Image: Camel Photobombs Kubelwagen

Above:  A Bactrian Camel stands behind a V.W. Kubelwagen and Wehrmacht men.

In this photograph we see a V.W. Kubelwagen (bucket car), the equivalent of the American Jeep for German armed forces.  While obscured by shadow, part of the divisional insignia to which this vehicle belongs can be seen just underneath the right headlight.  Both of these lights are covered to keep out the sand, and to reduce the amount of light reflecting off the vehicle.  The man on the left is an officer, and panning to the right we see his driver and another soldier (perhaps an aid for the officer?).  In the background are buildings which resemble barracks, and of course a Bactrian Camel.

At first I assumed this photograph was taken in North Africa; however, after a few minutes on Google it appears that Bactrian Camels live primarily (and almost exclusively) in the dry parts of China!  It is possible this could be North Africa, but now I have to consider the possibility of the Caucasus where the German army fought against the Soviets, as this is probably the closest to China the German army got in its drive east.  An interesting website dedicated to the rebuilding of an old Kubelwagen  can be found here.  This site claims the photograph above was taken in Africa, but does not offer any evidence or explanation about the displaced Camel.  For the time being we will just have to call the location of the photograph "The Desert". 

Mr. Boot Returns!

It has been a few months since my last post.  I have been on an extended hiatus while I take care of academic responsibilities and travel.  Pink and I have recently returned from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and prior to that we visited Ireland, and took an extended stay in New Zealand as well!  It almost goes without saying that I have had less time than usual to blog.

Above:  Small map of Ireland.  We landed in Dublin and spent most of the trip just south of Galway, and to the east of the Aran Islands.  Great country to bicycle in.

Today I have responded to a few comments from visitors and followers, and fixed a couple links that were not working in previous posts.  Although I have not been writing here lately, I have been keeping an eye out for unusual topics to write articles about, and I am hoping to have some very interesting blog pieces for this year.  Whenever I travel I try to find people, places, or things that are relevant to Mr. Boot's Axis blog.  Sometimes this is relatively easy (visiting Fjell Festning in Bergen Norway for example), other times this can be very challenging (for example: try finding NSDAP artifacts in New Zealand!).

 Above:  A small map of New Zealand.  We landed in Aukland (North Island) and spent most of our time traveling around the South Island.  New Zealand is about the size of the state of California, but the rugged terrain can take a lot of time to traverse.

Despite the example given above I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon some Axis memorabilia in Christchurch New Zealand.  The Air Force Museum of New Zealand had a lot of exhibits on R.A.F. bomber missions over Europe, but they also had a few nice display stands full of Japanese and German military gear.

Above:  Some items on display at the Air Force Museum in Christchurch.  To the left can be seen a Luftwaffe officers cap.  Below this is a (Wehrmacht?) backpack, and belt.  In the middle we can see a Luftwaffe dress dagger, below this is a Luger pistol, a Japanese bayonet, an aircraft control column,  and a Japanese officer's sword.  To the far right and above is a Japanese airman's head piece and binoculars.  Lying along the bottom of the display are various pins and pennants, as well as a Luftwaffe MG15.

Above:  A closeup of the Luftwaffe dagger.

Many of the items on display have seen better days, and I would love for the curators to do some restoration here.  Nonetheless I was pleased to find another case of artifacts near the one displayed above.  It is interesting to consider that some of these items have come a very long way from Europe, to be resting on an island in the south pacific ocean.

Above:  To the left a German Stahlhelm, helmet liner, boots and K98 rifle. To the right a Japanese helmet and Arisaka rifle.  In the middle and on the floor are various first aid packages, religious artifacts, pipes and silverware.

It's good to be back home for now, but the travel bug is starting to bite me again already.  In the meantime expect regular updates again from Mr. Boot's Axis blog, and let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to hear about as a reader.  Happy holidays, and haben Sie einen schönen Tag!