Guessing by the American vehicles in the background my first guess is in the American zone of occupation city of Frankfurt??
Nope, these would be Lend & Lease vehicles.
Bump!
A German general…a Soviet sentry…Lend & Lease jeeps…early May, 1945…German major city…anyone?:shock:
Well, unfortunately, both the photograph and the “extra clues” are still to unexplicit to lead to any exact identification - in May of 1945 there were scores of German generals surrendering to the Soviets in any major town imaginable (most in and around Berlin) and lend-lease jeeps were commonplace.
The picture is of a poor enough quality that the facial features of the general are almost indistinguishable - there is a hint of spectacles and maybe a light coloured moustache, but can I really be sure?- and the uniform and background don’t reveal any major clues - the only thing I can be fairly certain about is that the town doesn’t appear to have sustained heavy bombardment, so the scene is probably not set in Berlin.
Bearing that in mind, could you please help us by offering any of the following: Name of the General; Unit (if not, at least branch of service); Area where this is happening (doesn’t have to be the exact town); approximate time (week if not the actual day)
Also, as a shot in the dark: Chemnitz?
Nah, I guess it’s time to solve it. It’s indeed Berlin -which definitely was heavily bombed. The German general is General der Infanterie Hans Krebs (1898-1945) on his way to the surrender negotiations of encircled Berlin on May 1, 1945. He was about to meet Soviet General Chuikov of 8th Guard Army. Krebs -who committed suicide shortly after that- was chosen to lead the negotiations because of the fact that he spoke the Russian language fluently since he had been German assistant military attaché in Moscow in 1933/34.
Anyone feel free to jump in and place the next riddle.
Ah yes. Now that you mention it, I know of this incident, but I’ve never seen a photo of the man…
Ok then, here is another, hopefully easier, enigma- Where and then is this scene located? (approximate date and place)
Hint: look closely at the photo - there are several unusual details that will lead you straight to the answer. These people are not what they seem to be.
Since it’s painfully obvious no one has any idea whatsoever where to start on this, I will start giving clues, hopefully leading to a hasty resolution of this enigma:
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Despite the US uniforms, these men belong to a nation not commonly known to have taken part in WW2.
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The setting of this photograph is Italy, and the year is 1944.
That would make them troops of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, which performed quite well in Italy.
Beyond that, I have no idea who the people in the picture are.
Yes, the people in the photograph are indeed officers of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, near Monte Castello, in November-December 1944.
Your turn up to bat.
Thanks.
That was easier than I expected. I thought I’d have to know who they were and where they were.
This one doesn’t require identification of the people, or perhaps even the vessel, but it does require identification in a general sense of the people being rescued and the event which led to it.
midway?
No, but you’re correct in locating it in the war against Japan.
And the people being rescued aren’t Americans. Nor were they on an American ship.
The sinking of the Rakuyo Maru,British and Australian survivors rescued by the USS Sealion on Second War Patrol. September 1944.Thought I throw this in for extra credit.
On September 4th, 2,218 Australian and British prisoners of war, who had survived the building of the Death Railway, were marched the three miles from the Valley Road camp in Singapore to the docks to board the two twenty-three year old passenger/cargo ships Rakuyo Maru (9,500 tons) and the Kachidoki Maru (10,500 tons). The Kachidoki Maru was the ex US ship President Harrison which had ran aground at Sha Wai Shan in China and was captured and salvaged by the Japanese. Both vessels were bound for Formosa. In the South China Sea, the twelve ship convoy, including three transports, two tankers and four escorting destroyers, was attacked by three American submarines, the Growler, Sealion and the Pampanito. The Rakuyo and Kachidoki were both sunk by torpedoes 300 miles west of Cape Bojeador, Luzon. A total of 1,144 British and Australian POW’s lost their lives. Among those lost were thirty-three men from HMAS Perth. All told there were 1,074 survivors, 141 were picked up by the three submarines. The USS Queenfish and USS Barb arrived later and in heavy seas rescued another thirty-two before heading for Saipan. The Japanese destroyers rescued 520 British prisoners from the Kachidoki (488 POW’s and crew had died) and 277 British and Australians from the Rakuyo, to again become Prisoners of War.
100%
Your turn.
for some reason i wana say russian but maybe its an expeditionary force of some kind as of place? maybe the alpes
Not Russian,lower left corner should should be a clue on nation?
Vegetation could be anywhere, but Sicily or Italy seem good possibilities.
Looks like a second wave of American paratroops landing after the first wave has gone, and LZ maybe has been hit with artillery, which could be either Sicily or Italy.
Or it could be the Pacific for all I know.
Looks like a second wave of American paratroops landing after the first wave has gone, and LZ maybe has been hit with artillery, which could be either Sicily or Italy.
That would be the obvious choice looking at the terrain.
Or it could be the Pacific for all I know.
But this puts you in the right theater,Pacific.
Thanks.
Pacific was my first impression but closer examination told me to go for Italy / Sicily in preference. So much for closer examination!
I’ll exclude drops in Burma as that wasn’t in the Pacific Theatre.
I doubt it’s New Guinea where American (and Australian) paratroopers dropped into the Markham Valley as the terrain there was fairly flat and grassy.
The Philippines drops are a strong possibility.
On the basis that the photo indicates a drop has already occurred and those troops have left the area when a second drop is coming in, and given that the LZ appears to have been shelled before the first drop otherwise the chutes on the ground would be damaged, that is consistent with the pre-drop bombing and shelling and two drops about three hours apart on Topside on Corregidor on 16 Feb 1945.