Units of the  2nd Panzer Group Wehrmacht trying to cross  a  water obstacle. In the foreground, assault gun StuG III Ausf.C /D from the 177th battalion of assault guns (Sturmgeschütz-Abt. 177).In the background car Bussing-Nag G31 with the  emblem of the 2nd Panzer Group («G» - Guderian) on the right wing.End of pktober 1941.


greetz,brummbar

Slow going

Panzer PzKpfw II destroyed, Poland, 1939.  The condition of the crewman's body on top of the turret suggests some burning - but the exact cause of destruction does not seem evident from this photo.

The particular interest of this vehicle is that its track/suspension system identifies it as an early/pre-production model of the type - Ausf a/1, a/2 or a/3.  Some 120 vehicles of these very early sub-types were produced prewar for testing and development purposes; it is perhaps an indication of Germany's desperate shortage of tanks early in the war that vehicles of these type remained in service as late as 1941, in spite of the fact that they had serious mechanical "issues" only resolved in later types.  Best regards, JR.

Pre-production model PzKpfw II - dead in Poland.

Italian-built L6/40 light tank in German markings, Balkans, Winter 1944/'45.  L6/40 machines joined other second line deployment captured tanks in supporting the extensive German anti-partisan operation in the Balkans when, following the fall of Mussolini, they were appropriated from the Italians.  Best regards, JR.