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Wolfschanze
The ''Wolf's Lair'' (german: Wolfsschanze; pl, Wilczy Szaniec) served as Adolf Hitler's first Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front military headquarters in World War II. The headquarters was located in the Masurian woods, near the small village of Görlitz in Ostpreußen (now Gierłoż, Kętrzyn County, Gierłoż), about 8 kilometres (5 miles) east of the small East Prussian town of Rastenburg (now Kętrzyn), in present-day Poland. Being one of the most heavily guarded places in the world, the central complex and the ''Führer'''s bunker was surrounded by three security zones guarded by two Schutzstaffel, SS units: the ''SS-Begleitkommando des Führers'', and the ''Reichssicherheitsdienst''. The ''Wehrmacht''s armoured ''Führerbegleitbrigade'' was held in readiness nearby but, as a part of the ''German Army (1935–1945), Heer'''s elite Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland, ''Großdeutschland'' Division, was used to counter-attack Red Army break-throughs in Army G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Führerbegleitbrigade
The ''Führerbegleitbrigade'' (FBB: Führer escort brigade) was a German armoured brigade and later an armoured division (military), division (''Panzer-Führerbegleitdivision''), in World War II. It grew out of the original ''Führer-Begleit-Battalion'' formed in 1939 to escort and protect Adolf Hitler at the front. It was formed in November 1944 and destroyed in April 1945. The ''Führer-Begleit-Battalion'' (FBB), 1939–1940 Before the 1 September 1939 attack on Poland, Adolf Hitler's personal military bodyguard came from two distinct, independent units based in Berlin: the Chancellery Guards, originally assigned by the army, and then the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, ''Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler'' (SS bodyguard regiment Adolf Hitler; LSSAH), which replaced the Chancellery Guards. When hostilities started, Hitler ordered the LSSAH to participate in the campaign against Poland, leaving him with no large military type of bodyguard formation (a small contingent o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Führer Headquarters
The ''Führer'' Headquarters (german: Führerhauptquartiere), abbreviated FHQ, were a number of official headquarters used by the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and various other German commanders and officials throughout Europe during the Second World War.Raiber, Richard, ''Guide to Hitler's Headquarters, After The Battle, No. 19'', Introduction and p. 1. The last one used, the ''Führerbunker'' in Berlin, where Hitler committed suicide on 30 April 1945, is the most widely known headquarters. Other notable headquarters are the ''Wolfsschanze'' (Wolf's Lair) in East Prussia, where Claus von Stauffenberg in league with other conspirators attempted to assassinate Hitler on 20 July 1944, and Hitler's private home, the '' Berghof'', at Obersalzberg near Berchtesgaden, where he frequently met with prominent foreign and domestic officials. Introduction At the beginning of World War II there were no permanent headquarters constructed for the ''Führer''. Hitler visited the frontlines using ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masuria
Masuria (, german: Masuren, Masurian: ''Mazurÿ'') is a ethnographic and geographic region in northern and northeastern Poland, known for its 2,000 lakes. Masuria occupies much of the Masurian Lake District. Administratively, it is part of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (administrative area/province). Its biggest city, often regarded as its capital, is Ełk (Elk). The region covers a territory of some 10,000 km2 which is inhabited by approximately 500,000 people. History East Germanic tribes The first known people in today's Mazuria were East Germanic tribes, such as the Sciri. Ptolemy mentioned Galindians (Koine Greek: Galindoi – Γαλίνδοι) in the 2nd century AD. From the 6th/7th century until the 17th century the former central part of the Galindian tribe continued to exist as the Old Prussian clan of *Galindis. The language of the Old Prussians in Galindia became extinct by 17th century, mainly because of the 16th centuries influx of Protestants seeking refug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Werwolf (Wehrmacht HQ)
''Führerhauptquartier Werwolf'' was the codename used for one of Adolf Hitler's World War II Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front military headquarters located in a pine forest about north of Vinnytsia, in Ukraine, which was used between 1942 and 1943. It was one of a number of Führer Headquarters, ''Führer'' Headquarters throughout Europe, and the most easterly ever used by Hitler in person. Naming The name is derived from ''Werwolf'' or ''Wehrwolf'' in German, which can be translated as werewolf. The Nazis also used the term ''Werwolf'' as a codename for Clandestine operation, clandestine resistance groups which were intended to carry out guerrilla attacks against the occupying forces towards the end of World War II. The naming scheme is in accord with other code-names given to ''Führerhauptquartiere'' during the Second World War, such as ''Wolf's Lair, Wolfsschanze.'' Several were named for Hitler himself, whose nickname was ''Wolf''. The site was also the easter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolfsschlucht II
'' Führerhauptquartier'' Wolfsschlucht II (English: ''Wolf Canyon'') or W2 was the codename used for one of Adolf Hitler's World War II Western Front military headquarters located in Margival, 10 km northeast of Soissons in the department of Aisne in France. It was one of many Führer Headquarters throughout Europe but was used only once by Adolf Hitler, June 16 and 17, 1944 for a meeting with Field Marshals Erwin Rommel and Gerd von Rundstedt about the Normandy Front. At the meeting, Rommel advocated, among other things, ending the war, to Hitler's fury. During the meeting, an allied air raid forced the group to descend into a bomb shelter. Later, a malfunctioning V-1 flying bomb struck the site, after which Hitler departed for Germany, never to return.Antony Beevor, "D-day: the Battle for Normandy", Penguin 2014, Part 7, Chapter 15 See also *Führer Headquarters The ''Führer'' Headquarters (german: Führerhauptquartiere), abbreviated FHQ, were a number of offici ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolfsschlucht I
'' Führerhauptquartier'' Wolfsschlucht I (Wolf's Gorge) was the codename for one of Adolf Hitler's military headquarters, located in a farmhouse of the Belgian village of Brûly-de-Pesche, in the municipality of Couvin, close to the French border. It was occupied by Hitler between 6–24 June 1940 while awaiting the conclusion of the Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep .... References External links Remnants of Wolfsschlucht I Buildings and structures in Namur (province) World War II sites of Nazi Germany Fuehrer Headquarters World War II sites in Belgium German occupation of Belgium during World War II 1940 in Belgium {{Adolf Hitler ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German-occupied Europe
German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 and 1945, during and shortly before World War II, generally administered by the Nazi regime, under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler.Encyclopædia Britannica German occupied Europe.World War II. Retrieved 1 September 2015 from the Internet Archive. The German Wehrmacht occupied European territory: * as far east as the town of Mozdok in the North Caucasus in the Soviet Union (1942–1943) * as far north as the settlement of Barentsburg in Svalbard in the Kingdom of Norway * as far south as the island of Gavdos in the Kingdom of Greece * as far west as the island of Ushant in the French Republic Outside of Europe proper, German forces effectively controlled areas of North Africa in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia at times between 1941 and 1943. G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabteilung'' of the Imperial Navy, had been disbanded in May 1920 in accordance with the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles which banned Germany from having any air force. During the interwar period, German pilots were trained secretly in violation of the treaty at Lipetsk Air Base in the Soviet Union. With the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Versailles Treaty, the ''Luftwaffe''s existence was publicly acknowledged on 26 February 1935, just over two weeks before open defiance of the Versailles Treaty through German rearmament and conscription would be announced on 16 March. The Condor Legion, a ''Luftwaffe'' detachment sent to aid Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War, provided the force with a valuable testing grou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The army was established in January 1918. The Bolsheviks raised an army to oppose the military confederations (especially the various groups collectively known as the White Army) of their adversaries during the Russian Civil War. Starting in February 1946, the Red Army, along with the Soviet Navy, embodied the main component of the Soviet Armed Forces; taking the official name of "Soviet Army", until its dissolution in 1991. The Red Army provided the largest land force in the Allied victory in the European theatre of World War II, and its invasion of Manchuria assisted the unconditional surrender of Imperial Japan. During operations on the Eastern Front, it accounted for 75–80% of casual ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland
The Panzergrenadier Division "Greater Germanic Reich, Großdeutschland", also commonly referred to simply as Großdeutschland or Großdeutschland Division, was an elite combat unit of the German Army (1935–1945), German Army (''Heer'') that fought on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front in World War II. Originally formed in 1921 it was known as the ''Wachregiment Berlin'' and served as a Guard of honour, ceremonial guard unit and by the 1939 had grown into a regiment of the combined Wehrmacht German armed forces. The regiment would later be expanded and renamed Infantry Division Großdeutschland in 1942, and after significant reorganization was renamed Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland in May 1943. In November 1944, while the division retained its status as a panzergrenadier division, some of its subordinate units were expanded to Division (military), divisional status, and the whole group of divisions were reorganized as Panzerkorps Großdeutschland. 1939– ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Army (1935–1945)
The German Army (german: Heer, ; ) was the Army, land forces component of the ''Wehrmacht'', the regular German Armed Forces, from 1935 until it effectively ceased to exist in 1945 and then was formally dissolved in August 1946. During World War II, a total of about 13.6 million soldiers served in the German Army. Army personnel were made up of volunteers and conscripts. Only 17 months after Adolf Hitler announced the German rearmament program in 1935, the army reached its projected goal of 36 Division (military), divisions. During the autumn of 1937, two more corps were formed. In 1938 four additional corps were formed with the inclusion of the five divisions of the Austrian Army after the ''Anschluss'' in March. During the period of its expansion under Hitler, the German Army continued to develop concepts pioneered during World War I, combining ground and air assets into combined arms forces. Coupled with operational and tactical methods such as encirclements and "battle of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
