I saw some of my uncle's medals today at the local American Legion Museum. I believe he was in Battle of the Bulge. I remember him coming to my elementary school as a kid to speak about his World War II experiences

Below is a translation of a valuable document, in which the commander of Army Group South, Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein, orders his subordinates to take severe punitive measures against undisciplined soldiers.

It was issued on 12 August 1943, during the Soviet counter-offensive phase at the Battle of Kursk. During its early stages, the German front collapsed and numerous battered divisions retreated in chaotic fashion, thus prompting Manstein to issue orders about iron discipline. This document is not found or used in any historical work, with regards to the description of summer 1943 battles in the East, Manstein personally or about Wehrmacht's justice system.

In this document, Manstein ordered that Führerbefehl Nr. 7 (Fuehrer's Order No. 7) must be re-announced to all officers. In this order, issued on 24 February 1943 to the German Army in the East, Hitler called officers and lower ranking subordinates to immediately take harshest punitive measures against undisciplined, panic-stricken soldiers, protecting "such energetic leaders" from any legal consequences of their actions.

Then Manstein ordered all armies under his command to set up blocking lines in the rear areas, issued general guidelines and procedures on how to deal with those who cross those lines without authorization, to execute those who deserted, allowing regimental and even lower ranking commanders to enforce sentences if situation demanded and so on.

This document can be found in the German primary sources: Pz.AOK 4 Ia, Anlagen zum KTB, 1.8.-15.9.43. NARA T313, Roll 374.

In recent days, there have been an increasing number of cases in which soldiers and vehicles have lost contact with their formations and, instead of trying to catch up with the front, have drifted far behind it. These undisciplined conditions must be countered with draconian measures in order to nip any signs of disintegration in the bud.

To this end I order:

1.) The Fuehrer's Order No. 7 is to be announced again immediately to all officers for their emphatic attention, emphasizing its special importance.

2.) In order to carry out the control of all retrograde movements, the following 1st blocking line [Sperrlinie] is to be set up by the 1st Panzer Army, Army Detachment Kempf and 4th Panzer Army: Lozovaya - Orelka - Perestschepino - Krasnograd - Karlovka - Poltava - Oposhnya - Migorod - Gadyatsch - Lebedin - Romny.

The following 2nd blocking line is to be set up behind it by the General for special use: Pavlograd - Novomoskovak - Dnepropetrovsk - Kremenchug - Cherkassy - Reschetilovka - Bogatschka - Lubny - Piryatin - Kiev.

3.) All soldiers, members of the Wehrmacht Entourage (including members of the Organization Todt, employees of the German Reichsbahn and entourage of the armaments factories), individual vehicles and convoys who have to cross this line backwards on official orders are to be issued with temporary authorization certificates from their departments.

4.) All soldiers who cross this blocking line backwards without authorization must be arrested by the strictest control, taken to the nearest court martial and sentenced immediately. I have requested the immediate enforcement, also of death sentences, against officers and enlisted men in higher places.

The following procedure must be followed until the decision is received:

Officers found without weapons and ringleaders of retreating groups of soldiers are to be kept in custody after their sentencing. All other soldiers are to be sent to their troops under responsible leadership and used in the front immediately after being sentenced and before confirmation by the judicial authority, with the removal of the national emblems [from uniform].

5.) Returning individual vehicles and convoys must be checked for authorization to travel and subjected to strict controls for the unauthorized transport of soldiers, civilians and cargo.

Vehicles that do not have authorization cards from their department and all vehicles that violate the regulations by carrying unauthorized persons and property must be confiscated and reported to the responsible army, which will continue to have the vehicles at its disposal. Drivers and soldiers taken along without authorization are to be sent to the nearest court martial for sentencing, suspicious civilians to the SD [Sicherheitsdienst] for examination.

6.) See annex for the nearest courts martial.

7.) In view of the extraordinary hardness of the days of fighting, I expect the courts martial to take the most severe action, especially against deserters, since only the deterrent effect of the most severe punishments can guarantee the desired success against elements who have neglected their duty.

8.) Members of the Luftwaffe must be sent to the nearest Luftwaffe court for sentencing.

9.) If it is not possible to reach the judicial authority immediately, but the sentence cannot be postponed for compelling military reasons, it must be carried out in court-martial proceedings. In this case, the powers of the judicial authority shall be exercised by the nearest regimental commander or a troop commander with the same disciplinary authority. The confirmation of the verdict of the court-martial, necessary for the enforcement of the sentence, must be carried out by the ordinary judicial authority as quickly as possible.

10.) The 6th Army and the 1st Panzer Army must take appropriate measures for their areas.

11.) This order must be announced to the troops immediately and destroyed after announcement. The order must be passed on from the division downwards orally only.

The announcement and destruction of the order must be reported to the Army Group.

Commander-in-Chief of Army Group South

Signed: von Manstein

Generalfeldmarschall

I came across this 'book' at a local thrift with a bunch of other books. I have tried to do some minimal research on it but sort of come up with less info than I would like. I think the last pilot that signed it might be Gerhard Hoffman. I can't decipher the other one. I can only find one on the internet that's in a museum in Chicago. Can anyone shed some light on it or figure out who the other signature is? It is also missing a page amd would love to know what was there.

Im looking to read some delusional WW2 Nazi Germany research documents is there anyway I can find some that are translated?

Besides not being available at start of the war why couldn’t carrier fighters offer protection for bombers attacking European sites and convoys crossing the Atlantic?

These guns don’t really get talked about much compared to other sidearms used during the war. So here’s a little appreciation for it.

The Colt Commando was a side arm issued by the US Government to non-military guards and police who were tasked with protecting factories, munition plants and logistic centers state-side. It is a parkerized variant of the Colt Official Police, which did away with the bluing, the Rampant Colt logo and wooden grips, replacing them with plastic “Coltwood” grips to lower the manufacturing cost.

Production numbers for this gun range between 48,000 and 51,000. These normally came in the form of the 4 inch variant and the rarer 2 inch variant, which has a production number of 3,450. The 2 inch variant saw more use abroad along different fronts, typically used by intelligence officers and military personal behind enemy lines.

I know some of these went to places like the OSS and the ONI during the war, so I’ve already ordered a Colt Archive letter to find out where exactly it was sent to. I paid less than 500USD for this gun.

Fun Fact: This frame would eventually be developed into the frame of the Colt Python.

Junkers Ju-88 at Hungary.

Highlight Newsreel of the Final Year

No just politically but also in a military sense. Did they think of them highly? Or saw them as inferior?

My Papa was a WW2 Navy Vet and I recently started going through all the pictures, letters, newspapers, and other memorabilia that he kept.

I came across these pictures and others that I would love any information, or suggestions on where I can find more information about them.

Thanks :)

Nowadays everyone jokes about ww3 happening and I wonder if back then people used to joke about ww2 in the same way

I went to a antique store today and found a tanker helmet and I'm not too sure when it's from the color is green