Posted on 12/05/2014 6:56:20 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
On Sept. 1, 1939, one week after Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact, more than a million German troops—along with 50,000 Slovakian soldiers—invaded Poland. Two weeks later, a half-million Russian troops attacked Poland from the east. After years of vague rumblings, explicit threats and open conjecture about the likelihood of a global conflict—in Europe, the Pacific and beyond—the Second World War had begun.
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
Fried PzKpfw II. Wonder where the tracks and idler wheel went? Scavenged by an ordinance team?
Correction- both idlers, and the 2CM. Got to be a salvage job.
I am reading a Memoir of a Polish Jew who was from Bielitz, Poland. She tells the story of when they took men, women and children (Jews) had them march in the street to the center square. They told them to remove their clothes and lay down on the street. German soldiers on horses proceeded to trample them to death. Those who were still alive afterwards were shot. So many tragic stories of WW2.
The street scenes of Warsaw are very interesting. Shots of transportation included a good mix of tandem electric rail trollies, cars, trucks, pedicabs, bicycles, and horse-drawn wagons. Some of the apartment buildings appear modern, attractive, and upscale.
Makes one wonder how much rich historical photography is hidden in Time archives that will never see the light of day because it can’t be presented in the right ‘framework’.
From the article:
In the weeks and months after the invasion, a German photographer named Hugo Jaeger traveled extensively throughout the vanquished country, making color pictures of the chaos and destructionThe photo is a bit puzzling because my understanding has been that German photographers were prohibited from photographing German damage/casualties. Perhaps this was early enough in the war that the order had not gone out.
My guess is that well before the photo was taken, a recovery unit deemed the tank unrecoverable and scavenged what they could.
They didn't scavenge the right front drive sprocket because it is broken nearly in half. There is a large irregular shaped hole in the right hull where the #2 idler used to be. The glacis and part of the upper right hull above the right front drive sproket appear to be blown out with daylight shining through.
Panzer Mark II
Having some eyesight issues- you’re quite right.
Warsaw was a beautiful city before the war. The Nazis destroyed it, and the Soviets ruined it after the war with their “Socialist Realism” architecture.
Was a good link with incredible photos but had to click out of Time when the “Transgender Fight for Equality” link kept popping up.
Those captured Polish soldiers were better of with the Nazis than with the Soviets.
I generally regard knocked out tanks with hatches closed as meaning you really don't want to pry open the hatch for a look inside because it may be ghastly. In this case, the fire didn't appear to be too hot because stenciled lettering at the rear of the tank is in good condition. The top hatches may have been movable but my guess is they were latched shut and probably seized up by the heat. Bodies were likely retrieved through the blown out glacis.
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