Image: Guitar in Normandy

Normandy 1944, near Buron:  The man on the left side of this photograph is Untersturmfuhrer Franz-Joseph Kneipp of III./SS-PanzerGrenadier Regiment 25 (12th SS Hitlerjugend Panzer Division).  He sits on the edge of a trench and plays guitar for other members of the unit during a lull in the fighting.  On the right is Battalion Adjutant Kurt Bergmann, and just out of sight to the left is Battalion Commander Obersturmbannfuhrer Karl-Heinz Milius.  Kneipp is wearing a Waffen SS Plane Tree pattern tunic (Platanenmuster), while Bergmann is wearing a Splinter Pattern tunic (Splittertarn).

Image: Sanität

Somewhere in France, 1940:  A combat medic from the Wermacht medical service (Sanitätsdienste), applies bandages to the wounded foot of a German solder.  The large canister sitting to the wounded mans left, and still attached to his combat harness, is a gas mask container.  The worn metal container hanging on the center of his back is his mess tin.  In the background can be seen an officer conducting a conference with a handful of men, while two more soldiers have their faces in the dirt.  I presume these two men are either seeking cover or handling something delicate.  The black line running to the right of this photograph is more than likely for telecommunication, allowing the officer here to coordinate with the greater battle being fought around him.

Welcome to Mr Boot's Axis Blog!

 Hello and welcome to my blog!  "Mr Boot's Axis Blog" features articles on culture, militaria, politics, and other interesting tidbits from the 1930s and 1940s, with a focus on the Axis point of view, and more often than not, the German point of view specifically.  I appreciate positive feedback, but discourage political messages.  This blog is to entertain and educate, not to promote or slander anyone's ideologies.  I hope you find something here that you like, and thank you for dropping by!

Welcome to Mr Boot's Axis Blog

 Hello and welcome to my blog!  "Mr Boot's Axis Blog" features articles on culture, militaria, politics, and other interesting tidbits from the 1930s and 1940s, with a focus on the Axis point of view, and more often than not, the German point of view specifically.  I appreciate positive feedback, but discourage political messages.  This blog is to entertain and educate, not to promote or slander anyone's ideologies.  I hope you find something here that you like, and thank you for dropping by!