Grossdeutschland photos

[Mark Bakker]

Hello,

I've been watching this forum for a while and I really enjoy it. I thought it was time to post my first thread now. A couple of months ago I bought two photos of a Grossdeutschland panzerman. I want to show them to you....

Regards, Mark

http://82.72.210.163/bakker/grossdeutschland.html

[CSP]

Mark:
Fantastic! These are some of the best mid-war shots I have ever seen of the Panzer regt. GD. Thanks for sharing. I'd like to ask your permission to save them to my files under your name. Good for my research. If I publish, Iwill seek your permission.

Please email me at:

scottpritchett2@hotmail.com

to coordinate an agreement with me.

[CSP]

After some quick research, I find several possibilities for the location of these photos.
The Panzer Bataillon GD expanded in to a regiment, addding II Bataillon, some time in the late summer/early fall of 1942. That took place at Neuhammer in Germany. These pictures look like they were taken on a training ground. The uniforms are new and not the more typical mix and match seen frequently in a combat zone. The tanks look new and are the PzKpfw IV F (?) and a PzKpfw II (some model) which the unit was equipped with still in 1942, although they did get some upgunned PzKpfw IVs. The terrain looks like it could be on a training ground in Germany. The horizontal lines depict the platoon and was used in 42 and 43 with the II Bataillon.

Other possibilities: The unit deployed after reorganization to Russia. These photos could have been taken shortly after detraining at Orel, as there appears to have been a period of field exercises shortly thereafter. The two big battles that such markings appear on the tanks in photos that I could quickly find were Voronezh (sp?) and Rzhev. But by then, it looks like camo had been applied to the tanks.

Hope this helps.

[Mark Bakker]

Thanks Scott for the information!!!


Regards, Mark