leon21 Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Heres a few unpublished photo's taken by a german soldier, from his photo album ive managed to obtain. Can anybody identify this unit.? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Andrew Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 can't see any clues Leon, looks like a transport unit to me , can you blow up the picture of the two men standing together? they seem to have political eagles on their sleeves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leon21 Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 Here you are Kenny, Best I can do the photos are only 2 and a half inches square. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leon21 Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 Ive done this one closer still Kenny. also found at the end of the album these photos of a British Royal Engineer Unit, Sign reads, These Bridges are for use of thanks to the 807 Coy Royal Engineers Division who gave their Lives - - - between D-Day 1944 and V-Day 1945. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Andrew Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 look like SS Police Division 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leon21 Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 Yes I agree they do Kenny, Iv'e managed to trace the Tactical unit symbol on the front of the car. It belongs to a Cavalry Recon Platoon, so I think you were right when you said transport Division. I think it could be part of the 1st Kavallerie Division who were part of the drive into France on 10 May 1940. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Andrew Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 excellent Leon, I missed the div sign 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leon21 Posted May 10, 2012 Author Share Posted May 10, 2012 Came across these photos while looking up the history of 1st Kavallerie Div. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leon21 Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 Hi guys , I think the colonial troops in the photo's are of the 3rd North African Division who were on the front lines with the 71st Infantry Division and the 55th Infantry Division. Formed along the river Meuse near Sedan and the Marfee Heights Were the 1st.2nd and 10th Pz. Divisions broke through which was Guderian's X1X Pz. Korps. I also think the other photo's were taken in or around the Bouillon district of Belgium. Here's another photo iv'e come across do these Belgium rail cars look familiar. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Andrew Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 mad photos Leon, never seen anyone stand on a horse while firing, like his cutaway helmet.Are the railway cars VW? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leon21 Posted May 16, 2013 Author Share Posted May 16, 2013 Been reading up on the Invasion of the low countrie's recently and compiling information of the campaign. I was wrong the photo's are not of the 1 Kavallerie Division, they were fighting in Holland with Army Group B, I'm sure most are of the SS Polizei Division who were part of the SS-VT ( Verfugungs Division ), part of Army Group A, ( Twelfth Armys PanzerGruppe "Kleist" (Guppe XX11). They were held in reserve doing traffic control and security duties. The Polizei Division at this time was a straight leg ( infantry ) formation with horse drawn transport. On the 9th June saw its first combat during the crossing of the Aisne river and the Ardennes Canal then it was moved to the Argonne Forest were it fought retreating French forces. In Late June 1940 the Division was pulled out of combat and transferred to the reserve of Army Gruppe North in East Prussia. Here's a few more photo's of the traffic queues which a one point stretched all the way back to the German border, Pz Gruppe Kleist had 41,000 vehicles, which were followed by the vehicles of 10 infantry divisions. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leon21 Posted July 28, 2013 Author Share Posted July 28, 2013 Still researching the France Campaign. Here's a photo showing a good example of a army enlisted tunic dated 1940 of a SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer, and hand embroidered silver bullion skull collar tab, it's of the early ( SS-Totenkopfverbande ) varity as well as the skull cuffband. It was drawn from army supplies in 1940 when the Totenkopf and SS-Polizei Div were being assembled during the Western Campaign. Many officers who were field commanders often took enlisted tunics and wore them, often with modifications. ( The skull cuffband was not used by the Totenkopf Division ). The unit was initially held in reserve during the campaign but was sent to the front in Belgium, they suffered heavey losses compared to other units but managed to keep up the advance. It was sent to France on 20th May to reinforce and cover Rommels 7th Pz Div flanks in the battle of Arras against British and French forces. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leon21 Posted September 15, 2013 Author Share Posted September 15, 2013 More info on the Polizei Division and photo's. On 9th June 1940 as part of 12th Army's XV11 ArmyCorps, they crossed the southwest of Sedan Ardennes Canal and pushed on before Vouziers. On 14th June the Division reached Les.Islettes southwest of Verdun,east of Bar-Le.Duc, this put the Division on the Marne-Rhine Canal and came across Neufchateau and Besancon a town on the Swiss border on the 22nd June. There they stayed till the 10th of July before moving to the area of St Dizier as a occupation force,on the 2nd August they moved to a French Military Training ground,here the Division was renamed and reclassified as the SS Polizei Division. The teams strength of 33,561 men was halved by the dismissal of older members, they were replaced by newly formed Polizei units. The suffix "SS" Division was assigned on a desire of Himmler.It remained in Paris as a occupation force till 17th April 1941 when the Division was eventually assigned to the Waffen-SS and moved to East Prussia. The Army gave the Polizei Division the ranks and uniforms of the Army,only the caps of the Polizei eagle was worn.the insignia and the buckle were also the polizei.The emblem was the model of the Waffen-SS. Here are a few photo's taken by a soldier when the Division was in Besancon. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritz Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 mad photos Leon, never seen anyone stand on a horse while firing, like his cutaway helmet.Are the railway cars VW? Here are photos of what the German cavalryman was capable of. I have also seen photos of standing on horseback and shooting. Certainly the best cavalry in the world. Capability, precision and complete control of his horse, were the qualities of the German cavalryman. Nobody can do this nowadays, apart from maybe, the Mongolians. People nowadays only drive cars, the days of equestrian skills are long past, most riders nowadays are girls and women. Strange development. These photos from the standard work by Klaus Christian Richter, "Die feldgrauen Reiter", covering the period 1919-1945. The other work is "Kaisers Zeiten - aus dem Archiv der Hofphotographen Oscar und Gustav Tellgmann" by Prisma Verlag (Wiesbaden), undated. Photostudio Tellgmann in Eschwege had the sole privilege of taking all the photos of the Kaisermanöver every year. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.