High quality color & exceptional B/W photographs. German side

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The Luftwaffe had their share of awards as well, below is a highly decorated pilot. He is holding the Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe or honor goblet of the Luftwaffe. This was a honor given typically between the EK1 and the Knights Cross being awarded. This was discontinued in January of 1944, mainly due to shortage of materials, so personel after this date simply had their names added to the honor list and never received their goblets. 

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Here is another highly decorated LW soldier, this is Willi Peters, a Fallschirmjager. As you can see he has been awarded a few decorations! 

 

[Fritz]

If they carry on like that, they might be mistaken for a Christmas tree!

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Possibly, impressive though. Not very practical for field use, but for showing off to others, it is done quite well. 

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Soldiers of the Infanterie-Regiment 950 (indisches), which later became the Indische Freiwilligen Legion der Waffen-SS. The unit had around 4,500 men in total.

[Fritz]

Perhaps the first Indians to make European history? They are said to have disciplinary problems and of little military use, apart from propaganda purposes.
Himmler (who apparently lived in a fantasy world)  is stated to have had a strong interest in Indians and Indian culture, considered "Arian", but not Nordic.

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I agree it was probably more valuable in a propaganda role, much the the British Free Corps, which had at most about 50 members. 

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Nice photo of a LW Fallschirmjager, a Oberfeldwebel. He is wearing the Afrika and Kreta Cuff Titles, also has the EK1, wound badge, and LW paratrooper badge. On the opposite he has German Cross. Overall a highly decorated veteran. The Germans had appalling casualties in the Crete campaign, and this convinced Hitler to never use the paratroops in large scale drops again. 

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Nice view of the dress tunic or Waffenrock. This man is an infantry Oberleutnant, he has the Iron Cross first and second class, infantry assault badge, sports badge, and a wound badge (can't tell if its silver or gold) as well as the west wall medal. You can also see the belt, aiguillette, gloves and sword. Very good reference photo. 

[Fritz]

Kradschützen / Kradmelder

Kradschützen, Waffenfarbe: Kupferbraun
I once had a pair like these, sold for only 60 DM just before the currency change, today they cost over 350 Euros

 

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I wonder how accurate the fire was from the side car? Most likely just used for suppression firing. 

[Fritz]

When the sidecar was not in motion, the fire would have been as accurate as otherwise.

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Here is a nice early war example of the Panzer Uniform, especially the Schutzmütze or beret. It was a padded headpiece supposed to reduce injuries to the wearer. It was removed from service in 1941, however it was still worn by crews of armored carriers and light tanks such as the 38t model. As with all panzer items today, these are very rare and expensive. 

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Here is an image of a German Gefreiter or lance corporal, immediately above his chevron is the Krim Shield. he is equipped with the Mauser 98k with bayonet, and ammunition pouches. 

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Another interesting image of a Army Mountain Gefreiter with the Narvik Shield. He is wearing the LW paratrooper badge, and wound badge, along with the EK2 ribbon. 

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Feldwebel with the Krim shield, he is also wearing the sports/readiness badge, general assault badge (meaning he is most likely not infantry) and a wound badge. 

[Fritz]

The Führer visits Panzerschiff "Deutschland", 1934

Early morning tour of Paris, June 1940, he is accompanied by Speer (to the left, wearing leather coat)

Sanitätskolonne (horse drawn), Russia, 1942/43

The conditions on Russian roads in the Autumn period, mechanical vehicles frequently broke down and were not fit for the conditions on the Russian roads, horse transports were the only ones to prevail. The toll was however great, over 3 million horses served with the Wehrmacht during the war.

Micael Wittmann and his crew

"Julfest" / Christmas with some younger soldiers of the Waffen-SS

Gefallen, Ostfront

"Für Führer, Volk und Vaterland gefallen", Normandy 1944

Gefallen: Soldat der Waffen-SS Division "Hohenstauffen", Arnheim, 1944

Prisoners, Winter 1944/45

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Nice color photo of exhausted German troops resting during the rapid advance in the west in 1940. Good view of the field gear.

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Image of a German Soldier wearing a Pigeon carrying case. 

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German troops laying communications wires from a Sd.Kfz.2 Kettenkrad. I have ridden on one of these while it was towing a 37 mm gun, quite an interesting experience. 

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Here is the grenade launcher attachment for the Mauser 98K called the Gewehrgranatengerät or Schiessbecher. It was a quick attach model that fired cylindrical shaped grenades. This was a refinement of the WW1 models, this version was 30mm, and used special cartridges with wooden tips, which once fired would hit the primer on the grenade and launch it from the cup. Theses are still somewhat available, however the carrying case with all the accessories are getting hard to find in good condition. There are also excellent fakes of these available as well. 

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Decorated German Army troops. Note the tank destruction sleeve badges, and the close combat badges.

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Nice view showing the loading of the panzerschreck, or Raketenpanzerbüchse. This was an 88mm anti-armor shaped charged rocket with a range of 150 meters. It could penetrate up tp 230 mm of armor depending on the slope of the armor and the distance. It was initially based upon the US bazooka design which the Germans captured in North Africa. 

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Here is an interesting idea that probably should have stayed on paper. The Windkanone was developed by the Germans during the war in an attempt to knock allied aircraft from the sky utilizing compressed gases. The idea was to use compressed air and shoot it upwards to a height of 300 meters. Obviously unless the allied aircraft flew directly over this and low enough it would not be of much use. However one was built and installed on the river Elbe without any success. Testing did show that this canon could break 25mm thick wood boards at a distance of 200 meters.

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Another interesting photo of the ZG/Zielgerät 1229 also known as the Vampir. It was an infrared device developed for use on the Sturmgewehr 44, which would allow the user to "see" at night. The unit weighed about 2.25 Kilos, and the battery pack weighed another 14 kilos. The user was called a Nachtjäger (night-hunter). This device was first used in February of 1945 with about 310 units being delivered to front line units. It was used mainly on the Eastern Front and was also mounted to the MG34 and 42 heavy machine guns. It bears a strong resemblance to the type used on the US M3 Carbine.