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General Guderian, 1940
A 1940 photograph of General Heinz Guderian (1888-1954), one of the foremost panzer commanders of the German Army during the Second World War (1939-45). Guderian was insturmental in major German victories during the Fall of France in 1940...
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Battle of Białystok-Minsk
The Battle of Białystok-Minsk in Jun-Jul 1941, which involved the encirclement of entire Soviet armies positioned near each city in Poland and Belarus, respectively, was one of the first victories by Nazi Germany and its Axis allies against...
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Battle of Kiev in 1941
The Battle of Kiev (Kyiv) in July-September 1941 was a major Axis victory in Operation Barbarossa, Adolf Hitler's attack on the USSR during the Second World War (1939-45). Hitler wanted the resources of Ukraine since these would allow the...
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Battle of Smolensk in 1941
The Battle of Smolensk in 1941 ended in victory for Nazi Germany and its Axis allies against the USSR's Red Army during Operation Barbarossa in the Second World War (1939-45). Smolensk on the Dnieper (Dnepr/Dnipro) river was the traditional...
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Battle of Moscow in 1941-2 - The USSR's First Victory
The Battle of Moscow (Oct 41 to Jan 42) was Germany's first major land defeat in the Second World War (1939-45). Although Axis panzer divisions reached within 20 miles (32 km) of the Soviet capital, the USSR's Red Army, led by Marshal Georgi...
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The 1944 Plot to Assassinate Hitler
A group of German generals attempted to assassinate the leader of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) using a bomb on 20 July 1944 but failed. The conspirators were against Hitler's conduct of the Second World War (1939-45) and Nazism in...
Definition
Afrika Korps - Germany's Elite Desert Force
The Deutsches Afrika Korps (DAK) was an elite German armoured unit that fought in North Africa during the Second World War (1939-45). The Korps was initially led by Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) before he was promoted to lead a larger force of...
Definition
Oradour-sur-Glane Massacre
The Oradour-sur-Glane massacre in southwest France was the murder on 10 June 1944 of 643 civilian men, women, and children by the Waffen SS during the Second World War (1939-45). The massacre and the razing to the ground of the village was...
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Trapetum Roman Olive Press
A Roman stone olive press known as a trapetum. From Pompeii. The device consisted of a large stone bowl (mortarium) into which the olives were poured and then crushed under two concave stones (orbes) attached to a central beam (cupa) fixed...
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German Engineers on the Dnieper, 1941
A photograph showing German army engineers building a bridge across the Dnieper near Kiev (Kyiv) during Operation Barbarossa, the attack by Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) on the USSR from June to December 1941. (German Federal Archives)