PICTURES FROM HISTORY: Rare Images Of War, History , WW2, Nazi Germany

Empire of Vikramaditya of Ujjain, Ancient India (Bharatvarsha)

2026-05-19T02:19:36.596-07:00

Incredible Ancient India (Bharat) : The empire of king Vikramaditya of Ujjain (Western Data Genesis Gemini AI) - The empire of King Vikramaditya, historically associated with the city of Ujjain (ancient Avanti), is celebrated as a peak of ancient Indian power, justice, and cultural achievement. He remains an "ideal king" in Indian cultural memory.

According to traditional texts like the Bhavishya Purana, Vikramaditya’s empire was a "universal" kingdom (Chakravartin) -
·        Indian Subcontinent: His boundaries supposedly stretched from the Indus River in the west to Kapila (Kapilavastu) in the east, and from Badaristhana (Badrinath) in the north to Setubandha (Rameshwaram) in the south.
·        Vassal States: Folklore mentions he had roughly 800 vassal kings under his suzerainty.
·        Legendary Expansion: Some accounts claim his influence reached as far as Arabia, Persia, and Turkistan, suggesting a cultural or commercial reach that transcended modern borders.

ALSO, MORE - Maharaja Vikramaditya Indian emperor is said to have visited Nepal in 57 BC where King Amsuvarman of Thakuri dynasty accepted status of ‘Samantha’, within his empire and as a symbol of his over-lordship had inaugurated his era in Nepal in 57 BC. This is published in Indian Antiquary Vol.XIII p.411. (Ref: P.16 of in Chronology of Nepal Reconstructed by Kota Venkatachalam Rao). King Amsuvarman is said to have reigned from (101 BC to 33 BC) while Vikramaditya is said to have ruled for 100 years from (82 BC to 19 AD).

He went on to conquer Babylon, Persia, Turkistan, Arabia, and other Western Asia countries. He showed utmost forbearance towards them and called himself the ‘King of Aryavrata and Liberator of the Arabs, Turks, and the Jews'. Vikramaditya had the wisdom of leaving institution of the kingdoms he attached to his empire unchanged.

Arabs, Kurds, and Persians saw him as the Lord’s Chosen One’. Respect and adoration they had for this Indian emperor can be found recorded in a volume called ‘Sayar-ul-Okul’ (meaning memorable worlds) and can be found in Makhtab-e-sultania library in Istanbul, Turkey.

The text of this inscription was found inscribed on a gold dish hung inside the Kaaba shrine in Mecca. It was written by the Arabian poet Jarrham Bintoi who lived more than 165 years before Prophet Mohammed’s time. It was a tribute to Maharaja Vikramaditya who lived 500 years before Jarrham Bintoi. The annual fair known as ‘OKAJ’ used to be held every year around the Kaaba temple in Mecca where many scholars and poets was honoured for their literary work and the best were engraved on a gold plate and hung inside the Kaaba temple. Arabian Poet Jarrham Bintoi’s tribute to Vikramaditya was thus honoured this way on the sacred walls of the Kaaba.
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MORE,

https://lionmayura.org/maharaja-vikramaditya-of-ujjain/#:~:text=(Maha%20Bhavishya%20Purana%2C%203%2D1%2D7%2D16,throne%20with%2032%20golden%20figurines

Translation Error - Horse or Ship : Homer Epic Trojan Horse

2026-05-19T02:14:13.485-07:00

WHY I SAY, IT WOULDN'T BE THE FIRST TIME A TRANSLATION ERROR HAS CHANGED CULTURAL HISTORY - According to Tiboni, Homer wasn't talking about a wooden horse at all, but rather a ship. A Phoenician ship, to be precise, characterized by a figurehead in the shape of a horse's head. This type of vessel was called a hippos—"horse" in Greek. If the Achaeans had left a hippos on the beach, the Trojans would have seen a tribute ship, not a wooden animal. And a ship is infinitely more plausible as a vessel for hidden warriors.

The hypothesis has immediate appeal. A sacred ship, laden with gifts, left as an offering to the gods after the departure of the enemy fleet: a ritual gesture perfectly consistent with the Mediterranean world of the time. And much more credible than a huge wooden horse dragged inside the walls of a city besieged for ten years.
The crux of the matter is linguistic. Homer uses hippos. Centuries later, a copyist or translator interprets the term literally, not as the technical name for a vessel. Hence the misunderstanding. Hence the myth.
For Information please, Francesco Tiboni graduated with a degree in Prehistory from the University of Milan and a PhD in Naval Archaeology from the Centre Camille Jullian - Université Aix-Marseille in France
Indonordicassociation(dot)org

Whom to Believe - Greek Writers or Indian Evidence

2026-05-19T02:09:10.569-07:00

WHOM TO BELIEVE ? Sources are or were all Western Colonial Scholars quoting so-called Greek writers. King Porus( Purushottam), literally crushed Alexander with his mighty war elephants in the Battle of Hydaspes (326 BCE). But to protect Alexander’s reputation, Greek historians twisted the story — calling it a “victory” and claiming he returned because of “illness” and “soldiers’ fatigue.” Those tales that Alexander “admired Porus,” “treated him like a king,” and “returned his kingdom” are nothing but made-up Greek stories to save face. In truth, Purushottam crushed the so-called world conqueror, forcing him to retreat and never return to Bharat again.

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ALSO, read my article as linked below

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/manipulation-colonial-western-scholars-greek-presence-rana-qrvhf/?trackingId=mWKy%2BjAsQeaVtBncg%2BmmNQ%3D%3D

Colonial Western Scholars' Narrative Negated

2026-05-19T02:02:18.929-07:00

Another narrative propagated by Colonial Western Scholars gets negated ,Greek presence in ancient India - Legends suggesting that the Kalash people of Pakistan's Hindu Kush mountains are direct descendants of Alexander the Great’s soldiers have been largely debunked by modern DNA analysis. While some studies in the past hypothesized a "mixing event" around the time of Alexander's invasion (~327 BC), newer, more comprehensive genomic analyses (such as those summarized in a Nature study) suggest the Kalash represent an ancient, pre-Indo-Aryan population that maintained its unique genetic profile in isolation. Based on the results of the study Kalash might represent the contemporary population presenting closest genetic similarity with a pre-Indo-Iranian Neolithic population of the North Pakistan which have not had a significant admixture with Paleolithic South Asians.

Rather than direct descendants of 4th-century BC Greek soldiers, DNA suggests the Kalash are descended from a highly drifted ancient North Eurasian population that arrived in the region long before Alexander. Some studies suggest they separated from other South Asian populations roughly (8,000) to (11,000) years ago.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-94986-z

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Indian Kaveri Engine 81-83 kN Thrust

2026-03-05T01:47:00.000-08:00

Latest - MASSIVE: India’s Kaveri Engine Achieves Afterburner Milestone, Boosting Indigenous Fighter Jet Ambitions : Western Data Genesis Gemini AI - India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) achieved a major milestone in February 2026 by successfully testing the Kaveri engine’s redesigned afterburner at the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) in Bengaluru. The test demonstrated full afterburner operation, essential for supersonic flight, with targeted wet thrust reaching approximately 81-83 kN.

India has achieved a major milestone in its indigenous jet engine program with the successful afterburner test of the Kaveri engine, developed by the Gas Turbine Research Establishment under the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

The engine has reportedly demonstrated 81–83 kN of afterburning (wet) thrust, a sharp rise from its 49 kN dry thrust. Afterburner mode injects additional fuel into the exhaust stream to generate short bursts of high power, critical for combat maneuvers and rapid acceleration.

In comparison, the General Electric F404 engine, currently powering the HAL Tejas, produces around 84–85 kN, while the Safran M88 engine used in the Dassault Rafale generates roughly 75 kN. The Kaveri’s performance now approaches these global benchmarks.

However, immediate integration is unlikely. The engine still requires weight optimization, high-altitude trials, endurance testing, and flight certification before deployment on platforms like Tejas or future aircraft such as AMCA.

If successfully operationalized, the Kaveri engine would significantly reduce India’s dependence on imported fighter jet engines and strengthen its strategic and technological autonomy in aerospace propulsion

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Great Nicobar Project India

2026-03-05T01:43:00.000-08:00

Incredible Innovative India (Bharat) : The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has refused to interfere with the environmental clearance for the Rs 81,000-crore Great Nicobar Project. This effectively removes a major legal hurdle and allows the mega strategic plan to move forward. Here's what you need to know about India's most ambitious island infrastructure push that aims to challenge Chinese assertion in the Indo-Pacific.

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Ancient India - SAFE HEAVEN

2026-03-05T01:39:00.000-08:00

Incredible Ancient India was ‘SAFE HEAVEN’ for all who suffered in their homeland : Case of Syrian Christian in Kerala (WESTERN DATA GENESIS GEMINI AI) APART FROM MANY OTHERS

- Chera king Cheraman Perumal welcomed Thomas of Cana (Knai Thoma) and 72 Syrian Christian families around 345 AD.

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Monkey King Sun Wukong Manchu Culture China

2026-03-05T01:34:00.000-08:00

Incredible Ancient India (Bharat Sanatan in China) Manchu culture and Ancient India (Western Data Genesis Gemini AI) : represent two distinct yet indirectly connected pillars of Asian history. While the Manchus rose to prominence much later—founding China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing Dynasty (1636–1912)—they became stewards of a vast cultural exchange that had been flowing from India to China for millennia.

1. Cultural Syncretism and Religion -
·        Tibetan Buddhism: The Manchus were devout followers of Tibetan Buddhism. This specific branch of Buddhism preserved many Sanskrit texts and Tantric traditions that originated in ancient India.
·        The "Universal Emperor": Manchu rulers like the Qianlong Emperor positioned themselves as Chakravartin (Universal Rulers), a concept of kingship rooted in ancient Indian political philosophy.
·        Artistic Influence: Many Chinese motifs adopted during the Manchu era, such as the lotus, the Wheel of Life, and certain guardian deities, have direct roots in Hindu and Buddhist iconography from India.

2. Historical & Mythological Links -
· Mahabharata References: Ancient Indian texts like the Mahabharata refer to a northern tribe called the Chinas, which some historians believe referred to the peoples of the northern frontier, potentially including the ancestors of the Manchus.

Hanuman and Sun Wukong: The popular Manchu-era literature, including tales of the Monkey King (Sun Wukong), is widely considered by scholars to be inspired by the Indian deity Hanuman.

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Trypogeorgos Made Solid

2026-03-05T01:29:00.000-08:00

Incredible Innovative India (Bharat) : Trypogeorgos made light solid

A team at the TIFR, Mumbai, led by Prof. Arka (Western Data Genesis Gemini AI) In early 2025, researchers achieved a breakthrough by transforming light into a supersolid state, a phase of matter that exhibits both crystalline structure and frictionless flow.

Key Scientists: The experiment involved Dimitrios Trypogeorgos (CNR-INO), along with colleagues like Iacopo Carusotto, Daniele Sanvitto, and Dario Gerace.
Mechanism: The team used a laser to strike a semiconductor (gallium arsenide) lattice with nanoscale ridges, creating hybrid light-matter particles called polaritons.
Result: As the density of these polaritons increased, they formed a repeating spatial pattern (like a solid) while maintaining quantum coherence (allowing them to flow like a superfluid).
Institutional Context: While the specific "supersolid light" breakthrough was led by European institutions (University of Pavia and CNR), the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai remains a global leader in related quantum photonics and light-matter research.

Prof. Sushil Mujumdar's team at TIFR Mumbai recently achieved milestones in long-distance quantum communication using entangled photons.
Prof. Arka Majumdar (University of Washington, formerly associated with Indian institutions) is also a prominent figure in the field of hybrid nanophotonics and quantum simulation using light

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Indian Naval Base in Agalega Islands

2026-02-05T02:26:00.000-08:00

The Mauritian government has offered India a long-term lease of the islands, with an eye toward further development. The development of the islands could, however, be an important step for the implementation of Indian Navy plans.

It is probably safe to say that most people have never heard of the Agalega Islands. There are two of them, a North and a South Island, located about 425 nautical miles northeast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The islands are sovereign territory of Mauritius, which is about 700 miles to the south. Together, the two Agalegas have about 70 square kilometers of land area populated by approximately 300 people.

(Image Courtesy - Dr Poornima Bhartiya, Doctor)

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Hidden Ocean - Porous Rock

2026-02-05T02:17:00.000-08:00

AMAZING - Massive underground water reservoirs exist, most notably a "hidden ocean" deep in the Earth's mantle (700km down) where water is chemically bound in the mineral ringwoodite, potentially holding thrice Earth's surface water, and vast aquifers in shallower crustal layers like the Great Artesian Basin in Australia or the Cascade Range. These aren't liquid oceans but water locked in minerals or porous rock, playing crucial roles in the planet's water cycle and geology, discovered through seismic waves and geological studies.

Deep Mantle Reservoir (The "Hidden Ocean")
Location: Earth's mantle, around 700 km (400 miles) deep.
Form: Water is chemically bonded within a blue mineral called ringwoodite, not liquid water.
Significance: Could hold three times the water of all surface oceans, influencing Earth's water cycle and geology.

Discovery: Detected by seismic waves from earthquakes slowing down as they pass through this water-rich rock.

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(Picture : Courtesy Unbox factory )

MORE - https://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=111648

India-Third Scientific Powerhouse

2026-02-05T02:05:00.000-08:00

Incredible Innovative India (Bharat) on MOVE (WESTERN DATA Genesis / Gemini AI) : India is now the #3 scientific powerhouse in the world.

As of January 2026, India's status as a top-three global scientific powerhouse is supported by several major rankings and performance indicators in research, artificial intelligence, and academic output.

Key Scientific Rankings (2025–2026)
Scientific Publications: India is ranked 3rd globally in the number of research publications, trailing only China and the United States. Scholarly output grew from roughly 60,000 papers in 2010 to approximately 195,000 by 2024.

AI Competitiveness: India has secured the 3rd position globally in AI vibrancy and competitiveness according to Stanford University's 2025 Global AI Vibrancy Tool, outperforming advanced economies like the UK, Japan, and Germany.

Highly Cited Research: India ranks 3rd globally in producing influential research, with approximately 19,000 articles appearing in the top 10% of most-cited papers.
STEM PhDs: The country ranks 3rd globally in the total number of PhDs awarded in science and engineering fields.

Academic and Institutional Milestones -
Interdisciplinary Science: In the Times Higher Education (THE) Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2026, India emerged as the most represented country in the world, with 88 institutions making the list.

Overall Representation: India is now the second-most represented nation in the broader THE World University Rankings 2026, behind only the U.S., with 128 ranked universities.
QS Asia Rankings 2026: India has become the second-largest contributor to this list (294 institutions), surpassed only by China

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European Union 'Divide-and-Rule'

2026-02-05T01:57:00.000-08:00

(GERMANY PROPOSES TO END THE EUROPEAN UNION AS WE KNOW IT) - Germany is spearheading an initiative to create a “two-speed” European Union, proposing that a core group of six major economies bypass the bloc’s traditional consensus-based decision-making to accelerate defense cooperation and industrial competitiveness amid mounting geopolitical pressures.

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Ancient Roman Law allowed Husband to Execute wife

2026-02-05T01:53:00.000-08:00

Incredible Ancient Roman Law allowed husband to execute wife (WESTERN DATA GENESIS / GEMINI AI) : Yes, under specific circumstances and during certain periods, Roman law allowed a husband or father to execute a wife for adultery. This right was heavily regulated, particularly by the Lex Julia de Adulteriis (18 BCE) introduced by Emperor Augustus.

Key Aspects of Roman Law Regarding Execution of Wives:

· Adultery (In Flagrante Delicto): A husband could legally kill his wife's lover if he caught them in the act (in flagrante delicto) in his own house, but the law did not generally allow him to directly kill his wife.

· Father's Authority (Patria Potestas): The legal authority to kill an adulterous woman was historically vested in her father (if she was still under his power), who could kill both his daughter and her lover if caught in his or the husband's house.

· Restrictions on Husband: A husband who killed his wife for adultery, rather than her lover, could be charged with murder, although his punishment might be lighter than that of a common murderer.

· Alternative Penalties: Instead of execution, a convicted adulteress was often banished (relegata) to an island, lost half her dowry, and suffered from infamia (loss of social/legal standing).

· Evolution of Law: Early Roman custom (under manus marriage) gave husbands near-absolute authority, including the ability to punish or kill a wife for serious offenses like drunkenness or adultery. By the time of the Empire (Augustan laws), this power was moved to public courts, although the right to kill under specific conditions (in flagrante) remained.

Christian Era: Later, under Christian emperors like Constantine, the penalties for adultery became stricter, with the death penalty for adultery being re-confirmed or, in some interpretations, returning the right to the husband to kill the adulterous wife.

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APOCALYPSE NOW: Best War Movie Ever Made

2015-06-28T22:55:00.002-07:00

This classic by Francis Ford Coppola is inarguably the best war film ever put into celluloid. And definitely the best Vietnam War film. It has that quality which all good war flicks have: Timelessness. It was made decades ago but it appeals to the present generation as it did to the earlier generation.

The most appealing part is it shows war as it is. Ugly. Inhuman. Robert Duvall talks of liking the smell of napalm in the morning as the forest burns in the background after a napalm is dropped by American warplanes. He epitomises the then prevailing American thinking that the Vietcong could be hammered into submission.

Martin Sheen mirrors the other America. Sceptical of the Vietnam War, and watches bemused at what is happening. But patriotism stops him from disobeying orders or deserting.

Marlon Brando is a manifestation of that part of America that has gone mad in Vietnam. Something like the character portrayed by Tom Berenger in "Platoon".

The dance show in the midst of fighting areas in Vietnam by show girls gives the message that America was totally out of its depth in Vietnam. The expression on Martin Sheen's expressive face says it all.

Words cannot begin to describe the film. It can only be seen to be believed.

APOCALYPSE NOW - BLU-RAY

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Some Rare Images Of Waffen SS

2014-09-29T19:13:00.002-07:00

Waffen SS Officer Kurt Meyer awards a Knight's Cross to Hermann Weiser at Kharkov, 1943. On the right is the Chief Medical Officer Hermann Bezuden of the Adolf Hitler Division

Joachim Peiper (1915-1976) in Austria, April 1945

A Waffen SS soldier takes aim in 1941 on the Eastern Front

A Waffen SS man in action in 1941 on the eastern front

Norwegian motor cycle riders from the Waffen SS 'Viking' Division in 1941 on the eastern front

Waffen SS soldiers armed with MG 34 machine gun and 50 mm mortar move in Kalitka on the eastern front in 1941

Men from the Landstorm Nederland Division

Some Red Army soldiers surrender to men from the Das Reich SS Division on August 25, 1941on the eastern front.

Soldiers from the Dutch "Westland" SS regiment on a Munich street in 1941 with a German nurse and child

A mountain ranger from the SS Division "Nord" in the Kola peninsula in 1941

New recruits for the Waffen SS Division 'Nederland' at the Hague August 7, 1941.

Officers of the 1st SS Division "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler" Sturmbannführer Josef Diefenthal and Sturmbannführer Gustav Knittel look at the prisoners, 3rd Battalion, 119th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division of the American in a street at the Belgian town of Stoumont. Ardennes, December 16, 1944.

Captured American soldiers of the 3rd Battalion of the 119th Infantry Regiment. In 1944 at Stoumont, Belgium

Two Waffen SS soldiers clamber over a wire fence on the eastern front

SS soldiers from the 2nd Motorised Division 'Das Reich' in a Soviet village with a Sd.Kfz 10 half track in 1941

Šturmbannfûrer SS Luis Taler (left) and oberšturmbannfûrer Armando Giorleo from the Italian №1 SS Division on the Italian Front, November 1944.

A Gunner company from SS Regiment "Der Führer" passes by the south-eastern corner of the Royal Palace on Dam Square in Amsterdam, May 1940 in a Wanderer W-11.

SS soldiers smoking cigarettes with an abandoned American armored M8 "Greyhound on the road near the Belgian village of Poteau, December 1944. early morning of December 18

A SS man and a Gestapo men captured by armed Czech men in Prague in May, 1945. One supposes they were later tortured and killed.

SS-Obergruppenführer Sepp Dietrich discusses with British officers terms of surrender in Greece. In 1941.

Waffen SS soldiers with a MG 34 machine gun at Mariupol, 1941

Leon Degrelle with his men of the SS Wallonia Brigade

Waffen SS men from the 12th Armored Division in a Jagdpanther in the Ardennes January, 1945

Eastern front: A waffen SS soldier looks through his binoculars. Destroyed Soviet vehicles seen in the background.

Soldiers of the "Liebstandarte" Adolf Hitler Division look on helplessly as a Tiger tank and a truck get bogged down in mud in the Fatima area of Ukraine, November, 1943.

German armored Sd.Kfz.251 / 9 "Stummel" with 4th SS Panzer Corps soldiers. In the foreground are prisoners of war and local, during the onset of the German operation "Conrad". Hungary, in January 1945.

The commander of the 12th SS Regiment Obersturmbannfuehrer Max Wünsche, (1914-1995) (with the bandage on his head) and the commander of the 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion of the 12th Regiment of the SS Hauptsturmführer Rudolf von Ribbentrop (Rudolf von Ribbentrop, the year of birth - 1921, on the right part of the frame) on the streets of the French village of Po (Rots) with soldiers of the 25th Regiment of the SS. France, 9 June 1944.Rudolf von Ribbentrop - the son of the minister propogandy Germany Joachim von Ribbentrop.

Towards the end. Waffen SS on the road in Hungary in 1945

Men from 'Das Reich' during battle at Elnya in 1941

A soldier from the 6th SS Mountain Division 'Nord' shakes the hand of a wounded Finnish soldier in September-October 1942

Men from the 5th SS 'Wiking' Division frantically load 88 mm armor piercing shells onto a Tiger tank during the Batle of Kursk. July 1943.

Waffen SS soldiers in Kharkov (February-April 1943)

SS soldiers escort Polish employees of Danzig post office after they were flushed out with explosives and flame-throwers on September 1, 1939.

A dead Waffen SS soldier lies in the snow after the Battle of the Bulge. 1945

Soldiers of 9th SS Divsion in Arnhem with a Stug 3 in September 1944

SS men from the Heinz Harmel battle group on the yard of the Kharkov Tractor Plant. March 16, 1943.

The lucky Waffen SS survivors in Korsun-Cherkassy.January-February 1944. Thousands of Germans were massacred at the Korsun pocket by Koniev's men.

Waffen SS men take a breather during a lull in the fighting. Eastern Front 1941.

Danes greet soldiers of the SS Free Korps Denmark after they returned from the Eastern Front. August 1942.

Men of 6th Mountain Division 'Nord' load ammunition on sleigh pulled by dogs

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Italian Soldiers Were No Cowards During WW2

2014-09-27T20:35:00.001-07:00

The popular perception in the western media is that Italian soldiers during the Second World War were best at one thing; Turning around and fleeing. Or raising their hands as soon they spotted an Allied soldier.

This is untrue. Italians proved their bravery when they fought well during the Great War. In the next world war, they had no motivation to fight. Mussolini was no Pied Piper of Hamelin like Hitler. And unlike the Germans, the Italians were no children willing to jump off a cliff.

Going around destroying everything and bullying others just because a vengeful man says so is no bravery. Look at what happened to the Germans in 1945.

Italians were wiser, smarter and more down-to-earth, just the kind of people this Earth needs.

An Italian soldier bids farewell to his mother before heading to Abyssinia in 1935

It is enough to go back to World War I. In “The Great War” the Italians fought with extraordinary bravery and sustained appalling battlefield casualties. They also fought on the right side. (Allied military deaths in the First World War: France, 1,397,000; Britain, 886,939; Italy, 651,000. Not bad, not bad at all.)

http://takimag.com/article/when_italians_werent_cowards_nicholas_farrell/print#ixzz3EfvkohjL

Italian soldiers in Montevarchi before heading for Abyssinia, 1935.

In his new book called 'Mussolini and Hitler - a Fatal Friendship,' Dr Goeshel of Manchester University will attempt to set the record straight. The book is due to be published by Yale University Press in 2016.

However, when Dr Goeschel started his research in 2010 a different picture of both Mussolini and the Italian war effort emerged.

He travelled up to four times a year to Italy's Central State Archives in Rome to view the official records not normally seen by the public.

Jokes about Italy's lack of military prowess and faint-heated approach to combat also did not stand up to scrutiny when he examined records of campaigns such as North Africa, Greece, the Balkans and Russia.

He said: 'It was a very famous assertion that the Germans had to bail out the Italians out.

'But this notion is a post war myth - perpetuated by German war veterans who regarded the Italians as lazy and cowardly.

'The records show the Italians fought courageously and brutally - but were let down by bad leadership.

'Italians also fought on the Eastern front - and testimony by Russian POWs said they were just as brutal as the Germans.'

Source: Daily Mail

Italian soldiers in Greece in 1941

At the outbreak of WWII Italy was ill prepared for battle against more modern adversaries. Italy had zero oil production, no aircraft carriers, tanks with fragile armour, artillery mainly of WW1 vintage, a navy which could not target shipping at night (no radar), and inferior aircraft.

Mussolini had a vision of reforming the glories of the Roman Empire by regaining the territory surrounding the Mediterranean “mare nostro”. From the outset of Italy’s intervention in WWII – Italian leadership demonstrated incompetence - 35% of Italian merchant shipping was impounded in hostile shorelines. Italy’s main cities were also immediately bombed. Italy bombed British outposts in the Mediterranean especially Malta. Axis supply lines to Africa were continually hampered by British forces based at Malta denying Italian and German troops vital supplies. Hitler persuaded Mussolini to postpone the invasion of Malta (operation Hercules) until victory was achieved in North Africa.

The Italian soldier is sadly the forgotten soldier of WWII which was the most oppressive period of Italian history. At El Alamein 30,000 Italians surrendered to a numerically superior British force but it is important to note the battle casualties sustained : 25,000 Italo-German and 13,000 British dead or wounded. Such casualties proved that Italians did not surrender early in battle. The Folgore, Brescia and Pavia divisions were annihilated as they defended and shed blood heroically for 2 weeks. The uneasy relationship with the Germans was highlighted at El Alamein as they abandoned the Italians, having taken all available transport to retreat.

Italian units demonstrated their fighting ability in the Russian campaign. History's last successful cavalry charge was by the cream of Italy - the Savoy Cavalry regiment. 600 Savoia sabre charged 2,000 Russians defending with machine guns and artillery at Isbuscenskij on August 24, 1942.

The Italian elite Alpini mountain troops saved themselves plus many German divisions from destruction and capture during the Soviet offensive of 1942.

Holding territory or inflicting death/destruction on the enemy is not the true mark of heroism in war. Survival against all odds shows the real character of a heroic soldier. The Italian 8th Army trapped in the Russian encirclement of the Don who managed to avoid death or capture by breaking free all proved themselves to be heroes of the highest level.

The brave men of the 8th Army marched on foot without winter clothing and boots in the dead of winter. Night and day thousands died not only from Russian bombs, rockets, and bullets but also from the terrible cold. Starving and without ammunition the last great display of Italian heroism “to die fighting” was shown at the village of Arbuzov where the remnants of the 35th corps mounted bayonet attacks to overcome fortified Russian positions. After Arbuzov “the valley of death” the Italians left in their wake a trail of frozen corpses and abandoned equipment. Only the fittest and luckiest survived what became a 28 day ordeal out of the encirclement of the Don.

In conclusion there is much evidence to support the bravery of Italian Soldiers in WWII and no proper justification to portray them as cowards. It is insulting to the Italian soldiers who fought bravely and more so to the many thousands of them who died in battle. In recent conflicts the Italian soldier now has an excellent reputation where hearts and minds have been won over.

Commandosupremo.com

Italian soldiers captured in North Africa after the Battle of El Alamein

When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Italy was in no way ready for an offensive war. However Mussolini desperately wanted to participate in the redrawing of the map of Europe and so overlooked the state of Italy's military-industrial complex in order to feed his ego. Italian industrial power was a mere fraction of that of Britain, France or Germany and was not ready to produce the guns, ammunition, artillery, tanks, and trucks on the scale that was needed. At the beginning of the Italian entry into the war, its forces were equipped more in line with the First World War rather than the Second.

Italy's artillery included vestiges of the previous century with a contingent of horse artillery and many leftovers from World War I. The newer models, while very effective were never made in large enough numbers. Modern tanks were virtually non-existent at the start of Italy's war effort and had more lightly armored vehicles and "tankettes". By the time Italy started producing better tanks and mobile artillery that could compete with the allied weapons it was too late to make a difference. Small arms, such as Beretta pistols and automatic rifles were very capable, but several machine and sub-machine gun types were often poorly made. Even the shoddy models were always in short supply since Italy lacked the industrial strength for mass production of weapons.

The Italian shipyards produced (or retrofitted) fast and well designed ships but they had the fatal flaws of being light in armor and without radar. To combat their shortcomings the Regia Marina created cheap but near suicidal craft such as Explosive Motor Boats and Il "Maiale", a two man human torpedo/mine - hardly the equipment to inspire confidence, but certainly an example of Italian bravery.

Italian air power looked good on paper but was virtually non-existent, with only a few thousand aircraft at the start of the war, many of them bi-planes. The few modern aircraft created were underpowered, poorly designed and no match against allied fighters. The Regia Aeronautica also had the deplorable task of dropping poison gas during the conquest of Ethiopia to the disgust of the international community.

Of all the major military forces involved at the start of World War II, Italy had the by far the least competent high command. Mussolini filled the officer positions with men whose only "qualification" was loyalty to Il Duce. Before the start of hostilities Italy did have some capable generals - especially those who experienced the mistakes made during the First World War. However things would change once Mussolini attempted to militarize Italy as he would purge the country of anyone whose allegiance was questioned. Many Men from titled families, whose ancestors had been fighting for centuries were considered more loyal to the King and so stripped of their status and given menial positions. Anyone unlucky enough to be more out-spoken on Mussolini would become a confino and exiled to wastelands like Italy's holdings in Somalia to suffer in the heat. What was left were a group of military commanders short on any talent or innovation but long on loyalty to Mussolini's long term fascist goals. The Italian navy, with a limited number of fighting ships was handcuffed by extremely conservative approach by its admiralty. Conversely, men like Rodolfo Graziani, the "Butcher of Ethiopia" were loyal to Mussolini even till the end and would throw his men into fights he knew that they could not win. It would not take long to prove how poorly the high command would lead Italy's troops, and unfairly put into question their bravery.

When the poorly led Italian troops were used in conjunction with, or under German forces, they fought considerably better. The Italian forces that participated in Hitler's invasion of Russia were known to have fought particularly well, despite facing vastly superior numbers of Soviet troops and harsh weather. In fact, the bravery of the Italian Alpini (mountain troops) and Voloire (horse artillery) regiments during Operation Barbarossa was legendary. Even when the entire offensive started to fail, Radio Moscow was heard to say "Only the Italian Alpini Corps is to be considered unbeaten on the Russian Front." On several occasions these brave men were surrounded by enemy forces, only to successfully battle back to their own lines. Italy's attempt to take over Greece was a complete disaster; Italy was beaten back by the much weaker Greeks into Albania. Once Germany took over the Greece campaign, the Italian forces under their command fought much more effectively than under their own generals, whom they regarded as little more than Mussolini's butchers.

World War II was not met with enthusiasm but despair. It seemed that only Mussolini and his fascist cronies were the ones interested in war and so in 1940 Italy started out on the attempt to conquer the Mediterranean with troops that had no faith in their commanders or a desire to fight. The botched attempt to take over Greece was met with a fierce resistance from men fighting for their lives and homeland, which had only decades before been ruled by the Ottoman Turks for centuries. The Greek forces were ready to die for their freedom; the Italian forces had no such passion driving them to fight their best.

http://www.lifeinitaly.com/history/world-war-2.asp#sthash.dWh4tqTu.dpuf

Italian soldiers in North Africa with a M 13/40 tank

The myth of Italian cowardice began on September 1940 when 36,000 British soldiers repelled 200,000 troops of the Regio Esercito bent on invading Egypt.

In need of a boost for national morale, British intelligence presented that battle as a triumph of British courage over Italian spinelessness. The tale was picked up by Allied media and it would stick through World War II and beyond.

Even though only the most ardent Fascists were in favor of Italy entering the war, the truth is that Italian soldiers fought bravely in just about any battle they participated in. Their problem was leadership, poor equipment and faulty industrial support.

Mussolini Eradicated Many Career Officers

Leadership was a three part problem. First, Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini had purged the highest ranks of the armed forces. The career soldiers, usually men who belonged to upper class families who had served in the military for generations, were replaced by Fascist cronies.

Secondly, the career officers detested Mussolini many considered him less than a clown and would do anything in their power to subvert his orders. Finally, there was a caste system between officers and enlisted men. Many times, officers treated the regular troops as servants, requiring them to shine their boots or wash their clothes. Needles to say this caused unnecessary friction.

Equipment was outmoded

Italian weaponry did not meet modern standards. The Regio Esercito artillery corps in particular, still used horse drawn pieces built in the 19th Century and countless World War I vintage guns. The tanks were dated.

The Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) fared a bit better. Its capital ships were well designed and fast. The smaller crafts developed an excellent reputation during daring raids in the Mediterranean. The big ships, however, lacked sufficient armor and had no radar. Italian naval commanders however, made use of their ships' excellent rage finder and fire control systems to make up for some of the deficiencies. But the ship captains had no control over their actions. Decisions were made at naval headquarters, many times without knowing the combat situation.

Perhaps the most outdated corps of the Italian armed forces was the Regia Aeronautica (Air Force). While its strength was officially set at 3,296 aircraft, only 2,000 were fit for flying in combat. Worse yet, only 166 were modern fighters that never-the-less, were slow and difficult to control.

Industrial Output was Inadequate

At the beginning of World War II Italian industrial production was haplessly insufficient; barely 15 % of the British, French or German output.

Even companies like Beretta, which provided excellent pistols and rifles, could not produce enough to keep the military supplied. It just got worse as the war raged on.

Italians Distinguished Themselves in Combat

Hindrances aside, Alpini, Grenadiers and Bersaglieri units of the Savoia Battalion fought gallantly at the 1941 Battle of Keren in East Africa. In the Soviet Union, the Littorio, Brescia and Trento Divisions, as well as the 7th Bersaglieri Regiment distinguish themselves.

But it was the actions of the Folgore Division of paratroopers during the second battle of El Alamein that should have erased all doubts about Italian bravery. From October 23 to October 26, 1942, the Folgore repel the attacks of the famous British Desert Rats and the 1st Free French Division. The Allies abandoned the sector defended by the Italians and eventually broke the defenders lines in the German zone.

No less a figure than German Field Marshal Edwin Rommel, the Desert Fox, expressed his admiration for the way the Italians had fought at El Alamein.

Source: Ivan Castro

Italian marines climbing aboard a Savoia Marchetti SM.82 transport plane

VIDEO: ITALIAN DOCUMENTARY ON THEFIGHTING IN NORTH AFRICA

Italian POW at Stalingrad

THE BRAVERY OF THE ALPINI DIVISION INSTALINGRAD

During World War II, Italy fielded six Alpine divisions:

1st Alpine Division Taurinense

2nd Alpine Division Tridentina

3rd Alpine Division Julia

4th Alpine Division Cuneense

5th Alpine Division Pusteria

6th Alpine Division Alpi Graie

Each division consisted of two Alpini regiments with three battalions each, one Alpine Artillery Regiment with three Artillery groups, one Mixed Engineer Battalion, one Logistic Battalion and some support units. The strength of each division was 573 officers and 16,887 NCOs and soldiers for a total strength of 17,460 men. Also each division had almost 5,000 mules and 500 vehicles of various types at its disposal.

The divisions saw combat in France, Africa, Italy, Albania, The Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Greece. One Alpini battalion was employed inEast Africa. In 1942, Tridentina, Julia and Cuneense division were sent to fight in the Soviet Union. In Russia, instead of being deployed in the Caucasus mountains as expected, the Alpini were tasked with holding a front on the plains of the Don River. As a result of this disastrous strategic decision, troops armed, trained, and equipped for mountain warfare were pitted in the plains against tanks and mechanized infantry, to counter which they were neither equipped nor trained. Despite this, the Alpini held the front until January 1943, when, due to the collapse of the Axis front, they were encircled by the advancing Soviet Army. The Alpini were able to break the encirclement and fight their way towards the new line of the front established after the Axis retreat. Only about one third of the Tridentina division (4250 survivors of 15,000 troops deployed) and one tenth of the Julia (1,200/15,000) were able to survive this odyssey. The Cuneense division was annihilated.

North Africa, 1941. An Italian soldier firing a Fiat-Revelli M 1914/35 machine gun

VIDEO: A DRAMATISED VERSION OF HOW THE ITALIANS LOST THE DON FRONT IN 1942 NEAR STALINGRAD

Italian pilots with a Savola-Marchetti 79 aircraft and ammunition

THE BRAVE ITALIANS IN RUSSIA

On June 1941, Benito Mussolini decided to send 60000 Italian troops in Ukraine to take part in Operatio Barbarosa. Under the command of General Giovanni Messe these troops performed well, advancing deep into Soviet Union. By July 1942, the number had grown to 200000.

On August 1942, the Soviet forces near Serafimovich launched a counterattack against the Italians holding the Don River. The Italians were outnumbered but they managed to hold their grounds. The Soviet tanks were stopped with molotov cocktails.

On August 24th, with the victory near Serafimovich, Italian Savoia Cavalry made up of 600 mounted soldiers launched a counterattack on the Isbuschenski steppe. The Soviets forces consisted of 2000 men with mortar and artillery support. One Italian squadron attacked head on, while the other came behind the enemy lines armed only with sabres. They caught the Soviets completely by surprise and overran their positions. The Soviets lost two battalions in one of the last cavalry attacks of WWII.

During the Soviet operation which eventually led to the German VI. Army being encircled, to the north of the Soviet breakthrough, the Italian Alpini Corps held firm against Soviets attacks--the Alpini were the best units in the Italian Army--but it didn't matter, because subsequently the Soviets broke through the Hungarian lines to the north.

The Alpini Corps, then, was surrounded because of breakthroughs to the north and south. It fought its way out as a coherent fighting unit in a spectacular display of bravery under adverse conditions. Some units, like the Cuneense Division, sacrificed themselves so that their comrades could break through and escape. It had many similarities to the retreat of the USMC at Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War. Although it suffered horrible casualties from the weather and the Soviets, the Alpini Corps did in fact break through the encirclement still in military order--though it was wrecked as a fighting unit and had to be withdrawn.

Some of the feats of the Alpini Corps, especially the Tridentina Division, were really incredible, as were those of some of the attached units, like the Monte Cervino Ski Battalion and the XXX Assault Engineer Battalion. The men took on T-34 tanks with nothing but Molotov cocktails and mines.

Also, in North Africa, after the initial failures Italian units started to perform well. For example, the Folgore airborne division fought bravely in the Second Battle of El Alamein.

http://www.soviet-empire.com/ussr/viewtopic.php?t=34020

Italian POW under the escort of a British officer in North Africa

An fighter is about to be catapulted from Italian cruiser Giuseppe Miralem

Hitler takes a guard of honor during a visit to Italy

Italian prisoners at Stalingrad, 1943

Dead Italian soldiers in North Africa. Mussolini's shattered dreams.

"Most Italian soldiers always fought with fanatical determination. Also some of their formations such as their armoured and Bersaglieri fought well in the African desert campaign. The Airborne and Alpine (Alpini) Divisions were top-notch."

Italian soldiers beat up Yugoslav civilians and partisans

Italian soldiers in occupied Soviet Union, autumn 1941 at Pavlovgrad

VIDEO: ITALIAN FIGHTING FORCES DURING WW2

Italian soldiers in action at Amba Arad during the invasion of Abyssinia 1935-36

Italian Blackshirts at Makala, Abyssinia, December 11, 1935

German mountain-rangers with Italian soldiers during anti-partisan operation in Yugaslavia

Triumphant Italians pose against a captured British fortification during the campaign in North Africa

An Italian Bersaglieri riding a motorcycle with a Breda 30 machine gun in North Africa

An Italian with a Panzerfaust during the Allied invasion of Italy, 1943-45

An Italian soldier lies dead as British soldiers rush past at a train station in Syracuse during the landings in Sicily, 1943

Italian soldiers walk past a group of Waffen SS soldiers in Greece in 1941

Italians fire a 102 mm gun in North Africa

Italian general George Messe meets his troops

Two Blackshirts in North Africa

Italian Bersaglieri march through the Yugoslav town of Dubrovnik

Italian Soldiers During WW2: A Pictorial

Suggested Reading

Sacrifice on the Steppe: The Italian Alpine Corps in the Stalingrad Campaign, 1942-1943

by HOPE HAMILTON

When Germany’s Sixth Army advanced to Stalingrad in 1942, its long-extended flanks were mainly held by its allied armies—the Romanians, Hungarians, and Italians. But as history tells us, these flanks quickly caved in before the massive Soviet counter-offensive which commenced that November, dooming the Germans to their first catastrophe of the war. However, the historical record also makes clear that one allied unit held out to the very end, fighting to stem the tide—the Italian Alpine Corps
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Iron Hulls Iron Hearts: Mussolini's Elite Armoured Divisions in North Africa by IAN WALKER

The campaign in North Africa during World War Two was one of the most important of the conflict. The allies fought for control of North Africa against the German Afrika Korps led by Rommel. But the part played by Mussolini's Italian troops, and in particular the armored divisions, in support of the Germans is not so well known.

The Italian Army in World War II has been treated almost as a joke. It is rumored that when the Nazi Foreign Minister said to Churchill - "You will be facing not only us but also the Italians." Churchill replied, "That's OK, we had them on our side last time, you're welcome to them."

Rommel, on the other hand, spoke of them quite differently. During the famous "Desert Fox" actions in North Africa, Rommel had more Italian troops and more Italian armor than he had German. Rommel's comments were that Italian troops were properly led they were as capable as any. Italian generals were better as friends of Il Duce than they were as fighting people.

The Italian Littorio division did very good work at Tobruk, Gazala, and El Alamein. The Ariete division performed a dramatic day long stand at El Alamein effectively styming Allied plans to encircle and destroy the Axis forces. The Centauro division was brief but important in the American defeat at Kasserine Pass.

Over 4500 Hitlerjugend Boys Fought The Red Army For Days: PICHELSDORF BRIDGE, BERLIN: APRIL 23, 1945:

2014-09-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

On April 23rd, a regiment made up entirely of Hitlerjugend boys was ordered to defend the Pichelsdorf Bridges by the Havel River. Five thousand boys, wearing man-sized uniforms a few sizes too large, and helmets flopping around on their heads, took positions around the bridges. Armed with rifles, which some of them were barely able to shoot, machine guns and Panzerfausts, they felt invincible and adventuresome in their youthful eagerness to become Hitler’s heroes. Hitler personally planned the operation: bridges were to be defended at all costs, needed for General Wenck's “relief” XII army, advancing from the south-west.

The twelfth Army had a legendary reputation: In the beginning of war, the Army of Greece, which humiliated Italians for 6 months, fell to the same German twelfth’s army. But that was in 1941. Now, it was ordered to break through the Soviet Army, which by the end of the war, in 1945, was a juggernaut. The twelfth Army was ordered to leave the Western front and establish a corridor into Berlin. There was but a minor problem with Hitler’s otherwise “brilliant plan” of the surprise attack from the West – the Soviet 2nd Ukranian front, although surprised at first, quickly bogged down the advance of the twelfth Army and began driving it back.

Amply supplied with Panzerfausts and Faustpatrone, the Hitlerjugcnd boys lay alone or in pairs at irregular intervals in the trenches and foxholes on either side of the Heerstrasse in front of the Pichelsdorf bridges. The boys held off the Soviet tanks for 5 days, their mission senseless, their lives sacrificed for naught: the twelfth army was not fighting eastward into Berlin – it was fleeing westward. The Soviet tanks streamed into Berlin from all directions, via numerous alternative routs, leaving a contingent behind before the Pichelsdorf Bridges. It was methodically destroying the Hitlerjugend regiment, shelling its positions from a safe distance.

Out of 5000 HJ troops, less than 500 survived by day 5 of bombardment. They were offered to surrender several times; they refused. When the Soviet Army took over their positions in a final hand-to-hand assault, only a handful was taken alive, still defiant, facing battle-hardened men, some of them the age of their fathers. A Soviet medical officer, while tending to a wounded 10-year-old, remarked in German, “Look what a mess you got yourself into, boy. You should have stayed home with your grandparents.” The HJ spat in the doctors face, hissing, “Heil Hitler!” While these kids held the bridges, Nazi bosses were using the bridges to escape from Berlin, leaving their brave tin soldiers to die.

http://www.logos-publishing.com/Hitlerjugend-2.htm

Much history of the Second World War goes largely unreported or under reported. especially in the West. especially if it involves Germans in 1945.

One such event happened at the Pichelsdorf Bridge near Berlin Berlin, April 23, 1945. Dying days of war in Germany. The Russians were closing into Berlin from all sides inexorably. Hitler and Artur Axmann learnt that the Red Army was in the outskirts of Berlin and was about to cross the Havel river. Since there were no Wehrmacht troops to spare, about 4500 Hitler Youth boys, many hardly into their teens, were sent to protect the Pichelsdorf Bridge ("Pichelsdorfen Brücke" in German).

The boys armed with only panzerfausts and light arms stopped Russian tanks in their tracks for two days. It was only after the Red Army used heavy arms that it could cross the bridge.

Of the 4500 boys, only 500 lived. Others died fighting.

One of these wounded boys, carried into a hospital was told by a doctor, "You dummy! Look at what this has gotten you!" The boy straightened up, spit in the doctor's face, and said, "Long live the Fuhrer!" Such was their fanaticism, even at the end.

Not all were fanatics. Some fought in desperation because of peer pressure or from fear of what the Russians were doing to their mothers and sisters.

These boys fought desperately for two days, all the while hearing the screams of German girls and women being raped by the Red Army soldiers.

After the war, Axmann was convicted for sending boys into battle.

A nightmare. For the German people who have suffered no less than others because of the Nazis.

There is hardly any mention (except for a paragraph) in English books or websites of the Pichelsdorf massacre. I wonder why?

It is because the thinking in the West is that the Germans did evil things wherever they went between 1939-45 and so deserved what they got. But why not discuss it threadbare, just for the sake of history?

So that such things do not happen again.

If anyone has more resources (books or websites) on this topic kindly let us know. It will only enrich the discussion.

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The Russians by now were roaring toward Berlin, capitol of Nazi Germany, where Hitler had chosen to make his last stand. On April 23rd, battalions made up entirely of Hitler Youths were formed to hold the Pichelsdorf bridges by the Havel River. These bridges in Berlin were supposed to be used by General Wenck's relief army coming from the south. That army, unknown to the boys, had already been destroyed and now existed on paper only. It was one of several phantom armies being commanded by Hitler to save encircled Berlin.

At the Pichelsdorf bridges, 5,000 boys, wearing man-sized uniforms several sizes too big and helmets that flopped around on their heads, stood by with rifles and Panzerfausts, ready to oppose the Russian Army. Within five days of battle, 4,500 had been killed or wounded.
From Historyplace
-------------------------------------------

Reference:
1. Der Spiegel
2. Focus.de

Suggested Reading
1. Das kann doch nicht das Ende sein: Hitlers letzter Reichsjugenfuhrer erinnert sich (German Edition) by ARTUR AXMANN

This where it all happened. An old image of the Pichelsdorfer Bridge of 1908

The Germans blew up the bridge in 1945

The Pichelsdorf Bridge in 2009 before a new one was built in its place.

The new Pichelsdorfer Brucke (Now called Freybrucke) as it stands today

RELATED...

1945 Old Men And Boys Defend Berlin

HITLERJUGEND: Hitler's baby

Sad Fate Of The Hitler-Jugend In 1945

A City Of Doom: Berlin May 1945 In Pictures

2014-02-17T23:31:00.000-08:00

Berlin. May 1945. A city doomed. Paying for the madness of Germany's leaders. If there ever was hell on earth it was Berlin in May 1945.....

How the mighty fell. A forlorn Brandenburg Gate stands witness to how low the German people had fallen. Soviet soldiers walk around a destroyed German Panther tank in the foreground.

Old women and children suffered for no fault of theirs. Here helpless German women in a suburb of Berlin are fleeing from he east and trying to cross the River Elbe to the relative safety of American occupied Germany. The Red Army soldiers were raping women from 8 to 80 years old. Even the poor girl in the image must have been raped. What justice? Is man really civilised? One wonders at times like these.

A devastated Berlin in May 1945. It had been half blown to bits by British and American bombers even before the Russians entered. The Red Army came and completed the job.

The most humiliated of Germans. Surrendered German soldiers being sent to camps by the Russians. These once proud men of the Wehrmacht not only faced defeat but also the additional ignominy of seeing German women raped by Russians in front of them.

German women on a Berlin street in end of May 1945. By then the mass rape was beginning to abate somewhat.

Apocalypse now. A city totally destroyed . It is a wonder how so many of its inhabitants managed to survive the savage fighting.

To survive is to be practical. Berlin women thought it best to socialise with the enemy. Here German women chat with Red Army soldiers.

What happened to Hitler's "Survival of the fittest?". This old gentleman must have seen a lot of things he wished he had not.

The man of the moment. Marshal Zhukov emerges from the ruins of the Reichstag.

A blinded Russian soldier walks with the support of his comrade. He could well be Germany.

Russians Move To Berlin: Feb-April 1945

Berlin in 1945: First hand account

Battle For Berlin. 1945. Some Gripping Images

1945. People of Berlin suffer.WW2: After Germany lost the war

A Broken Berlin: After Germany Lost The War

Rape Of German Women: After The War

Brandenburg Gate: 1945

Apocalypse: Battle Of Berlin

The Grim Battle For Berlin

When Berlin fell in 1945

When Zhukov Thrashed The Japanese In 1939: BATTLE OF KHALKHIN GOL

2013-10-21T23:32:00.001-07:00

"Battle of Khalkhin what?" This is the instinctive response most of you will give after reading the heading. It is understandable. The Battle of Khalkhin Gol does not find a mention in most history books.Why? Because it involved Russia. Most western historians tend underplay the contribution of Russia in defeating Nazi Germany.

And the Battle of Khalkhin Gol cast a long shadow on how the Russo-German War during WW2 panned out.

How?

Khalkhin Gol is a river which demarcated the boundary line between Mongolia, Soviet Union and Japanese occupied Manchuria. The year was 1939. The Japanese army in Manchukuo had designs on Soviet territory and trespassed the border now and again. Stalin wanted to erase the threat for good so he sent his best commander Georgy Zhukov, the same man who later led the Red Army as it destroyed the Nazi German army.

Zhukov in the ensuing Battle of Khalkhin Gol gave the Japanese army a thorough thrashing. The Japanese remembered the thrashing and did not attack Russia from the east when Hitler's army was sweeping through the country in 1941. In December 1941, as the Germans inched towards Moscow, Stalin got a confirmation from his spy in Tokyo, Richard Sorge, that Japan was not going to attach the Soviet Union despite German requests.

This allowed him to strip his eastern troops and threw them against the advancing Germans. As we all know the Germans were pushed back steadily from Moscow.

The importance of the Battle of Khalkhin Gol is that if Zhukov had not given the Japanese a hiding in the battle, Japan might have been tempted to attack the Soviet Union in 1941 from the east. The result of the Battle of Moscow might have been different. Russia might have collapsed then under the assault from the west and east.....And may be Hitler might have won the Second World War.....

Zhukov with his commanders during the Battle of Khalkhin Gol

The perfect commander: Zhukov with his men at Khalkhin Gol

Russian tank men with their T-26 tank

The Soviet Polikarpov I 16 fighter plane at Khalkhin Gol. It was badly hammered by the German Messerschmidt later during Barbarossa. Notice in the image that the plane's wing is damaged.

Soviet POW get their shaved by Japanese barbers. All this appears very civilised in contrast to the upcoming Russo-German war of 1941.

Soviet POW have dinner as a Japanese guard looks on benignly

A Japanese officer watched as the Battle of Khalkhin Gol progresses

Japanese cavalrymen feed their horses

A Russian officer examines a captured Japanese 20mm anti-tank gun

Russian soldiers examine a downed Japanese Nakajima Ki 27 fighter plane. The Ki-27 was as much a relic as the Soviet I-16. The two were a good match against each other.

Red Army soldiers stand beside their BA 20 armored car to watch an air battle at Khalkhin Gol

The Japanese move forward. Khalkhin Gol. August, 1939

Japanese Yi-GO tanks roll on the Mongolian steppes

A Japanese machine gun fires

Japanese POW

Mongolian troops at Khalkhin Gol

The Soviet flag flies at Khalkhin Gol

Soviet and Mongolian soldiers take position

Suggested Reading

Nomonhan, 1939: The Red Army's Victory That Shaped World War II by Stuart D. Goldman

This book explains the neglected story of Japan's ill-fated attack on Soviet Russia in 1939. After their ignominious defeat at the hands of the Russians the Japanese avoided further conflict with them at all costs. A very detailed study (with good battle descriptions), which also connects Japan's reluctance to attack the Soviets with the momentous Russian decision to thwart Hitler's drive on Moscow in 1941 by using the recently victorious eastern Russian army as a last ditch reserve. This was made possible when Stalin finally realized that he had nothing to fear from Japan after their drubbing by his men in 1939.

-----------------------------------

The Spanish Civil War Simplified

2012-12-18T23:06:00.001-08:00

A Nationalist fighter throws a grenade at Government soldiers at Burgos. September 12, 1936

The Spanish Civil War began with a military coup. There was a long history of military intervention in Spain’s political life. But the coup of 17–18 July 1936 was an old instrument being used for a new purpose. It aimed to halt the mass political democracy set in train by the effects of the First World War and the Russian Revolution,and accelerated by the ensuing social, economic, and cultural changes of the 1920s and 1930s. In this sense, the military rising against Spain’s democratic Second Republic was the equivalent of the fascist takeovers that followed the coming to power of Mussolini in Italy (1922) and Hitler in Germany (1933) and which were also designed to control similar manifestations of social, political, and cultural change.

THE CAUSES OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR

The Spanish Civil war occurred in 1936 and directly caused because of the take-over of the power by the General Franco. However it’s a reality that this civil war had been prepared for years before that: since the Spain lost its monarchy, the government had been unstable and troubled. During the 18th and the 19th centuries, Spain lost its great empire and its old prestige. The Spanish people were annoyed with that and they accused the monarchy. Consequently the Queen Isabella II was deposed. The First Spanish Republic was established. However this Republic was not stable. In 1875, after a military rising, a descendant of the monarchy became King; but it was a constitutional monarchy.

The next Kings ruled in a more and more democratic way. The Spanish parliament was called theCortes. Every men grown-up had the right of vote in the general elections. However, the Spain had difficulties with its colonies in Cuba, the Philippines and Puerto Rico. The Spanish felt humiliated by their lost, in consequence they tried to seized Morocco, but it was a disaster : the local population resisted harshly and caused a lot of trouble. The Spanish were defeated in 1921.

The General Promo de Rivera caused lots of problems in Spain and contributed to warm the atmosphere. In fact he seized the power with the help of the King and of the army. He governed for seven years. He was an authoritative man and he demanded strict army discipline. Moreover he was farer of the Democracy than the Royal old regime: he did not care of the Cortes and closed it down. All political parties were banned.

In 1930 the World Crisis hit the Spain as well as the other country and it had economic difficulties. Primo de Rivera did not get on with the King and he had lost popularity, so he had to resign. In 1931 there were municipal elections and the Republicans won a majority.

There were a lot of specific problems to Spain. One of the most important was the importance of the division among many parts of the country. The regionalism was important, it means that people felt they belonged to one part of the Spain, on region, but not the whole country. They thought they should self-rule and did not want to have a united country. For example the people of Aragon had to promise loyalty to the King of Spain but they showed very little enthusiasm and they swore in a rather blurred way. The Separatism in Spain can be explicated to the divisions due to history and geography. Another example: The Basque Separatists wanted to preserve their own culture. They obtained independence in 1936. Catalonia had its own Parliament. The Catalans felt as a separated culture. They obtained a Statue of Autonomy in 1932.

There were two kings of lands for agriculture in Spain; the latifundia and the minifundias. The first ones were great and owned by wealthy people and poor peasants were hired to cultivate them. But they were paid a misery so there were an enormous amounts of poor labourers in Spain in the 19320s: about 2,500,000. The second ones were fund mainly in Catalonia and Valencia. There were small farms and were too miserable to feed a family. The poor conditions of life led to agrarian violence. It’s an explication for the popularity of the communism among the poor: they promised them land, food and equality.

Another problem of the country was the power of the Church. The Catholic Church was very wealthy, so it took the side of the rich in the arguments. It was a conservative institution. Consequently, except in the Basques region, the Clergy became unpopular among the workers, who joined communist and anarchist groups. The Church was the symbol of the gap between rich and poor.

The Army was too a conservative institution. It was fond of the old way of life and their officer came from aristocracy. It was too used to suppress the restless peasants. The Civil Guard was charged of that. A short-term cause of the Civil war was the decision of the Army to oppose the left-wing government.

The arguments between the left and the right were frequent and were a source of division in Spain. The main conservative party was the Catholic one and led the opposition to the government. His leader, Gil Robles, publicly expressed his admiration for the Nazis.

The Nationalist Bloc had for leader Calvo Sotelo and was a coalition of Monarchists, Fascists and other people of the right-wing. They wanted to fight the spread of communism and anarchism. The members of the left-wing were called the Republicans and favoured a constitutional democracy and it was led by Manuel Azana. The Socialist party wanted to change Spain by peaceful and democratic ways. The Communists and the Anarchists were members of the right-wing. Their main leader was Dolores Ibarruri, a great orator. The Anarchist aimed to destroy the government. Their leader was Buenventura Durruti.

The most preoccupant problem of the Spain was the terrible situation of the landless peasants. A law was written: The Agrarian Law, in 1932, obtained land for peasants but it applied in very few areas. The government became impopular. The next elections provided right-wing government. Under the new government the last reforms were repealed. A military dictatorship was feared but the left-wing. Strikes and demonstrations occurred which were took over control violently by the general Franco.

A coalition of the left-wing formed in 1936 a popular front. They won the elections in

1936. They wanted to introduce reforms and to reduce the strikes by giving land to peasants, but it was to late: many people took lands for themselves by force, churches were burned and disorder widespread.

An army revolt was again feared, because the generals worried about collapse of law and order. The general Franco and other Generals decided in secret to make a coup d’état against the government of the “Godless republic”. The leader of the Monarchists party was assassinated, that decided them to act.

The Civil War began few days later. The Army defeated the left-wing republican forces, and the war lasted six years.

In conclusion, the Spanish Civil War did not happened in a short moment but the weakness of the regimes, the intense feeling of not-belonging, the division between rich and poor, right and left, Church and workers and the extreme poverty of most of the population created bad conditions and agitation in the whole country. The Army was the main mean to take the power and the officers and generals were powerful, that’s why such an insurrection had been possible. Finally, even if the Civil war had been bloody and the General Franco was not fond of liberty and democracy, he succeeded afterward to achieve a stable government.

Spanish Civil war in brief. (Click on image to enlarge)
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1930-31: Primo de Rivera was forced to resign in 1930. Elections were held and the Republicans won a landslide, so in 1931 King Alfonso XIII abdicated.

1931-33: A Left Wing government ruled Spain with Azana the key figure.

1933-36: A Right-Wing government ruled Spain, with Robles the key figure.

1936: A Left Wing Popular Front government ruled Spain, led by Azana.

1936: A Right-Wing rebellion started the Spanish Civil War, led by Franco.

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BACKGROUND TO THE CIVIL WAR

Spain’s Second Republic was born, and survived, in discouraging international circumstances: the Great Depression corroding Europe’s economies and societies;Hitler extinguishing Weimar pluralism and challenging the European status quo; a brutal ‘revolution from above’ in the USSR; and, in Mussolini’s Italy, a corporate state which bound together workers and managers, ostensibly for the national good. To many in Spain, such developments were healthy, a precedent to be followed.

Between its birth in April 1931 and March 1939 when its last Prime Minister, Juan Negrín, fell from power, the Second Republic experienced fifteen changes of government. This in itself, however, says nothing specific of individual government tenure, one criterion for ‘stability’. Azaña’s first stint as Prime Minister, from October 1931, lasted nearly two years;at the other extreme, in July 1936 the government of Martínez Barrio survived for barely twelve hours. Of the eleven peacetime governments,eight lasted for six months or less. Add to this the political, social and economic ‘wars’ already being waged by interest groups all over Spain against these governments (let alone each other) by strikes, propaganda,obstruction and insurrection, and it may seem remarkable not only that anything significant was achieved but that civil war was delayed for so long. At times, Spain seemed locked into a vortex of instability.

In a democratic environment, what does political stability require?More than an origin based on consensus, which in April 1931 the Republic seemed superficially to have, it needs even-handedness and political subtlety. But these, unlike anxiety and disillusionment, were in short supply. For every newspaper banned, there was an inflammatory speech in the Cortes or at a party rally; for every politician imprisoned, an intimidating parade or debilitating strike. In turn, state attempts to restore equilibrium by force were often counter-productive. Indeed, the theme of provocation is woven throughout the Second Republic. There was readiness to provoke and to be provoked. When, in October 1934,ministers from the Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Rightist Groups (CEDA) joined Lerroux’s government, ‘the Socialists [took] the bait and launched a hopeless assault on the state’, the most dramatic example being the Asturias Rising and subsequent commune which held out for two weeks before being crushed.

The self-interest and self-image of groups and institutions were not only hurt by single-issue reforms aimed by the state directly at them.For example, the army was also antagonistic towards Catalan autonomy because it would destroy the unity of the Patria.

Similarly, the Church was deeply anxious about land reform and the new politics: CEDA, the Church’s political wing, described the ‘atheistic’ Republic as a communist class dictatorship hostile to the family, private property and the free market.

When centrifugal forces were at work concurrently, then chronic instability would follow. In 1933–4 both CEDA on the right and disillusioned Socialists on the left, led by Largo Caballero, were becoming more anti-constitutional in outlook. For the left this process had already begun in 1931, when its more radical elements felt that their idealized‘new Spain’ was being sold out to compromise. The right countered with accusations that the old Spain was being subverted by revolutionary reform.

Indeed, much venom was spat at the governments of the Second Republic: that they were more like pressure groups than governments,that their leaders were agitators not statesmen, that their law-enforcement was lawless and that they were led by their followers. And however decisively governments introduced reform, or reneged on it or repealed it, outcry was certain: from those who sought more change(Socialist, Communist or anarchist) and those who wanted no progressive legislation at all – army, Church and landowners, great and small.

Franco's Falangist militia during the Battle of Madrid. July 30, 1936

THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR: HOW IT BEGAN

▪ The Republican government granted Catalan autonomy,much to the disgust of the Right.▪ The Agrarian Reform Law allowed the state to nationalise the latifundiaand then hand them over to the peasants;however, compensating the landowners was complicated and expensive, and the government was divided on the issue of collectivisation and so, it was never implemented on a large scale. As a result it angered the landowners yet disappointed the peasants too.▪ Primo’s Labour Arbitration Scheme was extended and improved with the help of the UGT, which trebled its membership during this period.

▪ The Jesuits were dissolved, the state withdrew subsidies to the Church, civil marriage was permitted,divorce was allowed and Prime Minister Azana, well-known for being direct and honest (or insensitive and arrogant, depending on your perspective), said “all the convents in Madrid are not worth the life of a single Republican”.

▪ Half of the officer corps were pressed into retirement at full pay (leaving little money for social reform); Azana told the army they had no right to challenge the government; a military revolt by General Sanjuro in 1932 was crushed.

▪ The government’s measures led to the foundation of the right-wing Catholic CEDA party led by Gil Robles. At the same time a fascist party – the Falange (Phalanx) - was established by the son of Primo de Rivera, Jose Antonio.

In 1933 government troops shot dead anarchist prisoners in Cadiz. This precipitated a crisis that led to elections being called for November 1933.

▪ A right-wing coalition government assumed power after the elections. It reversed the process of reform and cancelled the measures against the Church.The period from 1933 to 1935 became known as the “ two black years ” by those on the Left, who became divided between socialists (led by Prieto ) who favoured involvement with the coalition and those of the UGT (led by Caballero) who favoured violent opposition to it.

▪ In 1934 opposition to the reactionary government exploded into outright violence in the Asturias Uprising : an anarchist miners’ revolt lasting two weeks which was only suppressed with difficulty by the troops of General Franco, who became known as the "Butcher of Asturias". Mass arrests followed (even Azana was briefly arrested), left wing newspapers were closed and the Catalan Autonomy Statute was suspended.

▪ The Asturias Uprising was “a watershed in the history of the Republic”(Knight). It pushed the Left (especially the UGT of Caballero, the ‘Spanish Lenin’)towards a more revolutionary position, and convinced the Right that the Fascism promoted by Rivera’s Falange was the only means of controlling the workers.

▪ The international situation strongly influenced this polarising trend: the growing power of Fascism and Communism in Europe convinced many on both sides of the political spectrum that a moderate political stance would mean disaster. The Countdown to War

▪ In 1936 an election was called.

▪ A Popular Front of Communists, Socialists, Republicans and Separatists was formed to oppose the government. The right wing formed the National Front
.Increasing tension meant that the Left now regarded the Right as Fascists; the Right regarded the Left as Communists.

▪ The Popular Front won only slightly more votes than the National Front, but the voting system transformed this into a decisive majority of seats in Parliament.▪ However, Caballero’s socialists, still bitter about the failures of Azana’s earlier government, refused to join. This weakened not only the government but also the Left wing of Spanish politics as a whole.

▪ Despite these problems, the new government immediately reintroduced the reforms of the 1931-3 government, banned the Falange and posted Franco to Morocco to keep him out of the picture.

▪ Disorder and political violence spread throughout the country.

▪ The anarchist CNT encouraged the peasants to take over the land;

▪ The socialist UGT called a general strike among the proletariat

▪ The fascist Falange started to grow dramatically.▪ Most seriously, the army began plotting to overthrow the ineffectual new government. The leader of the plot was General
Mola

.▪ On the 13th of July the monarchist politician, Calvo Sotelo, was assassinated by Republican police in revenge for the murder of one of their men by a Falangist. The military now had the perfect pretext to make their move. The revolt began on the 17th of July in Spanish Morocco – led by Franco.

GERMANY'S FEARS

Germany could not tolerate a Communist Spain under any circumstances. As a National Socialist [Hitler] had the obligation to do everything to prevent that eventuality . . . If a Communist Spain actually does emerge, in view of the current situation in France the Bolshevisation of that country is only a matter of a short time and then Germany can ‘pack up’ [einpacken]. Hemmed in between the powerful Soviet bloc in the East and a strong Franco-Spanish communist bloc in the West we could hardly do anything, if Moscow decides to act against Germany.

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Hermann Goering, Nuremburg Trials, 1946

When the civil war broke out in Spain, Franco sent a call for help to Germany . . . The Fuhrer thought the matter over. I urged him to give support under all circumstances, firstly in order to prevent the further spread of communism in that theater, and secondly to test my young Luftwaffe at this opportunity in this or that technical respect. With the permission of the Fuhrer I sent a large part of my transport fleet and a number of experimental fighters, bombers, and anti-aircraft guns; and in that way I had an opportunity to ascertain, under combat conditions, whether the material was equal to the task. In order that the personnel, too, might gather a certain amount of experience, I saw to it that there was a continuous flow,that is, that new people were constantly being sent and others recalled.

GERMANY AND ITALY'S REASONS FRO INTERVENING IN THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR

In intervening in the civil war in Spain both the Italians and Germans were highly motivated by ideological, strategic and economic considerations but it was the first of these that initially drove their intervention and sustained it thereafter. The common struggle against Bolshevism, above all preventing a victorious communist republic emerging from the Spanish conflict, with its consequent encouragement for international communism and its negative ramifications for the advance of fascism in Europe.

The 14th International Brigade fighting for the Republicans. 1937. The 14th International Brigade was one of several international brigades that fought for the Spanish Second Republic during the Spanish Civil War. It was raised on 20 December 1936 with volunteers mainly from France and Belgium, under General "Walter" (Karol Świerczewski). This Brigade was the fourth of the international brigades, and it mixed veterans with new, idealistic volunteers. It was formally named the Marseillaise Brigade, after the French revolutionary song. After the Nationalist strategic victory in the Battle of Brunete (6–25 July 1937), heavy losses reduced the brigade strength from four to two battalions. However, the brigade lived on and was able to take part in the last Republican offensive of the war. As with all of the volunteer international brigades, the members of the XIV International Brigade faced a dark future after the eventual Nationalist victory.

The military insurrection broke out on July 18, 1936.

Two weeks later the rebels were in possession of a brand-new air-fleet of German and Italian planes, manned by German and Italian pilots, mechanics and instructors; Italian tanks were already in action at Badajoz; Irun was being bombarded by German heavy artillery . . .Technicians also were pouring into the country . . .

Italian regular troops landed in Majorca: and by the end of October this largest of the Balearic Islands had become virtually an Italian possession. Week by week the number of foreigners in the rebel army grew.On November 18, by which time the capital and three fifths of Spain were in the hands of the constitutionally elected Government,Germany and Italy proclaimed General Franco ruler of Spain.During the winter months of 1936–7, Italy landed 85–90,000 infantry in Spain, while Germany took over various specialised technical functions in the rebel army: motor transport, tanks and anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft guns, coastal batteries, and heavy artillery.On February 9, 1937, the Italians captured Malaga . . .The Spanish War is for the dictatorships in many respects a dress rehearsal for the world war for which it is preparing the way

The Republican soldiers

THE WEAKNESS OF THE SPANISH REPUBLIC

An armored car of the Anarchists. (Click here for information of Anarchists during the Spanish Civil War)

THE BRITISH RESPONSE

Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister, speech in the House of Commons, 22nd February,1938

Our policy has been consistently directed to one aim - to maintain the peace of Europe by confining the war to Spain. Although it is true that intervention has been going on and is going on, in spite of the Non-Intervention Agreement, yet it is also true that we have succeeded in achieving the object at the back of our policy, and we shall continue that object and policy as long as we feel there is reasonable hope of avoiding a spread of the conflict

THE SOVIET RESPONSE

Message from Soviet Union Defense Commissar Kliment Voroshilov to Stalin regarding support for the Republican government, September 1936

"Preparing for dispatch 100 tanks, 387 specialists; sending 30 fighter aircraft without guns, and 15 planes fully equipped with crews and bombs. Ship to leave from Mexico for Cartagena, Spain.

ITALY'S RESPONSE

Mussolini's response to appeals for armed assistance from the Spanish insurgents following their failed military coup of 17-18 July 1936, which precipitated the civil war in Spain, was initially cautious. Only when he had assured himself, on the basis of reports from Italian diplomats, that neither France nor Britain nor Soviet Russia intended to intervene did the Italian dictator give the green light, on 27 July, for the dispatch of aircraft to assist in the airlift of pro-rebel Spanish Moroccan forces to the Spanish mainland and arms and munitions to those fighting in Spain. His decision to intervene was made in the expectation that a small amount of Italian war material would be decisive for the rebellion. It was based, partly at least, on Franco's personal assurances to

the Italian Minister Plenipotentiary, Pier Filippo de Rossi del Lion Nero, and his Military Attaché, Major Guiseppe Luccardi, that victory for the rebels would be certain and quick provided some outside assistance was forthcoming, and that with victory he intended to establish „a republican government in the fascist style adopted for the Spanish people.

Franco's men

FROM A Memoir of the Spanish Civil War: An Armenian-Canadian in the Lincoln Battalion by D P Stephens

Considering the political and military situation at the time, it might have appeared that the Franco forces (who called themselves the "nationalists") would encounter little sustained resistance, especially since almost from the outset the insurgents had military support from both Germany and Italy.That the Republican forces were able to maintain a three-year military effort against Franco was due in large part to an enormous international volunteer effort. By July 1937, one year after the outbreak of war, battalions of international volunteers had been formed, and over the course of the war some 40,000 volunteers from Germany, France, Russia, Great Britain, Poland, Hungary,Yugoslavia, Italy, the Balkans, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Albania, the United States, Canada,and elsewhere, poured into Spain to fight on the side of the republicans.The main organizational force behind this effort was the Communist International in Moscow, which undertook a major recruitment and transportation campaign. For committed communists, the war was an opportunity to put their political principles into action. For others, the Communist Party seemed to be the only major international force prepared to confront Franco, and the Party's recruitment campaign provided the means for participation. To many, regardless of their political beliefs, stopping Franco in Spain appeared crucial when one considered the implications of a fascist victory for the rest of Europe and the world, especially with the Hitler and Mussolini regimes increasing in both influence and aggression,

Bomber "Savoy Marchetti" with its Italian crew, accompanied by Fiat CR.32 fighters bombs Madrid. November 1936.

Spanish Nationalist soldiers on the Central Front. 1937

Italian soldiers in Spain

German Stuka Dive Bomber, the JU 87, flies in the Spanish skies in 1939

Spanish refugees on the French border in 1939

Madrid after being bombed on December 3, 1936

Republican soldiers at Brunete. On the left is the legendary Valentin Gonzalez. Valentín González is mentioned in Ernest Hemingway's book For Whom the Bell Tolls through the thoughts of Robert Jordan, who described him as brave and tough, a man who "never knew when everything was lost and if it was he would fight out of it."

The tanks of the rivals. A Republican soldier rides a Soviet supplied T 26 tank.

Franco's Panzer 1 tank. Converted German tank Pz.I - with an increased tower and a 20-mm cannon.

A surrendered rebel led to a summary court-martial July 27, 1936 in Madrid.

German tanks from the 'Legion Condor' in Spain

T-26 tanks in Spain

Soldiers train women loyalists how to fire a rifle to protect the city of Barcelona against fascist General Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War. June 2, 1937.

Ernest Hemingway with Republican soldiers on the Aragon front in a photo by Robert Capa

Rebel fighters with their German trainers at Huesca, northern Spain on December 30, 1936

Rebel militia fighters. July 30, 1936. The man on the right is wearing a government army uniform. Probably changed sides.

"Viva Rusia". "Glory to Russia". A graffiti on a wall in a Spanish town

The Anarchists, CNT (Confederación Nacional del Trabajo), receive arms in 1936

The Battle of Alcazar. 1936. The soldiers of the republican forces fighting for Alcazar of Toledo, in September 1936. Alcazar was a fortress at the highest point in Toledo. The fortress was defended by rebel colonel Jose Moskardo Ituarte and was almost completely destroyed by the troops of the Second Republic during the siege, which lasted 70 days from July 22 to September 28 in 1936. Participated in the siege of the forces and CNT-FAI UGT-PSOE, as well as assault guards.

Republican troops being sent to the front

Preciados Street in Madrid ruined by bombing

Republican soldiers in Teruel, 1938

Women government soldiers

February 2, 1939. An elderly man quarrels with a young woman over a loaf of bread

Republican soldiers cross the River Ebro in 1938

Preparation for the final defense of Madrid.

REFERENCES

1. The Spanish Civil War by Andrew Forrest
2. A Memoir of the Spanish Civil War: An Armenian-Canadian in the Lincoln Battalion by D. P. Stephens

Americans In India And China During WW2: A Pictorial

2012-12-14T23:07:00.003-08:00

U.S. Marines from Task Force "Mars" are firing at the Japanese in Burma. August 1944.

Downed in China by Japanese anti-aircraft fire an American bomber B-25J Mitchell. May 25, 1945. A B-25J-10-NC Mitchell "Jaunty Jo," SN# 43-36192 348th BG, 498th BS, 5th Air Force. She was struck by hidden antiaircraft battery just after dropping 250-pound parachute-retarded demolition bombs on the Byoritsu Alcohol Refinery in Formosa. The cockpit was torn open. Unfortunately only seconds later the plane crashed, killing all on board. Air crew: 2LT Robert J. Knauf, 2LT Martin H. Mulner, 1LT Lloyd E. Bodell, CPL Harold O. Montville, SGT Tennyson C. Harrell. The aircraft was one of 16 B-25s that were attempting to destroy the Japanese factories that process synthetic fuel from sugar cane. Byoritsu refinery was hit in March, May and July 1945.

The evacuation of a American pilot, who suffered during a forced landing. Burma. 1944

Squadron "Hell's Angels" of the air group "Flying Tigers" in flight. May 28, 1942. 3rd Squadron Hell's Angels, Flying Tigers over China, photographed by AVG pilot Robert T. Smith.

General Stilwell leaves Burma. May 1942.

Arriving in Burma just in time to experience the collapse of the Allied defense of that country, which cut China off from all land and sea supply routes, Stilwell personally led his staff of 117 men and women out of Burma into Assam, India on foot, marching at what his men called the 'Stilwell stride' - 105 paces per minute.[17][18] Two of the men accompanying him, his aide Frank Dorn and the war correspondent, Jack Belden, wrote books about the walkout: Walkout with Stilwell in Burma (1971) and Retreat with Stilwell (1943), respectively. The Assam route was also used by other retreating Allied and Chinese forces.

In India, Stilwell soon became well known for his no-nonsense demeanor and disregard for military pomp and ceremony. His trademarks were a battered Army campaign hat, GI shoes, and a plain service uniform with no insignia of rank; he frequently carried a .30 Springfield rifle in preference to a sidearm. His hazardous march out of Burma and his bluntly honest assessment of the disaster captured the imagination of the American public: "I claim we got a hell of a beating. We got run out of Burma and it is humiliating as hell. I think we ought to find out what caused it, go back and retake it.". However, Stilwell's derogatory remarks castigating the ineffectiveness of what he termed Limey forces, a viewpoint often repeated by Stilwell's staff, did not sit well with British and Commonwealth commanders. However, it was well known among the troops that Stilwell's disdain for the British was aimed toward those high command officers that he saw as overly stuffy and pompous.

General Stilwell in Burma on the way to India cleans his Thompson. May 1942. The first step to fighting the war for Stilwell was the reformation of the Chinese Army. These reforms clashed with the delicate balance of political and military alliances in China, which kept the Generalissimo in power. Reforming the army meant removing men who maintained Chiang's position as commander-in-chief.While he gave Stilwell technical overall command of some Chinese troops, Chiang worried that the new American-led forces would become yet another independent force outside of his control. Since 1942, members of the Generalissimo's staff had continually objected to Chinese troops being used in Burma for the purpose, as they viewed it, of returning that country to British colonial control.

Chiang therefore sided with General Claire Chennault's proposals that the war against the Japanese be continued largely using existing Chinese forces supported by air forces, something Chennault assured the Generalissimo was feasible. The dilemma forced Chennault and Stilwell into competition for the valuable Lend-Lease supplies arriving over the Himalayas from British-controlled India — an obstacle referred to as "The Hump". George Marshall, in his biennial report covering the period of July 1, 1943 to June 30, 1945, acknowledged he had given Stilwell "one of the most difficult" assignments of any theater commander.

A Chinese soldier guards American P 40 Fighter planes (Flying Tigers) in 1942.American volunteer units, AVG (American Volunteer groups) that fought on the side of China against the Japanese.

Of the pilots, 60 came from the Navy and Marine Corps and 40 from the Army Air Corps. (One army pilot was refused a passport because he had earlier flown as a mercenary in Spain, so only 99 actually sailed for Asia. Ten more army flight instructors were hired as check pilots for Chinese cadets, and several of these would ultimately join the AVG’s combat squadrons.) The volunteers were discharged from the armed services, to be employed for "training and instruction" by a private military contractor, the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company (CAMCO), which paid them $600 a month for pilot officer, $675 a month for flight leader, $750 for squadron leader (no pilot was recruited at this level), and about $250 for a skilled ground crewman, far more than they had been earning. ($675 translates to $10,666 in 2012 dollars, and at the time sufficed to buy a new Ford automobile.) The pilots were also orally promised a bounty of $500 for each enemy aircraft shot down.

Although sometimes considered a mercenary unit, the AVG was closely associated with the U.S. military. Most histories of the Flying Tigers say that on 15 April 1941, President Roosevelt signed a "secret executive order" authorizing servicemen on active duty to resign in order to join the AVG. However, Flying Tigers historian Daniel Ford could find no evidence that such an order ever existed, and he argued that "a wink and a nod" was more the president's style. In any event, the AVG was organized and in part directed out of the White House, and by the spring of 1942 had effectively been brought into the U.S. Army chain of command.

During the summer and fall 1941, some 300 men carrying civilian passports boarded ships destined for Burma. They were initially based at a British airfield in Toungoo for training while their aircraft were assembled and test flown by CAMCO personnel at Mingaladon airport outside Rangoon. Chennault set up a schoolhouse that was made necessary because many pilots had "lied about their flying experience, claiming pursuit experience when they had flown only bombers and sometimes much less powerful airplanes." They called Chennault "the Old Man" due to his much older age and leathery exterior obtained from years flying open cockpit pursuit aircraft in the Army Air Corps. Most believed that he had flown as a fighter pilot in China, although stories that he was a combat ace are probably apocryphal.

American trucks in India. Convoy of U.S. military vehicles (GMC CCKW-353 and one second-generation Dodge T214, known here as "Dodge three quarters") in India on the way to Burma.

African-American soldiers in Burma read about the German surrender. May 9, 1945

An American instructor checks of trainee Chinese soldiers. 1942. The U.S. Army's main role in China was to keep China in the war through the provision of advice and materiel assistance. As long as China stayed in the war, hundreds of thousands of Imperial Japanese Army soldiers could be tied down on the Asian mainland instead of being used to fight on other fronts. Success was thus measured differently than in most theaters. How well both General Stilwell and General Wedemeyer persuaded the theater commander-in-chief, Generalissimo Chiang, to support U.S. strategic goals, and how effectively U.S. training and materiel support could build selected Chinese Army divisions into modern tactical units, capable of standing up to Japanese adversaries, were secondary objectives. What mattered most was simply keeping China in the war against Japan. The major U.S. failure in China was logistical: America was not able to meet its lend-lease commitments. The closing of the Burma Road in 1942 made it impossible to deliver sufficient equipment, weapons, and munitions to build the dream of a well-equipped and trained thirty-division Chinese force.

Captain James W. Snyder, Army intelligence officer, who was an historian in civilian life, with a veteran guide somewhere in India. The guide served in China during the Boxer rebellion. The ribbon he is wearing is for service with the late Lord Kitchener. He also served under Lord Roberts

American soldiers watch a Hindu funeral in Agra, India in 1942

American actor Joe Brown talks to children in a Chinese city. 1942.

The actor is driving a jeep on the street of one of the Chinese interacts with Chinese children. The photo was taken in 1942-1943. Joe Brown (1891-1973) is mainly known for his role of a passionate millionaire Osgood in the comedy "Some Like It Hot" (1959). During World War II, he could not enlist in the army because of his age, so he traveled at his own expense to the theater of war and spoke to American soldiers

American generals Joseph Stilwell and Curtiss LeMay at a B 29 Bomber air base in China in 1944

American technician 3rd Class Joe Rogers at the head of a column of Chinese soldiers at the gates of the Ramgarh training camp in Bihar India, June 1944.

The Kachin Rangers in Burma. The 1st SFG (Airborne) lineage can be traced to Detachment 101 of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). This unit raised and led a guerrilla force known as the Kachin Rangers, which wrought havoc behind Japanese lines in Southeast Asia during World War II.

An American aircraft technician waving to sky borne B-24 "Liberator at a airport in China. In the foreground - the P-40 with external fuel tanks of the squadron "Flying Tigers» (Flying tigers). 1943.

Third Reich Military Art: HANS LISKA

2012-12-08T00:44:00.000-08:00

Liska's war paintings are striking. They catch the attention even of someone totally ignorant about art .

LIFE SKETCH OF HANS LISKA

Liska wanted as a boy to be a draftsman, but first he attended trade school and then worked as an office boy. Besides, he played piano in a dance school. There, at a big event, he replaced a failed musician and was hired by the popular singing group. Now, he was earning more than before, and he began to realize his old dream.

Liska attended the Vienna School of Applied Arts at Alfred Roller , where he was student of Berthold Löffler. He then worked as a commercial artist in Switzerland. He then attended the School of Applied Arts in Munich , where he was a pupil of Emil Praetorius and Walther Teutsch. From 1933 to 1944 he served as apprentice for the cartoonists Berliner Zeitung Illustrirte newspaper and propaganda sheet Signal. Liska was promoted by the Ullstein company. In 1933, he attended the United School of Fine and Applied Arts as a student under Ferdinand Spiegel . In 1939, he was drafted as a soldier and an artist in a propaganda unit and special squadron. His drawings of the various war fronts appeared in many newspapers, even in neutral countries. Two of his sketch-books from the years 1942 (Junkers) and 1944 (Hans Liska) are now a rarity.

After the war Hans Liska stayed at Schesslitz near Bamberg in Germany, married in 1948 and resumed his drawing for the magazines Quick and Hörzu . He worked for many years in the advertising creating drawings for the automotive industry, Daimler-Benz, Cologne Ford and Mühlens were his clients.

Hans Liska had always been an avid lover of Mozart operas, and in 1982, came his book "Magic of the Stage". On 26 December 1983 Hans Liska suffered a heart attack, he died shortly afterwards.

In an autobiography in the picture book Picturesque Kulmbach. Liska declared himself as an admirer of Oskar Kokoschka , Pablo Picasso and Max Ernst .

Below are some of Liska's drawings depicting the Second World War.....

The German "Katyusha", Nebelwerfer in action

German soldiers on a railway train fire at the enemy. Partisans?

Removing mines in Sevastapol.

Each white stripe on the barrel 88-mm cannon, the "Tiger" - the destroyed enemy tank

Morser heavy gun fires. In the foreground, radio operators at work (apparently talking to artillery fire spotters)

A Panzer 4 and German Grenadiers attack

"Attack"

Supply vessels

Dieppe beachhead, 1942. The strangest British operation during all of World - an attempt to land troops and capture the French port of Dieppe, launched August 19, 1942.

Fighting in the woods

SdKfz 250 armored personnel carriers in the attack

Ju-52 transports - "Aunt Jumo," as the Germans called them

JU-87. Stuka Dive Bombers

German planes over Athens

"Mountain Arrow"

Related
German Military Paintings During WW2

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MORE HANS LISKA PAINTINGS

Military Art In The Third Reich: Part 1

2012-12-06T23:15:00.000-08:00

Grenadiere 1943. Will Tschech

As you know, Hitler in his youth used to make a living by drawing the sights of Vienna. Even during the First World War, as a corporal of the 16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment, in between fights, he painted landscapes in Flanders. When this former street artist and retired corporal was appointed chancellor of Germany, there were internationally renowned artists in the country - the avant-garde and Expressionism. Such as Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee. The work of such artists was declared "degenerate art", and their pictures were taken out of the exhibition halls, and the artists themselves had to flee Germany. In Nazi Germany there was only one direction of painting - realism.

Before the war, German artists diligently painted rural landscapes, German workers and peasants, naked Germans. Pornography in the Third Reich was banned, but there was an easy sensuality in classical painting style.

With the start of the war, German painters, of course, began to paint battle scenes. - because one of the first salvos of the new World War were volleys 280-mm guns.The German ship Schleswig-Holstein fired the first shots of World War II when she fired at the Polish base at Westerplatte in the early morning hours of 1 September 1939.. Submarines too were painted - the initial period of the war, German U-boats beat all records of the tonnage of ships sunk - 420 thousand tonnes in the first four months of the war, and 14,119,413 tons in the whole war!

In one of the pictures we see a ship of the line " Bismarck "- a symbol of the German Kriegsmarine. 50,000 900 tons full displacement, 8 guns caliber 380 mm. To his credit - the British battle cruiser "Hood" (46 480 tons full displacement, 8 guns caliber 381 mm - the enemy of equal "weight category"). On May 27, 1941 "Bismarck" was destroyed in an unequal battle with the British fleet during the attempts to break into the vast Atlantic.

In the later paintings other combat arms - infantry, tanks, aircraft, artillery were fully represented.

Of course, German artists painted just soldiers, and war. Mass executions, burning of villages, and other "exploits", which became a pretext for carrying out numerous trials after the war, was not a source of inspiration for German artists.

Most of the artists whose works are shown below, are long and well forgotten.

German U-Boat. 1941. Painting by Claus Bergen

Stalingrad. 1943. Painting by K. Bush

U-Boat returning from a trip. Painting by Claus Bergen von Feindfahrt Zurück

Submarine U-003. Claus Bergen

Waffen SS 1943. Will Tschech

Kameraden, 1940. Will Tschech

Engineers in Assault Boat May 10, 1940 by Mathias Padua. (Click here to see in large size)

A Messerschmitt 110 covers German storm troopers

German planes over England

The big German transport plane,"Focke-Wulf-200"

The Stuka Dive Bombers (JU 87) attack

German motorised infantry. Hans Liska

Victory in an air battle

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The Mind of JOSEPH GOEBBELS, Master Propagandist

2012-11-26T23:48:00.002-08:00

We have made the Reich by propaganda.
--JOSEPH GOEBBELS

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”
--JOSEPH GOEBBELS

He controlled the minds of millions of Germans. It is doubtful whether Hitler's Third Reich could have lasted this long without Goebbels wizardry. When it comes to propaganda and mind-washing on a mass scale there will never be another one to surpass this little man who was an important cog in a juggernaut that was Nazi Germany.

Dr. Joseph Goebbels - one of the most prominent personalities of the twentieth century. Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda of the Third Reich. Throughout the long twelve years of his ministry he was to decide what would appear on the front page headlines, what songs would be performed in a radio broadcast, which films would be released in cinemas and what would be the repertoire on the stage. Largely thanks to the Ministry of Propaganda the Germans continued to fight on the Eastern Front until the end, even after the outcome of the war was obvious to everyone. Many Germans, who could not flee to the rear, committed suicide. And he, Goebbels and his wife too committed suicide by poisoning after killing their six children.

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“Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play.”
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Goebbels with Goering in 1930

Future Reich Chancellor (albeit for a day) was born October 28, 1897 in a town in Rhineland called Reydt to a pious family bookkeeper. His father dreamed that the young Joseph become a Catholic priest, but his son wanted to become a writer and playwright. With the financial support of the Catholic "Society of Albert Magnus," he finished a course of humanities in almost all major German universities. In April 21, 1922 after defending his thesis "Wilhelm von Schutz as a playwright. On the History of the romantic school drama" Goebbels received his Ph.D. at Heidelberg University. World War One did not interrupt Goebbels' studies as he was found unfit for military service because of a birth defect - lameness (one leg shorter than the other). As a playwright, of which he dreamed of becoming, he was unsuccessful - he wrote the play "The Wanderer" ("Der Wanderer") but no one wanted to put it on stage. Goebbels did not succeed as a writer too- the novel "Michael", which told the plight of Germany, did not generate interest from publishers. The novel was completed in 1924, and he managed to publish it only five years later, when he was already a well-known politician, journalist, and a member of the Reichstag. Until 1924 Goebbels had to earn a living, working a modest bank clerk.

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“If the German people lay down their weapons, the Soviets, according to the agreement between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin, would occupy all of East and Southeast Europe along with the greater part of the Reich. An iron curtain would fall over this enormous territory controlled by the Soviet Union, behind which nations would be slaughtered.”
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For someone espousing the superior Aryan race, Goebbels himself hardly fitted the ideal model. (H. Dobhenysk, A Pure-Blooded Aryan, Chicago Daily News (1937)

In 1923, after the Beer Hall Putsch (November 9, 1923) - attempt to seize power in Bavaria, the whole of Germany learned of the existence of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, led by Adolf Hitler. Hitler used the ensuing trial to tell the whole country about himself, his party and his views. And Goebbels decided that this party (officially banned after the trial) suited him. By 1924 the Department of the NSDAP came to his hometown and he did not hesitate to join the party (party ticket number 8762).

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Recounting his day in a diary entry:] Goebbels wrote "At table the Führer made another strong plea for vegetarianism. I consider his views correct. Meat-eating is a perversion of our human nature. When we reach a higher level of civilization, we shall doubtlessly overcome it."
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Hitler and Goebbels at a film studio in 1935

The Nazi Party at the time had a strong left wing - part of the Nazis led by Gregor Strasser perceived the word "socialist" too seriously in the name of the Nazi Party. The radical socialist and frustrated writer and playwright joined this wing. Strasser entrusted the editorial post in his newspaper "HC-Brief."to this young man Meanwhile, in December 1924, after spending a year of his prison term Adolf Hitler came out to freedom. Towards Socialism his attitude was more than cool and disputes broke out between his supporters and followers of Strasser. In the course of this debate radically minded Goebbels came to exclude "bourgeois Hitler" from party ranks. But in 1926, after a personal meeting with Hitler, Goebbels unconditionally moved to his side. The tone of his articles changed dramatically - his articles turned into odes of praise to the leader. And Hitler appreciated the flow of praise - in October of 1926 he appointed his new admirer Gauleiter (head of the party cell) of Berlin. It is difficult to say whether Goebbels was pleased with the honor - Berlin with its vast working-class district was traditionally a "red" city. The NSDAP Party branch in the capital consisted of only a thousand people and nearly all of them were supporters of Strasser. The party budget consisted of only debts. Goebbels did a strong purge of party ranks and expelled nearly a thousand people from the party . But due to the number of new supporters of the Nazis in Berlin the party was growing steadily. Goebbels organized rallies and the fight against the communists. Later on this period of his political career, he wrote a book "The Struggle for Berlin" (Kampf um Berlin, 1934).

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"I have noticed a slight element of cynicism creeping into our reporting of the war. ... I put a stop to this. ... Our style for this war must be hard, manly, unsentimental, sober, but without smart Alec cleverness. Sarcasm can only harm things."
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Goebbels gives a speech during a visit by Mussolini in 1937

The growing popularity of the Nazis and their leader in Berlin alarmed the powers in Berlin. On May 5, 1927 the Nazi Party and the SA troops in Berlin were banned, and Goebbels was forbidden to make any public appearance in the city. However, the ban did not prevent Goebbels from engaging in publishing - he produced the weekly "Angriff." He raised a protest campaign in the press which led to the resignation of the chief of criminal police of the Berlin, a Jew called Weiss. Also in 1927 a Sturmfuhrer (captain) of the SA, a novice poet named Horst Wessel put to tune an old German song «Der Abenteurer» («The Adventurer"). His words were about invisible fallen heroes. The result was a cheerful marching song which attacked the Communists. Maybe this song would have remained a local Berlin hit, which no one would have remembered now, but because of Goebbels at least the name of the song is known around the world. In 1930, the author himself joins "serried ranks of the fallen heroes," being shot by a communist. Goebbels turned Horst Wessel into a symbol of struggle and martyrdom, and the song became the official anthem of the party (after January 30, 1933. It also became part of the state Anthem, which consisted of two parts - one verse of "German Song", followed by the first verse of "Horst Wessel"). In 1932, Goebbels used the same propaganda tool at the death of Herbert Norkus, a teenager of the Hitler Youth. Immediately after the Nazis came to power in the summer of 1933, UFA Cinema promptly released two films devoted to these heroes - "Hans Westmar - one of many" and "Hitlerjunge Quex."

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"[I] tone down the grotesque exaggerations - 'London a sea of flames', etc. - which ... can only harm us in the future. We must not arouse hopes if they cannot be fulfilled immediately."
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Joseph and Magda Goebbels with their children. All of them were given cyanide on May 1, 1945

But back to "fight for Berlin." The ban on the Nazi party did not last a year; On May 31, 1928 it was removed. And it April 20, 1928, Goebbels entered the Reichstag from the city of Berlin. On January 9, 1929 to the office of Berlin Gauleiter Goebbels added post of imperial head of propaganda (Reichspropagandaleiter) in his resume. One of the "achievements" of Goebbels in office, if it can be called that, in December 1930, he put a the German ban on the famous novel by Erich Remarque "On the Western Front."

In 1932, he persuaded Hitler to stand for election for Reich President. Hitler initially refused. And besides, he was not able to stand for the any election - he did not have German citizenship. After the "Beer Hall Putsch" in fear of deportation to his home country, he had refused Austrian citizenship and German authorities were in no hurry to provide him with citizenship. But February 25, 1932 the Minister of the Interior appointed Hitler Braunschweig attache in Berlin office of the land, and the assignment of such a position meant automatic granting of German citizenship. Goebbels managed the presidential campaign of Hitler and Hitler came in second with 30.1% of the vote (the first went to Paul von Hindenburg - 49.6% of the vote). In 1932 Germany chose not only the head of state, but held elections to the Reichstag twice, within an interval of less than six months - June 4 and 6 November, . If the presidential election, Hitler took the second place, in the parliamentary polls the Nazis did better; 37.8% of the votes (230 seats) in June. In November gains were not so significant - the Nazis got only 196 seats. But by the time the Germans were tired of endless elections. Be that as it may, under the constitution of the Weimar Republic, a government could be build by a party (or coalition of parties) only if they had more than 50% of the votes in the Reichstag elections. . But in the same year an important change was made to the Constitution. Now the Reich President (Head of State) could freely appoint the chancellor (prime minister) . Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler Chancellor on January 30, 1933 . On March 13 of that year, Goebbels was made Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda.

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WHAT OTHERS SAID ABOUT GOEBBELS

Ribbentrop: "I admired Goebbels who was the most intelligent of the whole [Nazi] circle. He was a genial, but nevertheless diabolical person."

Albert Speer: "[My first impression of Goebbels' speech-making was] much phrase-making, careful structure, and incisive formulations; a roaring crowd whom Goebbels whipped up to wilder and wilder frenzies of enthusiasm and hatred; a witches' cauldron of excitement. ... I felt repelled."

Albert Speer: "Both Goebbels and Hitler had understood how to unleash mash instincts at their meetings, how to play on the passions that underlay the veneer of ordinary respectable life. Practiced demagogues, they succeeded in fusing the assembled [people] into a homogeneous mob whose opinions they could mold as they pleased."

Alfred Krebs: "[Goebbels] spoke with enthusiasm about cultural and artistic matters [and] skirted around political matters."

John Keegan: "Like Hitler, he was also a passionate devotee of the cinema, but, while the Führer used the medium chiefly as a means of personal relaxation, Goebbels understood and seized on its power to sway the national imagination."

John Keegan: "Hitler ... lacked the [inclination] for anything more than the occasional sensational display of emotion, in particular the great set-piece speech which mesmerized the mob and left him drained of nervous energy. Goebbels, on the other hand, though a galvanic speaker in his own right, directed his overflowing energy into the day-by-day and minute-by-minute [communication]."

John Keegan: "Goebbels' [method] was anti-rational and emotive in every regard."

John Keegan: "Like Hitler, Goebbels believed in the primacy of the spoken word over the written word as an instrument of thought control."

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Goebbels discusses war propaganda in 1941

And Goebbels immediately began to direct the "new order" of cultural life in Germany. Books imbued with "non-German spirit were removed from the library book, .The list of harmful books totaled 14,000 names and 141 German authors. On May 10, 1933, many of these books were burnt in huge bonfires. Goebbels while fighting for control of the press had to fight with Max Amann, who held the post of head of the Imperial Printing and Publishing Director of Central NSDAP "Eher Verlag". in the case of art Alfred Rosenberg tried to interfere. But Goebbels' powers were increasing - September 22, 1933 the Imperial House of Culture was created to which all the representatives of creative professions had to come Two years later to the House of Culture was added the Imperial Senate culture (of course, also headed by Goebbels). May 14, 1934 all the theaters in Germany went under the control of Goebbels. Goebbels controlled the process of making movies from the stage of writing of the script. For the press releases he issued lengthy briefings containing detailed instructions how to cover certain events in the life of Germany and beyond.

Goebbels used his position to know the whole of Germany - he often started a romance with film and stage actresses. True, not everyone took his importunate courtship. For example, the famous actress and director Leni Riefenstahl did not return his affections. But the rift with the powerful minister of propaganda had no effect on her brilliant career - among her fans was the Fuhrer himself. It was he who instructed her in the making of the 1934 film about the Nuremberg Party Congress. The film "Victory of Faith", however, had to be put on a shelf - there were too many of Ernst Röhms, who was killed during the "Night of the Long Knives". But a year later, Riefenstahl shot a new film about the next Congress - "Triumph of the Will," acknowledged as a classic of world documentary.

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GOEBBELS ON JEWS

A Jew is for me an object of disgust. I feel like vomiting when I see one. Christ could not possibly have been a Jew. It is not necessary to prove that scientifically - it is a fact.

I am of the opinion that the greater the number of Jews liquidated, the more consolidated will the situation in Europe be after this war.

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A taut and uneasy Goebbels with Leni Riefenstahl

In 1938, the Office of Goebbels started to prepare for the inevitable war. General Keitel and Goebbels entered into an agreement governing the conduct of propaganda in wartime. And in the same year, start making propaganda for the troops . Goebbels formed a propaganda company with a staff of 115 people. The Company consisted of photographers, artists, cameramen and reporters. All of them had passed military training. Welcome and the presence of military specialties - for people who knows the military equipment will not allow in his report annoying bugs. So, among the promoters were representatives of all the armed forces.

That army of propagandists during the war made the famous newsreel Die Deutsche Wochenschau (German weekly review), which appeared in 1940. Prior to that in Germany there were as many as four newsreels - Ufa-Tonwoche, Deulig-Tonwoche, Fox Tönende Wochenschau and Emelka-Tonwoche, a legacy from the time of the Weimar Republic. They were then produced by different private film companies. Under Hitler they were brought under strict control of the German weekly news center at the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (Deutsche Wochenschauzentrale beim Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda). And with the beginning of the war to facilitate the production of newsreels, instead of four only one newsreel was made of 45 minutes duration. It had a print run of 2,000 copies and it was mandatory to be exhibited before each film show. A thousand copies were printed for foreign visitors. The newsreel was translated into 15 European languages. 1,200 meters of film was required for one edition of the newsreel, but the creators of spectacular scenes selected the best shots from the tens of thousands of meters of film footage, shot by front-line news-photographers. This newsreel was the favorite brain child of Joseph Goebbels.

Meanwhile, to the official posts of Goebbels was added another. On November 16, 1942 he became the Imperial Commissioner for the defense of Berlin. The Battle of Berlin was still far away, but the intensity of the Allied air raids on the capital of the Third Reich was growing every day..The failed coup of 20 July 1944 contributed to the growing power of Goebbels.

Goebbels calls for all out war at the Berlin Sports Palace on February 18, 1943

On February 18, 1943 in his famous speech at the Berlin Sports Palace he called for an all-out war. On July 25, 1944 he became the imperial commissioner for total war - he organized the Volkssturm units. The Third Reich began to throw to the front, old men and teenagers - its last reserve. Goebbels' office in every way created a terrible image of the enemy - the bloodthirsty savages from the East who robbed, raped and murdered. In 1943, Goebbels gave extensive instructions (in ten typed pages) to the press about how to cover the execution of Polish officers in the Katyn Forest. In October 1944, the Soviet forces held Nemmersdorf, a German town in East Prussia, for several days On October 23 Germans recaptured this town and found 11 bodies of executed civilians. Through the efforts of Joseph Goebbels the incident was turned into a real massacre - the number of victims increased by 6 times. All the women in Nemmersdorf were allegedly raped, murdered, and their mutilated bodies nailed to doors. The continuous hysteria in the press because of Goebbels cost the lives of thousands of German women and children. At the approach of Soviet troops many German women and girls were killed by their husbands and fathers. Many committed suicide.

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"If the day should ever come when we [the Nazis] must go, if some day we are compelled to leave the scene of history, we will slam the door so hard that the universe will shake and mankind will stand back in stupefaction..."
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Last image taken of Goebbels on March 9, 1945

On May 1, 1945 Joseph and Magda Goebbels poisoned with cyanide their six children. Goebbels shot his wife and killed himself.

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