tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35101175789224087522024-03-19T00:17:31.327+01:00Stabswache de Euros - Close the SkyWelcome! This is a Non-Political and a Non-Profit site (to include its authors and contributors) and does not subscribe to any revisionist organizations. This site is only to explore the combat role and history of the multinational Waffen-SS in World War II. Enlistment rolls show that a total of 950,000 men served in its ranks between 1940 and 1945. It contains a collection of real events and information on these European volunteers and conscripts for historical research and documentation.Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.comBlogger387125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-61290791642950901962020-09-22T14:34:00.028+02:002024-02-01T01:16:33.582+01:00Please Read General House Rules to Ensure that Guidelines are Followed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2NJ6gZFxSEzDWEYmHPjZts0Ogm3iCKXu8DLeF0U3zrMdn_GSLld5NR1vv768XT_b8aCtzsND_XMoRoFX073QW9X1ZWrhtG0Lqw5Rtz_JZVHVeyWjIfnwCF9vtPvraEAuumPUUYi3VLLcJV2wgNK2S8Lthbx6LurlWtVNtcww_o094Af6iePFHjYv-E1o/s1552/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20European%20SS%20Volunteers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="877" data-original-width="1552" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2NJ6gZFxSEzDWEYmHPjZts0Ogm3iCKXu8DLeF0U3zrMdn_GSLld5NR1vv768XT_b8aCtzsND_XMoRoFX073QW9X1ZWrhtG0Lqw5Rtz_JZVHVeyWjIfnwCF9vtPvraEAuumPUUYi3VLLcJV2wgNK2S8Lthbx6LurlWtVNtcww_o094Af6iePFHjYv-E1o/w640-h362/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20European%20SS%20Volunteers.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Explore a detailed timeline of the multinational volunteer front organization Waffen-SS - its volunteers, divisions and battles. The Stabswache de Euros is updated constantly as new and substantial information is received. The website is very much a work in evolutionary progress. The website encourage user participation by allowing comments on the articles. In this way, the articles are regularly updated with vetted info by various experts in the field. Please read and understand the General house rules before proceeding. Our rules are here to encourage the participation of research historians, authors and World War II experts, who are willing to spend time and efforts to share their knowledge. We underline that no political connections from the past or present are tied with this website, nor any connections with military organizations of any kind. This website is for researching only! If you have other agendas, please leave. The screenshot above comes from a German propaganda film showing Waffen-SS troops at attention. Most likely the SS-Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. Source: Die Deutsche Wochenschau. The screenshot below comes from a captured SS-Kriegsberichter film taken late in the war. The unit has never been identified, although some sources identifies the men as Panzergrenadiers belonging to the 17.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Götz von Berlichingen during Operation Nordwind, the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front. Source: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Both stills are in the Public domain.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOm7m5uYyOsBNA8lMpjHmh3Wm4C_C9wf0tjgUZd_mdIs_Nenm5-4gtP1gWat-4sTgmxlI0bxgWRSVFwS0z8H53Jj7uqXcTgYMIkHcUjqSysRU8hnp4lgF26f2yQPlCWe7UYS4jTpyd-L6u7TIfFy_cXo4Tmtqh4vEepdpLBs4mCCtzm9cgTVrsHbA61gE/s1507/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20European%20SS%20Volunteers%20II.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="1507" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOm7m5uYyOsBNA8lMpjHmh3Wm4C_C9wf0tjgUZd_mdIs_Nenm5-4gtP1gWat-4sTgmxlI0bxgWRSVFwS0z8H53Jj7uqXcTgYMIkHcUjqSysRU8hnp4lgF26f2yQPlCWe7UYS4jTpyd-L6u7TIfFy_cXo4Tmtqh4vEepdpLBs4mCCtzm9cgTVrsHbA61gE/w640-h350/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20European%20SS%20Volunteers%20II.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-17946950510058320202020-09-22T11:31:00.103+02:002022-06-20T15:12:07.540+02:00Allied Operation Market Garden (I)<div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CmRIXPdXFxk/X2uBn6yKUXI/AAAAAAAALiI/LJfG1IB4gAUW4gIYMUHqypmMIPRXyKgAgCPcBGAYYCw/s900/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BBattle%2Bof%2BNijmegen.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="900" height="275" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CmRIXPdXFxk/X2uBn6yKUXI/AAAAAAAALiI/LJfG1IB4gAUW4gIYMUHqypmMIPRXyKgAgCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h275/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BBattle%2Bof%2BNijmegen.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Cromwell tanks of the British Guards Armoured Division at Nijmegen road bridge</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LbId7LjZd2E/YOnndJoSl0I/AAAAAAAAMQs/RbAeaz_CY3APJ_U6dThyNLi6rnodZJp1gCPcBGAYYCw/s1159/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BMarket%2BGarden.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="831" data-original-width="1159" height="272" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LbId7LjZd2E/YOnndJoSl0I/AAAAAAAAMQs/RbAeaz_CY3APJ_U6dThyNLi6rnodZJp1gCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h272/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BMarket%2BGarden.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Waffen-SS officer in conversation with Wehrmacht troops in the Nijmegen region</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XwjIoLWylXE/WzQY_toivNI/AAAAAAAAHSE/LNXipGECrL4FU7TYVVtYCSkHCSTeBUM4wCPcBGAYYCw/s500/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros.gif" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="500" height="192" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XwjIoLWylXE/WzQY_toivNI/AAAAAAAAHSE/LNXipGECrL4FU7TYVVtYCSkHCSTeBUM4wCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h192/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Allied Paratroopers raining on Dutch soil – Operation Market Garden</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8TNbj6udiIM/WzQZaqpDbAI/AAAAAAAAHSM/thSoJ12GvFMXfwh6oYjhsQIEp2PDkPVrACPcBGAYYCw/s500/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BMarket%2BGarden.gif" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="500" height="201" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8TNbj6udiIM/WzQZaqpDbAI/AAAAAAAAHSM/thSoJ12GvFMXfwh6oYjhsQIEp2PDkPVrACPcBGAYYCw/w400-h201/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BMarket%2BGarden.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Wilhelm Bittrich's II.SS-Panzerkorps targeting Allied Paratroopers and gliders</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8dMbKRUU860/WzQZ4mKCHAI/AAAAAAAAHSU/MuRcqjXvfSQC3TOmLmFdN_KOaAkV0J1cACPcBGAYYCw/s500/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BWaffen-SS%2BMarket%2BGarden.gif" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="500" height="197" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8dMbKRUU860/WzQZ4mKCHAI/AAAAAAAAHSU/MuRcqjXvfSQC3TOmLmFdN_KOaAkV0J1cACPcBGAYYCw/w400-h197/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BWaffen-SS%2BMarket%2BGarden.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Waffen-SS machine gun fire raked the sky west of Arnhem</span></td></tr></tbody></table>The British 1st Airborne Division, Polish 1st Parachute Brigade, U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division and 101st Airborne Division was dropped along a line marked by Eindhoven in the south and Arnhem in the north in mid-September 1944, both cities in the eastern part of the Netherlands. The Market portion of the operation was made up of the airborne attacks. The Garden portion of the operation consisted of the British 2nd Army roaring north along highway 69 (Hell's Highway). The two attacks were known collectively as Operation Market Garden, the largest airborne drop in military history involving three Allied divisions, employing more than 16,000 paratroops. The report that Arnhem was free of serious resistance was incorrect. Several days before the Operation, the 9.SS-Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen and its sister formation 10.SS-Panzer-Division Frundsberg (II.SS-Panzerkorps) were moved into the Arnhem area to rest and refit, however they had both been so severely mauled during the <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2018/08/la-bataille-de-normandie-die-schlacht.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Normandy fighting</i></span></a> that they now mustered a combined force of approximately 6,000 men. No longer worthy of the title “division”, the Hohenstaufen and Frundsberg were dubbed divisional SS-Kampfgruppen. Although numerically weaker to the British 1st Airborne Division, their men were all excellently trained and battle-hardened. SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Bittrich's II.SS-Panzerkorps played a decisive role in the defeat of the Allied offensive. Elements of the Frundsberg were sent south to respond to the American landings at Nijmegen, while the Hohenstaufen would defend Arnhem. Also present were the German Luftwaffe's Luftflotte 3 and some 600 Dutch SS trainees in the heterogeneous Kampfgruppe Tettau. Credit: The Pegasus Archive. Top image: on September 17 1944, U.S. 82nd Airborne Division were stopped in their tracks by hastily-organised German reinforcements at the all-important road bridge at Nijmegen. After a combined attack from the 82nd and British Guards Armoured Division was halted by reinforcements from the Frundsberg it became clear that the bridge could not be stormed. Credit: Tom Marshall. Welsh Guards Archives. Fair use. Second image: Waffen-SS, Heer and Luftwaffe troops in the Market Garden battle area in September 1944. Some sources says the photo was taken in the Betuwe region between Arnhem and Nijmegen, whereas others say it was taken in Nijmegen in front of the Hunnerpark at the foot of the south approach to the road bridge over the Waal. The SS officer is believed to be the commanding officer in that area SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl-Heinz Euling of the Frundsberg. The Knights Cross holder Karl-Heinz Euling died aged 94 on April 14 2014 in München. Photo taken by SS-Kriegsberichter Pospesch. Credit: Jakob Lagerweij. Commons: Bundesarchiv. Bottom clips: the sky was filled with Allied aircraft and parachuting British troops when this was filmed west of Arnhem on September 17 1944. As British paratroopers landed on their drop zone around Oosterbeek, combat hardened SS-Panzergrenadiers from the Hohenstaufen were waiting and made sure they did not receive a warm welcome. Bittrich's II SS Corps were at this stage divided into several smaller SS-Kampfgruppen acting as a blocking force. The Allies encountered a tough and determined resistance - far more than expected. Footage from Die Deutsche Wochenschau. Fair use.</div>Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-18366354799767949702020-06-18T01:15:00.331+02:002023-11-03T16:54:13.548+01:00Chenogne Massacre in the Ardennes - a Covered-up American War Crime<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8GVP947z_orx0k_yx4gD09tBaJkWRwhzAhfNwNdFlP5wrDoddqF4VJdNjvRBM3jmUa5mhFzZ8pYdJxExcpqSJTW-RNZdHZX_tGttk6WFJrce2I5QhoPH8pdWSfe4_v2MmbkXiaA0r-qQ2egNjEqwSI-SWm1SsL44RzE6MDVHgkz34gMxoxcEWPZt/s1098/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Waffen-SS%20POWs.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1098" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8GVP947z_orx0k_yx4gD09tBaJkWRwhzAhfNwNdFlP5wrDoddqF4VJdNjvRBM3jmUa5mhFzZ8pYdJxExcpqSJTW-RNZdHZX_tGttk6WFJrce2I5QhoPH8pdWSfe4_v2MmbkXiaA0r-qQ2egNjEqwSI-SWm1SsL44RzE6MDVHgkz34gMxoxcEWPZt/w331-h249/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Waffen-SS%20POWs.jpg" width="331" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Adolescent soldiers of the Waffen-SS captured by the Americans</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCdCXRwROZUQ_fAv3lj3SjoQRP4qCeXb4dAmwn2L8oHgKD4xe99gGfJwzf-eQAhrwDOd99ee4p_aPmSQDcj7AzAiDg8uGJhfc_o6Rsj-pVqroVoaF_U7pa1kDlOOfNk-NFRi0b8FoEnKxsolcxaTfH_Xjh2g7kYt62UaIWe7-OZ_M3QmWl1yaiyNar7h8/s1168/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Ardennes%20Offensive%20aka%20Battle%20of%20the%20Bulge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1168" data-original-width="1034" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCdCXRwROZUQ_fAv3lj3SjoQRP4qCeXb4dAmwn2L8oHgKD4xe99gGfJwzf-eQAhrwDOd99ee4p_aPmSQDcj7AzAiDg8uGJhfc_o6Rsj-pVqroVoaF_U7pa1kDlOOfNk-NFRi0b8FoEnKxsolcxaTfH_Xjh2g7kYt62UaIWe7-OZ_M3QmWl1yaiyNar7h8/w330-h373/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Ardennes%20Offensive%20aka%20Battle%20of%20the%20Bulge.jpg" width="330" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">German POWs herded at gunpoint by their American captors</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10ZrG4xZBTQ8lU6UuJDwXwZC9gkzFrseI1YPpQAhQSkTYPhf2bIFRPXCUc0plYVytwk3pY2UG6bVup5z2UpQuGWHV9FSiqud_PnpyuaQMhEPbm8mBoLBnLnbtlVUu-X0iafRCNOkMK95-OIKRf7hEyLZp4W5rYMTuaVCEl0jHcJ2jO8i7rkzgDaXx/s1104/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Massacre%20at%20Chenogne.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="1104" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10ZrG4xZBTQ8lU6UuJDwXwZC9gkzFrseI1YPpQAhQSkTYPhf2bIFRPXCUc0plYVytwk3pY2UG6bVup5z2UpQuGWHV9FSiqud_PnpyuaQMhEPbm8mBoLBnLnbtlVUu-X0iafRCNOkMK95-OIKRf7hEyLZp4W5rYMTuaVCEl0jHcJ2jO8i7rkzgDaXx/w329-h248/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Massacre%20at%20Chenogne.jpg" width="329" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Chenogne Massacre: a Covered-up U.S. War Crime</span></td></tr></tbody></table>The <a href="http://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2011/04/obersturmbannfuhrer-der-waffen-ss.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Ardennes offensive</i></span></a>, or the Battle of the Bulge, in December 1944 is best known for the killing, in the town of Malmedy<a href="http://">,</a> of around 80 American soldiers. However, the full story should include, too, the killings of German soldiers by American soldiers. <i><a href="https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss35634.00111/?sp=110&r=-0.802,-0.249,2.604,1.655,0" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">‘I hope we can conceal this,’</span></a></i> General George Patton wrote about murders of German prisoners that have been airbrushed out of U.S. accounts of the ‘Battle of the Bulge’. The massacre of approximately 80 unarmed German POWs in Chenogne on January 1 1945 was carried out by perpetrators from Company B, U.S. 21st Armored Infantry Battalion of the U.S. 11th Armored Division. The victims were members of the Führerbegleitbrigade and 3.Panzergrenadier-Division. This massacre is often explained as a retaliation for the <a href="http://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2011/03/under-construction-under-construction_30.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Malmedy massacre</i></span></a> committed by elements of <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2010/01/2010.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>SS-Kampfgruppe Peiper</i></span></a> on December 17 1944. What seriously undermines this argument is that the American soldiers Max Cohen, Steve Bugden, Frank Hartzell and Staff sergeant John W. Fague, who were, by all accounts, bystanders to the incident, also pointed out they had no knowledge of the Malmedy massacre at that time. The massacre site at Malmedy was behind German lines until January 14 1945. Unlike what happened in Malmedy, the massacre at Chenogne was planned. A German medic who attempted to surrender is said to have been the first victim. He carried a white flag and American soldiers were positioned in a semi circle around him when they shot him dead. All of the soldiers who witnessed the incident remembered the order not to take any prisoners. They even described how the Americans herded their German prisoners down a hill to avoid potential witnesses. There were still German scouts outside of town. The facts indicate that the American mass murder in Chenogne was well organized and carried out in cold blood, while the German massacre in Malmedy occurred in the heat of the moment. In difference to the American victims in Malmedy, the German victims in Chenogne knew what would soon befall them. The events were covered up at the time and the American soldiers who committed the massacre at Chenogne were never held accountable. There were no trials for the Americans, no prosecutions, and certainly no death sentences. The former Prosecutor at the Nürnberg trials Ben Ferencz told the reporter Chris Harland-Dunaway in 2018 when asked why the Americans escaped justice: <i>I would never investigate American war crimes, I was hired to investigate German war crimes. </i>Upon acquainting himself with the declassified reports about the killings in Chenogne, he said: <i>Well, it smells to me like a cover up, of course. Okay, does that surprise you? It doesn't surprise me. </i>Scores of German soldiers were executed according to American combat reports. Some surrendering Germans came within metres of American patrols before they opened fire. Others were taken into the forest, out of sight of locals, and killed. These reports are not trying to hide anything. It was the official historians later who left out what happened. One painful reality is how long a political lie can survive, even after having been disproved. Since the 1940s and still today, many historians and scholars continue to justify Allied war crimes as mistakes or retaliations. Credit: American reporter Christopher Harland-Dunaway, Irish journalist Mark Hennessy and British military historian Antony Beevor. For further reading, see what justice looked like for the <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/search/label/C7%3A%20Malmedy%20Massacre%20Trial%3B%20U.S.%20vs.%20Valentin%20Bersin%20May-July%201946" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Malmedy massacre</i></span></a>. </span>The photos are not related to the context of the article. Top image: SS youngsters surrenders to the U.S. Seventh Army at Schillersdorf on Jan. 1 1945. Credit: Mateusz Pietruszkiewicz. U.S. Army Signal Corps. Middle image: German POWs herded at gunpoint in the Ardennes around New Year 1945. U.S. photographer John Florea. LIFE photo archive. Bottom image: Private First Class Frank Vukasin of the U.S. 331st Infantry Regiment of the 83rd Infantry Division near Houffalize north-east of Chenogne on Jan. 15 1945. Credit: Facundo Filipe. U.S. National Archives. Fair use.<br /></div>Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-70532826550882984672020-02-17T10:59:00.031+01:002021-09-26T13:26:46.099+02:00European Events Leading up to World War II 1938–1939<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Austrian-born German dictator Adolf Hitler with GenMaj Erwin Rommel - Sept 1939</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Annexation of Austria - March 1938</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8hMttzDF7-Y/XkrQR36eYkI/AAAAAAAAKcA/MmNjS52UxrY0jn7a5LDYtIk7QWJCy_y_ACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BPoland%2B1939.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"></span></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xXJjeVFj1AQ/YUZjjWFm7PI/AAAAAAAAMYQ/P-G0KHlbXe8ZAqzAt1TyA9m_aE2ZlH-zACNcBGAsYHQ/s964/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BPolish%2BPOWS%2BSeptember%2B1939.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="964" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xXJjeVFj1AQ/YUZjjWFm7PI/AAAAAAAAMYQ/P-G0KHlbXe8ZAqzAt1TyA9m_aE2ZlH-zACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BPolish%2BPOWS%2BSeptember%2B1939.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Poland campaign - September 1939</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8hMttzDF7-Y/XkrQR36eYkI/AAAAAAAAKcA/MmNjS52UxrY0jn7a5LDYtIk7QWJCy_y_ACPcBGAYYCw/s705/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BPoland%2B1939.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="705" height="280" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8hMttzDF7-Y/XkrQR36eYkI/AAAAAAAAKcA/MmNjS52UxrY0jn7a5LDYtIk7QWJCy_y_ACPcBGAYYCw/w400-h280/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BPoland%2B1939.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Invasion and partitioning of Poland - September 1939</span></td></tr></tbody></table><b>By 1937 Europe</b> was beset by political crises and the Paris International Exposition is recalled for its political connotations. Two of the most notable pavilions were those of the National Socialist Germany and the Stalinist Soviet Union. The organization of the world exhibition had placed the German and the Soviet pavilions directly across from each other. Nothing in any previous universal exhibition had ever matched this dramatic architectural confrontation. Adolf Hitler's chief architect Albert Speer later revealed that he had designed the German pavilion to represent a bulwark against Communism. The conquering exhibitors of forty-four nations politely applauded each other during the closing ceremonies on November 2 1937. The ritual of Peace and Progress was over and the ultimate confrontation was at hand. Image: Credit: Olga Shirnina. Public domain. <b>Annexation of Austria: </b>Following the end of World War I, the newly formed Republic of German-Austria attempted to form a union with Germany, but the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint-Germain explicitly prohibited the political inclusion of Austria in the German state, both treaties signed in 1919. Prior to the <i>Anschluss</i>, there had been strong support from people of all backgrounds – not just Nazis – in both Austria and Germany for a union of the two countries and to bring ethnic Germans outside Germany into Greater Germany. On the morning of March 12 1938, the German Wehrmacht crossed the border into Austria. The troops were greeted by cheering Austrians with Nazi salutes, Nazi flags, and flowers. That afternoon, Adolf Hitler crossed the border at his birthplace, Braunau am Inn. In the evening, he arrived at Linz and was given an enthusiastic almost hysterical welcome. Two days later Hitler gave a speech at the Vienna Hofburg in front of a jubilant crowd of 250,000 people. For decades after the war Austria regarded itself as the first victim of Nazism, despite its complicity in war crimes and the jubilation with which Hitler was received some 80 years ago. Image: Austrians welcoming German troops during <i>Anschluss Österreichs</i>. Image: photo taken by Hitler's personal color photographer Hugo Jäger. LIFE photo archive. Fair use. <b>Annexation of Sudetenland:</b> The German occupation of Czechoslovakia began with the annexation of Sudetenland on October 1 1938 as outlined by the Munich Agreement. This region had long been settled by ethnic Germans. These Sudeten Germans lived as their German neighbors across the border and spoke German. Hitler said in his speech at the NSDAP Congress 1938<span><span>:</span><i> </i></span><span><i>I am asking neither that Germany be allowed to oppress three and a half million Frenchmen, nor am I asking that three and a half million Englishmen be placed at our mercy. Rather I am simply demanding that the oppression of three and a half million Germans in Czechoslovakia cease and that the inalienable right to self-determination take its place. </i></span>In early November 1938, under the First Vienna Award, which was a result of the Munich agreement, Czechoslovakia was forced by Germany and Italy to cede southern Slovakia to Hungary, while Poland invaded Zaolzie territory shortly after. As a result, Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia lost about 38 percent of their combined area to Germany, with some 3.2 million German and 750,000 Czech inhabitants. Image: German staff cars entering Sudetenland to receive an enthusiastic reception on October 9 1938. People of the Sudetenland saw the German forces as liberators. LIFE photo archive. Fair use. <b>Invasion and partitioning of Poland:</b> The creation of the Polish Corridor after World War I aroused great resentment in Germany, and all post-war German Weimar governments refused to recognize the eastern borders agreed at Versailles with respect to its eastern borders. Institutions in Weimar Germany supported and encouraged German minority organizations in Poland, in part radicalized by the Polish policy towards them. Poland in 1931 declared her commitment to peace, but pointed out that any attempt to revise its borders would mean war. Polish delegate Tytus Filipowicz noted that any continued provocations by Germany could tempt the Polish side to invade, in order to settle the issue once and for all. By 1937, Germany began to increase its demands for the primarily German-speaking seaport of Danzig, while proposing that an extraterritorial roadway, part of the Reichsautobahn system, be built in order to connect East Prussia with Germany proper, running through the Polish Corridor. Poland rejected this proposal. In 1939, Germany made another attempt to renegotiate the status of Danzig; Poland was to retain a permanent right to use the seaport if the route through the Polish Corridor was to be constructed. During this period, the Germans learned that France and Britain had failed to secure an alliance with the Soviet Union against Germany, and that Soviet was interested in an alliance with Germany against Poland. On September 1 1939, one week after Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact, German troops along with 50,000 Slovakian soldiers invaded Poland. Two weeks later, Russian troops attacked Poland from the east. After years of vague rumblings and explicit threats in Europe, the World War II had begun. Credit: Wikipedia inter alia. Bottom image: German and Soviet soldiers fraternizing east of Brześć Litewski after a visit by Soviet Commander Semyon Krivoshein to German Commander Heinz Guderian during the joint invasion of Poland. Photo by German press photographer Max Ehlert on September 22 1939. Credit: Mikołaj Kaczmarek and Mirek Szponar. Commons: Bundesarchiv.</div></span></div></div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-42515947977365356732020-02-11T21:32:00.017+01:002021-11-28T13:58:16.876+01:00Soviet East Pomeranian Strategic Offensive Operation (I)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>The massive Soviet</b> East Pomeranian Offensive took place in the eastern Pommern and Danzig-Westpreußen region from February 10 to April 4 1945 before the Berlin offensive could proceed. The Soviets had an extremely impressive array of forces confronting the Germans. The 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts in the north, with 12 armies, faced Heeresgruppe Mitte's three armies. On the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian Fronts the Soviets had 2,200,000 troops, 6,400 tanks and self-propelled assault guns, and 46,000 indirect-fire weapons. Against these two fronts Heeresgruppe A could muster 400,000 troops, 1,150 tanks, and 4,100 indirect-fire weapons. However, the Soviet forces took heavy casualties while penetrating westward, their greatest obstacle became the renewed fury of the German soldiers who were now fighting to defend their own homeland. Tens of thousands of German troops were sacrificed in trying to hold places that had little tactical or strategic significance.<b> The Wehrmacht was </b>driven westward in the relentless tide of the Soviet offensive and along with the German Army was a mass of refugees fleeing in terror from the Red Army, fully aware that the Soviets were raping and crucifying women and young girls on their advance westward. East European women were not spared either. Nazi propaganda - originally meant to stiffen civil resistance by describing in gory and embellished detail Russian atrocities such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemmersdorf_massacre" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Nemmersdorf</i></span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metgethen_massacre" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Metgethen</i></span></a> massacres - often backfired and created panic. Large numbers of the inhabitants of the German provinces of East Prussia, Silesia, and Pomerania died during the evacuations. A significant percentage of this death toll occurred when evacuation columns encountered units of the Red Army. Civilians were run over by tanks, shot, or otherwise murdered. In addition, fighter bombers of the Red Air Force, whose presence was now unchallenged in the sky, flew bombing and strafing missions that targeted columns of refugees. Credit: Military historian Ian Baxter and Wikipedia inter alia. Top image: a Soviet T-34-85 tank crossing a chilly river in Silesia during the Pomeranian and Silesian offensives in 1945. USSR propaganda photo. PD. Middle images: German refugees from the East Prussian capital Königsberg fleeing massacres in their homeland in February 1945. The West German search service reported that 31,940 civilians from East Prussia alone, were confirmed as killed during the evacuation. Photos by Vinzenz Engel. Credit: Preußischer Kulturbesitz. FU. Bottom image: German soldiers surrendering to the Soviets in eastern Prussia in early 1945. Credit: Jääskeläinen. USSR photo. PD.</div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-60280579190117873412020-01-27T21:49:00.010+01:002023-11-18T10:45:27.208+01:00Soviet East Pomeranian Strategic Offensive Operation (II)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tEwK_mxsOAc/YJlydAcjaII/AAAAAAAAMG8/MM8Qm-7gzGUcqtnHCryDLYzmqweQUm1ygCNcBGAsYHQ/s1160/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BIlyushin%2BIl-2%2BSturmovik%2Bground-attack%2Baircraft%2B-45.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="1160" height="250" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tEwK_mxsOAc/YJlydAcjaII/AAAAAAAAMG8/MM8Qm-7gzGUcqtnHCryDLYzmqweQUm1ygCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h250/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BIlyushin%2BIl-2%2BSturmovik%2Bground-attack%2Baircraft%2B-45.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Soviet fighter pilots strafed and bombed civilians and refugees en masse in eastern Reich</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRskttlWiJXkEMOn-cBCDC9ruBFC9WjdZhyI1zJgnd4tT3TEQRskuAecPkTCqbnUsbFfQOJ6ui717VKZfcHoxBFCgXFurG1MvWwn1wGHl-KzyjF5sUjgg2N9vt24dS9eWI1I3vMm6QCP_P2G8YeFwCViRorixV6Sx6ozlbYN1ubZX-ZELW00IL0BETec/s950/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Otto%20Skorzeny%20Feb%201945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="950" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRskttlWiJXkEMOn-cBCDC9ruBFC9WjdZhyI1zJgnd4tT3TEQRskuAecPkTCqbnUsbFfQOJ6ui717VKZfcHoxBFCgXFurG1MvWwn1wGHl-KzyjF5sUjgg2N9vt24dS9eWI1I3vMm6QCP_P2G8YeFwCViRorixV6Sx6ozlbYN1ubZX-ZELW00IL0BETec/w400-h246/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Otto%20Skorzeny%20Feb%201945.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">SS-Obersturmbannführer d. R Otto Skorzeny in Ostpommern</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEQYapMHMBvbq3dDkDJvrb3VWp9RpxY51BuLCPwGjX5rRTglY2QkS168MIpOc28py3xKDx1vyw1gBQ8kOK6BIM9hbf03FbD4RqyA8CfuxI5IarJTX8_Dz10KYDBhGn50YxpPj1xjzbwk0Le_0YZ-9tdqa5TlMQllJO1S34lU5TWWNgcm0eiQIv02EUCg/s950/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Heinz%20Harmel%20Feb%201945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="950" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEQYapMHMBvbq3dDkDJvrb3VWp9RpxY51BuLCPwGjX5rRTglY2QkS168MIpOc28py3xKDx1vyw1gBQ8kOK6BIM9hbf03FbD4RqyA8CfuxI5IarJTX8_Dz10KYDBhGn50YxpPj1xjzbwk0Le_0YZ-9tdqa5TlMQllJO1S34lU5TWWNgcm0eiQIv02EUCg/w400-h253/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Heinz%20Harmel%20Feb%201945.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">SS-Brigadeführer Heinz Harmel with fellow officers in Ostpommern</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fuqYJsVWx-w/YMzyNW_705I/AAAAAAAAMOY/8H0QmJM5SIEGYwnrCD_NtEi-dRE3D33RgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1189/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BKarl%2BBrommann%2BsSS-Pz-Abt%2B503.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="1189" height="232" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fuqYJsVWx-w/YMzyNW_705I/AAAAAAAAMOY/8H0QmJM5SIEGYwnrCD_NtEi-dRE3D33RgCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h232/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BKarl%2BBrommann%2BsSS-Pz-Abt%2B503.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Karl Brommann of the s.SS-Panzer-Abteilung 503 in Westpreußen</span></td></tr></tbody></table>The Red Air Force took part in the mass killing of civilians by strafing refugees. German military and civilians retreating towards Berlin were hounded by the presence of low flying aircraft strafing and bombing them. Soviet fighter-bombers did range over much of the eastern provinces of the Reich at a low level during the last months of the war, shooting up anything that moved. The Soviet Red Army blew up ancient cities all over Pomerania, set alight churches and randomly executed groups of soldiers that had fought on until they ran out of ammunition. The Wehrmacht had neither the manpower nor the weapons to hold the Soviet onslaught. When the final attack began on the River Oder on April 16 1945 the German soldier was overwhelmed and slowly beaten back to the gates of Berlin. The road to the German capital - the heart of the Nazi empire - was now open from both the south and east. Top image: Soviet pilot Vladimir Kokkinaki pictured in the cockpit of an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft. USSR photo. PD. Second image from top: the Austrian SS-Obersturmbannführer <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2012/02/copyright-and-license-text-articles-on.html?showComment=1581460060867#c5222742124273187390" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Otto Skorzeny</i></span></a> visiting <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2018/10/fallschirmjagerbataillon-500600.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>SS-Fallschirmjägerbataillon 600</i></span></a> on the Oder Front in February 1945. Skorzeny spent January and February 1945 commanding regular troops in the defence of the German provinces of East Prussia and Pommern. Fair use. Third image from top: Commander of the 10.SS-Panzer-Division Frundsberg SS-Brigadeführer <a href="http://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2012/10/obersturmbannfuhrer-der-waffen-ss-hermel.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Heinz Harmel</i></span></a> with his regimental commanders in eastern Pommern in February 1945. To his left is SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Paetsch, and on his right is SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl-Heinz Euling, both Knight's Cross winners. The Wiking veteran Otto Paetsch was fatally wounded aged 35 on March 16 1945 at Altdamm. He was posthumously awarded the Oakleaves. Karl-Heinz Euling survived the war and died aged 94 on April 14 2014 in München. Photo by SS-Kriegsberichter Peter Adendorf. Fair use. Bottom image: the Nord and Nordland veteran SS-Untersturmführer Karl Brommann of the schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 503 photographed sitting on the barrel of his Königstiger in March 1945. During the fighing in Danzig and Sopot, Karl Brommann destroyed 66 Soviet tanks and self-propelled guns along with 44 artillery pieces and 15 trucks. Following this action he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The s.SS-Pz.Abt.503 lost 39 tanks and destroyed 500 enemy tanks during its relatively short period of operation, a kill ratio of 12.82. Karl Brommann was captured by the British on May 21 1945 and remained in captivity until November 1947. He died aged 90 on June 30 2011 in Dithmarschen in Schleswig-Holstein. Credit: Bekors. Commons: Bundesarchiv.</div></span></div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-41329283382363821742019-03-25T00:01:00.039+01:002023-11-04T23:20:27.758+01:00Declaration of War on Germany by France and the United Kingdom<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aon6JuFB_BE/YSiqmqUBdtI/AAAAAAAAMVY/j2s9bNmX4V4LxGP2e6CqxOVAWmXDhzSpgCNcBGAsYHQ/s967/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BLuftwaffe%2BJ%25C3%25A4ger%2BMe%2B109%2Band%2BJu%2B88.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="967" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aon6JuFB_BE/YSiqmqUBdtI/AAAAAAAAMVY/j2s9bNmX4V4LxGP2e6CqxOVAWmXDhzSpgCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BLuftwaffe%2BJ%25C3%25A4ger%2BMe%2B109%2Band%2BJu%2B88.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Luftwaffe's <i>Schnellbomber</i></span> <span style="color: #999999;">Junker Ju-88 </span><span style="color: #999999;">escorted by<i> Jäger</i> Messerschmitt Me-109's</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Efr66AJL8RY/YQ-enFk29TI/AAAAAAAAMUk/x5gYICmLoIIS2MO_5Mc67foLrwtnoYriQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1104/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BGeneralmajor%2BErwin%2BRommel%2B1940.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="1104" height="269" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Efr66AJL8RY/YQ-enFk29TI/AAAAAAAAMUk/x5gYICmLoIIS2MO_5Mc67foLrwtnoYriQCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h269/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BGeneralmajor%2BErwin%2BRommel%2B1940.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Generalmajor Erwin Rommel's troops crossing the River Meuse in Belgium</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCdh3dOQhD9JXgelQTlLNywzLT79P1DDJlZoNKC7AfiqqkLFXFBd9gcDTigjGCzRf3sUdcSBKCc8U_hgL8GqBsUvxIbVEvy2Jgx55rr3MdXoVbCHg0jje57r88LoIOSj4tFMKqZXw88N3VX5Rbq2Kg3QeSYEjEVZN_ETdujo8jgSR7vgx8jiQBsN6dyyU/s1017/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Waffen-SS%20Amsterdam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1017" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCdh3dOQhD9JXgelQTlLNywzLT79P1DDJlZoNKC7AfiqqkLFXFBd9gcDTigjGCzRf3sUdcSBKCc8U_hgL8GqBsUvxIbVEvy2Jgx55rr3MdXoVbCHg0jje57r88LoIOSj4tFMKqZXw88N3VX5Rbq2Kg3QeSYEjEVZN_ETdujo8jgSR7vgx8jiQBsN6dyyU/w400-h276/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Waffen-SS%20Amsterdam.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Dutch civilians cheer arrival of Waffen-SS troops at Dam Square in Amsterdam</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iIecKH-c57Q/YK1imr5wCpI/AAAAAAAAMJg/Wc6H_wAxTI0z9bllS2Mnv40HiBrzOQlWQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1120/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BSS-Standarte%2BDer%2BF%25C3%25BChrer.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="977" data-original-width="1120" height="352" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iIecKH-c57Q/YK1imr5wCpI/AAAAAAAAMJg/Wc6H_wAxTI0z9bllS2Mnv40HiBrzOQlWQCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h352/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BSS-Standarte%2BDer%2BF%25C3%25BChrer.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Volunteers of SS-Standarte Der Führer in front of the Haarlem Stadhuis</span></td></tr></tbody></table>September 3 of 1939 was a lovely Sunday. It was the day that France and Britain declared war on the German Reich. They created world tension from a central European quarrel into which they drew forces from their colonies. On September 7 1939, France began the Saar Offensive with an advance from the Maginot Line 5 km into the Saar. France had mobilised 98 divisions and 2,500 tanks against a German force consisting of 43 divisions and no tanks. The French advanced until they met the then thin and undermanned Siegfried Line. Following the Saar Offensive, a period of inaction called the Phoney War, or the German <i>Sitzkrieg</i>, sitting war set in between the belligerents. Holland fought for their official neutrality, in hope of being spared this war, and at the same time played with fire. The Dutch General Staff sought military contact with the Allies and foreign Secret Service agents romped around Holland. This did not escape Germany's notice and they objected. They declared that France and Britain intended a military thrust to the Ruhr, using reconnoitered positions, not only in “neutral” Belgium, but in Holland as well. Not only that, French regiments had already received provisional operation orders, in April 1940, for their advance through Belgium and Holland. The open flank at the Siegfried Line offered itself as the area of concentration for the Allied Armed Forces. It was Duff Cooper, later Minister for information in Winston Churchill's cabinet, who said: <i>We take any step necessary, and without consideration of the neutrality of the land. </i><span>Neville<i> </i></span>Chamberlain declared: <i>We British can distribute our attacks as and when we wish.</i> Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler decided not to give his enemies the chance of any initiative. Top image: Luftwaffe's Junker Ju-88 heading towards its target escorted by fighter aircraft Messerschmitt Me-109's. The twin-engined multirole combat aircraft Ju 88 was the most modern of Germany's bombers in 1940. Credit: Alan Lathan. Propaganda-Postkarte of Carl Werner Reichenbach. Fair use. Second image: Generalmajor and commander of the 7.Panzer-Division Erwin Rommel paddles across the river Meuse in Belgium on May 13 1940. The 7th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht would become known as the <i>Gespensterdivision </i>(Ghost Division) because its whereabouts sometimes remained unknown to friend and foe alike during the Western campaign. Credit: Rui Manuel Candeias. Commons: Bundesarchiv. Third image: German Waffen-SS troops have arrived in the Netherlands as the result of the French and British war declarations against the German Reich. Adolf Hitler's personal photographer Hugo Jäger photographed the first German troops arriving in Amsterdam in May 1940. The people of Amsterdam poured out into the streets to welcome the victors. The troops belongs to the German-Austrian SS-Standarte Der Führer. Tens of thousands of men from the Low Countries would soon volunteer to become Waffen-SS soldiers themselves, while many more of its citizens would support the occupation and volunteer to serve the Nazi cause. Commons: Bundesarchiv. Bottom image: units of Der Führer in front of the Haarlem Stadhuis at the Grote Markt after the capitulation of Dutch forces on May 15 1940. Photo by the Amsterdamer Adrianus Peperkamp. Credit: Richard James Molloy. Noord-Hollands Archief. Fair use.</div></div></div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-79557134712532582842019-03-24T23:59:00.014+01:002024-01-05T19:49:18.616+01:00Ranks of the Waffen-SS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9zL5j4TJztjWkb3we3j9aOWcRa9Tgk9SOar91ZQSvJcKyyKUBd57G66eBJ_81d6a79pjkTAyStCsqXF7AiV6KjdpbPZV6zHr34GfCZTDTaDu4g5EKLWGNpeHWgW188J3q2qq8heF-kn6JnRjG9i8Z6SerRpvXxR8UOk646CaiTyP2H0F6Pq2PKUbqTN8/s1800/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Waffen-SS%20Ranks.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9zL5j4TJztjWkb3we3j9aOWcRa9Tgk9SOar91ZQSvJcKyyKUBd57G66eBJ_81d6a79pjkTAyStCsqXF7AiV6KjdpbPZV6zHr34GfCZTDTaDu4g5EKLWGNpeHWgW188J3q2qq8heF-kn6JnRjG9i8Z6SerRpvXxR8UOk646CaiTyP2H0F6Pq2PKUbqTN8/w252-h400/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Waffen-SS%20Ranks.jpg" width="252" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Pre-war officers of the Waffen-SS</span></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Waffen-SS</b> <b>U.S. Army</b><br />
SS-Oberstgruppenführer General<br />
SS-Obergruppenführer Lieutenant General<br />
SS-Gruppenführer Major General<br />
SS-Brigadenführer Brigadier General<br />
SS-Oberführer Senior Colonel<br />
SS-Standartenführer Colonel<br />
SS-Obersturmbannführer Lieutenant Colonel<br />
SS-Sturmbannführer Major<br />
SS-Hauptsturmführer Captain<br />
SS-Obersturmführer First Lieutenant<br />
SS-Untersturmführer Second Lieutenant<br />
SS-Sturmscharführer Sergeant Major<br />
SS-Hauptscharführer Master Sergeant<br />
SS-Oberscharführer Technical Sergeant<br />
SS-Scharführer Staff Sergeant<br />
SS-Unterscharführer Sergeant<br />
SS-Rottenführer Corporal<br />
SS-Sturmmann Lance Corporal<br />
SS-Oberschütze Private First Class<br />
SS-Schütze Private <br />SS-Anwärter Candidate <br /><div style="text-align: justify;">After 1941, <i>Anwärter</i> was also used as a rank of the Waffen-SS, but to a much lesser degree than in the Allgemeine-SS. Once basic training began, the Waffen-SS applicant was unceremoniously promoted to the rank of SS-Schütze. Note that the prefix SS- was usually replaced with Waffen- or Legion- in the non-germanic units. Image: the Schulze brothers, SS-Obersturmführer Richard Schulze-Kossens (October 2 1914 - July 3 1988) and SS-Untersturmführer Hans-Georg <i>Frettchen</i> Schulze (September 11 1917 - July 27 1941) walking down the street during pre-war days. They are both wearing the well known black ensemble designed by Karl Diebitsch and Walter Heck produced by the luxury fashion house Hugo Boss. FU.</div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-66281313178581025332019-03-16T18:05:00.008+01:002022-04-13T15:19:48.241+02:00Soviet Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive: Casualties and losses<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The massive Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive fought from December 24 1943 – April 17 1944, was a strategic offensive executed by the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Ukrainian Fronts, along with the 1st Belorussian Front, against the German Army Group South. The initial phase of the offensive was the <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2011/07/fast-as-grayhounds-dogged-as-leather.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Zhitomir–Berdichev Offensive</i></span></a>. According to the military historians Karl-Heinz Frieser and David M. Glantz the Soviet forces were made up of 2,406,100 men, 2,015 tanks and assault guns and 2,600 combat aircraft. In the course of the operation, 20 Wehrmacht divisions were destroyed, while another 68 divisions were reduced to below 50 percent of their establishment strength according to the military historian Hedley Paul Willmott. Equally huge were equipment losses, with hundreds of precious tanks, assault guns and trucks being lost, principally through their abandonment in the spring mud. In order to save its southern sector from complete collapse, the German high command was forced to transfer 26 German divisions as reinforcements from across France, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Balkans and Army Group Centre to Ukraine, which amounted to <span style="text-align: justify;">approximately 350,000 men according to the military historian Gregory Liedtke. As a result, the Soviet Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive played a key role in influencing the future successes of Allied <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2018/08/la-bataille-de-normandie-die-schlacht.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>D-Day landings</i></span></a> and Soviet </span><a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2011/05/standartenfuhrer-der-waffen-ss.html" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Operation Bagration</i></span></a><span style="text-align: justify;">. The Soviet forces suffered heavy casualties in the Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive: according to Karl-Heinz Frieser and David M. Glantz an estimated 1,192,000, including 270,198 killed and missing. According to Karl-Heinz Frieser the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS units suffered 250,956 overall casualties, including 41,907 killed and missing. After the end of World War II, some of the Soviet commanders involved were disgraced, and Stalin widely eliminated most references of the operation. Credit: Wikipedia inter alia. Top image: Tigers of </span><span style="text-align: justify;">SS-Kampfgruppe Das Reich</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> on the southern sector of the Eastern front. The last remnants of Kampfgruppe </span>Das Reich or <i>Kampfgruppe <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2011/05/copyright-and-license-text-articles-on_01.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">Weidinger</span></a></i> was finally withdrawn from the east in April 1944. According to some accounts, Panzer VI Tigers S33 and S13. Note the unique company symbol, the <i>Springender Teufel</i> that is stenciled on the turret of the closest tank. Photo taken by Kriegsberichter Hans Georg Schnitzer. Middle image: Heer soldiers walking past dead Soviets lying in the woods. No additional info on the photo. FU. Bottom image: the photo is believed to show Skijäger elite<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span>troops of the Wehrmacht north of the Dnieper near the Pripyat river in February 1944. Credit: Royston Leonard. Commons Bundesarchiv.</div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-9885238694267979712019-03-16T18:04:00.044+01:002023-11-20T11:52:06.536+01:00After the Donets Campaign – known as the Third Battle of Kharkov<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPDsRm5q-H4WH1s43Inb4JKbs6wFX9F8tytetVb59gB8be3TEdpJdWL_0lshS657pqrw0KHsdY63vfLM6436xnmQimQGmNkhOnOTRSlF36MSnXahF5V7c1rHbNqJRF4FIB6qhf5h1fBW8kBUld4kUmRIWptkJACFXk-Gf-CCzcMjCUv84RhayWvt6j5bM/s616/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Adolf%20Hitler%20and%20Joseph%20Goebbels%20at%20Berchtesgaden%201943.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="616" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPDsRm5q-H4WH1s43Inb4JKbs6wFX9F8tytetVb59gB8be3TEdpJdWL_0lshS657pqrw0KHsdY63vfLM6436xnmQimQGmNkhOnOTRSlF36MSnXahF5V7c1rHbNqJRF4FIB6qhf5h1fBW8kBUld4kUmRIWptkJACFXk-Gf-CCzcMjCUv84RhayWvt6j5bM/w400-h269/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Adolf%20Hitler%20and%20Joseph%20Goebbels%20at%20Berchtesgaden%201943.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Adolf Hitler with Joseph Goebbels on the terrace of the Berghof in 1943</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lOw1-o8rnTI/XH-ygN7j8GI/AAAAAAAAI0s/XPtKnhCvaGw2DwGdXOQhWuq3NCzQz8NTgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BDas%2BReich.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="598" height="249" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lOw1-o8rnTI/XH-ygN7j8GI/AAAAAAAAI0s/XPtKnhCvaGw2DwGdXOQhWuq3NCzQz8NTgCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h249/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BDas%2BReich.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Pz.Kpfw. Tiger n°832 of SS-Pz.Gren.Div. Das Reich</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CFnbGygydy8/XH-ytKZqvVI/AAAAAAAAI0w/PQ2RAT8QQnomD5aUJXV-NJUIgu_9-wWDwCPcBGAYYCw/s1078/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BTotenkopf%2BPanzer%2B1943.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="1078" height="244" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CFnbGygydy8/XH-ytKZqvVI/AAAAAAAAI0w/PQ2RAT8QQnomD5aUJXV-NJUIgu_9-wWDwCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h244/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BTotenkopf%2BPanzer%2B1943.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Pz.Kpfw. Tiger n°911 of SS-Pz.Gren.Div. Totenkopf</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HsmS_j3mzF4/X7flzI1QxZI/AAAAAAAALng/xydiKwl6_cUZTdZyktkarDhtPQnjBr8EQCPcBGAYYCw/s1024/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BSS-Panzer-Regiment%2B1%2BLeibstandarte.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="1024" height="253" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HsmS_j3mzF4/X7flzI1QxZI/AAAAAAAALng/xydiKwl6_cUZTdZyktkarDhtPQnjBr8EQCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h253/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BSS-Panzer-Regiment%2B1%2BLeibstandarte.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Pz.Bef.Wg. III n°556 of SS-Pz.Gren.Div. Leibstandarte SS</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>After the fall of </span><a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2012/05/platz-der-leibstandarte.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Kharkov</i></span></a><span> the Soviet defense of the Donets had collapsed, but a combination of mud and exhaustion brought military operations to a halt on the Eastern Front in mid-March 1943. The successful counterattack on Kharkov had cemented Feldmarschall Erich von Manstein's reputation and that of the Waffen-SS. Both sides now needed to reorganize and re-equip for forthcoming campaign season, despite von Manstein's ambitions to also attack the Kursk salient which had been created as a result of the recapture of Kharkov and Belgorod. Following the German victory at Kharkov, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler became convinced that he needed a significant operational victory in the East in 1943 in order to retain the strategic initiative. He was presented with two options. The first, known as the <i>backhand</i> method was to wait for the inevitable renewal of the Soviet offensive and conduct another operation similar to that of Kharkov - allowing the Red Army to take ground, extend itself and then counterattack and surround it. The second, or the <i>forehand</i> method, encompassed a major German offensive by Heeresgruppe Süd and Mitte against the protruding Kursk salient. Ultimately, Hitler chose the forehand method, which led to the <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2019/03/explore-detailed-timeline-of_3.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Battle of Kursk</i></span></a>. </span>Between April and July 1943, the Red Army took its time to rebuild its forces in the area and prepare for the German offensive. Credit: Wikipedia inter alia. Top image: Adolf Hitler with Reichsminister Dr. Joseph Goebbels on the terrace of Berghof in Berchtesgaden in 1943. Photo by film producer Oberleutnant Walter Frentz. Frentz would stay with Hitler in the Führerbunker until April 24 1945. He died on July 6 2004 aged 96 in Überlingen. Credit: Pavel Golovkin. FU. Second image: Tiger n°832 of SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Das Reich in the outskirts of Kharkov in early spring of 1943. The 88mm gun has its travel cover on and the turret is reversed. Commons: Bundesarchiv. Third image: a newly-arrived Tiger of SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Totenkopf required for the upcoming offensive at Kursk. This is the Tiger of company commander SS-Untersturmführer Walter Köhler. The photo was taken after its arrival in Budy southwest of Kharkov in May 1943. The tank still needs markings and camouflage paint; it would become Tiger n°911. Köhler himself was killed in it on July 12 1943 near Kljutschi at the south bank of the Psel during the Battle of Kursk. Commons: Bundesarchiv. Bottom image: Panzerbefehlswagen III n°556 of SS-Panzer-Regiment 1 of SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Leibstandarte SS. The photo is said to show Panzer commander <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2011/04/untersturmfuhrer-der-waffen-ss-gunther.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Rudolf von Ribbentrop</i></span></a> near Belgorod in late spring of 1943. Photo by photographer Franz Grasser. Grasser is reported to have died on November 13 1944 aged 32 in Russian captivity in Novorossiysk on the Black Sea. Commons: Bundesarchiv.</div></div></div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-81158062077145837242019-03-14T13:19:00.006+01:002024-01-12T19:17:49.631+01:00ϟϟ-Panzergrenadier-Division „Leibstandarte ϟϟ“<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYQcfnV_D1GdO1iCuAFKtvonJfloWnR_gtQ2BmUHxY-zipvLP9rHjJaPPIcEn64Cc91hfKy-gcYk7GdWOLYh5eUJxRnyyZnmnVzp3Ln35MbZtPVKd1MLinlBddUq4-195Vb5Ja7L3XEbiQe0rrTg5B-y5QgB7dg9bVBZzsHko5FMcREo8GSgeNcUCxNY/s1100/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20SS%20LAH.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="1100" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYQcfnV_D1GdO1iCuAFKtvonJfloWnR_gtQ2BmUHxY-zipvLP9rHjJaPPIcEn64Cc91hfKy-gcYk7GdWOLYh5eUJxRnyyZnmnVzp3Ln35MbZtPVKd1MLinlBddUq4-195Vb5Ja7L3XEbiQe0rrTg5B-y5QgB7dg9bVBZzsHko5FMcREo8GSgeNcUCxNY/w400-h258/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20SS%20LAH.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">SS-Panzergrenadier of SS-Pz.Gren.Div. Leibstandarte SS</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0lyhT19S8ih4uAjI9OwpekNGubgCM5_mrqzoOLul_w8qUeigFyAVqLA1vOuiIxfhj-IaffExvo7JXQCoW4SjGFPEMFgM6zpAMxTyGGNGpW8PKbQ43eEWUbHse_J1cxD44Htyv6mQWtpt-KBYfmiVhirXDbZ2lBGGdw1wVOd2MQael9Fn89y2uZs2gms/s830/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20SS-Pz.Gren.Div.%20LAH.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="830" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0lyhT19S8ih4uAjI9OwpekNGubgCM5_mrqzoOLul_w8qUeigFyAVqLA1vOuiIxfhj-IaffExvo7JXQCoW4SjGFPEMFgM6zpAMxTyGGNGpW8PKbQ43eEWUbHse_J1cxD44Htyv6mQWtpt-KBYfmiVhirXDbZ2lBGGdw1wVOd2MQael9Fn89y2uZs2gms/w400-h295/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20SS-Pz.Gren.Div.%20LAH.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Pz.Kpfw. Tiger of SS-Pz.Gren.Div. Leibstandarte SS</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Adopting a philosophical attitude toward the situation, this unidentified SS-Unterscharführer of the Leibstandarte SS reaches out to pluck a handful of flowers while awaiting the resumption of hostilities. Spring has arrived. Nature's rebirth reminded me of this photo, a unique moment of peace among the chaos of war, and proof that even the most battle hardened soldier can succumb to the most simple example of Nature's glory. The photo was taken by SS-Kriegsberichter Max Büschel in Ukraine in the spring of 1943. The fate of the pictured soldier is unknown. The talented photographer Büschel himself survived the war and managed to evade captivity when the 1.SS-Panzer-Division Leibstandarte SS surrendered to American forces in Austria in May 1945. He made his way back to his family in Berlin, but was apparently murdered when the Soviet occupational forces found him out as a member of the Leibstandarte SS. U.S. NARA. Bottom image: three SS-Panzer officers in front of their Tiger tank in Kharkov in the spring of 1943. Officers from left to right are SS-Untersturmführer Helmut “Bubi” Wendorff, KIA on Aug. 14 1944 west of Mézières in Normandy, at the time of his death he had been credited with 84 tank kills, SS-Obersturmführer Waldemar Schütz, survived the war and died on Sept. 9 1999 in Raubling in Bayern and the tank ace SS-Untersturmführer <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2011/04/copyright-and-license-text-articles-on_28.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Michael Wittmann</i></span></a>, KIA on Aug. 8 1944 in Saint-Aignan-de-Cramesnil in Normandy, at the time of his death he had been credited with 138 tank kills and 132 anti-tank gun kills. Wittmann became a cult figure after the war thanks to his accomplishments as a panzer ace as part of the portrayal of the Waffen-SS in popular culture. c. Bundesarchiv.</div></div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-36365852226779504332019-03-03T02:18:00.004+01:002021-09-07T22:11:46.417+02:00Unternehmen Zitadelle (Operation Citadel) also called Panzerschlacht um Kursk (The Battle of Kursk) July 5 – July (20) 1943<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Operation Citadel – The Battle of Kursk</span></td></tr>
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<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Battle of Kursk in July 1943 remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/search/label/A9%3A%20Southwestern%20Russia%2FZitadelle%3A%20Battle%20of%20Prokhorovka%20July%201943" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Battle of Prokhorovka</i></span></a>, and the costliest single day of aerial warfare. The Wehrmacht´s goal during Operation Citadel was to pinch off a huge salient that bulged more than 80 km. A rapid panzer advance, punching inwards from either shoulder of the salient, would trap hundreds of thousands Soviet troops and, in turn, shorten the German front. In the build-up to the battle both sides massed their best troops. By early July 1943 the Wehrmacht had concentrated 43 divisions. Barring their way were 100 Soviet divisions and five tank armies. Soviet had a massive supply of men and hardware at this stage of the war and General and Marshal Georgy Zhukov wanted to trade their lives for German panzers. The Soviet strength in the Kursk salient was growing much faster than the Wehrmacht could muster forces to attack it. From reports and tactical intelligence, Georgy Zhukov knew almost the hour when the German assault would begin. The Soviets designed a system to slow and exhaust the powerful German panzer spearheads by forcing them to attack through a vast interconnected web of minefields, pre-sighted artillery fire zones, and concealed anti-tank strong-points comprising eight progressively spaced defense lines 250 km deep, it was by far the most extensive defensive works ever constructed. Behind the Soviet front were more than 3,000 tanks, the majority T-34/76s. Credit: Tim Ripley. Left image: the 34-year-old SS-Standartenführer Theodor ‘Teddy’ Wisch succeeded <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2013/10/oberst-gruppenfuhrer-generaloberst-der.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Josef ‘Sepp’ Dietrich</i></span></a> as commander of the SS-Panzergrenadier-Divisions Leibstandarte SS in April 1943. In July of that year, at the time of the Kursk offensive, Theodor Wisch was further promoted to SS-Oberführer. He was later seriously wounded in combat on the Western Front by a naval artillery barrage in the <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2011/04/tragedy-of-faithful-gotz-von.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Falaise Pocket</i></span></a> on August 20 1944. Theodor Wisch ended the war as SS-Brigadeführer and Generalmajor der Waffen-SS and holder of the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves and Swords. He died aged 87 on January 11 1995 in Norderstedt in Schleswig-Holstein. Credit: Bekors. Commons: Bundesarchiv.</div></div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-25628014231314061742019-03-03T02:06:00.007+01:002023-11-18T20:46:16.098+01:00Faces of War: Casualties and losses in the Battle of Kursk<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeiAzyrMGK1gRmnXlLZXQd4n4DE-PkTmNv_DsXMJ16tj-Lmw1KgBdoHk3HVxRUBI_MW1tUGBivviKxTlBWDDNroxlJiUh5yiVtDf0T3VwDt-zx0wQM0Bd5TRy69vSMK28QbGF5uLm0miQEF7gUvLFk5hFry7YTixGVjOEOBErDre7CUPr9AScgZlDh/s1432/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Waffen-SS%20Zitadelle.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1432" data-original-width="978" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeiAzyrMGK1gRmnXlLZXQd4n4DE-PkTmNv_DsXMJ16tj-Lmw1KgBdoHk3HVxRUBI_MW1tUGBivviKxTlBWDDNroxlJiUh5yiVtDf0T3VwDt-zx0wQM0Bd5TRy69vSMK28QbGF5uLm0miQEF7gUvLFk5hFry7YTixGVjOEOBErDre7CUPr9AScgZlDh/w143-h200/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Waffen-SS%20Zitadelle.jpg" width="143" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">The Forgotten Soldier</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9XCAI08txkeQejS7hMXyuB3Rev1y2EYgBiCtlYdu22akXvyxUGD8AisQ9fka6g5ckl_YBlWJS3EtSTDXFxuBfx1CqDhlCObuQxgEbtYyoF33hgJmqdWMhMIA876FfiIiSyJbca_XYBoMTfRV7RxrDHsopU2KWegXt4LMFoc3dyWmQtmfWqRuwwuzMu4/s1223/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20The%20Forgotten%20Soldier%20(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1223" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9XCAI08txkeQejS7hMXyuB3Rev1y2EYgBiCtlYdu22akXvyxUGD8AisQ9fka6g5ckl_YBlWJS3EtSTDXFxuBfx1CqDhlCObuQxgEbtYyoF33hgJmqdWMhMIA876FfiIiSyJbca_XYBoMTfRV7RxrDHsopU2KWegXt4LMFoc3dyWmQtmfWqRuwwuzMu4/w146-h200/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20The%20Forgotten%20Soldier%20(3).jpg" width="146" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">The Forgotten Soldier</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfAfCySHoYJDx4XcVIAjftKiijQW3b-uOnP5bzy8He6-OXL-e2lZwadB4Bpcviz4k4pszjPTTWK2anZqUkd0oyt3jcoAmth65_jFoGPAB97Li7_lwfhL-OHi3-fcxf1T2UPE1A2UZWobYWG7a2MyGa-5Za7PZd53O9pe2qqKdI7AmTeFnYJU4qwxOW3Kk/s1305/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Battle%20of%20Kursk%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1305" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfAfCySHoYJDx4XcVIAjftKiijQW3b-uOnP5bzy8He6-OXL-e2lZwadB4Bpcviz4k4pszjPTTWK2anZqUkd0oyt3jcoAmth65_jFoGPAB97Li7_lwfhL-OHi3-fcxf1T2UPE1A2UZWobYWG7a2MyGa-5Za7PZd53O9pe2qqKdI7AmTeFnYJU4qwxOW3Kk/w142-h200/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Battle%20of%20Kursk%20(1).jpg" width="142" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">The Forgotten Soldier</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeaJ9ECQtlU7sSR4oKa97XQSsMJT0Drx10zAMkbKbn8VSpuVVAyIXm7GYaFnFdyOljus8o1QVxXLpdcp-mMuzV1KvW3gbvkVf19iYG4dL3EhcvECb4mq0ycECho7kjLWgM8ctfJUGD_3oPXE1Yze6ul4ulojwHtpIqTK3kJHtEdQOPaQcJCQCA_tfg03U/s1365/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Battle%20of%20Kursk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeaJ9ECQtlU7sSR4oKa97XQSsMJT0Drx10zAMkbKbn8VSpuVVAyIXm7GYaFnFdyOljus8o1QVxXLpdcp-mMuzV1KvW3gbvkVf19iYG4dL3EhcvECb4mq0ycECho7kjLWgM8ctfJUGD_3oPXE1Yze6ul4ulojwHtpIqTK3kJHtEdQOPaQcJCQCA_tfg03U/w142-h200/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Battle%20of%20Kursk.jpg" width="142" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">The Forgotten Soldier</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm2LNRD_Wf2a8qYQcjQb3Dk0CFWcNpTuopJ_0JaJeIeoYkL2IRPE1kzJGbIgKVQ-jvPMNLUirX1F5XkTyBKXT8lcvWH1yIPXuInN5t5A4YuMuKozxbGvn2VzjJjZJxwIRDe3mBlfllhhp8ArckMyrcSzGXr1OGoLiWlcrdwV0yrp8odR2vJatJB-3UZSI/s1328/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20The%20Forgotten%20Soldier%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1328" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm2LNRD_Wf2a8qYQcjQb3Dk0CFWcNpTuopJ_0JaJeIeoYkL2IRPE1kzJGbIgKVQ-jvPMNLUirX1F5XkTyBKXT8lcvWH1yIPXuInN5t5A4YuMuKozxbGvn2VzjJjZJxwIRDe3mBlfllhhp8ArckMyrcSzGXr1OGoLiWlcrdwV0yrp8odR2vJatJB-3UZSI/w141-h200/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20The%20Forgotten%20Soldier%20(2).jpg" width="141" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">The Forgotten Soldier</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguZziKsVSjAC2ZOieZMcpv2FzW81reqTueNnbhmmaMhyphenhyphenb1aG5FwrAm3H9BEYltJa5ezoIds5I58QlKIKr_xABumEju5r4d8RKhRNbOGlOGvZh1LtquwmmK4M4zwGS3yWJbomYTs6yZZ0KrW27lGO2uq4Mo07OYGlNDaLSPeusng3wfncZzwvlegZ1cipA/s1330/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20The%20Forgotten%20Soldier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1330" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguZziKsVSjAC2ZOieZMcpv2FzW81reqTueNnbhmmaMhyphenhyphenb1aG5FwrAm3H9BEYltJa5ezoIds5I58QlKIKr_xABumEju5r4d8RKhRNbOGlOGvZh1LtquwmmK4M4zwGS3yWJbomYTs6yZZ0KrW27lGO2uq4Mo07OYGlNDaLSPeusng3wfncZzwvlegZ1cipA/w149-h200/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20The%20Forgotten%20Soldier.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">The Forgotten Soldier</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_OLu-mZ0dnB-0TPwcwltwMujdnooO3qCEDLvpbyNM-9WnUerRJIkGXCmYGQbLK2HYpPDlaFLxJz_HI_F_o1RuAsGw1qpRAhPwREifQ0FrF8ae1FOg8PRDShqnS-3wCXVP-DYC8vi7uHadA-AGmPTgyhmnBMcfiBtoxh8aI7ISexUjN1mRb_z0_L7FOtk/s2048/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20LAH%20Zitadelle.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_OLu-mZ0dnB-0TPwcwltwMujdnooO3qCEDLvpbyNM-9WnUerRJIkGXCmYGQbLK2HYpPDlaFLxJz_HI_F_o1RuAsGw1qpRAhPwREifQ0FrF8ae1FOg8PRDShqnS-3wCXVP-DYC8vi7uHadA-AGmPTgyhmnBMcfiBtoxh8aI7ISexUjN1mRb_z0_L7FOtk/w141-h200/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20LAH%20Zitadelle.jpg" width="141" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">The Forgotten Soldier</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA2BGILb2IL65mL-qrzEycI-xmv79JrgS5dXJcyqjr3y6YeSxCvZGKrhyhY7zUA0JTJgrKd6xh7QW5tFJMhr-1Lu-_oAgHUSMv4DoCNgQpE-yZvHqaucFxVxt29zoASxuL-v6dBcE6qn3J9RGwDB4QmOIuRh0SPpZclRayriUOqa6UzR1tNB1TttapbyU/s1385/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20The%20Forgotten%20Soldier%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1385" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA2BGILb2IL65mL-qrzEycI-xmv79JrgS5dXJcyqjr3y6YeSxCvZGKrhyhY7zUA0JTJgrKd6xh7QW5tFJMhr-1Lu-_oAgHUSMv4DoCNgQpE-yZvHqaucFxVxt29zoASxuL-v6dBcE6qn3J9RGwDB4QmOIuRh0SPpZclRayriUOqa6UzR1tNB1TttapbyU/w142-h200/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20The%20Forgotten%20Soldier%20(1).jpg" width="142" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">The Forgotten Soldier</span></td></tr></tbody></table>The photographs shows eight unidentified men who fought in the greatest clash of armoured forces in history; <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2019/03/explore-detailed-timeline-of_3.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>The Battle of Kursk</i></span></a>. They were all Waffen-SS volunteers of the SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Leibstandarte SS. All photos are taken on the Kursk salient in July 1943 by the war correspondents Max Büschel and Johan King who served with the Leibstandarte SS during the battle of <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/search/label/A9%3A%20Southwestern%20Russia%2FZitadelle%3A%20Battle%20of%20Prokhorovka%20July%201943" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Prokhorovka</i></span></a>. The photographs is maintained by U.S. National Archives. The whole Battle of Kursk refers to the period of the German offensive <i>Zitadelle</i> and the subsequent massive Soviet counterstrikes, named <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2011/08/eastern-front-july-december-1943.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Kutuzov</i></span></a> and <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2011/07/river-mius-front.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Polkovodets Rumyantsev</i></span></a>, that followed the German offensive in July and August in 1943. It involved more than 3 million men, 10,000 tanks, 55,000 guns and mortars and 5,500 aircraft. According to Russian military historian Grigoriy Krivosheyev, who based his figures on the Soviet archives, Soviet casualties in the counter-offensives that followed Citadel were ~710,000 in combat, including 254,470 killed or missing. German historian Roman Töppel writes that Krivosheyev's figures on Soviet losses at Kursk are underestimated. According to German historian Karl-Heinz Frieser, Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS units suffered 111,132, including 34,448 killed and missing in these battles. A veteran of Kursk wrote: <i>We fought man to man. All German superiority in communications, movement, and gunnery was lost in the chaos, noise, and smoke. The atmosphere was choking, I was gasping for breath, with perspiration running in streams down my face. The psychological stress was immense. We expected to be killed at any second. Those who were still alive and still fighting a couple of hours later were astonished. The concentrated area of the battlefield was filled with burned-out armoured vehicles, exuding columns of black, oily smoke. </i>The historian Martin Gilbert remarked: <i>All wars end up being reduced to statistics, strategies, debates about their origins and results. These debates about war are important, but not more important than the human story of those who fought in them. Ordinary men conscripted into the Heer, Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine or enlisted men of the Waffen-SS did not fight for [the Nazi Party]. Neither did the hundreds of thousands of European volunteers. There were certainly other values and beliefs involved. Perspectives that may be easily forgotten.</i></div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-16229789417372652062019-03-02T20:36:00.010+01:002021-09-26T21:03:17.243+02:00Katyn Forest Massacre - Soviet Denial and Western Complicity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qf-BswoQ-00/X7qV-HoeHgI/AAAAAAAALoI/X4wwUELojw4axtXxWBeGoJ3rpCJh03FQgCPcBGAYYCw/s1000/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BPolish%2BPrisoners%2Bof%2BWar.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="1000" height="279" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qf-BswoQ-00/X7qV-HoeHgI/AAAAAAAALoI/X4wwUELojw4axtXxWBeGoJ3rpCJh03FQgCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h279/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BPolish%2BPrisoners%2Bof%2BWar.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Polish Prisoners of War in the fall of 1939</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aho3z33Z3KM/XsrmU8rqScI/AAAAAAAALEE/K_RUQm97C5U6ZrpwKgyhH9DFtXhpNnPWwCPcBGAYYCw/s1566/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BRussian%2BMassacre%2BKatyn.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="1566" height="272" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aho3z33Z3KM/XsrmU8rqScI/AAAAAAAALEE/K_RUQm97C5U6ZrpwKgyhH9DFtXhpNnPWwCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h272/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BRussian%2BMassacre%2BKatyn.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times New Roman, Times, FreeSerif, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Soviets denied responsibility and blamed Nazi Germany until 1990</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WD1ObFEtp-w/XsrmMrZ3S4I/AAAAAAAALEA/-8des-weUncZSXbWZLy9jsi8-4mYX969ACPcBGAYYCw/s827/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BSoviet%2BKatyn%2Bmassacre.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="808" data-original-width="827" height="390" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WD1ObFEtp-w/XsrmMrZ3S4I/AAAAAAAALEA/-8des-weUncZSXbWZLy9jsi8-4mYX969ACPcBGAYYCw/w400-h390/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BSoviet%2BKatyn%2Bmassacre.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Times New Roman, Times, FreeSerif, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">European Red Cross committee and Wehrmacht officers in Katyn 1943</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">The fate of the 22,000 Poles killed in the Katyn massacre went undiscovered until April 1943 when the government of the German Reich announced the discovery of mass graves in the Katyn Forest, located 19 kilometers west of Smolensk in Russia. The Germans brought in a European Red Cross committee called the Katyn Commission, comprising 12 forensic experts and their staff, from Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, and Slovakia. In 1941, the Polish government-in-exile had agreed to join up with the Soviets to fight together against Germany. The Germans hoped that the discovery would turn Polish opinion against Communist Soviet. The Soviets now claimed that German SS troops had murdered the victims in 1941. The Katyn massacre was a criminal act of historic proportions and enduring political implications. Representatives from the Polish government went to the site of the massacre and determined that the Soviets were indeed responsible, but U.S. and British officials did not want to risk losing the Soviets as an ally against Germany. Poland thus agreed to blame Germany for the Katyn massacre. Both British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt were increasingly torn between their commitments to their Polish ally and the demands by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. On April 24 1943, Churchill assured the Soviets: <i>We shall certainly oppose vigorously any 'investigation' by the International Red Cross in any territory under German authority. </i>In the United States a similar line was taken. The number of victims in the Katyn massacre is estimated at about 22,000 Polish servicemen, politicians and landowners, as well as intellectuals and professionals captured by the Red Army after it invaded eastern Poland in September 1939. The massacre was prompted by NKVD chief Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all captive members of the Polish officer corps, dated March 5 1940, approved by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, including its leader. The Allied powers would accept the Russian version of events at the Katyn massacre up until the fall of the Soviet Union itself in 1991. It was not until a European Court of Human Rights ruling in 2012 that Katyn was officially recognized as a Soviet war crime. Credit: Andrew Milne and FMR Chief Historian of the CIA Benjamin B. Fischer. Top image: as a result of the Soviet invasion of Poland, approximately 250,000 Polish soldiers became POWs in the Soviet Union. Soviet had not signed international conventions on rules of war and the Polish prisoners were denied legal status. The Soviets murdered almost all captured officers, and sent numerous ordinary soldiers to the Gulag camps. Photo by Hugo Jäger. LIFE photo archive. FU. Middle image: medical examinations of the corpses exhumed in Katyn proved that these victims were murdered no later than the spring of 1940. Bottom image: European Red Cross committee and German officers at the edge of a partly-emptied mass grave in Katyn Forest in April 1943. Credit: J.B.J. PD.</div></div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-23548687970970131782019-03-01T21:31:00.096+01:002023-08-24T21:51:33.799+02:00Allied Operation Market Garden (II)<div style="text-align: right;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JV9gAjnFj0Y/XjGmxqVmZAI/AAAAAAAAKLs/G19yIPBhpQkDQ7ShIHmTWRisvJDLyxT1ACPcBGAYYCw/s947/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BSS-Panzer-Division%2BFrundsberg.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="947" height="267" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JV9gAjnFj0Y/XjGmxqVmZAI/AAAAAAAAKLs/G19yIPBhpQkDQ7ShIHmTWRisvJDLyxT1ACPcBGAYYCw/w400-h267/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BSS-Panzer-Division%2BFrundsberg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Sturmgeschütz III of 10.SS-Panzer-Division Frundsberg in Maaseik</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: right;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5k_sf1y5emc/YPfKImcRBtI/AAAAAAAAMR4/FPBCni7ZYn01JClFPEAI4wbsP17uTMrEACNcBGAsYHQ/s1086/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BLeutnant%2BErich%2BWenzel%2BMarket%2BGarden.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="1086" height="270" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5k_sf1y5emc/YPfKImcRBtI/AAAAAAAAMR4/FPBCni7ZYn01JClFPEAI4wbsP17uTMrEACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h270/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BLeutnant%2BErich%2BWenzel%2BMarket%2BGarden.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Kriegsberichter Wenzel with Luftwaffe troops subordinated to Hohenstaufen in Arnhem</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GHiM-si02Ew/YOA7FrCXpWI/AAAAAAAAMQA/euSuJeKsrYEP7N1rzwNjBkWwS5kga0LZACNcBGAsYHQ/s1148/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BOperation%2BMarket%2BGarden.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="1148" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GHiM-si02Ew/YOA7FrCXpWI/AAAAAAAAMQA/euSuJeKsrYEP7N1rzwNjBkWwS5kga0LZACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h265/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BOperation%2BMarket%2BGarden.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">SS-Kampfgruppe Harder searching buildings for British soldiers in Arnhem</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nz-HErxb_Ok/YOoH01ZUSDI/AAAAAAAAMQ0/11tKw7aYktIgHLyePy70gVWm0DZ-atrmwCPcBGAYYCw/s1160/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BOp%2BMarket%2BGarden.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="1160" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nz-HErxb_Ok/YOoH01ZUSDI/AAAAAAAAMQ0/11tKw7aYktIgHLyePy70gVWm0DZ-atrmwCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h266/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BOp%2BMarket%2BGarden.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">SS-Kampfgruppe Harder evacuating British wounded prisoners in Arnhem</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uc8B4b4dUms/X2ckX_pNzdI/AAAAAAAALhQ/zyaxYeMb5E8B-avpRnelG1_msl3w0DkZACPcBGAYYCw/s1111/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BOperation%2BMarket-GARDEN.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1111" height="270" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uc8B4b4dUms/X2ckX_pNzdI/AAAAAAAALhQ/zyaxYeMb5E8B-avpRnelG1_msl3w0DkZACPcBGAYYCw/w400-h270/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BOperation%2BMarket-GARDEN.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">SS-Kampfgruppe Möller with captured British Paratroopers in Arnhem</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Parts of 10.SS-Panzer-Division Frundsberg successfully blocked the highway between Nijmegen and Arnhem, and thus effectively sealed the fate of the Allied paratroopers trapped in Arnhem. After the battle, food, medical supplies and personnel to look after the 2,000 British casualties were in short supply. Despite their status as Prisoners of War, German Commanders agreed to let the Airborne medics treat these casualties. German resources were also stretched dealing with their own casualties. What emerged was a British-administered Hospital established at Apeldoorn, near Arnhem which would later become known as the 'Airborne Hospital'. German forces soon established an evacuation chain by ambulance and truck from Arnhem to Apeldoorn. Whilst SS troops guarded the hospital initially, they were soon replaced by regular German soldiers - many of whom were rather old and were quickly nick-named the ‘Bismarck Youth’ by the British. The Germans also agreed more serious cases to be transferred by German ambulance into local Dutch hospitals with more acceptable surroundings. Colonel Graeme Warrack of the British 1st Airborne Division later reported the Germans provided a great deal of help after being impressed by the fighting spirit and gallantry of the British 1st Airborne. Credit: ParaData. Top image: a StuG III of the Frundsberg, with one road wheel missing, another partially destroyed, and with a good chunk of the left mudguard gone, pictured in Maaseik on its way up north towards the Arnhem area in Sept. 1944. FU. Second image: Kriegsberichter Leutnant Erich Wenzel is seen here standing in a Luftwaffe paratrooper splinter camouflage smock in the corner of Johan de Wittlaan and Boulevard Heuvelink in Arnhem. Luftwaffe correspondents Wenzel and Jacobsen of Luftflotte 3 arrived in Arnhem on Sept. 19 1944, and spent the next 48 hours in the area subordinated to the 9.SS-Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen. They shot several rolls of film of which six have survived more or less intact. Photo by KB Jacobsen. Credit: Jakob Lagerweij. c. Bundesarchiv. Third image: a StuG III of the Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 280 attached to the Hohenstaufen have stopped just before the junction of the Utrechtseweg and Onderlangs in a mop up operation with SS-Kampfgruppe Harder against British positions. The helmeted officer standing in the cupola is believed to be the highly decorated Austrian Oberwachtmeister Josef Mathes. The 36-year-old Mathes was killed in action later the same day in west Arnhem on Sept. 19 1944. Photo by KB Jacobsen. Credit: Jakob Lagerweij. c. Bundesarchiv. Fourth image: SS-Kampfgruppe Harder of the Hohenstaufen evacuating wounded Brits outside a British main dressing station in Arnhem on Sept. 20 1944. One of the POWs have been identified as Platoon Commander Robson Foster of the Glider Pilot Regiment. Foster died on Nov. 2 1994. Photo by KB Erich Wenzel. Credit: Julius Backman. c. Bundesarchiv. Bottom image: British Major John Timothy of 'R' Company of 1st Parachute Battalion, with Lieutenant Vladimir Alexandrovich Britnev of Russian origin and Lieutenant Anthony Driver shortly after being caught by the SS hiding in a house in the Arnhem area. On the extreme right is the veteran SS-Hauptsturmführer Hans Möller, the Kommandeur of Hohenstaufen's SS-Panzer-Pionier-Abteilung 9. As a former volunteer with the Austrian SS-Standarte Der Führer, Möller had been part of the <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2012/01/ludwig-kepplinger-first-waffen-ss-nco.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Westervoort crossing</i></span></a> east of Arnhem back in May 1940. When he returned with Hohenstaufen to the Arnhem area in early Sept. 1944, he stood on well known turf. He later wrote that his men fought from room to room, from garden to garden and from tree to tree in <i>der Hexenkessel </i>as the Germans called the Arnhem perimeter. Möller died aged 93 on Nov. 16 1998. The pictured POWs also survived the war, Timothy died on Oct. 24 2011, Britnev died on April 28 1994 and Driver died on Jan. 7 2002. Photo by KB Jacobsen on Sept. 19 1944. Credit: Doug Banks. c. Bundesarchiv.</div></div>Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-32993612622794388762018-12-23T17:31:00.021+01:002023-08-21T14:48:22.612+02:00Fast as greyhounds - dogged as leather - hard as Krupp-steel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXuuXLvR8trIzVKDNUMhEcRQFzfbC2UMXWQfbe6GfORfDa3S_-aIKiTEGhRb-AQZxBvdLOXusGMa9cdTrJ9klw1TLAEHxmF8Oe2uPMh4UWHiEzKir_IQytvwGlkUCrn8Jh6IuNU97_UR27EY07fwxgvEzZcLHZu3s7j_0XMwLN8nwHqCDdOXefN8Q/s1007/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Michael%20Wittmann%20pzr%20crew%20Leibstandarte%20SS.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1007" data-original-width="719" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXuuXLvR8trIzVKDNUMhEcRQFzfbC2UMXWQfbe6GfORfDa3S_-aIKiTEGhRb-AQZxBvdLOXusGMa9cdTrJ9klw1TLAEHxmF8Oe2uPMh4UWHiEzKir_IQytvwGlkUCrn8Jh6IuNU97_UR27EY07fwxgvEzZcLHZu3s7j_0XMwLN8nwHqCDdOXefN8Q/w310-h436/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Michael%20Wittmann%20pzr%20crew%20Leibstandarte%20SS.jpg" width="310" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Michael Wittmann and the crew of Leibstandarte Tiger S04</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NfYAb9ladjg/Xkg8L63njQI/AAAAAAAAKZc/6uRuVw0MJsAzYwFs3qppOmjN_eSRgLxrgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2Bdestroyed%2BT-34-76s.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="1021" height="184" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NfYAb9ladjg/Xkg8L63njQI/AAAAAAAAKZc/6uRuVw0MJsAzYwFs3qppOmjN_eSRgLxrgCPcBGAYYCw/w311-h184/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2Bdestroyed%2BT-34-76s.jpg" width="311" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Knocked-out Soviet T-34 tanks in eastern Ukraine</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Both the famous tank ace SS-Untersturmführer </span><a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2011/04/copyright-and-license-text-articles-on_28.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Michael Wittmann</i></span></a></span></span>, killed in action as SS-Hauptsturmführer aged 30 on August 8 1944, and the crackshot Saarlander SS-Rottenführer Balthasar <i>Bobby</i> Woll, died aged 73 on March 18 1996, were awarded their Knight's Crosses on January 14 1944 by SS-Brigadeführer Theodor <i>Teddy</i> Wisch. On the previous day, on January 13 1944, Michael Wittmann and his crew had destroyed 19 Soviet tanks and three heavy SU-122's. Contact sheet of the Awards ceremony also includes images of this successful Leibstandarte SS Tiger crew being congratulated on the award by SS-Obersturmbannführer<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <a href="http://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2013/08/our-rules-are-here-to-encourage_10.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Joachim Peiper</i></span></a>. </span><i>Bobby </i>Woll, Wittmanns gunner, had taken part in 80 of his commander's 88 kills. Like Wittmann, Woll also wears the Iron Cross First Class, Wound Badge in Black and the Panzer Assault Badge in Silver, awarded for twenty-five successful engagements. He ended the war as SS-Oberscharführer. <span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;">Both Wittmann and Woll had taken part in the battle of </span><i style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2012/05/panzergrenadier-division-wiking.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">Kharkov</span></a></i><span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;"> in February-March 1943 and experienced the defeat at </span><a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2019/03/explore-detailed-timeline-of_3.html" style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Kursk</i></span></a><span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;"> during Operation Citadel in July 1943.</span> The three other members of this highly talented crew are all decorated with the Iron Cross First Class and the Panzer Assault Badge. Top image: Waffen-SS Panzer Commander Michael Wittmann standing in front of his Tiger I S04 displaying the total number of tank kills on the barrel, which at the time of this photograph stood at 88. Sitting on the Tiger from left to right is Wittmann's radio operator SS-Panzerschütze Werner Irrgang, loader SS-Panzerschütze Josef <i>Sepp</i> Rößner, gun layer SS-Rottenführer Balthasar Woll and driver SS-Sturmmann Eugen Schmidt. After having destroyed yet more tanks, 16 days later Wittmann was awarded the Oakleaves to his Knight's Cross on January 30 1944. It was reported he had now destroyed 114 tanks. Credit: Richard James Molloy. Commons: Bundesarchiv. Bottom image: destroyed Soviet T-34s in the Belgorod region. Photo by German photographer Franz Grasser of the 376th ID. FU.</div></div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-23114178822852094062018-10-24T20:07:00.007+02:002023-11-11T23:08:17.637+01:00ϟϟ-Obersturmbannführer von Reitzenstein and ϟϟ-Sturmbannführer Tychsen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_ZsuOxAjGVspYUTQW46LTuPlI8tvtviumq-wggH2RgUZ_0KvG9_B8HrG3ujWJuvSrSUFUMsftZwL2HWrx2f8yURuyj4p_wEZspYWvy9SaLwj1Ydcfluq8u5qcXPQSNrQ9LuOUqymiDAbiAfimo_4qxAjQEIEeQRUl_rw4YGSIZSvdl8CnVEkGrON5n4/s1000/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Hans-Albin%20von%20Reitzenstein%20Christian%20Tychsen.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1000" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_ZsuOxAjGVspYUTQW46LTuPlI8tvtviumq-wggH2RgUZ_0KvG9_B8HrG3ujWJuvSrSUFUMsftZwL2HWrx2f8yURuyj4p_wEZspYWvy9SaLwj1Ydcfluq8u5qcXPQSNrQ9LuOUqymiDAbiAfimo_4qxAjQEIEeQRUl_rw4YGSIZSvdl8CnVEkGrON5n4/w400-h263/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Hans-Albin%20von%20Reitzenstein%20Christian%20Tychsen.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">SS-Panzer men of Das Reich von Reitzenstein and Tychsen</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQfAzpJ28nl7kclkFcsJql-LAIoG9Md-zddwVKKR8UJEDxlzXJ9_4FnoqVBgdPzfZZ80wnk0chsEAKyx5n1_GY3C8iLrHXbW9zPD91y3vmjfJS1wU_D5zA8G6knoG0atEqOl8k4YxPnAknUtlsBa0P9Lo82MjMFkHcyLdt5KI05xtr044Bnm9FphWuwk/s1006/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20H-A%20v.%20Reitzenstein%20Chr.%20Tychsen.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="643" data-original-width="1006" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQfAzpJ28nl7kclkFcsJql-LAIoG9Md-zddwVKKR8UJEDxlzXJ9_4FnoqVBgdPzfZZ80wnk0chsEAKyx5n1_GY3C8iLrHXbW9zPD91y3vmjfJS1wU_D5zA8G6knoG0atEqOl8k4YxPnAknUtlsBa0P9Lo82MjMFkHcyLdt5KI05xtr044Bnm9FphWuwk/w400-h256/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20H-A%20v.%20Reitzenstein%20Chr.%20Tychsen.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Commanders of Reich's elite SS-Panzer-Regiment 2</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOaZi-gOm5hQdT1_r3oCEx3ugxWsjLL45-4kt8nEexCWvAGfzR-lnMDhsh5CccKG3x3aERCd1M2ZvBThKaRvzjI_XeS0_-btcSx85GY-6or4Fq3Vx4Fr23H_yhYzeWn80wgjqdCayOGuExpgSCyVpNNM1527toe9qQK_FJOBfYAM733SH1MtqcEiU8tn8/s850/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20SS-Gedenkstein%20in%20Kharkov.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="850" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOaZi-gOm5hQdT1_r3oCEx3ugxWsjLL45-4kt8nEexCWvAGfzR-lnMDhsh5CccKG3x3aERCd1M2ZvBThKaRvzjI_XeS0_-btcSx85GY-6or4Fq3Vx4Fr23H_yhYzeWn80wgjqdCayOGuExpgSCyVpNNM1527toe9qQK_FJOBfYAM733SH1MtqcEiU8tn8/w400-h263/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20SS-Gedenkstein%20in%20Kharkov.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Inauguration of a <i>SS-Gedenkstein</i> in Kharkov Sad Shevchenko</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Photos shows the very capable regimental commander SS-Obersturmbannführer Baron Hans-Albin von Reitzenstein and the brave and highly capable Knight's Cross holder SS-Sturmbannführer <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2012/10/sturmsturmbannfuhrer-der-waffen-ss.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Christian Tychsen</i></span></a> of SS-Panzer-Regiment 2 <i>Das Reich</i>. They were taken in the Shevchenko Park in central Kharkov during a gathering at a SS memorial site honoring the fallen comrades in June 1943. Five month after these pictures were taken von Reitzenstein was to receive the coveted Knight's Cross for his achievements during the forthcoming <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2019/03/explore-detailed-timeline-of_3.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>battles of Kursk</i></span></a>. Von Reitzenstein had joined the SS 1931 and transferred to Leibstandarte SS 1933. In December 1940, he was posted to the newly formed <a href="http://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2012/05/division-wiking.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>SS-Division Wiking</i></span></a> and assumed command of SS-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 5. In 1942, now ranked SS-Sturmbannführer, he was transferred to SS-Division Das Reich and in March 1943 he replaced SS-Oberführer Herbert-Ernst Vahl as the commander of SS-Panzer-Regiment 2. Tychsen had returned to Das Reich in Oktober 1942 after having been seriously wounded on February 12 that same year. Here he won the Knight's Cross but Tychsen route to further advancement was blocked by his regimental commander von Reitzenstein. According to various sources, the two men did not like each other. Hans Albin von Reitzenstein committed suicide on November 30 1943 aged 32, due to the events surrounding the rape of a well liked female Russian SS volunteer (mess servant), a serious offense, especially for an Waffen-SS officer. Tychsen made sure the senior SS authorities learned of the incident and an investigation was launched. Von Reitzenstein was about to face a courts-martial for misconduct at the time of his suicide. The senior battalion commander, Tychsen, was reportedly in line to testify against him. This caused a loyalty rift within the regiment, with some members sympathetic to von Reitzenstein, while others remain loyal to Tychsen. Historian Mark Yerger wrote there were considerable anger among the veterans about what had taken place, and the choice von Reitzenstein had been given. According to the notable researcher of the Waffen-SS, the former SS-Standartenoberjunker Jost Schneider, it was all over a miss-understanding that would have been sorted out. Irrefutable is that von Reitzenstein shot himself, and Tychsen immediately took command of SS-Panzer-Regiment 2. With von Reitzenstein gone Tychsen's career trajectory took off ending with his fateful temporary command of the entirety 2.SS-Panzerdivision Das Reich in Normandy 1944 at just 33 years-old. Images: photos taken by SS-Ostuf. and KB Robert Krötz. <i>Freiherr </i>Hans-Albin von Reitzenstein is left as viewed, Christian Tychsen right. Sometimes a picture says a thousand words. U.S. NARA.</div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-57263359385344317462018-10-10T19:07:00.006+02:002021-09-12T16:36:45.226+02:00ϟϟ-Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon 500/600<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">SS-Fallschirmjägerbataillon 500 in the hills near Drvar in Yugoslavia</span></td></tr>
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The SS-Fallschirmjägerbataillon 500 was a parachute unit of the Waffen-SS made up of an equal percentage of volunteers from both regular Waffen-SS troops, and more specifically, from officially disgraced Waffen-SS officers and enlisted men who wished to redeem themselves under fire. In other words, it was a unit where dishonored officers and men convicted by courts-martial of minor infractions and currently in disciplinary straits could redeem their soldierly honor by participation in hazardous duties and operations. The first gathering of recruits was at Chlum in Czechoslovakia in October 1943. The SS paras wore standard Waffen-SS tunics and caps with Luftwaffe-issue jump smocks, trousers, boots and M38 helmets. Most of the volunteers appear to have removed the Luftwaffe breast eagles from their smocks. The training was completed at the beginning of 1944. The battalion often acted as a 'fire brigade' in the defense of the Baltic States. The brave paratroopers of the SS-Fallschirmjägerbataillon 500 who survived long enough to see the formation of the SS-Fallschirmjägerbataillon 600 were given back their previous ranks and the right to wear the SS sig rune on November 9 1944. At least five Scandinavians are known to have served in this battalion. Two companies of the later battalion took part in the <span style="color: #990000;"><i><a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2011/04/many-of-images-credited-deutsches_02.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">Ardennes offensive</span></a> </i></span>in December 1944 as a part of the Austrian SS-Obersturmbannführer <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2012/02/copyright-and-license-text-articles-on.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Otto Skorzeny's</i></span></a> 150.SS-Panzer-Brigade wearing American uniforms and using American equipment. Only 180 out of 3,500 Waffen-SS paratroopers survived the war. Credit: author Dr. Antonio J. Muñoz: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Legions-Obscure-Formations-Waffen-SS/dp/0873646460" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Forgotten Legions: Obscure Combat Formations of the Waffen-SS</i></span></a> and Russ Folsom and Jason Pipes (Feldgrau-Forum). Image: Paras of SS-Hauptsturmführer Kurt Rybka's SS-Parachute Battalion 500 posing with trophies flags captured during its daring but unsuccessful parachute assault on Marshal Josip Broz Tito's communist partisan headquarters in Yugoslavia on May 25 1944. Over 700 of the 1,000 personnel who participated in this coup de main operation, known as <i>Rösselsprung</i><i>,</i> were killed or wounded during the raid on Drvar. Tito and the Yugoslav Communist Partisans were financed and assisted primarily by the UK and USA. Credit: Ghermán Mihály. Commons: Bundesarchiv.</div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-79797487882090152532018-10-10T19:05:00.009+02:002022-11-18T17:55:58.515+01:00ϟϟ-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS Meyer – the Abbaye Ardenne Case, Canadian Military Court 10-28 December 1945<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">SS soldiers of Kurt Meyer taken POW in Calvados</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2013/10/brigadefuhrer-und-generalmajor-der.html?m=0" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i><b>Kurt Meyer</b></i></span></a> <b>always</b> led from the front and was wounded numerous times and several of his drivers were killed fighting alongside him. On June 14 1944, a British naval barrage hit the command post of 12.SS-Panzer-Division Hitlerjugend in Venoix, southwest of Caen, killing SS-Brigadeführer Fritz Witt leaving the division without a commander. The High Command appointed SS-Obersturmbannführer Kurt Meyer. He took command on June 17 1944 at the age of 33, thereby becoming the youngest divisional commander on either side during World War II. <b>The Abbaye Ardenne Case:</b> On December 10 – 28 1945, a Canadian Military Court in occupied Germany accused Kurt Meyer of having, as Commander of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25 of the Hitlerjugend, incited and counselled his men to deny quarter to allied troops. The Canadian court had not found him guilty of directly ordering the killings, but merely of tacitly condoning them - the court sentenced Kurt Meyer to death. In Meyer's closing statement before sentencing, he chose not to ask for clemency, but instead defended the record of his unit and the innocence of his soldiers. Meyer was probably saved by a petition written on his behalf by Cardinal Clemens August Graf von Galen, the archbishop of Münster, and shortly before the sentence was to be carried out, the commander of Canadian forces in Europe, Christopher Vokes had second thoughts. Vokes' main concern was the degree to which a commander should be held responsible for the actions of his men, feeling that it was not simply enough for a commander to fail to prevent such killings. Discussing the case, Vokes conceded that: <i>there isn't a general or colonel on the Allied side that I know of who hasn't said, 'Well, this time we don't want any prisoners;</i> indeed, he himself had ordered the shooting of prisoners in 1943. Even Canadian Army officers and journalists confirmed this in their attempts to overturn what was probably an unjust decision. Vokes commuted the sentence to life imprisonment. Meyer petitioned for clemency in late 1950 - somewhat surprisingly including an offer to serve in the Canadian military force if released. He was released from prison in 1954. <b>Later Canadian troops</b> found themselves accused of having killed captured German soldiers on the June 1944 <a href="http://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2018/04/explore-detailed-timeline-of.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>invasion of Normandy</i></span></a>. It was claimed that forces of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division were ordered to take no German prisoners of war during the Normandy campaign, but a decision was taken not to prosecute and perpetrators have never faced justice. On June 7 1944 notes were found by Waffen-SS Grenadiers on captured Canadian prisoners saying German soldiers who had surrendered during the campaign would be shot, information later confirmed by Canadian infantry under interrogation; that prisoners were ordered not to be taken if they hindered operations. Former SS-Obersturmbannführer and author <a href="https://www.amazon.com/12th-SS-History-Hitler-Division/dp/0811739295/ref=pd_bxgy_img_sccl_1/140-3702755-5649968?pd_rd_w=yyJbR&content-id=amzn1.sym.7f0cf323-50c6-49e3-b3f9-63546bb79c92&pf_rd_p=7f0cf323-50c6-49e3-b3f9-63546bb79c92&pf_rd_r=5EJGHP2TY2K0CKR10A46&pd_rd_wg=kMoEU&pd_rd_r=43865750-fc51-4bf5-9729-1cd8236929ba&pd_rd_i=0811739295&psc=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Hubert Meyer</i></span></a> also confirmed this story; he stated that on June 8 1944 a Canadian notebook was found that contained orders to not take prisoners if they impeded the attacking force. Bitterness between Canadians and soldiers of the Hitlerjugend became a vicious circle throughout the battle for Normandy. Left image: Kurt Meyer as SS-Standartenführer in Normandy, France 1944. Credit: Ghermán Mihály. Commons: Bundesarchiv. Right image: an SS-Obersturmführer and an SS-Unterscharführer of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 26 taken prisoners near Secqueville-en-Bessin on June 26 1944. PD.</div></div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-12399099115645937892018-08-28T17:51:00.015+02:002021-09-26T20:17:31.641+02:00Allied Operation Overlord: the Battle of Normandy, Die Schlacht um die Normandie, La bataille de Normandie (June 6 1944 – August (25) 1944)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5vHB_H0iUM8/YIx1V14ij2I/AAAAAAAAMDw/iXI-ZLXADSMPC2w6Wfj5CeQS5kTHmmWNwCPcBGAYYCw/s1154/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BB-17%2BFlying%2BFortress%2BGroup.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="707" data-original-width="1154" height="267" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5vHB_H0iUM8/YIx1V14ij2I/AAAAAAAAMDw/iXI-ZLXADSMPC2w6Wfj5CeQS5kTHmmWNwCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h267/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BB-17%2BFlying%2BFortress%2BGroup.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Group of USAAF over the English channel</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-weight: bold; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QLvCHAdClfY/YJqIBjRk0LI/AAAAAAAAMHQ/rSCRAUMnnTsfeNh8yQotEVWqCaB5kgO2ACNcBGAsYHQ/s1080/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BAllied%2Bbombing%2BNormandy.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="1080" height="270" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QLvCHAdClfY/YJqIBjRk0LI/AAAAAAAAMHQ/rSCRAUMnnTsfeNh8yQotEVWqCaB5kgO2ACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h270/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BAllied%2Bbombing%2BNormandy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-weight: normal;">USAAF aerial bombing of Lower Normandy</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-weight: bold; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5EaPw-lBILU/YJqIKjTnDDI/AAAAAAAAMHY/aY2rfQW2tvcUNrsX4y7jaIB7LJ_n_OrCwCNcBGAsYHQ/s1394/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BOmaha%2BBeach%2BNormandy%2B1944.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="1394" height="272" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5EaPw-lBILU/YJqIKjTnDDI/AAAAAAAAMHY/aY2rfQW2tvcUNrsX4y7jaIB7LJ_n_OrCwCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h272/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BOmaha%2BBeach%2BNormandy%2B1944.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-weight: normal;">American forces arriving on Omaha Beach</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-weight: bold; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3gZU3FWZPUY/YJul1Uv4LhI/AAAAAAAAMHs/IlKvBR9zHBotM_O2gEAAJI3KmUi2dmS2gCNcBGAsYHQ/s900/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2Bschwere%2BSS-Panzerabteilung%2B101.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="900" height="273" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3gZU3FWZPUY/YJul1Uv4LhI/AAAAAAAAMHs/IlKvBR9zHBotM_O2gEAAJI3KmUi2dmS2gCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h273/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2Bschwere%2BSS-Panzerabteilung%2B101.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-weight: normal;">Tiger n°133 of s.SS-Pz.Abt.101 en route to the Normandy Front</span></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Operation Overlord was</b></span> the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on June 6 1944 with the Normandy landings (Operation Neptune, commonly known as D-Day). The total troops, vehicles and supplies landed over the period of the invasion were: By the end of June 11 1944, 326,547 troops, 54,186 vehicles and 104,428 tons of supplies. By June 30 1944 over 850,000 men, 148,000 vehicles, and 570,000 tons of supplies. By July 4 1944 one million men had been landed. Credit: Wikipedia. The Bombing of Normandy during the Normandy invasion was meant to destroy the German communication lines in the Norman cities and towns. However, very few Germans occupied these municipalities. German troops were mostly located outside these areas. It is estimated that the bombings in Normandy before and after D-Day caused over 50,000 civilian deaths. There was not a single Tiger formation on the scene in the beginning of the Allied invasion of Normandy. Only one formation was on its approach march, and it was still far away, in fact, east of Paris. It was the <a href="http://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2011/05/schwere-panzer-abteilung-101.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 101</i></span></a>. Nearly a week was needed for the nearly 250 kilometers. The second Tiger formation, schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 102, reached the greater area of Paris a week later. The third formation was the schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503. It did not reach its area of operations east of Caen until July 7 1944. Credit: Tigers in Normandy by Wolfgang Schneider. Top image: a formation of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses from the 379th Bombardment Group (H) of the U.S. 8th Air Force over the English Channel. The aircraft in the immediate foreground with tail number 337677 flew around 75 missions with the 379th between June 1944 and April 1945. Credit: Nathan Howland. USAFHRA. FU. Second image from top: an Douglas A-20 G <i>Havoc</i> light bomber of U.S. 9th Air Force with D-Day 'invasion stripes' painted on wings. According to various sources, it bombs the surroundings of the village Le Molay-Littry in Lower Normandy on June 7 1944. U.S. NARA. Third image from top: American landing ships putting cargo ashore on Omaha Beach at low tide during the first days of the operation in June 1944. Among identifiable ships present are LST-532, USS LST-262, USS LST-310, USS LST-533 and USS LST-524. Note barrage balloons overhead and Army half-track convoy forming up on the beach. Credit: Jordan J. Lloyd. U.S. NARA. Bottom image: Panzer Tiger n°133 of schwere SS-Panzerabteilung 101 at Rue André Charpentier in Morgny when en route to the Normandy Front on June 8 1944. The elite battalion arrived on June 12 1944. It lost 15 of its 45 Tigers by July 5 1944. Tiger n°133 was commanded by SS-Oberscharführer Fritz Zahner. He survived Normandy and continued to see heavy action with the schwere SS-Panzerabteilung 503. By the <a href="http://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2011/04/obersturmbannfuhrer-der-waffen-ss.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Battle of the Bulge</i></span></a>, Fritz Zahner commanded a Tiger II better known as <i>Königstiger</i>. Photo by Kriegsberichter Hans Scheck. Credit: Royston Leonard. Commons: Bundesarchiv.</div></div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-1708218123078184362018-04-17T00:13:00.011+02:002022-09-05T23:38:34.095+02:00ϟϟ-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS Witt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">SS-Brigadeführer Fritz Witt</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OqPuwTBlg-g/XFsyhMNK_5I/AAAAAAAAIZY/bAysiMqTy-4tNIPjZNScgBAntn_PUKAHwCPcBGAYYCw/s691/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BSS%2B12%2BHitlerjugend.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="691" data-original-width="477" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OqPuwTBlg-g/XFsyhMNK_5I/AAAAAAAAIZY/bAysiMqTy-4tNIPjZNScgBAntn_PUKAHwCPcBGAYYCw/w292-h400/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BSS%2B12%2BHitlerjugend.png" width="292" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">SS-Sturmmann of Witt's Hitlerjugend</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />In 1931, Fritz Witt (May 27 1908 – June 14 1944) from Nordrhein-Westfalen joined the SS and was one of the original 120 men picked for the special SS guard unit, known as the <a href="http://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2012/10/ss-verfugungstruppen.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>SS-Stabswache Berlin</i></span></a>. This unit was the nucleus of the later Waffen-SS division Leibstandarte SS. He commanded units in both the SS-Standarte Deutschland and the Leibstandarte SS. For his leadership and bravery in a number of actions, both in Greece and in Ukraine, he won the Oakleaves to the Knight's Cross, at the age of 34. Fritz Witt received the award as SS-Standartenführer from Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in the Führerhauptquartier Werwolf north of Vinnytsia in Ukraine on March 1 1943. After the ceremony, he went straight back to the still ongoing battle. Fritz Witt assumed his last command in the summer of 1943, when he was chosen to organize, train and lead the 12.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Hitlerjugend. Shortly before the invasion of Normandy in early June of 1944, he was promoted to SS-Brigadeführer. Fritz Witt was the second youngest German officer to reach a General rank at only 35 years of age. On June 6 1944, the Allied invasion of France began and SS-Brigadeführer Fritz Witt led his new division of old veterans and teenage soldiers into combat for the first time. Led by its aggressive commanders, such as <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2013/10/brigadefuhrer-und-generalmajor-der.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Kurt Meyer</i></span></a> and <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2011/05/copyright-and-license-text-articles-on.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Max Wünsche</i></span></a>, the division fought extremely well and bloodied several Allied divisions during the Normandy fighting. Fritz Witt was killed aged 36 when a Royal Navy naval artillery barrage fired by HMS Rodney hit his divisional headquarters on June 14 1944 at Venoix. He was initially buried at Venoix and later reinterred at Champigny-Saint-André-de-l'Eure in France, Plot 8 Grab 1027. His youthful SS-Panzergrenadiers grieved openly when they found out about his death, many in tears at the loss of their beloved and highly esteemed commander. Left image: Knight's Cross with Oakleaves holder SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS Fritz Witt in 1944. Credit: Bekors. Right image: a young unidentified SS volunteer of Witts' division somewhere in Normandy in 1944. Credit: Tobias Kurtz. Commons: Bundesarchiv.</div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-6716733647871117142018-04-17T00:07:00.013+02:002023-11-20T12:04:27.415+01:00ϟϟ-Freiwilligen-Division „Galizien“<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlnjsMfh8gNDjyHwg7z2GneBICWESwLH2EV5gN4ACT1yu68VEtgcNqotQv0YPtHE0pyQ1plv9S03coykM5p0p4SSh4NDaUp1IubRLWKeOwBLYRll6AHgX9IgcM9YMD_F4FlKWnqSzH3c-OCtoDZ9n1K7x0FjEW9QQCrbm536D5PlKaGVzrS4uFLY1rsUg/s1579/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Otto%20W%C3%A4chter.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1579" data-original-width="1100" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlnjsMfh8gNDjyHwg7z2GneBICWESwLH2EV5gN4ACT1yu68VEtgcNqotQv0YPtHE0pyQ1plv9S03coykM5p0p4SSh4NDaUp1IubRLWKeOwBLYRll6AHgX9IgcM9YMD_F4FlKWnqSzH3c-OCtoDZ9n1K7x0FjEW9QQCrbm536D5PlKaGVzrS4uFLY1rsUg/w280-h400/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Otto%20W%C3%A4chter.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">SS-Brigadeführer der Allgemeinen SS von Wächter</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOBOAyr7OXdbmRcPubOCXnTVAmX76HcQVGotMD2OiKdpVboImz4aPdO90KOuhwhqkszJQwwTnBi6RSQZcLwCsektq7pSoCtE4j_BJXM9u2T6vRw_Fp0NFE-LCSoRwNahf16n_VJhjgal0nsVk_l5DphJwgGynb8M93mQrF2yJYKsRkjHwDTHPH2wIChcs/s1403/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Ukraine%20Freiwillige%20Ostarbeiter%201943.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1403" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOBOAyr7OXdbmRcPubOCXnTVAmX76HcQVGotMD2OiKdpVboImz4aPdO90KOuhwhqkszJQwwTnBi6RSQZcLwCsektq7pSoCtE4j_BJXM9u2T6vRw_Fp0NFE-LCSoRwNahf16n_VJhjgal0nsVk_l5DphJwgGynb8M93mQrF2yJYKsRkjHwDTHPH2wIChcs/w295-h400/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Ukraine%20Freiwillige%20Ostarbeiter%201943.jpg" width="295" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Ukrainian <i>Ostarbeiter</i> leaving Ukraine for Germany</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The idea to organize a division of volunteers from Galicia was proposed by Baron Otto Gustav von Wächter who was an Austrian Nazi politician and a high-ranking member of the Allgemeine-SS. In 1943, he suggested creation of a Waffen-SS division composed of Galician volunteers to fight with the Germans on the Soviet front. The creation of the division was announced in April 1943 at ceremonies throughout Galicia. In total 81,999 men enlisted for service in the division. Of these, 27,000 were deemed fit for military service and 13,000 were enlisted. The SS-Freiwilligen-Division Galizien enjoyed support from multiple political and religious groups within the western Ukrainian community. Otto von Wächter himself sought to be released from his administrative obligations in the General Government in 1944 so that he could take up a position in the Waffen-SS. Following German capitulation, he successfully hid for 4 years. Otto von Wächter received last rites from pro-Nazi Bishop Alois Hudal in the evening on July 13 1949 and died the next morning. Due to Wächter's death in the Vatican, his criminal involvement in the Allgemeine-SS was never brought forth to a court. The SS-Division Galizien, redesignated <i>14.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS</i> in June 1944, surrendered to British and US forces on May 10 1945. Former volunteers were allowed to immigrate to Canada and the United Kingdom in 1947. The Honourable Justice Jules Deschênes of the Canadian Commission of Inquiry on War Crimes concluded in October 1986 that members of the division were not implicated in war crimes and that mere membership in the Galicia Division is insufficient to justify prosecution. However, the Commission's conclusion failed to acknowledge or heed the International Military Tribunal's verdict at the Nuremberg Trials, in which the entire Waffen-SS organization was declared a "criminal organization". Although Ukraine remains divided on the legacy of World War II, monuments in the western Ukraine and in Canada commemorates those who served with the SS-Division Galizien. Credit: Wikipedia inter alia. Left image: Otto von Wächter as SS-Brigadeführer in the Allgemeine-SS, here photographed wearing the early style of gorget patches that were used until April 1942. The ranks of the <i>General SS</i> were paramilitary ranks, this meant that officers in the Allgemeine-SS were unable to order personal in the Wehrmacht or Waffen-SS. National Digital Archive of Poland. Right image: the original caption says in part: <i>happy and excited young Ukrainians leaving their homeland to work in Germany for the ultimate victory</i>. Initially recruiting campaigns were launched in Ukraine for workers to go to Germany. Word got back however, of the sub-human slave conditions that Ukrainians met in Germany and the campaign failed to attract sufficient volunteers. Forced recruitment was implemented, although propaganda still depicted them as volunteers. Photo by Kriegsberichter Kurrasch in May 1943. c. Bundesarchiv.</div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-30136792502845301862018-04-13T21:04:00.015+02:002023-11-07T14:03:54.191+01:00Soviet Operations Kutuzov and Polkovodets Rumyantsev July – August 1943 and Soviet Lower Dnieper Offensive August – December 1943<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQRu9GP88zL6A5ELK2monzieiioxVH0UtyCqoUKz5nUGYvbKFDnAi1MVVmP6EwSwZKP433CW_YJ-QBhFzDnt0hbonGtsIlcU03RRLkna9_mqHARX0qm6DEsU44XCOg8I1LyjjvD3RFL-dNOuBS_m9DjYLsjFIPKWJcfKNIfWgwKohdrJGrmX-AxVppweI/s1581/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Waffen-SS%20Commander%20Paul%20Hausser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1581" data-original-width="1100" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQRu9GP88zL6A5ELK2monzieiioxVH0UtyCqoUKz5nUGYvbKFDnAi1MVVmP6EwSwZKP433CW_YJ-QBhFzDnt0hbonGtsIlcU03RRLkna9_mqHARX0qm6DEsU44XCOg8I1LyjjvD3RFL-dNOuBS_m9DjYLsjFIPKWJcfKNIfWgwKohdrJGrmX-AxVppweI/w285-h400/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Waffen-SS%20Commander%20Paul%20Hausser.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Waffen-SS Commander Paul Hausser</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Operations Kutuzov and Rumyantsev July – August 1943</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span><br /><a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2019/03/explore-detailed-timeline-of_3.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Operation Zitadelle</i></span></a> was abandoned on July 13 1943 and the German forces fell back on the defensive. The deteriorating situation in Italy now claimed Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's attention, and he ordered SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Paul Hausser's II.SS-Panzerkorps out of the front line to hold itself in readiness for a transfer. In the end, however, only SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Leibstandarte was sent to help stabilize the situation caused by the deposal of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini by the Badoglio Government and the Allied Landings in Sicily on July 10 1943, leaving SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Das Reich and Totenkopf to face the renewed Soviet onslaught. The next three months the German forces reeled back in disorder on all fronts despite desperate delaying actions by Das Reich and Totenkopf and other crack units like SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Wiking and the Panzergrenadier-Division Großdeutschland of the Wehrmacht. Kharkov and Kiev both fell; but in November a fresh counteroffensive, spearheaded by the Waffen-SS divisions (including the Leibstandarte SS, hastily recalled from Italy), succeeded in checking the Soviet advance. A seesaw situation developed with both sides attempting to encircle isolated groups of their opponents, sometimes successfully, at other times vainly. Credit: Osprey Publishing. Left image: Paul <i>Papa</i> Hausser was an officer in the German Army, achieving the high rank of Lieutenant-General in the inter-war <i>Reichswehr</i>. After retirement from the regular Army he became the <i>father</i> (thus the nickname <i>Papa</i>) of the Waffen-SS and one of its most eminent leaders. Paul Hausser died aged 92 on December 21 1972 in Ludwigsburg in Baden-Württemberg. Fair use. Right image: map over Soviet Operations Kutuzov and Rumyantsev. PD.</div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-61350560295530075242018-04-13T20:55:00.021+02:002023-08-24T01:08:44.329+02:00Revenge and Vengefulness during the Battle of Normandy (I)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2NC0z1zro-8/YOLyC9T9INI/AAAAAAAAMQY/uZWs10zLItIRbu6oo4UnmO3bBECinTM5QCNcBGAsYHQ/s1100/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BFallschirmj%25C3%25A4ger%2BFeldgendarmerie%2BNormandy.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="703" data-original-width="1100" height="259" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2NC0z1zro-8/YOLyC9T9INI/AAAAAAAAMQY/uZWs10zLItIRbu6oo4UnmO3bBECinTM5QCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h259/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BFallschirmj%25C3%25A4ger%2BFeldgendarmerie%2BNormandy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">German Fallschirmjäger Feldgendarmerie studying the terrain of Normandy</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1u962b9L3kY/XRvl-7rn_WI/AAAAAAAAJek/nlEBcPTWCtE5MDAizHyMhyfg35KJeTl2wCPcBGAYYCw/s920/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BRichard%2Bvon%2BRosen.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="920" height="258" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1u962b9L3kY/XRvl-7rn_WI/AAAAAAAAJek/nlEBcPTWCtE5MDAizHyMhyfg35KJeTl2wCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h258/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BRichard%2Bvon%2BRosen.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Tiger Commander Leutnant Richard Freiherr von Rosen</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8KbRsA2ISd4/XQ42CWJC0EI/AAAAAAAAJcc/x8HfDps7LRsk1ROfptGgChy_i_gm7rIhwCPcBGAYYCw/s1113/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2Bs%2BPanzer-Abteilung%2B503.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="1113" height="244" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8KbRsA2ISd4/XQ42CWJC0EI/AAAAAAAAJcc/x8HfDps7LRsk1ROfptGgChy_i_gm7rIhwCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h244/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2Bs%2BPanzer-Abteilung%2B503.jpg" width="400" /></b></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Panzerkampfwagen <i>Königstiger</i> n°301 of s.Pz.Abt.503</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Both sides frequently</b> failed to observe the Geneva Convention during the Normandy Invasion. It is not as if Allied war crimes are not known - it is just that it tends not to get talked about. The worst of these were the bombing raids on medical stations and ambulance convoys, many of which contained Allied servicemen being treated by the German Red Cross or the DRK. Historian Peter Lieb has found that many U.S. and Canadian units were ordered not to take prisoners during the D-Day landings. If this view is correct it may explain the fate of 64 German prisoners who did not make it to the POW collecting point on Omaha Beach on June 6 1944. An example is the U.S. Army General Maxwell D. Taylor who instructed the men of 101st Airborne Division to take no prisoners according to American historian and Professor Stephen Edward Ambrose. Some 30 German POWs were in fact massacred by U.S. paratroopers at the French village of Audouville-la-Hubert. A documentary made by CBC News confirmed British eyewitness Edward Ashworth's accounts of Canadian troops cutting the throats of German POWs and that Canadian tanks run over German soldiers with their arms in the air during the battle of Normandy. The rumor spread through the entire 12.SS-Panzer-Division Hitlerjugend that the Allies were killing fellow soldiers trying to surrender. In the days and weeks that followed, Canadian soldiers were executed following their capture by men of the Hitlerjugend. SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25 was responsible for the killing of seven Canadian POWs at its Headquarters at L’Ancienne Abbaye Ardenne. SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke was implicated in the killing of another 35 Canadian POWs, all of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, at Fontenay-le-Pesnel on June 8 1944, though he never faced a trial for any conclusion as to any query of involvement. Canadian war crimes investigators were never able to establish with certainty the units involved, much less the individuals. After WWII, Allied investigations established that separate atrocities were committed by German troops in 31 different incidents involving 134 Canadians, 3 British and 1 American. Top image: German paratroopers wearing military field police gorgets while studying the terrain of Normandy in 1944. Photo by KB Zimmermann. c. Bundesarchiv. Middle image: screenshot from a captured propaganda film showing Tiger commander and Normandy veteran the then Leutnant Baron Richard von Rosen in 1944. In his first encounter with the allied forces in Colombelles on July 11 1944, he succeeded in destroying 12 Sherman tanks and captured two Shermans intact. U.S. NARA. Bottom image: Richard von Rosen's Königstiger n°301 of schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503 getting a camouflaged paint scheme in Mailly-le-Camp in June 1944. Oberleutnant Richard v. Rosen passed away on Oct. 26 2015. Photo by KB Wagner. Credit: Paul Reynolds. c. Bundesarchiv.</div></div></div></div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3510117578922408752.post-70020589532380525852018-03-08T14:31:00.017+01:002024-01-12T00:23:31.292+01:00Revenge and Vengefulness during the Battle of Normandy (II)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-epKzqhj6Sdw/XFb-nWaSclI/AAAAAAAAIXU/wo0ed136OvEc20wr5JMOUrLjB6cxrDG6wCPcBGAYYCw/s759/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BSS%2BFlak.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="759" height="258" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-epKzqhj6Sdw/XFb-nWaSclI/AAAAAAAAIXU/wo0ed136OvEc20wr5JMOUrLjB6cxrDG6wCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h258/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2BSS%2BFlak.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">SS-Flak Abteilung of 9.SS-Panzerdivision Hohenstaufen in Normandy</span></td></tr></tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghZ70jsQNzv6K7ppH-lrr1YACinCroY6HYSJ9DDQppukPMgX0kFrOyLg_kA6SJMQE15nyYt9yrZQU8ihV37HWSK9kyy--JnmYbwt7QZh_jWi8dw3AzKgv60KNRZtR0_dnEkr6E6uF1wHfftWiJVNJtqwehdovhBunFfpmDNBbMGo-OK6k5EBlvQh7iMy0/s1100/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Fallschirmj%C3%A4ger-Regiment%206.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="693" data-original-width="1100" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghZ70jsQNzv6K7ppH-lrr1YACinCroY6HYSJ9DDQppukPMgX0kFrOyLg_kA6SJMQE15nyYt9yrZQU8ihV37HWSK9kyy--JnmYbwt7QZh_jWi8dw3AzKgv60KNRZtR0_dnEkr6E6uF1wHfftWiJVNJtqwehdovhBunFfpmDNBbMGo-OK6k5EBlvQh7iMy0/w400-h249/Stabswache%20de%20Euros%20Fallschirmj%C3%A4ger-Regiment%206.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Paratrooper of Fallschirmjäger-Reg.6 with a FG-42 around Carentan</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AiyWB3uXxLg/XR_YTPiEHuI/AAAAAAAAJhE/6oXhjM5ZprQnWguR00t0aZ0oetZ9dVE3QCPcBGAYYCw/s1051/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2Bs101.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="1051" height="250" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AiyWB3uXxLg/XR_YTPiEHuI/AAAAAAAAJhE/6oXhjM5ZprQnWguR00t0aZ0oetZ9dVE3QCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h250/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2Bs101.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Camouflaged Tiger of s.SS-Pz.Abt. 101 in Villers-Bocage</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cFZySVlpLAU/XSbe8zY0c6I/AAAAAAAAJio/24hKtaxnAtQXK-gwqZbynmnOU7BuGj_ZwCLcBGAs/s1600/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2Bs%2BSS-Panzerabteilung%2B102.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="691" data-original-width="1009" height="257" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cFZySVlpLAU/XSbe8zY0c6I/AAAAAAAAJio/24hKtaxnAtQXK-gwqZbynmnOU7BuGj_ZwCLcBGAs/w400-h257/Stabswache%2Bde%2BEuros%2Bs%2BSS-Panzerabteilung%2B102.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Pz.Kpfw. Tiger n°211 of s.SS-Pz.Abt.102 in the Normandy bocage</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><b style="font-weight: bold;">Both sides often</b> took no quarter in tit-for-tat reprisals. According to a report by regimental adjutant Count Hauptmann Clary-Aldrigen who was captured by British troops near Hill 102 along with six senior officers and men, including regimental commander Oberst Luxenburger and battalion commander Major Zeissler of Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 130 of the Panzer-Lehr Division on June 8 1944. The British forces were two scouting parties numbered 2 and 6A of C Squadron of the Inns of Court Regiment. According to the war diary of the Inns of Court Regiment on June 8 1944: Lieutenant Yodaiken, Lieutenant Wigram, Corporal Fowler and six other ranks. When the German officers refused to voluntarily ride on the English armored reconnaissance vehicles as shields against bullets, the one armed Luxenburger was beaten up and tied to the vehicle, covered in blood. After respective orders had been received by radio, Major Zeissler, Hauptmann Clary-Aldrigen, the NCOs and men of the group were shot by the retreating British still with Oberst Luxenberger tied to one of their vehicles. Clary-Aldrigen survived the gunshot wounds and regained consciousness and crawled, badly wounded, in the direction of the village of Le Mensil-Patry. The next day, in retaliation, three Canadian prisoners, Private Harold Angel of Cameron Highlanders and Privates Frederick Holness and Ernest Baskerville of Royal Winnipeg Rifles were ordered shot at Le Haut du Bosq on June 9 1944 by SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke. SS-Obersturmbannführer Bernhard Siebken opposed the summary executions and called Division HQ and spoke to divisional Chief of Staff (Ia). He was told that POWs are to be treated according to the Geneva Convention. Mohnke returned to Battalion HQ looking for Siebken, who was away at the front, he then ordered SS-Untersturmbannführer Dietrich Schnabel to execute the Canadians. At Schnabel's command the three Canadians were shot. At the end of World War II, several trials of Axis war criminals took place. However, in Europe, these tribunals were set up under the authority of the London Charter, and could only consider allegations of war crimes committed by persons who acted in the interests of the European Axis countries. Siebken and Schnabel, both of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 26, were accused of the above war crime. Knight's Cross Holder Bernhard Siebken and Dietrich Schnabel were found guilty and hanged in Hameln on January 20 1949. Reference: Hubert Meyer - the official historian of 12.SS-Panzer-Division Hitlerjugend. Top image: an Anti-Aircraft Battery of 9.SS-Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen in Normandy in June 1944. Photo by KB Koll. Second image: a paratrooper of Fallschirmjägerregiment 6 armed with a <i>Fallschirmjägergewehr 42</i> behind an embankment in the area around Carentan in June 1944. Credit: Julius Backman. Third image: Panzer Tiger of <a href="https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2011/05/schwere-panzer-abteilung-101.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 101</i></span></a> camouflaged in the undergrowth near Villers-Bocage in Normandy in June 1944. Photo by KB Arthur Grimm. Credit: Royston Leonard. Bottom image: Tiger n°211 moving through the flooded low lands of Normandy for allied targets in July 1944. It was commanded by the less known Tiger Ace SS-Untersturmführer Martin Schroif, and assigned to schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 102. Martin Schroif survived the war and died aged 64 on August 16 1979. Credit: Vitaly Lopatin. All photos: Commons: Bundesarchiv<b>.</b></div></div>
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Robert Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10858091160498927131noreply@blogger.com4