German beutepanzers (captured enemy tanks in Wehrmacht service) in Normandy in early 1944.  I believe this is a Hotchkiss H39 modified with an additional hatch on the turret.  They were kept closer to the shore for infantry support against the initial waves the Germans assumed might not have armor support.  Obsolete and lacking any real upgrades, they were still easy pickings for infantry armed with antitank weapons.  But they were better than nothing as the Mark IVs, Vs, and VIs were held inland or closer to Pas-de-Calais...

Beutepanzer Road March!

After 4 days of rain, August 25th, 1944 was a perfect summer’s day in Rouen, northern France.

Although there were many places where German soldiers could cross the Seine river and escape the incoming Allied armies, only a few heavy ferries and one damaged rail bridge strong enough to allow heavy armour to cross were still operational in the northern sector.
Many were those who converged on the Quai Jean de Bethencourt at Rouen cramming the long quayside with vehicles of all sizes and shapes. It is estimated that at least 4,000 vehicles were massed at a time in the Rouen area.

With the sun came the Allied air force. 24 Mitchells and 10 Bostons medium bombers of RAF’s No 137 and 139 Wings arrived over Rouen at 7 p.m and bombed the left bank. The bombs landed amid the queued vehicles destroying more than 500 with a few bombs falling on the right bank killing some of those who had already crossed the river.

Four hours earlier an SS man sitting on bollard 230 smokes his pipe while he waits his turn to cross. An almost peaceful scenario were it not for the machines of war parked in the background. They comprise a PzKpfw VI ‘Tiger’, a PzKpfw V ‘Panther’ and a PzKpfw IV of unknown units.

If they managed to get across or burned in the incoming inferno it is unknown.

Original: ECPAd

Colour by: In Colore Veritas
Ww2colourised/Taken from fb



 



 



Peaceful moment before the firestorm

German soldiers watch a burning village at the beginning of the war with the USSR; June 1941.