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Wolf's Lair
The Wolf's Lair (; ) was 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 village of Görlitz (now Gierłoż, Kętrzyn County, Gierłoż), about 8 kilometres (5 miles) east of the town of Rastenburg (now Kętrzyn), in present-day Poland. The central complex and the 's bunker were surrounded by three security zones guarded by two (SS) units: the and the . The 's armored was held in readiness nearby but, as a part of the German Army (1935–1945), German Army's elite Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland, Division, was used to counter-attack Red Army break-throughs in Army Group Centre's front and rescue cut-off Army, Luftwaffe, Air Force, Fallschirmjäger, paratrooper, and SS armoured troops. The 20 July plot, an assassination attempt against Hitler, took place at the Wolf's Lair on 20 July 1944. Name The name ''Wolfsschanze'' is derived from "Wolf", a n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Führer Headquarters
The ''Führer'' Headquarters (), 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 World War II.Raiber, Richard, ''Guide to Hitler's Headquarters, After The Battle, No. 19'', Introduction and p. 1. The last one to be used, and the most widely known, was the in Berlin, where Hitler committed suicide on 30 April 1945. Other notable headquarters are the ''Wolfsschanze'' ( Wolf's Lair) in East Prussia, where Claus ''Graf'' 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 Hitler. The German leader would visit the frontlines using either aeroplanes or his special tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masuria
Masuria ( ; ; ) is an 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. The region covers a territory of some 10,000 km2 which is inhabited by approximately 500,000 people. Masuria is bordered by Warmia, Powiśle (region), Powiśle and Chełmno Land in the west, Mazovia in the south, Podlachia and Suwałki Region in the east, and Lithuania Minor in the north. History Prehistory and early history Some of the earliest archeological finds in Masuria were found at Dudka, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Dudka and Szczepanki, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Szczepanki sites and belonged to the subneolithic Zedmar culture. Indo-European settlers first arrived in the region during the 4th millennium BC, which in the Baltic wou ... [...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 The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ... struck a few miles from Margival, after ... [...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 near 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 (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour .... 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 Couvin {{Adolf Hitler ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German-occupied Europe
German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly military occupation, militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany, government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 and 1945, during World War II, 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 occupied European territory: * as far east as Franz Joseph Land in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (1943–1944) * as far north as Franz Joseph Land in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (1943–1944) * as far south as the island of Gavdos in the Kingdom of Greece * as far west as the island of Ushant in the French Third Republic, French Republic In 1941, around 280 million people in Europe, more than half the popul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
20 July Plot
The 20 July plot, sometimes referred to as Operation Valkyrie, was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the chancellor and leader of Nazi Germany, and overthrow the Nazi regime on 20 July 1944. The plotters were part of the German resistance, mainly composed of Wehrmacht officers. The leader of the conspiracy, Claus von Stauffenberg, tried to kill Hitler by detonating an explosive hidden in a briefcase. However, due to the location of the bomb at the time of detonation, the blast only dealt Hitler minor injuries. The planners' subsequent coup attempt also failed and resulted in a purge of the Wehrmacht. As early as 1938, German military officers had plotted to overthrow Hitler, but indecisive leadership and the pace of global events stymied action. Plotters gained a sense of urgency in 1943, after Germany lost the Battle of Stalingrad and Soviet forces began to push towards Germany. Under the leadership of Stauffenberg, plotters tried to assassinate Hitler at leas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fallschirmjäger
The () were the airborne forces branch of the Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. They were commanded by Kurt Student, the Luftwaffe's second-in-command. Between the wars During the interwar years, the rapid development of aircraft and aviation technology drew the attention of imaginative military planners. The idea of aerially inserting a large body of troops inside enemy territory was proposed during World War I by Brigadier General Billy Mitchell (general), Billy Mitchell, commander of the United States Army Air Corps, U.S. Army Air Corps in France.Ailsby, Christopher: ''Hitler's Sky Warriors: German Paratroopers in Action, 1939–1945'', p. 12. Spellmount Limited, 2000. However, the Allies of World War I, Entente High Command was forced to abandon the idea, as it was unprepared for such an undertaking, both logistically and in materiel. Among the first to recognize the potential ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial German Navy, 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), 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 and officially established 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 faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars to oppose the military forces of the new nation's adversaries during the Russian Civil War, especially the various groups collectively known as the White Army. In February 1946, the Red Army (which embodied the main component of the Soviet Armed Forces alongside the Soviet Navy) was renamed the "Soviet Army". Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union it was split between the post-Soviet states, with its bulk becoming the Russian Ground Forces, commonly considered to be the successor of the Soviet Army. The Red Army provided the largest land warfare, ground force in the Allies of World War II, Allied victory in the European theatre of World War II, and its Soviet invasion of Manchuria, invasion of Manchuria assisted the un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland
The , also commonly referred to simply as or , was an elite combat unit of the German Army (1935–1945), German Army () that fought on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front in World War II. Originally formed in 1921, it was known as the and served as a Guard of honour, ceremonial guard unit and by 1939 had grown into a regiment of the combined German armed forces. The regiment would later be expanded and renamed in 1942, and after significant reorganization was renamed in May 1943. In November 1944, while the division retained its status as a division, some of its subordinate units were expanded to Division (military), divisional status, and the whole group of divisions were reorganized as . 1939–1942 The Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland was activated on 14 June 1939. The regiment saw action in France Battle of France, in 1940, and took part in the invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. It was attached to 2nd Panzer Army, Panzer Group 2 in the opening phases o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Army (1935–1945)
The German Army (, ; ) was the Army, land forces component of the ''Wehrmacht'', the regular armed forces of Nazi Germany, 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 Wehrmacht foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts served in the German Army. Only 17 months after Adolf Hitler announced the German rearmament programme 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 Armed Forces, Austrian Army after the Anschluss, annexation of Austria by Germany 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 units into combined arms forces. Coupled with operational and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previously used term (''Reich Defence'') and was the manifestation of the Nazi regime's efforts to German rearmament, rearm Germany to a greater extent than the Treaty of Versailles permitted. After the Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Nazi rise to power in 1933, one of Adolf Hitler's most overt and bellicose moves was to establish the ''Wehrmacht'', a modern offensively-capable armed force, fulfilling the Nazi regime's long-term goals of regaining lost territory as well as gaining new territory and dominating its neighbours. This required the reinstatement of conscription and massive investment and Military budget, defence spending on the arms industry. The ''Wehrmacht'' formed the heart of Germany's politico-military po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
