A member of the German Kriegsmarine inspecting a historical 18th century cannon in Jersey, Channel Islands, July 1940. The picture was likely taken for propaganda purposes. The inscription “GR” stands for “Georgius Rex”. The Channel Islands were the only British territory to be occupied by Germany during World War two. …
Germany
Wehrmacht General Anton Dostler is tied to a stake before his execution
A couple of US Corporals are pictured while tying Wehrmacht General Anton Dostler to a stake before his execution by firing squad. December 1st, 1945, Aversa, Italy. Anton Dostler was Commander of the 75th Army Corps and was sentenced to death by an United States Military Commission in Rome, after …
Goliath tracked mine inspected by US Marines
Goliath tracked mine inspected by a few US Marines, while another one lies overturned beside them. Normandy beach, June 1944. The Goliath light charge carrier was a remote controlled mine (allies called it ‘beetle tank’) developed by Germany during WW2. The Goliath carried between 60 and 100 kilogrammes of explosives, …
Hanns Scharff, master interrogator of the Luftwaffe in WWII
Hanns Scharff was an interrogator for the Luftwaffe in World War II, known to be arguably the best at his job in the entire National Socialist Germany. His methods were innovative, incredibly effective and he never used torture or other physical means to extract information. Instead, he used methods like …
RAF Spitfire hitting a Heinkel He-111 in Battle of Britain dogfight
The image, captured by a camera gun film, shows tracer ammunition from a Supermarine Spitfire Royal Air Force aircraft hitting a Heinkel He-111 of the German Luftwaffe. The Supermarine Spitfire Mark I which scored the hit served in the 609 Squadron of the Royal Air Force, and was flown by …
German troops enter Kiev in 1941
Wehrmacht troops enter Kiev on September 21st, 1941, after a fierce two week battle for the city. The First Battle of Kiev was part of the initial successful Blietzkrieg advance during Germany’s Operation Barbarossa, and is considered the largest encirclement in military history in terms of number of troops. More …
Wehrmacht soldiers with hand grenades on the Eastern Front
Wehrmacht soldiers with hand grenades in a foxhole on the Eastern Front, date unknown. The soldiers might be mapping terrain / fields of fire, although no observation instruments can be seen in the image. Book suggestion ⤵️ 📖 Sniper on the Eastern Front: The Memoirs of Sepp Allerberger, Knights Cross …
Panzer III tank with troops in winter camouflage, Demyansk Pocket
Panzer III tank followed by German troops in winter camouflage. Russia, Demyansk Pocket, March 21st, 1942. The Demyansk Pocket was a place South of Leningrad where German troops were encircled by Soviet forces between February 8th and April 21st in 1942. Fighting near Demyansk continued until February 28th, 1943, when …
Vyacheslav Molotov and Joachim von Ribbentrop in Moscow
Vyacheslav Molotov (left) shaking hands with Joachim von Ribbentrop after the two foreign ministers signed the famous Molotov-Ribbentrop pact in Moscow on August 23rd, 1939. The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was a non-aggression agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union, which also defined the spheres of influence in Europe between the two …
V1 flying bomb dropping on London, 1944
V1 flying bomb seen dropping on central London, with the Royal Courts of Justice in the foreground, sometime in the second part of 1944. This particular German bomb is said to have caused significant damage, including the blasting of the Daily Herald office. The V1 was a cruise missile deployed …