lesser known details of WW2 part two

http://www.sci.fi/~fta/nightftr.htm

Germany was only prepared for a short war, and now in its prolonged state, the training of a pilot reserve became a real bottleneck for the Luftwaffe. For example, in the beginning of 1944, the Germans had to send new pilots, with only 160 hours of flight time, to the frontline squadrons. While at the same time, their British and American colleagues already had at least double that amount.

In the first half of 1944, the German`s home air defense, lost 2,000 of its pilots as killed, lost or wounded. Replacing such a big number was possible only by reducing the number of hours in the training programs, which also became mandatory due to the shortage of fuel. So, by the summer of 1944, the new German pilots received no more than 112 hours of flight training. By February of 1945, Luftwaffe`s entire flying training program came to a complete halt, because of the lack of fuel.

-----------

FINNISH NIGHT FIGHTER COURSE IN GERMANY IN 1944

From the same site

THEORETICAL PROGRAM
The ground school portion of the program, containing about a hundred lessons with tests, started on the 16th of June, and continued daily until the middle of July. In the beginning of each phase, the instructors asked how much the students already knew about the subject.

The most important subjects were:

- Navigation (36 hours): the theoretical basis for navigation, navigation planning using the wind triangle and calculus, calculations for instrument approach and landing, and using radio navigation,

- N.V.W. (19 hours): the ground organization and radio traffic for night fighters, the air control systems, the air surveillance map system, the control system for night flights and Dunkel Nachtjagd, and the special radio equipment use by the allied forces,

- Funken (14 hours): receiving morse code, at least 30 letters or numbers per minute. In addition, 3 hours of receiving flashing light code, in groups of 2 - 3 letters or in short words,

- Technik (7 hours): the most important technical information about airplanes, equipment and instruments, and

- Wetterkunde (6 hours): a short review of meteorology, especially the weather conditions in Germany.

Other subjects were:

- Praktische Einweisung Technik: cockpit familiarization,

- Waffenlehre: familiarization of fighter weapons and armament,

- Schiesslehre: air gunnery by educational films,

- Flugzeug Erkennungsdienst: identification of airplane types,

- Gruppenlehre: air base and air traffic information,

- Schwarmführer: division leader`s information about the characteristics of various aircraft types

All of the Finnish students had received instrument training, and training in flying at night and in clouds, which had been conducted at home, but especially the younger pilots in the fighter squadrons had not flown many instrument sorties after their basic and advanced flying courses, so this type of training was quite welcome.

The Germans considered the complete skill of instrument flying, as the most important virtue of a night fighter pilot. The instructors stated that the night fighter pilot had to learn instrument flying so well, that he was able to “fly by instruments without instruments” and concentrate all of his attention on the search for the enemy.

The German program was effective and its objective was to make the student rely completely on his instruments and use only them, in all situations, to control his plane.

Especially in bad weather and in the heat of combat, even the most experienced pilot could begin to doubt his instruments, and become confused.

The instructors, all having night air combat experience, had a positive and objective attitude and were quick to recognize the rapid advances made by the talented Finnish pilots.

New things, like the latest radio navigation methods and familiarization with the night terrain, were learned during many night navigation flights.

The flight program in Altenburg consisted of about 38 flight hours per student, divided between the Arado Ar 96 (27 to 28 hours) and the Gotha G 145 (6 to 7 hours). In addition, every student flew instrument approach sorties (3 to 4 hours) in a twin engined Siebel Si 204 plane.

And more from the site...

 

During the battle of Britain, Bomber Command lost more planes than Fighter Command..!!(??)

http://www.stable.demon.co.uk/bob/bomber.html

There was no accurate method for assessment of these "hit and run" raids, but photographic reconnaissance indicated that 10% of the German invasion force targets were totally destroyed, and 40% damaged significantly.

Bombing operations took place both day and night and in the 123 days from the 1st July to 31 October 1940, the Bomber Command had mounted a total of 119 daylight and 115 night operations for the loss of 271 aircraft, 62 in daylight raids and 209 on night operations. While the number of aircraft in a squadron varied, this figure roughly equates to the loss of 29 squadrons.

 

Luftwaffe cuff titles and some more ( coming up )

http://www.xs4all.nl/~rhorta/jgcuff.htm

 

Always the opportunist, Dönitz realized that there would be easier pickings off the east coast of the United States, which had entered the war unprepared. Starting Jan. 13, 1942 Operation Paukenschlag (Drumbeat) was to turn into "Die Zweite Glückliche Zeite" (The Second Happy Time). The first "happy time" referred to operation in das Todesloch (the Death Hole), a portion of the North Atlantic which neither British nor American air cover could reach. Dönitz cannily ordered a single boat to cruise the North Atlantic, radioing signals simulating a large fleet.

Merchant ships, including tankers loaded with aviation fuel, blithely steamed up the east coast of the United States to rendezvous at the starting points of the North Atlantic convoys. They were perfectly silhouetted against the blazing lights of cities from Florida to Maine. Residents of east coast cities often woke to find their beaches inconveniently littered with corpses of merchant mariners.

In December, 1941 only 50,000 tons were lost to U-boats in the North Atlantic, partly because BP was reading the Atlantic U-Boat's cipher, Hydra. February 1 Hydra was replaced by a new cipher, Triton, and BP was unable to decode U-Boat messages for the next ten months. Between this, and the carnage on the U.S. east coast, the monthly total for March jumped to 500,000 tons.

By May 1942 thirty U-Boats were operating off the U.S. eastern seaboard, but the Americans were finally getting their act together, implementing ASW and convoy tactics.

 

Secret "cities" and locations for ammunition and treasures in England during WW2

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/%7Emccamley/

 

Braun, Eva (1912-45)



http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Strasse/8514/braun.html

Hitler's mistress from 1932 and his wife during the last few hours of his life, Eva Braun was born in Munich, the daughter of a school teacher. Of middle-class Catholic background, she first met Hitler in the studio of his photographer friend, Heinrich Hoffmann (q.v.), in 1929, describing him to her sister, Ilse, as 'a gentleman of a certain age with a funny moustache and carrying a big felt hat'.

At that time Eva Braun still worked for Hoffmann as an office assistant, later becoming a photo laboratory worker, helping to process pictures of Hitler. The blonde, fresh-faced , slim, photographer's assistant was an athletic girl, fond of skiing, mountain climbing and gymnastics as well as dancing.

After the death of Geli Raubal, Hitler's niece, she became his mistress, living in his Munich flat, in spite of the opposition of her father who disliked the association on political and personal grounds. In 1935, after an abortive suicide attempt, Hitler bought her a villa in a Munich suburb, near to his own home, providing her with a Mercedes and a chauffeur for personal use. In his first will of 2 May 1938 he put her at the top of his personal bequests - in the event of his death she was to receive the equivalent of £600 a year for the rest of her life.

In 1936 she moved to Hitler's Berghof at Berchtesgaden where she acted as his hostess. Reserved, indifferent to politics and keeping her distance from most of the Fuhrer's intimates, Eva Braun led a completely isolated life in the Fuhrer's Alpine retreat and later in Berlin. They rarely appeared in public together and few Germans even knew of her existence. Even the Fuhrer's closest associates were not certain of the exact nature of their relationship, since Hitler preferred to avoid suggestions of intimacy and was never wholly relaxed in her company.

Eva Braun spent most of her time exercising, brooding, reading cheap novelettes, watching romantic films or concerning herself with her own appearance. Her loyalty to Hitler never flagged. After he survived the July 1944 plot she wrote Hitler an emotional letter, ending: 'From our first meeting I swore to follow you anywhere - even unto death - I live only for your love.'

In April 1945 she joined Hitler in the Fuhrerbunker, as the Russians closed in on Berlin . She declined to leave in spite of his orders, claiming to others that she was the only person still loyal to him to the bitter end. 'Better that ten thousand others die than he be lost to Germany', she would constantly repeat to friends.

On 29 April 1945 Hitler and Eva Braun were finally married. The next day she committed suicide by swallowing poison, two minutes before Hitler took his own life. On Hitler's orders, both bodies were cremated with petrol in the Reich Chancellery garden above the bunker. Her charred corpse was later discovered by the Russians.

The rest of Eva Braun's family survived the war. Her mother, Franziska, who lived in an old farmhouse in Ruhpolding, Bavaria, died at the age of ninety-six, in January 1976.

Riefenstahl, Leni (born 1902)



The most innovative film maker of the Nazi cinema, Leni Riefenstahl was born in Berlin on 22 August 1902 and began her career as a ballet dancer, employed by Max Reinhardt, among others, for dance performances in the early 1920s. In 1925 she made her film debut as an actress in Der Heilige Berg, the first of a series of well-photographed movies about the Alps made by Arnold Franck, the father of the mountain cult in the Weimar cinema.

In the late 1920s, Riefenstahl became the high priestess of this cult, starring in Franck's Der Grosse Sprung (1927), Die Weisse Holle vom Piz Palu (1929) made together with G. W. Pabst, Sturme uber dem Mont Blanc (1930) and Das Blaue Licht (1932) which she co-authored, directed, produced and played the leading role in, winning a gold medal at the Venice Biennale. In 1933 she made her last film for Franck, SOS Eisberg, before being appointed by Hitler (who greatly admired her work) as the top film executive of the Nazi Party.

The muscular, sportive and beautiful young actress-director now became the ardent cinematic interpreter of such Nazi myths as the 'national renaissance', the cult of virility, health and purity, the romantic worship of nature and the human body. Commissioned to make a full-length movie of a Party Congress, she produced Reichsparteitag (1935), a pure apologia for Hitler and his Party, and the powerful Nuremberg Rally film, Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will, 1935) - perhaps the most effective visual propaganda for Nazism ever made. Over a hundred people worked on the film including a staff of sixteen cameramen, each with an assistant, and no fewer than thirty-six cameras were used as well as a huge number of spotlights. Riefenstahl combined melodramatic camera techniques from the silent movies of the 1920s with the dramatic effects of Wagnerian opera to submerge completely the individual in the mass and absorb reality into the artificial structure of the Party convention with its endless parades and show marching. In this work the Germanic imagery of the Nibelungen, extremely magnified and subordinate to an authoritarian human pattern, reappears in the form of a modern Nuremberg pageant.

Riefenstahl's film won a gold medal at the Venice Film Festival. It was followed by her classic documentary, Olympia, a four-hour epic released in two parts, which was devoted to the Berlin Olympic Games. It received its gala premiere on 20 April 1938, to mark Adolf Hitler's forty-ninth birthday. Riefenstahl's Olympic films, widely admired for their technical innovation and accomplishment, were awarded first prize at the Venice Biennale and were also honoured by the International Olympic Committee in 1948.

After the fall of the Third Reich, Riefenstahl was one of the few leading figures in the German film industry to suffer for her past glorification of Nazism. She vigorously denied all accusations of romantic involvement or political complicity with Hitler. In recent years, her continuing interest in primitive peoples and their natural environment has found a new outlet in her photographic work during various expeditions to Africa. This has resulted in two remarkable books of photography, The Last of the Nuba and The People of Kau. In the 1990s there has been a resurgence of interest in Leni Riefenstahl, following the publication of her memoirs and the screening of a documentary film in 1994 about her and her cinematic work, entitled The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl.

http://www.leni-riefenstahl.de/eng/index.html

http://www.dead-or-alive.org/dead.nsf/rnames-nf/Riefenstahl+Leni

 

Heroes don´t always last too long, do they?

Air Chief Marshal
Lord Hugh Dowding

http://www.mindef.gov.sg/safti/pointer/Vol28_2/11.html

In a stunning blow to Dowding, he was sacked as the C-in-C, Fighter Command, in Nov 1940, shortly after the Battle of Britain was won. There had been a clash between his two Group Commanders, Air Vice Marshal Keith Park, Commander of Group 11, and Air Vice Marshal Leigh-Mallory, Commander of Group 12, the two principal Groups fighting the battle, over the issue of fighting tactics. Dowding, being closely allied with Park, was caught in the midst of this controversy. Leigh Mallory apparently had the support of the Air Ministry, which called a meeting to discuss Dowding's handling of the battle. Shortly after the meeting, Dowding was told abruptly to relinquish his command, and Park was to follow suit soon after.

It seems curious that a victorious commander of one of the decisive battles of World War Two was denied an award normally given out to war heroes and at the same time be dismissed from his command. The situation was not helped by Dowding's own reticent and reserved character, which had in fact earned him the nickname of 'stuffy' early on in his career. Although the issue of his dismissal had often been criticised by the press, Dowding himself had refused to comment. The recognition owed him was finally given in 1943, three years after the Battle of Britain was fought and won. He was honoured with a baronetcy.

He died on 15 February 1970, aged 87.

---------

In November 1940 Dowding was dismissed from his post with a simple, cursory telephone call from the Air Ministry saying, "The Air Council has no further work for you." He was asked to clear his desk within 24 hours and was sent to the USA to serve in the Ministry of Aircraft Production. A fine thankyou indeed from a grateful nation. All that was missing was a slap in the face with a wet kipper.

http://www.firstfoot.com/Great%20Scot/dowding.htm

 

The Dowding letter that saved RAF forces and eventually lead to victory at BoB


http://www.battleofbritain.net/section-2/appendix-10.html

The Fairy Battle and the Bristol Blenheim bombers that had originally been sent to France in the September of 1939 mainly to support the British Expeditionary Force were to prove ineffective and were totally outclassed by the German fighters. Knowing this, the Air Ministry considered sending the more effective Wellington and Whitely bombers, but the bulk of the decision makers were quite adamant that this was out of the question. The bombers were to stay in England for a strategic offensive that was "if required" to operate from their English bases.

So, the Fairy Battle single engined light bomber's which although belonging to Bomber Command along with the Blenheim, were under the control Sir Arthur Barratt who was the RAF AOC in France who had control of all aircraft. These were supported by just six squadrons of Hurricane fighters which totalled 96 and a few Gloster Gladiators. This small air force was up against the might of the advancing German Luftwaffe who with a commanding strength and with exceptional co-ordination constantly strafed and bombed Allied airfields and British and French troop concentrations, and like a swift, well oiled machine the Germans made a rapid advance through France.

At the beginning of the German advance, Barratt had nothing but disillusionment. Thirty-two Battles took off to curb the German advance, but thirteen of these were destroyed and eighteen suffered severe damage. 600 Squadron (Blenheim's) took off on a routine patrol of Waalhaven, and only one returned intact. On the 12th May 1940 five Battles were despatched to destroy the Bridges at Maastricht, not one of them returned, all had been destroyed. The sad story continued on May 14th, when 71 Battles took off, again on a routine bombing mission, only thirty one returned, forty had been destroyed. The next day on the 15th, Barratt tallied up the amount of aircraft destroyed, an astounding 205 light bombers and fighter aircraft had been destroyed and not even a month had passed.

The French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud made a personal appeal to Churchill. "If we are to win this battle, which might be decisive for the whole war, it is necessary to send at once at least ten more squadrons. This had put pressure on the War Cabinet in London who had already sent four additional squadrons of Hurricanes on May 12th with a further 32 aircraft the very next day. Churchill knew that one day, maybe sooner than later, the war will have reached Britain, and was insistent about supporting the British and French armies and doing all in his power in saving the Battle of France. The longer he could hold France, the more time Britain had to build her defences. Delaying the German advance was therefore of prime importance.

Dowding was informed of Churchill's intentions. He studied the forces that had already been despatched to France, he already knew that for the successful defence of Britain he would require fifty-two squadrons, this had already been depleted by the aircraft that had already been sent to France, in actual fact, he was now down to a mere thirty-six squadrons. His fears were written by way of a letter indicating the perilous position he would be placed in if this request for more fighter aircraft be sent to France. He handed the letter to his Chief Civil Servant for delivery to the War cabinet. "You know that Churchill will have to read this" to which a rather unbemused Dowding simply replied, "I know.......thats why I wrote it".

Hugh Dowding was summoned to the War Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street on 15th May. Also there was Sir Archibald Sinclair who had been recently appointed as the new Air Minister, Lord Beaverbrook who had just received his appointment as Minister for Aircraft Production and Sir Cyril Newhall who was the Chief of Air Staff. "Dowding" said Churchill in his usual low toned voice, " you know that this now puts us in a very precarious position with France, I have.......made a commitment to the French Prime Minister......that not only must we give France all the support that we can......but we must support our own forces fighting in that country". Dowding remained unmoved, almost withdrawn, " I am well aware of the situation Prime Minister, but my task at hand is for the air defence of this country and it is my belief that I cannot achieve this if half my aircraft are in France".

Dowding went on to produce documents that showed the Hurricane losses since they were first despatched, and explained in considerable length that if these losses continued at this same rate, not only would he be in short supply of fighter aircraft, but of pilots as well. "We are losing aircraft at far quicker rate than we can produce them" he went on and again further emphasized the point that the thirty-six squadrons that he now had at his disposal was no where near enough for a successful defence of Britain. "We need more aircraft, and more pilots to fly them"

The following day, the 16th, Churchill flew to Paris for yet another meeting with Paul Reynaud. Again, the French Prime Minister requested help stating that unless he got it, France would fall to the Germans far sooner than he would have anticipated. He (Churchill) immediately telephoned the War Cabinet in London to request that another six squadrons of Hurricane fighters be despatched at once claiming that Dowding had informed him that only twenty-five squadrons would be required in the event that they would be needed to defend Britain. If six squadrons were sent, then that would still leave enough of a safety margin for the defence of Britain.

When the Cabinet received Churchills request, Sir Cyril Newhall informed the Cabinet of Churchills commitment on saving the Battle of France, and further mentioned Dowding's fears if the air strength of Britain was to be reduced. A compromising solution was reached. Six Hurricane squadrons would be sent to France, but they were to operate from bases situated on the Northern French coastal strip bordering the Channel. This way they it would be possible for them to return to bases back in England each night, give added strength to the French campaign and could easily be withdrawn back to Britain should the occasion arise.

 

Between September 3, 1939, when World War11 began, and December 7, 1941, when Japan bombed Pearl Harbour, the United States gradually abandoned its policy of strict neutrality and moved to all-out war on the Allied side.

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/5433/arsen.html

1.Cash and Carry.Immediately after war broke out in Europe, President Roosevelt asked Congress to ease the arms embargo so that arms could be sold to Britain and France. The Neutrality Act of 1939: (1) permitted belligerents to purchase materials of war on a cash and carry basis and (2) banned American merchant ships from travelling in war zones, as designated by the President. Cash and Carry actually aided Britain and France, because their financial resources and control of the seas enabled them to buy war materials in the United States and to carry such goods in their own ships. It marked a shift from isoloation to pro-Allied neutrality.

2.Beginning of Active Aid to the Allies.The quick and unexpected fall of France to the Nazis in 1940 shocked most Americans out of their complacent attitude. They no longer were so sure that they could "sit this one out" as a neutral. President Roosevelt became convinced that Germany could not be permitted to become the dominate power in Europe, even if this meant direct American aid to Britain and France. Public opinion gradually shifted to support of "all-out aid short of war." Several significant developments in 1940 and 1941 indicated growing concern and increasing involvement.

A)The Draft.In September, 1940, after intensive debate, Congress adopted the first peacetime draft in American history. The draft law made men between the ages of 21 and 35 liable for military service for one year

B)The Destroyers for Bases Deal.In September, 1940, President Roosevelt also announced that the United States would exchange 50 overage destroyers for 99 year leases on British sea and air bases in the Western Hemisphere (particularly in the Caribbean region and in Newfoundland).

C)Re-election of Roosevelt in 1940

3.The Lend-Lease Act (March, 1941)

4.Undeclared Naval War With Germany
In May, 1941, the United States established bases in Greenland and Iceland to help protect British and American convoys that were carrying goods and armaments to Britain.
In the same month, Germany announced that American naval assistance to Britain would bring retaliation.

 

German operation names

Aida
Jun/July 1942 North Africa Offensive against British Eight Army

Alpinveilchen (Alpine Violet)
c1941 Balkans Plan to provide support to beleaguered Italian army in Italo-Greeco War by sending Whermacht forces to join the campaign.

Baer (Bear)
15 Jun. 1940 France Assault on the Maginot Line area of French border

Beowulf I
Sep. 1941 East Front Invasion of the Estonian Islands from the Latvian Courland Peninsula.

Bettlelstab
Feb. - July 1942 East Front Plan for 18 AOK offensive against the Orainenbaum pocket west of Leningrad

Birke (Birch Tree)
Sep. 1944 Arctic Plan for evacuation from Finland of German forces in the event of Finish collapse.

Birkhahn (Blackcock)
c1945 Norway Plan for the withdrawal from Northern Norway.

Bueffel (Buffalo)
02 Mar. 1943 East Front Evacuation of the Rzhev salient by Army Group Centre.

Castigo
6 Apr. 1941 Balkans Bombing raid against Belgrade by Luftwaffe.

Doppelkoft (Twoheads)
16 Aug. 1944 East Front The offensive by 3 Pz.AOK to attempt to relieve the besieged AG North (Courland) in Latvia?

Eisstoß (Ice-push)
4 - 30 Apr. 1942 East Front Campaign by Luftflotte 1 to destroy the Russian Baltic fleet at anchor in Kronstadt and Leningrad. Not totally successful and called off on 30 April.

Fischfang
3-19 Feb. 1944 Italy Counterattack against the US VI Corps’ Anzio beachhead.

Fischreiher (Kingfisher)
Summer 1942 East Front Plan for German forces to follow the capture of Stalingrad with an advance on Astrakhan on the Caspian Sea.

Fritz
Winter 1940 East Front "Original codename for Unt. BARBOROSSA, changed on 16.Dec.1940"

Georg
Jul. 1942 East Front "Plan to attack and capture Leningrad, early name for FEUERZAUBER."

Harpune (Harpoon)
c1941 NW Europe Plan to carry out a feint invasion of the English East coast using forces from Norway in conjunction with BARBOROSSA

Herbstreise (Autumn Journey)
Autumn 1940 NW Europe Plan to carry out a feint invasion of the English East coast using forces from Norway in conjunction with SEELOEWE

Ikarus
c1940 Atlantic Plan to land forces in Iceland and set up a base there.

Kreml (Kremlin)
May - Jul. 1942 East Front "Deception measures taken in the run up to the 1942 offensive in southern Ukraine, Unt. BLAU."

Lachsfang (Salmontrap)
Autumn 1942 East Front Plan for a combined Finnish-German attack on the Murmansk railway.

Maus (Mouse)
Autumn 1942 East Front Army Group A's offensive into the Caucasus mountains.

Morgenroete (Morning dawn)
Spring 1944 Italy Counterattack against the US VI Corps’ Anzio beachhead.

Nordlicht (Northern Lights)
Autumn 1942 East Front A plan to attack and capture the city of Leningrad.

Regenwurm (Earth-Worm)
C1945 NW Europe The use of the mobile V2 launching sites in an effort to escape their destruction by allied airpower.

Renntier
Jun. 1941 East Front "Attack mounted against Murmansk, Russia in conjunction with BARBOROSSA"

Rosselsprungen (Knightsmove)
Jul. 1942 Arctic The attack against the Allied PQ-17 convoy by Luftwafe and Kreigsmarine units in Norway.

Schneegestber
Nov. 1944 Balkans The pursuit of Marshall Tito's HQ's.

Sonnenblume (Sunflower)
Spring 1941 North Africa The German intervention in North Africa involving the sending of the DAK.

Strafe (Punishment)
6 Apr. 1941 Balkans The German invasion of Yugoslavia

Tannenbaum
c1942 NW Europe Operational plan for an invasion of Switzerland if required.

Tiger
13 Jun. 1940 NW Europe "The attack by Armee Gruppe C on the Northern Maginot Line, France"

Zeppelin
c1944 East Front "An attempted operation by a special forces team, flown in to near Moscow, to carry out sabotage raids against Russian powerplants. Mission failed."

And more

http://www.csn.ul.ie/~dan/war/axis.html

 

The Waffen-SS Wiking 1941-1945 map of movements

http://www.waffen-ss.nl/wikingkaart.gif

 

Waffen-SS Kriegsberichter Photographers
by Marc Rikmenspoel

http://www.feldgrau.com/wsskb.html

In January of 1940 an SS-Kriegsberichter-Kompanie (Waffen-SS war reporters company) was established, and its züge (platoons) were attached to the four main Waffen-SS combat formations that fought in the Western Campaign of May and June, 1940. These platoons remained with their respective divisions for the Balkans Campaign in the spring of 1941.

By August of 1941 many additional units were fighting as part of the Waffen-SS. As a result, also during August of 1941, the SS-Kriegsberichter-Kompanie was expanded to Abteilung (battalion) strength. Waffen-SS expansion continued to grow throughout the war, and in December 1943 the reporters unit again expanded, this time to regimental size. It also received an honor title at this point, becoming known as SS-Standarte "Kurt Eggers". It also receiving a cuff-title bearing the same name. Kurt Eggers was the former editor of the SS magazine Das Schwarz Korps. He was killed in action west of Kharkov while serving with the 5.SS-Division on August 13, 1943.

Gunter d'Alquen commanded the SS-Kriegsberichter unit for its entire existence. He held the Allgemeine-SS rank of Standartenführer, and began his Waffen-SS command in 1940 as a Waffen-SS Hauptsturmführer der Reserve. During the course of the war, he was gradually promoted until he became a Waffen-SS Standartenführer der Reserve at his regimental command.

Under d'Alquen was a staff that processed the incoming material, as well as photographers, movie cameramen, writers, broadcaster and recorders, all who served in the field. The men in the field did their service with the various platoons assigned to the assorted Waffen-SS formations. The reporters generally served with several different platoons during the war, and many new reporters joined during the war's course. Non-Germans most often served with their own national formations, but were sometimes detached to cover a particular campaign and report on it for their home press.

The list below of SS-Kriegsberichter is exclusively of photographers. The basis of the list is wartime captions. The photos of the SS-Kriegsberichter were reproduced in Das Schwarz Korps and in many German newspapers, and were usually released to the foreign press as well. The photos used in German newspapers were printed with the photographer's name somewhere in the article, usually directly below the photo. Many books reproduce these photos, and much knowledge of photographers stems from this.

Many photos released to the foreign press survive as either original photographs or as copies. Most of these photos originally had a caption on the back listing the photographer, the date of release, and some vague details such as "The returned patrol leader makes his report on the northern sector of the Eastern Front," or something similar. It is important to note that the date of a photo's release is not the date on which the photo was taken. The time between a photo being shot in the field and its being released to the press varied between a week and three months. Often photos from the same sequence, and taken within moments of each other, were released many days apart.

After studying hundreds of photos and photographers patterns begin to appear. A photo taken during, '...the second week of the great offensive action between Belgorod-Orel," and released to the press on August 24, 1943 can reasonably supposed to have been taken during the Zitadelle battle. If this photo shows Panzer IVs with the Das Reich Kursk-era unit symbol, and is credited to Zschaeckel, it gives a clue that Zschaeckel spent time with that unit. This can then be reinforced if another Zschaeckel photo released at about the same time shows a Das Reich Knight's Cross winner. Variations on this process were used to establish all of the assignments recorded below.

Finally, issues of a wartime magazine (not Das Schwarz Korps) from a German archive were consulted. These listed the promotions and decorations accumulated by the SS-Kriegsberichter, and included every type of reporter. This is where the first names and other personal details of the men below were found.

Already since this list was first posted some new names of photographers have been provided by visitors to this page. Anyone with press release photos or anything to add to the information is welcomed to share the details. This list is far from complete, and this is why it is named the "growing list." The hope is that it can continue to grow for a long time to come. Thanks for any help!


Adendorf, Peter Totenkopf 1942-1944, II. SS-Panzerkorps at Arnhem 1944, holder of the Panzer Assault Badge in Bronze and the Close Combat Clasp in Silver.
Ahrens, Anton? SS-Kavallerie Division 1943-1944
Alefs, ? SS-Polizei Division 1944
Altstadt, Willi commanded 5. Zug of the Kriegsberichter Abteilung with Wiking in the Caucasus 1942, won the Iron Cross I in August 1942, promoted to Untersturmfuehrer in March 1943, married February 23, 1943
Apfel, Hans Ardennes 1944-1945
Augustin, Paul LAH in the Kharkov campaign 1943, promoted to Hauptscharfuehrer March 1, 1943 and killed in action 19 days later on March 20.
Baumann, ? Totenkopf 1941
Bayse, ? SS-Panzerkorps at Kursk (same as Buyse below?)
Brantsen, ? Legion Nederland 1942
Budulis, Janis Unit unknown, Latvian?
Bueschel, Max SS-Kavallerie Brigade 1941, LAH at Kursk and Zhitomir 1943, still with LAH in winter of 1944, then briefly with Hohenstauffen early spring 1944 in Galicia, back with LAH late spring 1944 in Belgium
Buyse, Jan Flemish, Legion Flandern 1942, Untersturmfuehrer 1944, commanded the war reporters platoon of Division Langemarck 1944-1945. Holder of the Iron Cross II
Chlemacher, ? LAH 1943
Dietel, ? Western Front 1945
Duerr, ? LAH late 1941, Totenkopf 1943
Fabiger, Erich III.(Germanic) SS-Panzerkorps at Narva 1944
Fritsch, Ferdinand SS-Kavallerie Division 1943-1944, holder of the Wound Badge in Black and the Infantry Assault Badge in Bronze
Fritz, Hans Waffen-SS staff in the Netherlands 1942-1944
Frost, ? SS-Polizei Division 1944
Gerber, Gerhard Unit unknown, served for a time on the Pressestelle des RFSS, holder of the Iron Cross II, promoted to NCO Candidate on January 30, 1944
Goesling, Jobst commanded 10. Zug of the Kriegsberichter Abteilung with Nord 1941-1942, his platoon later moved to cover the Latvian 15. Waffen-Grenadier Division, holder of the Infantry Assault Badge in Bronze
Gottschmann, Franz probably with Das Reich early 1942, then with Totenkopf at Demyansk later 1942, killed in action with the SS-Panzerkorps near Kharkov early 1943
Groenert, Hermann Totenkopf 1943, Reichsfuehrer-SS Division early 1944, back to Totenkopf in Poland summer 1944, promoted to Unterscharfuehrer August 15, 1944, awarded the Iron Cross I during August 1944, also held the Infantry Assault Badge and the Wound Badge in Silver
Hilkenbach, ? Totenkopf late 1943
Hoffmann, ? (several men with this name) SS-Panzerkorps at Kharkov early 1943, 2. Latvian SS-Infanterie Brigade autumn 1943
Hoppe, Kurt SS-Kavallerie Division 1943, Reichsfuehrer-SS Division early 1944
Jaeckisch, Fritz Ardennes 1944-1945, previously a movie cameraman, holder of the Wound Badge in Black
Jarolim, Alois Wiking 1943-1944, holder of the Infantry Assault Badge
King, Johan LAH 1943
Koennecke, ? IV. SS-Panzerkorps near Warsaw, autumn 1944
Kok, Cornelius Estonian, came to Wiking with SS-Panzergrenadier Bataillon Narwa in 1943, holder of the Infantry Assault Badge in Bronze
Kraus, ? Eastern Front 1941 during Barbarossa
Kunzmann, Adolf SS-Fallschirmjäger Bataillon 500 1944
Lechner, ? Eastern Front 1943
Lindekens, Hugo Brigade Langemarck 1944, Flemish?
Ludwig, Hans LAH Winter 1943-1944, holder of the War Merit Cross with Swords II
Lueder, ? Normandy 1944
Merz, Willi Totenkopf at Kharkov and Kursk 1943, Das Reich rebuilding in France early 1944, holder of the Iron Cross II
Mielke, Werner Legion Nederland during 1942, II. SS-Panzerkorps in Normandy
Moebius, Helmut Wiking 1943, Brigade Nederland spring 1944, holder of the Iron Cross I
Nachtwey, ? member of the war reporters platoon of Hitlerjugend spring 1944
Neumann, Paul Served with (commanded?) several units, won the Iron Cross I during the spring of 1943, promoted to Untersturmfuehrer on November 9, 1943
Niquille, Giovani (Nino) Nord 1942, SS-Skijaeger Kompanie Norge mid 1943, SS-Kavallerie Division late 1943, holder of the Wound Badge in Black, Infantry Assault Badge in Bronze, and the Iron Cross II
Pachnike, Klaus LAH early 1944, Hitlerjugend in Normandy, holder of the Wound Badge in Black and the Iron Cross II
Prochnow, Dieter Das Reich or Totenkopf late 1943
Puttrich, ? Eastern Front(SS-Kavallerie Division?) late 1942
Reinsberg, ? Legion Nederland 1942
Roeder, ? Hitlerjugend in Normandy
Rose, Heinrich Unit unknown
Roth, Franz as Untersturmfuehrer commanded 7. Zug of the Kriegsberichter Abteilung assigned to LAH in 1941 for Greece and Barbarossa, holder of the Winter 1941-1942 Medal and the Iron Cross I, killed in action early 1943
Rottensteiner, Ferdinand LAH winter 1943-1944, won the Iron Cross II August 1944
Schremmer, Hans Totenkopf 1944 in Bessarabia and Poland
Schulz, ? Normandy 1944, Ardennes 1944-1945
Slapak, Walter Wiking summer 1943, probably as commander of war reporters platoon, promoted to Untersturmfuehrer September 21, 1942
Steinkopf, ? Festung Kuestrin 1945
Stollberg, Willi Hitlerjugend in Normandy
Tillmann, ? Frundsberg at Nijmegen 1944
Truoel, Hans III.(Germanic) SS-Panzerkorps in Estonia spring and summer 1944, won the Iron Cross II during August 1944
Unger, ? IV. SS-Panzerkorps near Warsaw late 1944
Westermann, ? Prinz Eugen 1944
Wiesebach, ? Totenkopf and the SS-Kavallerie Brigade 1942
Wisniewski, Bruno Nord 1942-1943, Brigade Nederland 1944, holder of the Iron Cross II
Wittmar, Gerhard Totenkopf 1942-1943, holder of the Demyansk Badge
Woscidlo, Wilfried Training staff for reporters 1942, Hitlerjugend 1943-1945
Zschaeckel, Friedrich Eastern Front (Das Reich?) 1941, Nord 1942, Totenkopf at Kharkov 1943, Das Reich at Kursk, Hitlerjugend in Normandy, promoted to Obersturmfuehrer on April 20, 1943, holder of the Iron Cross I
Zeymer, Werner Eastern Front 1943, Totenkopf late summer 1943

 

There were five campaign cuff titles. They were:

Spanish cuff title ( “1936 Spanien 1939” in gold threading on a medium red background to decorate the Panzer-Lehr-Regiment, the Nachrichten-Lehr Regiment, and the Versuchs-Abteilung which had participated in the Spanish Civil War; the cuff title was bestowed on June 21, 1939 )

The Kreta cuff title ( created on October 16, 1942 for awarding to those personnel who participated in the invasion of Crete in May of 1941 )

The Afrika cuff title ( created in January 15, 1943 as a campaign honor for service in the North African actions; not to be confused with the Luftwaffe "Afrika" formation title )

The Metz cuff title ( created on October 24, 1944 to recognize the bravery of the battle group commanded by Oberst von Siegroth who, entrenched in the city of Metz, was able to stop the progress of the U.S. Third Army from September through November of 1944 )






http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/gabel3/gabel3.asp

The Kurland cuff title ( initiated in 1945 to honor those of Army Group North under Generaloberst Ferdinand Schorner who fought in the Courland region of Latvia ).

 

Mussolini, Hitler and Ciano



Galeazzo Ciano, Count of Cortellazzo (Livorno, March 18, 1903 - Verona, January 11, 1944), was Benito Mussolini's Foreign Minister and son-in-law. Galeazzo was the son of Costanzo Ciano, a veteran of World War I and one of founding fascists fascists.

In 1930, he married Edda Mussolini, with whom soon left for Shanghai. Back in Italy, a few years later, he became the minister for the press and propaganda, then later for foreign affairs. In this position, he replaced Dino Grandi, who had been presenting, to foreign diplomats, a less martial position than what Mussolini wanted (Grandi was sent to London as an ambassador).

On July 25 1943, when internal opposition was going to finally defeat Mussolini, Ciano joined them, and voted against his father-in-law. However, he followed Mussolini north to Salò, where the Italian Social Republic (called RSI, for Repubblica Sociale Italiana) had been founded, in opposition to the Pietro Badoglio government, which had switched over to the Allies. Vainly his wife Edda had tried to arrange a protected exile for their family, having Vatican refused to hide them. Appearently, Germans seemed to help them to reach Spain, but arrested them instead, and sent the former minister to Verona.

Ciano's vote against the Duce was considered severe treason and, after a dramatic public trial, he was found guilty and soon after shot. It has been much discussed a lot whether this showed that Mussolini did not want to protect his relative, or simply could not. Many observers note that if Mussolini had avoided his capital punishment, he himself would have lost any credibility. It is known that when informed, Edda, sincerely in love with Ciano, crossed half of the country with emergency vehicles, also risking of being raped, to reach the republic's headquarters first and the prison immediately after, but her attempts at rescue were vain.

However, afterwards Edda Ciano escaped to Switzerland, disguised as a peasant woman. She had Ciano's wartime diaries hidden beneath her skirt.They reveal much of the secret history of the Fascist regime between 1939 and 1943 and are considered a prime historical source. (The diaries are strictly political and contains little of Ciano's personal life.)

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galeazzo_Ciano

 

Some of you may know this but i certainly didn't. I just found out that aircraft shot down had to enemy aircraft, not captured aircraft piloted by the enemy. They didn't count towards a score tally.
http://www.78thfightergroup.com/history/78thFGAces.html

 

Kai, I have just noticed a little detail, I don't know if I get it well but I read:

That is not true at all! He was no Generaloberst in WWII:

The only men who reached that rank in WWII, besides the Luftwaffe field marshals were:

Otto Deßloch (1889-1977), RKe.
Ulrich Grauert (1889-1941), RK.
Hans Jeschonnek (1899-1943), RK.
Alfred Keller (1882-1974), RK, PLM, RKH.
Günther Korten (1889-1944), RK.
Bruno Loerzer (1891-1960), RK, PLM, RKH.
Alexander Löhr (1885-1947), RKe.
Günther Rüdel (1883-1950), RKH.
Kurt Arthur Benno Student (1890-1950), RKschw, RKH.
Hans Jürgen Stumpff (1889-1968), RK.
Ernst Udet (1896-1941), RK, PLM, RKH.
Hubert Weise (1884-1950), RK.

And I have a full Powerpoint presentation with all German Generaloberste with photos if you want me to send it to you!

 

Thanx for the info Friedrich!

I´ll be back on the subject on the Powerpoint presentation of all the German Generaloberste if need be! Thanx!

And now something else: Gibraltar...

During the Second World War, the British Government planned and created a Top Secret system of chambers inside the Rock of Gibraltar. Were the Nazis ever to capture Gibraltar, six men would seal themselves in these chambers from where they would secretly monitor the movements of the Germans and report these back to London.

The chambers were never used and remained sealed for over fifty years until the Gibraltar Caving Group re-discovered them at the end of 1997. The chambers were in a well preserved state and included dormitory facilities, east- and west-facing observation posts, and a fresh-water cistern.

Check the site:

http://www.gib.gi/museum/p188.htm

 

From Biography of
Wilhelm II, King of Prussia, German Emperor (1859-1941)

http://gsteinbe.intrasun.tcnj.edu/royalty/biographies/WilhelmII.html

Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia, was not very favorably impressed with the Nazis.

Before the war, he allowed one of his sons, Prince August Wilhelm, to join the SA, but he was angry at how involved the Prince became in Nazi politics and eventually all but disowned him.

The Kaiser’s wife, Hermine (his second wife, whom he married in exile after the death of his first wife, the Empress Auguste Viktoria), was extremely pro-Nazi and even arranged for Göring to visit the Kaiser several times before the war. But the Kaiser was never very impressed with Göring’s bombast.

When Hitler invaded the Netherlands, the British government offered the Kaiser asylum in Britain. The Kaiser appreciated the irony of the British government’s offer (to a man accused of war crimes by the Allies after the First World War), but he refused the British government’s kind offer.

During the campaign in France in 1940, the Kaiser’s grandson, Prince Wilhelm, was killed in action. The funeral was attended by huge crowds in Berlin, and Hitler, peeved, promulgated a secret protocol that all Hohenzollerns were to be expelled from the Armed Forces as soon as possible. This secret protocol affected one of the Kaiser’s sons (Major-General Prince Oskar of Prussia) and several of his grandsons (including Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hanover, and Prince Burkhard of Prussia), and even distant cousins (including Prince Franz Joseph of Hohenzollern-Emden).

When the German Army entered Paris, the Kaiser sent Hitler a congratulatory telegram. Some people hold that telegram against the old Kaiser, but given that he had been at the head of the German nation when it failed to defeat the French, he took pride in the victory of his Generals in 1940 (since most the commanders of Hitler’s French campaign had been trained during the First World War under the Kaiser’s command -- not by Hitler or the Nazis). The Kaiser sincerely sent the telegram out of patriotism and pride in the truly breath-taking German victory.

When the Kaiser died in 1941, Hitler wanted his body brought back to Germany for a big funeral -- as a propaganda stunt. A codicil to the Kaiser’s will was, however, extremely clear. If he did not return to Germany as its monarch before his death, his body was to be buried at Doorn Haus in exile -- and, the Kaiser added (repeating it three or four times in the course of the codicil) that there were to be absolutely no swastikas visible at his funeral.

Hitler was peeved once again. The Führer made a point of sending a huge flower arrangement with a big, fat swastika on it, but he didn’t attend the funeral himself, sending Dr. Arthur Seyss-Inquart as his representative instead. He refused to allow any German military officers to attend the funeral, but many did anyway -- out of uniform. One who attended was General Karl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel, who was later executed for his involvement in the 20 July 1944 coup attempt. The World War I Field Marshal August von Mackensen (father of World War II Colonel-General Eberhard von Mackensen and Nazi Ambassador Hans Georg von Mackensen) defied the Führer’s orders and showed up at the funeral in his Field Marshal’s uniform with his Field Marshal’s baton, and he made a real point of being seen in a prominent position in the funeral procession.

Goebbels ordered all German newspapers to note the Kaiser’s passing with a small, one-paragraph obituary on a back page. It was the Nazis’ final insult to the old Kaiser’s memory.

 

Official and nicknames of German aircraft: by type

http://www.hut.fi/~andres/lw_nn_t.html

 

Disney goes to war:

http://www.skylighters.org/disney/

One day in 1942, when new Navy torpedo boats were being launched, Lieutenant E. S. Caldwell, then of the Naval Operations office in Washington, wrote a letter to Walt Disney in Hollywood. He asked Disney to design an emblem appropriate for this new fleet of "mosquito boats." A few days later, back to the fleet came an emblem. It was a little mosquito, streaking through the water with a tar's hat on his head and a shiny torpedo held between his many legs. The insignia was such a hit that every torpedo boat in the fleet soon had a Disney mosquito.

As soon as word got around in the Army and Navy as to what Disney had done, the Disney office was bombarded with requests to design insignia for tanks, minesweepers, bombers, and fighter planes. Disney did his best to comply. When Brigadier General S. B. Buckner, commander of the Alaska Defense Force at Fort Richardson, Alaska, received his outfit's design — a seal balancing the letters ADF, the general wrote Disney:
Since the arrival of the insignia, all of the seals in Bering Sea have been out on the ice pack halancing Ds on their noses, sneering derisively at the polar bears, expanding their chests, and cavorting merrily over being chosen to represent our defense forces.
It was clear that Disney and his artists had created a whole new system of heraldry, comparable to the ancient knightly arms. With requests for insignia stilt pouring in from the Army and Navy, the Disney studios announced that they had already completed more than 200 designs, and were expected to do at least 500 more. Two of their artists were working full time on the job.



Disney´s mosquito