FRONTLINE PHOTOS OF GERMAN SOLDIERS

[Klaus_Arzt]

Yes!!!!Thank God it works!!!Thank's phylo_roadking!!!

Hey Fridrich someone's coming - that's the enemy - Fire at will, now!!!!!

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All right guys, in this situation there's only thing we can do...

starhalbkette8-toli_019-1112_Baydeww2.jpg (52.39 KiB) Viewed 18186 times

Taste this balm gentlemen and than CRUSH THE ENEMY POSITIONS!!!

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Cheers

[Klaus_Arzt]

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Where do you say you are from officer?

[Domen123]

Guys, just thought I'd chime in here, In the last large group of photos, the photo with 2 russians and a german panzer officer holding a small piece of paper. That panzer officer is Hptm Ottens of Panzer Regiment 8 (10th Pzr Div). Its from a pretty popular set of photos taken on the Bug at Brest-Litovsk in 1939 when the Russians and Germans linked up.

Just thought some of you might like to know.

Cheers
Fish

Hi!

Thanks for this info!

By the way - here is another photo from the same place:



Description at the bottom of the photo says:

"Meeting of Soviet and German troops in Brest on the Bug 18th of September 1939"

It seems that Russians were very fast if on 18th of September some of their soldiers were already present in Brest.

During the same day Brest Fortress was captured (the majority of Polish crew withdrawed from the fortress - due to orders - during the night from 17th to 18th of September, but some part of the crew did not receive those orders and were still resisting inside the fortress during 18th of September).

Maybe the Soviets took part in last assaults against the fortress?

[Klaus_Arzt]

Hi Domen123,

Maybe the Soviets took part in last assaults against the fortress?

As far as i know the polish forces had been defending for 4 days and withdrew,as you said, on September 17th, but was it captured by germans on 17th or there was still some fighting raging on till 18th? Oh and russians didn't take part in seizing it.
Here's a photo dated September 17 - have a look at the banner hoisted on the top of Terespol's gate.

Brest-Fortress Terespal's gate of the citadel. 17.09.1939.jpg (26.07 KiB) Viewed 17891 times

and some more:

Brest-Fortress Germans passing through Bug river. 16.9.1939. 17.00.jpg (30.34 KiB) Viewed 17871 times

Brest-Fortress German officers on the roof of fort building. 16-18.09.1939.jpg (35.57 KiB) Viewed 17847 times

Brest-Fortress Polish prisoners of war in the Brest fortress. 18.09.1939.jpg (41.64 KiB) Viewed 17842 times

Hmmm, polish prisoners 18th of September, don't know...

Cheers

[Domen123]

Oh and russians didn't take part in seizing it.

I checked it out and they probably did take part (I am really not shure - because sources are contradictory - some of them do not mention the Soviets at all). But according to what I found the Soviets were attacking only one fort - fort "Graf Berg" (Polish name: "Fort Sikorskiego").

I'll try to ask about it in some places.

Btw - for the first time I've read that the Soviets also took part in it in "Беру Свои Слова Обратно" by Suworow, but he doesn't provide any further details so I thought that he just made a mistake (it would not be the only one in his books - by the way ).

The problem is that I have read Polish publications about the battle of Brest which were published before 1989 - Polish publications from that period are often not accurate enough if it comes to the Soviet participation in different events, and sometimes even write lies .

[Domen123]

As far as i know the polish forces had been defending for 4 days and withdrew,as you said, on September 17th, but was it captured by germans on 17th or there was still some fighting raging on till 18th? Oh and russians didn't take part in seizing it.

Here's a photo dated September 17 - have a look at the banner hoisted on the top of Terespol's gate.

Sorry - I made a huge mistake in my previous post.

Of course the Poles withdrew from the Citadel (not from the whole fortress / fortification complex - which apart from the Citadel had got also several additional, smaller forts) Brest during the night from 16th to 17th of September (and not during the night from 17th to 18th of September - as I wrote in my previous post).

Polish forces withdrew during the night because it ensures good cover. German forces entered the Citadel immediately after they noticed that the Polish crew withdrew (it was on calendar 17th - in the morning - Infanterie-Regiment 76. entered the fortrest as first German unit). But as far as I know when they entered the Citadel there were still some isolated Polish resistance nests inside, because Polish IV battalion of 82 IR (commander - captain Wacław Radziszewski) did not receive the order of withdrawal due to problems with communication or just did not want to obey the order of withdrawal and wanted to stay inside the fortress and resist.

Hmmm, polish prisoners 18th of September, don't know...

This would confirm what I wrote about the orders - and those of the crew who remained in Brest.

Of course the Poles withdrew from the Citadel (not the whole fortress !!) Brest

But according to what I found the Soviets were attacking only one fort - fort "Graf Berg" (Polish name: "Fort Sikorskiego").

Fort "Graf Berg" ("Fort Sikorskiego") was of course not the part of the Citadel itself, but it was the part of that whole fortification complex (fortress Brest).

I must get some additional info about it.

There is one information which can be the clue in this case.

Namely - captain Wacław Radziszewski (commander of IV battalion 82 IR - which did not leave the fortress together with other units, as you remember) - was murdered by NKVD in Kozielsk in 1940.

So he must have been captured by the Soviets !

[Domen123]

Namely - captain Wacław Radziszewski (commander of IV battalion 82 IR - which did not leave the fortress together with other units, as you remember) - was murdered by NKVD in Kozielsk in 1940.

So he must have been captured by the Soviets !

Wow!

I have just found more detailed info about it - they wrote about it in this Polish forum:

http://www.dws.org.pl/viewtopic.php?f=7 ... &sk=t&sd=a

IV battalion of 82 IR was ordered to protect the Polish withdrawal together with 2 sapper company of podporucznik Kazimierz Giaro, but dispatch rider sent to Radziszewski did not come back (anyway - he received orders - but did not want to complete them - dispatch rider was probably missing during the way back to Giaro).

During the night on 17th of September (but few hours after the Polish withdrawal), part of Polish battalion - with one 75mm gun - left the Citadel (part of the Citadel which was called "kobrynskie fortifications") and occupied fort "Graf Berg" (then it was called "Fort Sikorskiego", nowadays it is "Miasokombinat").

According to other sources it was not Fort "Graf Berg" but Fort V (located south from the Citadel).

Allegedly as long as not until 19.09.1939 the Germans noticed that there were still Poles inside the fortress.

Since that moment, after rejecting capitulation offert, several days long battle for the fort "Graf Berg" (or "Fort V" ) started.

Between 19th and 20th of September Polish battalion was repulsing German attacks.
Between 21st and 26th of September Polish battalion was repulsing Soviet assaults.

Only on 22nd of September Polish defenders destroyed 1 Soviet AFV and repulsed 3 infantry assaults.
On 24th of September and on 25th of September a lot of Soviet infantry assaults from all sides were repulsed.
On 26th of September Soviet forces introduced heavy artillery into action - under this condition further Polish defence became hopeless.

During the night from 26th to 27th of September rests of the battalion left the fort and marched towards the village called Murawiec.

In Murawiec Polish battalion was dissolved.

Captain Radziszewski changed his clothes for civilian and came back to the city of Brest - to his family.

But the Soviets soon discovered who is in Brest and NKVD arrested him.

He was murdered in 1940 in Kozielsk as one of victims of the Katyn murder - his surname and name can be found in the list of Katyn murder identified victims, as well as names and surnames of several other officers who took part in the defence of Brest in 1939:

Two officers from the same battalion:

porucznik Aleksander Gradziuk - commander of 1. company of IV battalion / 82 IR.
podporucznik Witold Skwierczyński - commander of 2. company of IV battalion / 82 IR.

And - surprisingly - also 2 officers from 56 sapper battalion, 2 officers from marching (spare) battalion of 34 IR and one officer from marching battalion of 35 IR - and also general Kazimierz Plisowski.

[Domen123]

IV battalion of 82 IR was ordered to protect the Polish withdrawal together with 2 sapper company of podporucznik Kazimierz Giaro, but dispatch rider sent to Radziszewski did not come back (anyway - he received orders - but did not want to complete them - dispatch rider was probably missing during the way back to Giaro).

Of course during his way back - and not back to Giaro - because Giaro was the commander of 2. sapper company (which was part of 56. sapper battalion, from which 2 officers were also murdered in Katyn - by the way).

BTW - I will made a separate thread about the Soviet participation in this battle, let's come back to the FRONTLINE PHOTOS [...] .

[Klaus_Arzt]

WOW! Thanks Domen123!!! Great info oh and thx for a link http://www.dws.org.pl/viewtopic.php?f=7 ... &sk=t&sd=a but actually i don't speak polish so i'll read the info that you've written here.
And i'm looking forward to seeing your new thread about it.(hope there'll be some pics and maps).'cause for me it's an interesting theme too.
Cheers

[Domen123]

Polenfeldzug 1939:



"- Some people claim that the German Wehrmacht is an unexperienced force yet, but this is not true" - said the driver

"- I confirm" - said the other one

[melda1]

I have some fotos with captions, not sure how to post them here. Any advise?

[Alex Dekker]

www.photobucket.com

[Domen123]

Here a lot of interesting photos (majority of them are German photos) from the Polish campaign:

Link to part 17 (link to the previous part is in the first post in each part):

http://www.odkrywca-online.pl/wrzesien- ... tml#647842

For example:

Poland 1939 - very nice frontline photo showing German soldiers:



"Deutsche Pak mit Bedienung in getarnter Stellung beim Angriff auf Krasne,Polenfeldzug":



Zolkiew north of Lwow (today Ukraine) - 20.10.1939 - center of the town - Kolegiata Sw. Wawrzynca and Ratusz, Palace of King Jan III Sobieski in Zolkiew cannot be seen:



Observing what the Poles had done - near Kiernozia:







Poland 1939 - destroyed Polish house and its inhabitant:



Kirche in Lodz:



Poland 1939:



Warschau:



Przemysl:



Brzesc nad Bugiem (today Belarus):



"Heldenfriedhof in Polen 1939 Helme & Kreuze":



Fallen Polish soldiers:









"Polen Einsatz Vormarsch Kulm Deut. Gräber":





"Polen Einsatz Rozan Szepietowo Wissorky":



"Polen Einsatz Vormarsch Kulm Schloß Sdkfz":



Warschau:



Exhausted:



Burning palace in Kozienice:



"Polen Petrikau Piotrkow Bank Gebäude Werbung":



Sightseeing - "Polen 06.09.1939 Kloster der schwarzen Madonna":







Polish city 1939:

[Domen123]

It was link to part 16.

Here is link to part 17:

http://www.odkrywca.pl/pokaz_watek.php?id=648889

[Domen123]

Lodz:



"Germans Cover in Ditch While Fire Rage; Poland 1939":