Blitzkrieg: October 2025

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Berliner Illustrierte magazine - Part 1.

"Forward despite barrage! Pressed close to the snow-covered ground, the grenadiers lie in cover while the curtain of fire from the Soviet artillery rises in front of them."

This is how this photo on the front page of the German wartime magazin "Berliner Illustrierte" is described. published on February 25th, 1943.

Franz von Werra.

Franz von Werra with his lion cub, “Simba,” in the cockpit of his Bf109E.

Werra was shot down over Britain in 1940 and was imprisoned. then he tried to escape but was recaptured then he tried to escape again and failed. then the British sent him to a prison camp in Canada: where he promptly escaped again. This time he made his way to the US and was taken into custody for illegal entry. The German government at that time was not at war with America and bailed him out. He quickly escaped to Brazil and from there made his way to Spain, Italy and then back to Germany!

a closer shot of von Werra's lion cub "Simba," who died due to disease while von Werra was in British captivity.

Hauptsturmführer Joachim Peiper at the Berghof, 1940.

SS MG42 Machine Gunner - Normandy, 1944.

SS-Oberschütze Klaus Schuh (MG Gunner) and SS-Unterscharführer Peter Koslowski in an alley in Rots, Normandy. June 9th, 1944.

Schuh received the Iron Cross for destroying a Canadian Churchill tank using only his MG-42 machine gun! With no other weapon at his disposal, he aimed tracer rounds at the fuel tank of the Churchill tank and took it out. Schuh was KIA on June 26th, 1944.

Then and Now: Rots, Normandy region, France.

Panzer IV - Normandy, 1944.

Panzer IV N°536 commanded by SS-Unterscharführer Willy Kretzschmar in Normandy, June, 1944.

Kretzschmar and his panzer crew destroyed at least 15 Allied tanks during the fighting in Normandy.

SS Das Reich - Kiev, 1943.

SS Das Reich non-commissioned officer signals his soldiers near a wall of a hut in a village near Zhitomir during the Second Battle of Kiev, December, 1943.

In the background you can see burning Soviet T-34 tanks.

Panzer IV, 1942.

Panzer IV of the "Das Reich" Division during a demonstration. September 12th, 1942.

The tank is commanded by SS-Untersturmführer Joachim-Günther Schöntaube.

Luftwaffe pilots, 1940.

Hauptmann Helmut Wick describes to his comrades his last air battle in which he shot down five British Spitfires in a row. September, 1940.

Hitler, Christmas 1937.

Adolf Hitler receives a gift from two Santa Clauses during a Christmas party in Berlin, December 25th, 1937.

von Manstein - Christmas 1943.

Field Marshal von Manstein greeted by a Santa Claus in the HQ of Army Group South in Vinnitsa in Ukraine, December 25th, 1943.

Joachim Peiper in Austria, 1945.

SS Standard Bearer, 1943.

A Wehrmacht soldier poses with a shell bearing the writing: "Happy New Year!"

Sepp Dietrich awarding Iron Crosses to a group of soldiers in Kharkov, 1943.

Major Eberhard Zahn.

On June 15, 1941, Zahn was able to repel a tank advance on Bardia in Libya using an anti-tank gun and destroyed six British tanks. The British captured him during the battle. However, he managed to escape from the British captivity and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

SS Totenkopf - Poland, 1944.

SS Totenkopf Panzergrenadiers inspecting the battlefield after heavy fighting in Siedlce, Poland, on July 29, 1944.

In the background we can see two knocked-out Soviet tanks, IS-2 & T-34/85.

Monday, October 20, 2025

German soldier with a rare MKb.42(H) Assault rifle on the Eastern front, 1943.

STG44 Training 1944 [HD Color]

Fallen German soldier near Voronezh. June, 1942.

German soldier from the Großdeutschland Division killed in an Sd.Kfz. 250 half-track near Voronezh. June, 1942.

Hachiro Hosokawa.

Kamikaze pilot Hachiro Hosokawa wearing a white headband (hachimaki) with the rising sun motif.

Max Wünsche and Kurt Meyer near Kharkov. March, 1943.

Münchner Illustrierte magazine - Part 1.

"Alarm! the observer calls from the high stand on which the anti-aircraft gun is located. Soviet fighters are approaching, repeatedly trying to attack the German positions around Leningrad, but - in a matter of seconds The operating crew at the gun follows every movement of the enemy with a keen eye and fires well-aimed bursts of fire at the attacking Soviet planes in rapid succession."

This is how this photo in the German wartime magazine "Münchner Illustrierte" is described. published on September, 1942.

Major Ernst Bolbrinker.

On 07.04.1941, Bolbrinker attacked the British fort of "el Mechili" in Libya with only 7 Panzers and managed to take it despite the absence of support from other friendly forces and strong enemy resistance. This attack ultimately resulted in the capture of the 2nd English Armoured Division’s staff (including 2 generals and 2 colonels), about 3000 prisoners, and large quantities of all manner of war materiel, including almost 30 anti-tank guns.

6th Army soldiers marching to Stalingrad, 1942.

German paratroopers in St. Peter's Square in Rome, 1943.

Fritz Witt - Eastern Front, 1941.

Sturmbannführer Fritz Witt smoking a cigar, Eastern Front, 1941.

Exhausted SS Totenkopf Obersturmführer.

Japanese pilot.

Japanese pilot standing defiantly with his Mitsubishi A5M Type 97 fighter.

SS MG42 Machine Gunner.

Ernst Jünger and Carl Schmitt in Rambouillet, France, 1941.

Satoru Anabuki.

Satoru Anabuki in front of his Ki-43 Hayabusa fighter.

Anabuki was a Japanese ace, scoring 39 confirmed aerial victories.

Panzer IV - Kharkov, 1943.

Panzer IV Ausf. G from Kampfgruppe Kunstmann advancing into Kharkov, March 1943.

Note: A small-caliber round which hit the commander's cupola is visible. A pointed piece of iron is fastened in front of the cupola to allow faster aiming by the commander.

Grenadiers mounted on a Panzer IV entering the western half of Kharkov, pushing towards the center of the city. March 1943.

This is a continuation of the previous picture. shot from a different angle.

Panzer III - North Africa, 1942.

Panzer III of the Wehrmacht Afrika Korps on a highway near an Arabic sign. North Africa, 1942.

The sign was likely placed by the British and reads: "Read this. Are you prepared to act if the enemy attacks you along this road?".

Song of the Kamikaze Pilots [HD Color]

Walter Oesau.

With 127 victories (of which 8 during the Spanish Civil War), Oesau is considered as one of the most successful and highly decorated German fighter aces in WWII. he died in 1944 being shot down by American fighter planes over Belgium.

Reinhard Heydrich in Black Allgemeine-SS uniform.

U-boat Commander Gerhard Nolte.

Nolte went missing (died) in the Neubrandenburg area as a consequence of infantry combat against the Soviets in April 1945.

Men of the SS.

From left to right: Otto Günsche (Hitler's personal adjutant), Fritz Witt (Commander of the 12th SS Panzer-Division), Sepp Dietrich (Commanding General of the I. SS Panzer Corps), Theodor Wisch and Max Wünsche (Commander of the 12th SS Panzer Regiment).

They are all together because of the ceremony awarding the Knight's Cross to Theodor Wisch which was held at the Berghof on 24 February 1944.

Gustav Adolf Langanke.

Langanke is seen here wearing the Extremely Rare Model 10-69 Oxygen Mask, on the Easter Front, 1941. he is also wearing the Golden party badge of the NSDAP, the Hitler Youth Golden Medal of Honour, the Pilot Badge, the Iron Cross, and the Front Flying Clasp for Fighters.

During a dogfight in North Africa, he was shot down by the British in Sidi Omar, Libya, on October 7th ,1941.