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Sturmabteilung Koch
Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment 1 (also known as ''Sturmabteilung Koch'') was a German ''Fallschirmjäger'' regiment in the Luftwaffe which captured the Belgian Fort Eben-Emael during the Battle of Belgium, took part in the Battle of Crete, and fought on the Eastern Front during World War II. Operational history The Battalion was formed in November 1939; it was named after its commander, Captain Walter Koch, as Assault Battalion ''Koch''. It was intended to open the way into central Belgium by capturing the formidable Fort Eben-Emael defending the Albert Canal as well three bridges over the canal. The DFS 230 gliders were to be used to allow the assault groups to silently land virtually on top of their objectives, surprising the defenders and preventing them from destroying the bridge. The airborne assault took place on 10 May 1940. The Belgian defenders were unable to muster any serious counterattacks against the paratroops. Two more battalions were formed during the fall of 1940 an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Eben-Emael
Fort Eben-Emael (french: Fort d'Ében-Émael, ) is an inactive Belgian fortress located between Liège and Maastricht, on the Belgian-Dutch border, near the Albert Canal, outside the village of Ében-Émael. It was designed to defend Belgium from a German attack across the narrow belt of Dutch territory in the region. Constructed in 1931–1935, it was reputed to be impregnable and at the time, the largest in the world. The fort was neutralized by glider-borne German troops (85 men) on 10 May 1940 during the Second World War. The action cleared the way for German ground forces to enter Belgium, unhindered by fire from Eben-Emael. Still the property of the Belgian Army, the fort has been preserved and may be visited. Location The fort is located along the Albert Canal where it runs through a deep cutting at the junction of the Belgian, Dutch and German borders, about northeast of Liège and about south of Maastricht. A huge excavation project was carried out in the 1920s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crete Order Of Battle
This is the complete order of battle for the Battle of Crete and related operations in 1941. Allied Land forces Commonwealth & Allied Forces, Crete - "Creforce" ;Headquarters Creforce - (Eastern Zone, east of Chania) :Major-General Bernard Freyberg, VC, Colonel Stewart * C Squadron, 3rd The King's Own Hussars (seven light tanks) :Major G.W.Peck :10 Light Tank Mk VIs * B Squadron, 7th Royal Tank Regiment :Lieutenant George Simpson :Two Matilda tanks, crewed in part by two officers and five gunners of the 2/3rd Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery (RAA). * 1st Battalion, The Welch Regiment :Lieutenant Colonel A. Duncan, MC (Force Reserve) 2nd New Zealand Division ;Headquarters New Zealand Division - Brigadier, Acting Major General Edward Puttick - (Western Zone, west of Chania) * 27th New Zealand Machine Gun Battalion (Lt. Col. FJ Gwilliam) (179 personnel) * 5th New Zealand Field Artillery Regiment (less infantry detachment) (256 personnel) * 4th New Zealand Infa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke (24 January 1889 – 4 July 1968) was a German general of paratroop forces during World War II. He led units in Crete, North Africa, Italy, the Soviet Union and France, and was captured by American forces at the conclusion of the Battle for Brest in September 1944. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, one of only 27 people in the Nazi German military so decorated. Ramcke was an ardent Nazi who committed war crimes. Following the fighting on Crete in 1941, he ordered his men to attack civilians. In 1951 Ramcke was convicted of war crimes against French civilians during the Battle of Brest, but was released after three months' imprisonment. During the 1950s he was a prominent nationalist and supported extreme right-wing movements. World War I Born in 1889, Ramcke joined the Imperial German Navy in 1905 and served during the First World War. Ramcke fought in the West with the Marine-Infanterie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eugen Meindl
__NOTOC__ Eugen Meindl (16 July 1892 – 24 January 1951) was a German paratroop general in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Life and career Born in 1892, Eugen Meindl enlisted in the army in 1912 and served during World War I. Meindl served with various artillery units in the Reichswehr, the post-war armed forces of the Weimar Republic, and subsequently in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. In November 1938, Meindl was named commander of the 112th Mountain Artillery Regiment in Graz. Promoted to Oberst, he led the "Meindl Group" and made his very first parachute jump at Narvik. He transferred to the Luftwaffe in November 1940. During the airborne invasion of Crete, Meindl jumped near the Platanias Bridge, where he was shot in the chest and seriously wounded. In February 1942, Meindl, now a Generalmajor, became commander of the newly formed Luftwaffe Division Meindl in the Soviet Union. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
9th Army (Wehrmacht)
The 9th Army (german: 9. Armee) was a World War II field army. It was activated on 15 May 1940 with General Johannes Blaskowitz in command. History 1940 The 9th Army first saw service along the Siegfried Line during its involvement in the invasion of France. It was kept as a strategic reserve and saw little combat. 1941 By 1941, the 9th Army was heavily strengthened and was deployed with Army Group Center for the invasion of the Soviet Union. During the initial phase of Operation Barbarossa the 4th Army formed the Southern pincer of a massive encirclement of Soviet troops deployed at Białystok, with the German 9th Army forming the Northern pincer. It continued its advance, and soon launched another pincer movement of Soviet troops at Smolensk. Even though successful in encircling Soviet troops, many Soviet troops escaped the pockets due to the large distances it had to secure. Hitler then sent the Panzer forces from Army Group Center to the northern and southern fronts to i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rzhev
Rzhev ( rus, Ржев, p=ˈrʐɛf) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Staritsa and from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. Population: History Rzhev was founded in the Middle Ages and rivals Toropets as the oldest town in the region. Rzhevians usually point out that their town is mentioned in the Novgorod laws as early as 1019. Their neighbors from Toropets, on the other hand, give more credence to Rzhev's first mention in a major chronicle under 1216, when it was in possession of Mstislav the Bold, Prince of Toropets. Whatever the truth may be, it is clear that medieval Rzhev was bitterly contested by three regional powers—the Novgorod Republic, the Principality of Smolensk, and the Grand Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal. Following the Mongol invasion, Rzhev passed to a lateral branch of the Smolensk dynasty, which made the town its capital. Later the princes divided the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaluga
Kaluga ( rus, Калу́га, p=kɐˈɫuɡə), a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast in Russia, stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population: Kaluga's most famous resident, the space travel pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, worked there as a school teacher from 1892 to 1935. The Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics in Kaluga is dedicated to his theoretical achievements and to their practical implementations for modern space research, hence the motto on the city's coat of arms: , ''Kolybélʹ kosmonávtiki'' (''The Cradle of Space-Exploration''"). History Kaluga, founded in the mid-14th century as a border fortress on the southwestern borders of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, first appears in the historical record in chronicles in the 14th century as ''Koluga''; the name comes from Old Russian ''kaluga'' - "bog, quagmire". During the period of Tartar raids it was the western end of the Oka bank defense line. The Great stand on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yukhnov
Yukhnov (russian: Ю́хнов) is a town and the administrative center of Yukhnovsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Kunava River (Oka's basin) northwest of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History It has been known since 1410. The "Town" status was granted to it in the year 1777.During the Second World War the town was occupied by the Germans from October 5, 1941 to March 5, 1942. Administrative and municipal status Within the framework of administrative divisions, Yukhnov serves as the administrative center of Yukhnovsky District, to which it is directly subordinated. As a municipal division, the town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ... of Yukhnov is incorporated within Yukhnovsky Municipal District as Yukhnov U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smolensk
Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. Population: The city has been destroyed several times throughout its long history because it was on the invasion routes of various empires. Smolensk is known for its electronics, textiles, food processing, and diamond faceting industries. Etymology The name of the city is derived from the name of the Smolnya River. Smolnya river flows through Karelian and Murmansk areas of north-western Russia. The origin of the river's name is less clear. One possibility is the old Slavic word () for black soil, which might have colored the waters of the Smolnya. An alternative origin could be the Russian word (), which means resin, tar, or pitch. Pine trees grow in the area, and the city was once a center of resin processing an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stalino
Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast. The population was estimated at in the city core, with over 2 million in the metropolitan area (2011). According to the 2001 census, Donetsk was the fifth-largest city in Ukraine. Administratively, Donetsk has been the centre of Donetsk Oblast, while historically, it is the unofficial capital and largest city of the larger economic and cultural Donets Basin (''Donbas'') region. Donetsk is adjacent to another major city, Makiivka, and along with other surrounding cities forms a major urban sprawl and conurbation in the region. Donetsk has been a major economic, industrial and scientific centre of Ukraine with a high concentration of heavy industries and a skilled workforce. The density of he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Army Group North
Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high command, and coordinated the operations of attached separate army corps, reserve formations, rear services and logistics, including the Army Group North Rear Area. Operational history The Army Group North was created on the 2 September 1939 by reorganization of the 2nd Army Headquarters. Commander in Chief as of 27 August 1939 was Field Marshal Fedor von Bock. Invasion of Poland The first employment of Army Group North was in the invasion of Poland of 1939, where in September it controlled: * 3rd Army * 4th Army * a reserve of four divisions ** 10th Panzer Division ** 73rd Infantry Division ** 206th Infantry Division ** 208th Infantry Division. The Army Group was commanded by Fedor von Bock for the operation. After the end of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Razing Of Kandanos
The Razing of Kandanos ( el, Καταστροφή της Καντάνου) refers to the complete destruction of the village of Kandanos in Western Crete (Greece) and the killing of about 180 of its inhabitants on 3 June 1941 by German occupying forces during World War II.MacDonald, Callum. ''The Lost Battle: Crete 1941'', The Free Press, 1993, .Mosier, John. ''Cross of Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German War Machine'', NY: Henry Holt & Co., 2006; . It was ordered by Generaloberst Kurt Student in reprisal for the participation of the local population in the Battle of Crete that had held advancing German soldiers for two days. The destruction constituted one of the most atrocious war crimes committed during the occupation of Crete by Axis forces in World War II. Background Local resistance The Battle of Crete began on 20 May 1941 with a large-scale airborne invasion planned to capture the island's strategic locations. Kandanos is located on the road from Chania on the no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
