WWII Survivor: The Brandenburg Gate

The Brandenburg Gate after the German surrender.
Image sourced from the Library of Congress
via www.militaryphotos.net.

From about 1941, Berlin had been a target for Allied bombings. Over the course of the war, the city was pounded relentlessly, and frankly many historic structures were lucky to survive the onslaught. In a previous post, I discussed the Berlin Victory Column as a WWII survivor. Another such survivor is the Brandenburg Gate.

The Brandenburg Gate was one of the original customs gates into Berlin, built in the 1730s in order to manage the flow of traffic into the city as it expanded after the Thirty Years War. In a famous painting, Napoleon is depicted proceeding through the Gate into Berlin during his conquest of Prussia. It was after this that the Quadriga, the horse-chariot statue on top, was moved to Paris and later returned after Napoleon's downfall.

During the World War II, like most of Berlin, the Gate took some hits around it from bombs and later Soviet artillery as Berlin was encircled in April of 1945. After the war, the damage was repaired in one of the few joint efforts by the West Berlin and East Berlin governments. Since the Gate was between the zones of occupation, the Quadriga was outfitted with a pole which flew the flag of East Germany. This, of course, was removed after the Wall fell.

The Brandenburg Gate in 2011. Photo by Cody Lizotte.

The rich history of the Brandenburg Gate is more vast and layered than can be provided in a small package. However, the fact remains that the Gate was one of the few structures that survived and today is one of the most visited sights in Berlin. Until next time, take care and thanks for reading.

(Facts and figures sourced from Wikipedia on the Brandenburg Gate and "World War II" by H.P Willmott, Robin Cross, and Charles Messenger)

The German 88: Not Your Grandfather's Karbine

As I indicated in my last post, Germany in the interwar period did not strictly abide by the rules set by the Versailles Treaty stipulating what weapons Germany could and could not have. Another one of those provisions that Germany bent was that they were not allowed to develop anti-aircraft artillery. In the process of breaking that rule Germany made one of the most versatile and well-known pieces of artillery in history.

A German 88 with its crew in France 1944.
Photo sourced from WikiCommons.

The 88mm 'flak' gun, or more commonly known by the Allied forces as the 'German 88', was originally designed to be a purpose built anti-aircraft gun (anti-aircraft guns of World War I were merely regular artillery pieces modified to point straight up). In this capacity, the 88 performed well all through the war.

However, its most infamous role was as an antitank gun.This was achieved because the 88 was unique from other 'flak' guns by its ability to be aimed below the horizontal plane. The first well-documented use of the 88 in combat was during the Spanish Civil War, but it was in North Africa where its infamy became solidified. Outside the ranges of normal Allied tank guns and surrounded by empty desert, the Allied tanks had nowhere to hide.

It was this stellar success in the use of the 88 that newer German tanks became equipped with the 88 as their primary weapon. It was this gun that spurred new developments in tank design by both sides that are still in use today. Until next time take care, and thanks for reading.

(Facts and figures sourced from "The World War II Desk Reference", edited by Michael E. Haskew, as well as Wikipedia on the 88mm).

Lufthansa Turned Luftwaffe: Germany's Duplicitous Aircraft Development

In the Treaty of Versailles, signed in 1919, it stipulated that Germany could not have any military aircraft. This was one of many provisions intended to punish Germany after the First World War, and to limit Germany's capability of being a threat to the rest of Europe. After Hitler was elected chancellor, the anger felt by Germany over the unfairness of the treaty translated into many subtle pursuits into rebuilding Germany's army while walking the line but not violating the treaty.

One of those pursuits was the development of a modern air force. Of course, because the treaty said that Germany couldn't have an air force this process could not be done in the open or overtly. So, this task was handed to the various aircraft manufacturers in Germany (Heinkel, Messerschmitt, Junkers, etc.) in order to design new and better planes for civilian use.

A Junkers Ju52 with Lufthansa markings.
Photo obtained through WikiCommons.

The most prominent example of this is the Junkers Ju52. It was originally designed to be used by Lufthansa, the German flag-bearing airline to this day, as a civilian airliner. However, the designers at Junkers made this plane so that it could be easily converted to be a bomber. Indeed, during the Spanish Civil War it was one of the first planes given to Franco's forces. The Ju52, however, was not a very effective bomber and ended up serving in the Luftwaffe in its original role: as a troop transport.

Many of Germany's new planes built in the 1920s and '30s would end up serving in the Luftwaffe in one way or another. This was just one of many areas where Germany defied the treaty in order to rearm itself. Until next time take care, and thanks for reading.

(Facts and figures courtesy of "The World War II Desk Reference" edited by Michael E. Haskew, with specifics about the Ju52 found on Wikipedia.)

The Largest Tank Battle in History

Operation Citadel as a whole. The Battle of Prokharovka
was fought in the bulge seen in the lower third
 of the picture seen in red. Photo obtained through WikiCommons.

It was July 12, 1943. By this point, it was the beginning of the end for Germany's ambitions. The German Army had reached its farthest advance into the Soviet Union and was slowly being pushed back. At one spot, the Soviets had pushed a bulge into the German lines, which is usually bad military tactics. Hitler decided to strike back, hoping to defeat enough of the enemy to turn the tide. In this offensive, code name Operation Citadel, was the largest engagement by tanks the world had ever seen or will see.

It was known as the Battle of Prokhorovka. The Soviets had marshaled around 850 tanks and the Germans had about 450 tanks. Both sides fought at almost point-blank range, and in an amazing feat of armored combat tactics the Germans suffered relatively minor losses while the Soviets lost almost half of their tank forces. In the microcosm it was a major victory.

Unfortunately for Germany, in the grand scheme of things it did little good. Morale was at a rock bottom low, the Soviets could afford such losses and continue to go strong, and the Germans knew that the long slog  back to Germany would cost them many more casualties. Nevertheless, this is a battle for the record books and if you could have been there it would have been a sight to behold. Until next time take care, and thanks for reading.

(Facts and figures sourced from: "World War II" by H.P Willmott, Robin Cross, and Charles Messenger; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Prokhorovka)

Argentina: More Than an Innocent Bystander

In a very real sense, World War II was the first truly global war. If a country wasn't actively fighting they supported one that was. Argentina was no exception. Like Spain, Argentina became a war zone  of espionage on both sides.

Argentina had a sizable German and Italian population at the beginning of the war, and their Nazi Party was particularly active. However, the Argentine maintained neutrality throughout most of the war. This ended when the FBI accused Argentina and Chile of acting as intelligence hot spots for the Axis powers, and provided evidence to support their claims. This led to 38 arrests in Argentina and the end of the espionage wars. When the Axis powers were nearing total collapse, Argentina finally declared war, a month and a half before Germany surrendered.

Nevertheless, because of the heavy German presence in Argentina it became a refuge for many top Nazi leaders after the war, including Adolf Eichmann, head of the Gestapo Department of Jewish Affairs.He was later found by Israeli agents and tried and hanged in 1962. Until next time take care, and thanks for reading.

(Facts and figures courtesy of "The World War II Desk Reference", edited by Michael E. Haskew)

BMW and Rolls-Royce: Enemies Now Allies

While the title of this post may seem confusing, in fact it highlights a point of bitter contention between Britain and Germany that continues to this day. During World War II the British fighters, as well as the P-51 Mustang, were powered by Rolls-Royce engines. The Germans, on the other hand, powered their aircraft by, among others, BMW engines.

Both BMW and Rolls-Royce made cars before the war and during the war their production lines were outfitted to make war materiel. After the war, Rolls-Royce went back to making cars but the BMW plants were almost all leveled over the course of the war. It wasn't until the mid 1950s that BMW even started  to make cars again. However, in Britain after the war up to the present day almost all of the British car companies either went out of business or were bought up by other companies. Among these companies bought, Rolls-Royce is now owned by BMW, whose engines power the new Rolls-Royces, a point of contention between two countries decades after the war's end. Until next time take care, and thanks for reading.

The Start of Ian Fleming: Operation Golden Eye

Ian Fleming is best known for being the writer of the James Bond novels, but before that he was an intelligence officer with the British Naval Intelligence Service. His career was made by two operations during the war, one of which was Operation Golden Eye.

Golden Eye was a plan to conduct sabotage operations against Spain should they forge an alliance with Germany or worse, be taken over by them. Because Spain had become fascist in the Spanish Civil War of 1936, Britain feared that they would sympathize with Germany and possibly cooperate with them to invade Gibraltar, the British port city and the Allies' gateway into the Mediterranean Sea. However, due to the fact that Spain never allowed German units into Spain ( in fact, like Switzerland, Spain kept its neutrality and became a hotbed of spy activity on both sides) the plans were scrapped.

Nevertheless, Operation Golden Eye had a lasting effect on Ian Fleming, the operation planner. He would later name his Jamaican home Goldeneye (later also the name of the 16th Bond movie), and thanks to his wartime career as a spy and peacetime career as a journalist he began to create the most famous novel character in history: James Bond. Until next time take care, and thanks for reading.

The People's Car: VW

Ferdinand Porsche

Many people can easily identify the Volkswagen Beetle, with its semicircular shape and cute-looking headlights. In fact, it passed the Ford Model T as the longest continually produced car in the world, having been made in its original format from 1938 to 2003. However, many people may not know the history behind the development of this icon.

This car was originally conceived by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche (yes, that Porsche) in 1932. In its first incarnation, it looked similar to the Beetle in that it was arranged in the same general layout with a semicircle body with a rear engine. However, these prototypes didn't cut it and were all eventually destroyed in an air raid during the war. In 1933, the year that Adolf Hitler took power in Germany, Hitler commissioned Porsche to make a "People's Car", literally a Volks wagen in German, for the general population. It was ordered to seat two adults and three children and go up to 100 km/hr (about 60 mph). It would be available on a savings plan with regular installments over about a year for the same price as a motorcycle at the time.

Porsche was only able to make a few cars for civilians before the war started. During the war, the Nazi elite could get them but for the most part the Germans used the Beetle as their version of the US Jeep, usually with the same chassis (underbody frame) but with a different body. Thankfully, Dr. Porsche survived the war and after the Allied disassembly of the German production facilites was over with he could proceed in making the car which would become the one we all know and love, as well as some of the most iconic German sports cars in history. Until next time take care, and thanks for reading.

Denmark: How to Capture a Country Before Lunch

It is a matter of months after Germany has successfully invaded Poland. Britain and France have declared war on Germany and the Second World War has begun. However, aside from some minor ( and half-hearted) border skirmishes on the French-German border, nothing has happened on the ground in Europe.

This silence, on April 9, 1940, was about to be broken. The Germans, remembering the First World War, wanted to prevent the British from effectively blockading Germany from its shipments of war-vital iron ore. To do this, the Germans needed to take Norway and in order to do that they needed to secure Denmark.

In the early morning hours of April 9, the Germans deployed a relatively small ground force in conjunction with paratroopers, the first such operation in history. By 9:00 AM, the Germans had secured the major airfields as well as Copenhagen the capital. While there was some sporadic resistance by the Danes, they knew they couldn't win and by noon Denmark had surrendered. However, because the Danes did not roll over and give up without a fight, and because the Germans viewed the Danes as fellow Aryans, they were treated better than most occupied nations during the war. Nevertheless, it is most certainly one of the shortest wars in history. Until next time take care, and thanks for reading.