal. After crossing via a captured bridge, it moved towards the Weser, reached by leading elements near Stolzenau on 5 April. A week later, the 11th Armoured liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. A local agreement with German commanders made it possible to declare the neighbourhood of the camp an open area, and the fighting moved northeast. The Division reached the river Elbe near Lüneburg on 18 April.
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1919: A Maschinengewehr 08/15 Leki-Mitralez 7.9mm machine gun in action from the balcony of a house in Berlin during the revolution of 1918-1919 after the end of World War I. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)
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A rare 1941 photograph showing Prince Adalbert of Prussia (left) with his son Prince Wilhelm Victor of Prussia (right).
Adalbert (1884–1948), the third son of Wilhelm II, is seen wearing a naval uniform likely dating back decades to the Imperial German Navy. A former naval commander, he later lived in exile in Switzerland, where he died in 1948.
His son, Wilhelm Victor, appears in a uniform combining Wehrmacht insignia with traditional Hohenzollern dynastic decorations—symbolizing the overlap between imperial legacy and the realities of World War II Germany.
Despite the fall of the German Empire in 1918, members of the Hohenzollern family, like Wilhelm Victor, continued to retain their royal titles in a ceremonial sense well into the 20th century.
Source: German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv)
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Found a set of color WW1 pics
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The battleship HMS Warspite (03) under repair at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in December 1941.
Warspite had been damaged earlier that year during operations in the Mediterranean while supporting Allied forces during the Battle of Crete. After the damage, she sailed to the United States for extensive repairs and refitting.
The work carried out at Puget Sound restored the veteran battleship to full fighting condition. Warspite soon returned to service with the Royal Navy and went on to take part in several major operations during the World War II, including support for the Allied landings in Europe.
Warspite had been damaged earlier that year during operations in the Mediterranean while supporting Allied forces during the Battle of Crete. After the damage, she sailed to the United States for extensive repairs and refitting.
The work carried out at Puget Sound restored the veteran battleship to full fighting condition. Warspite soon returned to service with the Royal Navy and went on to take part in several major operations during the World War II, including support for the Allied landings in Europe.
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World War 1 - Italian Army: Monte Padon - Italian 65/17 modello 13 mountain howitzer firing at Austrian positions on the Sass di Mezdi.
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Royal Netherlands army reservists board a tram in Rotterdam during the mobilisation of the kingdom's armed forces in 1939. The Dutch had mobilised nine field Divisions and two Independent brigades (about 280,000 men) by the time of the German invasion of 1940.
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From the Isonzo campaign.
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April 16, 1945
A portrait of an unknown Canadian soldier in Marsum, Friesland Province, The Netherlands.
The Canadian soldiers entering Leeuwarden belong to the 3rd reconnaissance squadron of the army corps, the Royal Canadian Dragoons. When the soldiers travel to the north, they maintain good contact with the Dutch resistance. In this way the Canadians are kept informed of the activities of the Germans.
After Leeuwarden was liberated on 15 April 1945, the soldiers drove west the next day. When they drive through Marsum, the villagers overtake them festively. Then the soldiers regroup to continue to Franeker and Harlingen.
The battle is not yet over, because there are still heavy battles to be fought with Germans near the Afsluitdijk. There are still many casualties on both sides - and also among the civilian population.
The Frisian Resistance Museum is still trying to identify the
soldier in this photograph. If you have any information that could
lead to his identification, then please send me a DM. Tnx!
Colourised PIECE of JAKE
A portrait of an unknown Canadian soldier in Marsum, Friesland Province, The Netherlands.
The Canadian soldiers entering Leeuwarden belong to the 3rd reconnaissance squadron of the army corps, the Royal Canadian Dragoons. When the soldiers travel to the north, they maintain good contact with the Dutch resistance. In this way the Canadians are kept informed of the activities of the Germans.
After Leeuwarden was liberated on 15 April 1945, the soldiers drove west the next day. When they drive through Marsum, the villagers overtake them festively. Then the soldiers regroup to continue to Franeker and Harlingen.
The battle is not yet over, because there are still heavy battles to be fought with Germans near the Afsluitdijk. There are still many casualties on both sides - and also among the civilian population.
The Frisian Resistance Museum is still trying to identify the
soldier in this photograph. If you have any information that could
lead to his identification, then please send me a DM. Tnx!
Colourised PIECE of JAKE
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14 April 1945
Private John Davies, with a Bren light machine-gun, during an attack by the Australian 24th Battalion against the Japanese at the Hatai Junction on Buin Road, Southern Bougainville.
(Photo source - Australian War Memorial - 091023)
Colourised by Doug
Private John Davies, with a Bren light machine-gun, during an attack by the Australian 24th Battalion against the Japanese at the Hatai Junction on Buin Road, Southern Bougainville.
(Photo source - Australian War Memorial - 091023)
Colourised by Doug
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A portrait of a naval commander whose career ended at the center of Germany’s final collapse in 1945.
Shown here is Karl Dönitz (September 16, 1891 – December 24, 1980), a German naval officer who rose from service in the Imperial German Navy to become Grand Admiral during the Second World War. After Adolf Hitler’s suicide in April 1945, Dönitz briefly succeeded him as head of state of Nazi Germany, leading the short-lived Flensburg Government until its dissolution following Germany’s unconditional surrender.
Dönitz’s military career began before the First World War, and he later served in submarine warfare, including command of UB-68 in 1918, when he was captured by British forces after operations in the Mediterranean near Malta. Experiences from that era helped shape ideas he would later develop more fully in the next war, especially the group tactics used by German U-boats in the Atlantic.
During the Second World War, Dönitz became one of the central figures in Germany’s naval command. From 1943, as Supreme Commander of the Navy, he played a major role in directing the U-boat campaign and wider naval operations. That placed him at the heart of one of the war’s most consequential maritime struggles, where convoy attacks, submarine patrols, and anti-shipping warfare contributed to massive loss of life at sea.
Shown here is Karl Dönitz (September 16, 1891 – December 24, 1980), a German naval officer who rose from service in the Imperial German Navy to become Grand Admiral during the Second World War. After Adolf Hitler’s suicide in April 1945, Dönitz briefly succeeded him as head of state of Nazi Germany, leading the short-lived Flensburg Government until its dissolution following Germany’s unconditional surrender.
Dönitz’s military career began before the First World War, and he later served in submarine warfare, including command of UB-68 in 1918, when he was captured by British forces after operations in the Mediterranean near Malta. Experiences from that era helped shape ideas he would later develop more fully in the next war, especially the group tactics used by German U-boats in the Atlantic.
During the Second World War, Dönitz became one of the central figures in Germany’s naval command. From 1943, as Supreme Commander of the Navy, he played a major role in directing the U-boat campaign and wider naval operations. That placed him at the heart of one of the war’s most consequential maritime struggles, where convoy attacks, submarine patrols, and anti-shipping warfare contributed to massive loss of life at sea.
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German soldiers in the Netherlands, 1940.
The German invasion of the Netherlands began at dawn on 10 May 1940, when Wehrmacht forces struck across the Dutch frontiers with a speed and coordination designed to overwhelm resistance before it could properly form. For the Netherlands—neutral since 1914 and hoping to avoid entanglement in another European war—the attack was a profound shock. German strategy aimed at a rapid breakthrough, seizing key airfields, bridges, and urban centres to force a swift capitulation and open the way for operations against Belgium and France.
Airborne troops played a central role. Fallschirmjäger units dropped near The Hague, Rotterdam, and Dordrecht, attempting to capture the Dutch government and secure vital crossings. Although these airborne assaults met fierce resistance and failed to achieve all their objectives, they created chaos behind Dutch lines and forced the defenders to divert precious forces. Meanwhile, German armoured and infantry divisions pushed through the eastern provinces, exploiting weak points and bypassing strongholds.
The Dutch Army fought with determination despite being outmatched in armour, air power, and modern equipment. At the Grebbe Line, some of the heaviest fighting occurred as Dutch troops resisted repeated German assaults. Air attacks by the Luftwaffe steadily eroded defensive positions, communications, and morale. The situation deteriorated rapidly as German forces closed in on the core of the country.
The turning point came on 14 May, when the Luftwaffe bombed Rotterdam after negotiations for surrender stalled. The destruction of the city centre and the threat of similar attacks on Utrecht and other urban areas forced the Dutch high command to capitulate the following day. Only the forces in Zeeland, fighting alongside the French, continued resistance briefly.
The invasion lasted just five days, but its impact was profound. It marked the end of Dutch neutrality, the beginning of a harsh occupation, and a stark demonstration of the speed and violence of Blitzkrieg warfare.
The German invasion of the Netherlands began at dawn on 10 May 1940, when Wehrmacht forces struck across the Dutch frontiers with a speed and coordination designed to overwhelm resistance before it could properly form. For the Netherlands—neutral since 1914 and hoping to avoid entanglement in another European war—the attack was a profound shock. German strategy aimed at a rapid breakthrough, seizing key airfields, bridges, and urban centres to force a swift capitulation and open the way for operations against Belgium and France.
Airborne troops played a central role. Fallschirmjäger units dropped near The Hague, Rotterdam, and Dordrecht, attempting to capture the Dutch government and secure vital crossings. Although these airborne assaults met fierce resistance and failed to achieve all their objectives, they created chaos behind Dutch lines and forced the defenders to divert precious forces. Meanwhile, German armoured and infantry divisions pushed through the eastern provinces, exploiting weak points and bypassing strongholds.
The Dutch Army fought with determination despite being outmatched in armour, air power, and modern equipment. At the Grebbe Line, some of the heaviest fighting occurred as Dutch troops resisted repeated German assaults. Air attacks by the Luftwaffe steadily eroded defensive positions, communications, and morale. The situation deteriorated rapidly as German forces closed in on the core of the country.
The turning point came on 14 May, when the Luftwaffe bombed Rotterdam after negotiations for surrender stalled. The destruction of the city centre and the threat of similar attacks on Utrecht and other urban areas forced the Dutch high command to capitulate the following day. Only the forces in Zeeland, fighting alongside the French, continued resistance briefly.
The invasion lasted just five days, but its impact was profound. It marked the end of Dutch neutrality, the beginning of a harsh occupation, and a stark demonstration of the speed and violence of Blitzkrieg warfare.
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