Land War #2

German forces march through Paris. Date unspecified.

German soldiers in occupied Paris.

German sniper, Eastern Front, 1942.

Troops making their way inland after landing at Algiers during Operation Torch, November 1942. Here some men are pulling and pushing a trailer of equipment over the sandy beach, and in the background two soldiers are manhandling a motorbike. (Imperial War Museum photo A 12708)

240mm howitzer of Battery B, U.S. 697th Field Artillery Battalion, just before firing into German-held territory. Mignano area, Italy, 30 January 1944.

Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox (center) standing with a group of U.S. Marines, while observing joint maneuvers at New River Inlet, North Carolina, circa 17 July 1941. Note combat gear worn by the Marines and bow of beached landing craft in the right center background. (Official U.S. Navy photograph #80-G-7919, now in the collections of the National Archives)

Wounded American soldiers lean against chalk cliffs after storming Omaha Beach, Normandy, France, June 6, 1944.

American engineers destroy a land mine, Normandy, France, June 1944.

Two US Ranger corporals, Robert Bevan and Earl Drost, cover a French gun battery above Arzew harbor in Algeria on November 8, 1942. The soldier at left has a bolt-action rifle, the soldier at right an M1 Garand.

Two Ranger corporals, Robert Bevan and Earl Drost, cover a French gun battery above Arzew harbor in Algeria on November 8, 1942.

Pfc. Abraham Mirmelstein of Newport News, Virginia, holds the Holy Scroll as Capt. Manuel M. Poliakoff, and Cpl. Martin Willen, of Baltimore, Maryland, conduct services in Schloss Rheydt, former residence of Dr. Joseph Paul Goebbels, Nazi propaganda minister, in Münchengladbach, Germany on March 18, 1945. They were the first Jewish services held east of the Rur River and were offered in memory of soldiers of the faith who were lost by the 29th Division, U.S. 9th Army.

Father Kelly, Chaplain of the 2nd Marines, gives aid to a wounded Marine on Guadalcanal.

Evacuating Marine wounded near Kokumbona River on Guadalcanal.

A machine gun captured from the Japanese at Guadalcanal is being used by two American Marines.

U.S. Marines hanging out machine gun ammo belts to dry on Guadalcanal. February 1943.

Group of U.S. Marines discover a booby trap on Guadalcanal.

A U.S. soldier uses a flamethrower during the battle.

A U.S. soldier prepares to fire a rifle grenade from the shore of Guadalcanal. Most likely demonstrating the weapon for other soldiers.

A helmeted and bewhiskered Santa Claus hands out presents to wounded American soldiers in 90 degree heat on Christmas Day, 1942.

U.S. soldiers stationed on Guadalcanal hold an animal contest with American Red Cross volunteer and actress Patricia O'Neill.

Marine grave at Guadalcanal.

An infantryman is on guard on Grassy Knoll in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands during World War II. January 26, 1943.

A Marine preparing to toss a grenade towards enemy positions on Guadalcanal. His buddy handles a BAR.

Infantrymen clean their weapons next to a foxhole after a bloody battle for a 1,500-ft. peak called the Grassy Knoll.

A group of American soldiers — from left, Corp. Jesse C. Luper, Sgt. Leroy Kelley, Corp. Benjamin Cox, and Maj. Charles W. Davis — show off a crocodile they caught during a lull in fighting. Using dynamite, the soldiers stunned what they thought was a very large fish but was in fact this five-foot crocodile.

A captured Japanese pom-pom anti-aircraft gun put to use by the American forces on Guadalcanal. January 1943.

U.S. Marines advance along a jungle road toward Tassafaronga, where a nighttime battle with the Japanese Navy would occur.

American Marines come ashore from landing craft at Guadalcanal. At the beginning of the campaign, Japan's 2,000 soldiers were caught off-guard by the Allied invasion.

U.S. Marines operate communications equipment.

The bodies of Japanese soldiers on the beach at Guadalcanal, after a disastrous attempt to land reinforcements by their infamous 'Tokyo Express.'

Deceased Japanese soldiers lie on the sandbar at the mouth of Alligator Creek on Guadalcanal on 21 August 1942 after being killed by U.S. Marines during the Battle of the Tenaru.

U.S. Marines carry an injured comrade onto a landing craft for evacuation.

American soldiers line up for grub. The island's harsh heat often left food supplies spoiled, and troops would be forced to sustain on maggot-infested rations.

American troops of the 160th Infantry Regiment rush ashore from a landing boat at Guadalcanal.

First Division Marines storm ashore across Guadalcanal's beaches on D-Day, 7 August 1942, from the attack transport Barnett (AP-11) and attack cargo ship Fomalhaut (AK-22). The invaders were surprised at the lack of enemy opposition.

From left to right: Lieutenant Colonel Leonard B. Cresswell (1st Battalion), Lieutenant Colonel Edwin A. Pollock (Executive Officer 1st Marines), Colonel Clifton B. Cates (Commanding Officer 1st Marines), Lieutenant Colonel William N. McKelvy (3rd Battalion) and Lieutenant Colonel William W. Stickney (2nd Battalion) at Guadalcanal, October 1942.

U.S. Marines drag dead Japanese soldiers from their bunker near Point Cruz on Guadalcanal in November 1942.

Heavy tropical downpours at Guadalcanal all but flood out a U.S. Marine Corps camp near Henderson Field, and the field as well. U.S. Marines' damp clothing and bedding contributed to the heavy incidence of tormenting skin infections and fungal disorders. Early 1944.

MajGen Alexander A. Vandegrift, CG, 1st Marine Division, confers with his staff on board the transport USS McCawley (APA-4) en route to Guadalcanal. From left: Gen Vandegrift; LtCol Gerald C. Thomas, operations officer; LtCol Randolph McC. Pate, logistics officer; LtCol Frank G. Goettge, intelligence officer; and Col William Capers James, chief of staff.

S/Sgt Bill Seklscki fires a flame thrower at a Japanese position near Manacag, Luzon, P.I., 1945.

Towns in the Ardennes are small and usually fall into one of two types: a cluster of houses at a crossroads, such as Noville …

… and a river valley settlement, such as Stolzemburg on the Our.

Snow scene near Krinkelt. December 1944.

Here is a portion of the wreckage in St. Vith, Belgium, after units of the 7th Armored Division took the town.

Losheimergraben, Germany.

Members of the U.S. infantry going ashore in landing craft from their transports upon their arrival in Iceland to garrison the island with British troops.

General Douglas MacArthur and a group of U.S. Army and Philippine officers wade ashore at Leyte Island.

A platoon of American soldiers returns fire as it encounters one of the last pockets of resistance amid the ruins of Manila.

Men of the Bridge Building Platoon, A Company, 749th Railroad Operating Battalion, working on a bridge they had raised out of the river at Plaridel, Luzon, Philippines.

U.S. paratroopers pack their equipment before flying into battle. Pacific theater.

U.S. Marines at Empress Augusta Bay, November 1943.

U.S. Marines hit the beach at Empress Augusta Bay on Bougainville.

U.S. Marines at a religious service on Bougainville.

American GIs of Ted Force on patrol near Aitape, New Guinea.

Troops of the 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, communicate with an artillery spotter plane during Ted Force’s advance on New Guinea.

American and Australian troops cross the Francisco River near Salamaua, New Guinea, September 1943.

American soldiers, with American flags stuck under the camouflage netting on their helmets, arrive in the thriving Algerian town of Oran.

American troops land in North Africa, 8 November 1942.

American troops land at Surcouf, near Algiers.

Surgery tent of a medical battalion on Bougainville Island, showing operating table made of blanket wrapped litter supported by packing cases, South Pacific, November 1943.

Members of a patrol crossing a river on Bougainville. The bamboo poles on the right in the river form a fish trap.

Stripped to the waist, men of the U.S. Marine Corps on Wake Island are filling gasoline drums from the island's storage tank. This was one of the last photos sent out from Wake before war flamed in the Pacific.

Marines ford a Cape Gloucester stream while searching for a Japanese pillbox.

Well-earned rest for members of the Seventh Army in southern France.

Moving up through the village of Prato, Italy, men of the 370th Infantry Regiment slowly make their way up the Italian peninsula.

A Bailey bridge being built by American engineers to replace a bridge destroyed by aerial attacks.

An infantry patrol of the Fifth Army advances cautiously across a bridge into German territory near Nettuno, Italy.

Engineers of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division building a bridge to replace the one blown out by the retreating Germans, Italy, 23 September 1943.

Wooden bridge built in ten hours by Engineers of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division, Italy, 23 September 1943. This is the same bridge as seen in the previous photo, from the opposite bank.

American engineers begin construction of the main Fifth Army ponton bridge over the Volturno River.

Sections of the ponton bridge are put into place on the Volturno River.

An American soldier walks past the rubble that was San Pietro, Italy, shortly after it was captured by the Fifth Army.

American soldier runs through a field covered by a smoke screen.

Maginot Line bunker being investigated by GIs after German troops departed, 27 July 1944.

An American soldier views the corpses of American troops at the Baugnez crossroads, near Malmédy, Belgium, January 1945.

Victims of the so-called “Malmédy Massacre,” showing body tags and the Café Bodarwé in the background.

Another view of some of the bodies at the Baugnez crossroads.

Men of the 291st Engineer Combat Battalion uncovering the bodies at the Baugnez crossroads, mid-January 1945.

Baugnez crossroads where the “Malmédy massacre” took place. One of the trucks of B Battery, 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion is at right, shot up from the firefight prior to the surrender. The field in which the bodies were found is beyond the truck, where the process of removing the bodies has begun. January 1945.

American infantrymen reading German propaganda leaflets during a rest period.

American troops, 3rd Battalion, 132nd Infantry Regiment, Americal Division, land on Cebu Island, Philippines, March 1945.

Men from the 33rd Infantry Division fill their canteens at a small mountain stream during the advance on Baguio, February 1945.

GIs pause beside a Japanese English language sign after their seizure of the Bauang bridge.

A GI shaves on board the Liberty ship Russell Sage sailing between New Guinea and the Philippines.

U.S. 7th Infantry Division en route to Burauen, Leyte, November 1944.

American troops, Manila, February 1945.

American troops land on Luzon, January 1945.

American troops man-handle cargo from landing craft to the beach, Luzon, January 1945.

American troops unloading cargo from LCVPs on the beach, Luzon, January 1945. The censor has scratched out the identification number of the transport the landing craft are from (the number after the dash identifies the individual landing craft and thus did not need to be censored).

Army troops watch for sniper fire shortly after coming ashore on Leyte.

A Japanese water tank trap, left by the retreating Japanese, fails to retard the onslaught of the American invasion of the Philippines.

Troops of the U.S. Eighth Army on Luzon.

The U.S. 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment land on Corregidor.

Marines at the remains of the walls of Shuri Castle, Okinawa.

Digging was often impossible during the heavy rains of May 1945 on Okinawa. These Marines are using sandbag covers to protect their boots and legs.

Marines clearing out Japanese in June 1945, after the fall of the Shuri Line on Okinawa.

Marine riflemen wait for the explosion of a charge before closing in on a Japanese refuge on Okinawa.

Marines evacuate a wounded comrade under fire on Okinawa.

A young Marine with buddies killed at the Shuri Line on Okinawa.

Marines cover a Christian church on Okinawa whose steeple was used as a snipers' nest by the Japanese.

Marines land unopposed on Okinawa.

Following a tank up the railroad cut, men of 1st Battalion, 29th Marines, work toward Sugar Loaf Hill and Half Moon Hill during the attack of 17 May 1945.

A wounded Marine receives aid behind a low hill shielding medical personnel from direct enemy fire.

Graves registration teams identify Marines killed in the fighting on southern Okinawa.

Supplies and debris clutter the northern slope of Sugar Loaf following its capture by Dog Company, 29th Marines.

Marines set up home on Sugar Loaf’s northeastern slope.

Marines move up to the attack on Sugar Loaf on 17 May 1945, past the debris of battle.

General Alexander Patch.

Major General Lucien K. Truscott.

Lieutenant General Courtney H. Hodges, commanding the U.S. First Army.

General Omar N. Bradley.

General Jacob L. Devers.

In an early amphibious experiment, Marines unload a 75mm gun from a "Beetle boat" at Culebra, Puerto Rico, in 1923.

U.S. Marines, wearing neckties and accompanied by their mascot, stage a mock amphibious landing in 1937.

Marine armed with BAR, Okinawa.

Marine Sergeant at New Orleans, Louisiana.

Marine Corps Major in summer uniform.

Marine Corps Major in winter uniform.

Marine Corps Major in dress white uniform.

Infantryman firing his BAR.

Infantryman with BAR, Okinawa, May 1945.

Officer of airborne forces. Note his armament, an M1 rifle, a .45-caliber automatic pistol, and grenades, with two ammunition bandoliers.

Complete regulation dress for airborne troops. Note slanting breast pockets in jacket, reinforced trouser knees, and high-laced boots. The paratroop dress was in light olive drab and washed out to a give a grayish neutral color. This NCO is a technical sergeant and is armed with the Airborne version of the M1 Carbine with wire folding stock.

Marine with BAR fires at a group of Japanese changing positions.

Browning Automatic Rifle Model 1918A2. The BAR was invented in 1917 by John Browning to meet the U.S. requirement for a World War I automatic rifle. The Model 1918 was a gas-operated selective-fire weapon with a cyclic rate of fire of 550 rounds per minute, a muzzle velocity of 2,805 feet per second, an overall length of 47 inches, a barrel length of 24 inches, and a weight of 16 pounds. It utilized a 20-round detachable box magazine. It had no bipod. The Model 1918A1 was adopted in 1937. It had the same characteristics as the 1918 but was equipped with a bipod and a shoulder-support plate that hinged up from the butt plate. Shortly before World War II, the 1918A2 was adopted. It featured changes in the bipod, the forearm, and the butt stock, plus other minor changes. The model 1918A2 weighed 19.4 pounds and was the standard squad automatic weapon used in World War II. BARs have a maximum range of about 3,500 yards.

86th Infantry Division sniper training in the Philippines, 1945.

Marine with M1 Garand with bayonet fighting on Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands in February 1944.

Pvt. Morton Frenberg, with M1 rifle, American 8th Infantry Division, 24 February 1945, Germany, waits out a German shelling.

Elements of the 379th Regiment, 95th Division, fire from a riverside cafe in Uerdingen, Germany, 5 March 1945.

Colt Automatic M1911A1.

57mm Recoilless Rifle M18.

75mm Recoilless Rifle M20.

75mm Recoilless Rifle M20 (postwar).

75mm Recoilless Rifle M20 in action on Okinawa, August 1945.

Loading a Bazooka.

An early version of the 2.36 inch rocket launcher ("bazooka").

Rocket, HEAT, 2.36-inch, M6A1.

In training maneuvers GI Joes display two kinds of bazookas. Armed with bazookas, they stand their ground against tank assaults and even go forward to attack tanks. Pictured here is the old style, one-piece bazooka (right) and the more easily carried “folding” model, a two-piece unit which can be assembled in a few seconds to form a 61-inch launcher for firing.

The typical infantryman of 1944-45 is portrayed by this bazooka team wearing M1943 combat dress. The left-hand man has the canvas leggings of 1941 type, and the other soldier wears pile-lined winter issue boots. The olive drab scarf was official issue.

American infantry patrol invades “No Man’s Land” at Anzio to blast Germans out of a farmhouse with a bazooka.

Another minute and the Bangalore torpedo will blow this barbed wire sky high. Infantrymen in training learn how to breach an entanglement. They have crept up to the barrier, put together the three sections of the torpedo, shoved it under the wire. From a point of safety they will detonate the explosive.

Flame thrower in use against Japanese holding out in a cave along Iwo Jima's northern coastal cliffs, 8 April 1945.

American Marine fighting on Guam uses flamethrowers against Japanese positions on Adelup Point.

American flamethrower operator of Co. E, 2nd Bn., 9th Marines, runs under fire on Iwo Jima, February 1945. The flame gun can be seen in this Marine's right hand. It had two pistol grips. The rear grip had a lever that released the fuel from the tanks. The front grip had the trigger that ignited the fuel.

American Flamethrower, Portable, M2-2. Empty weight: 43 pounds. Filled weight: 68 pounds. Fuel capacity: 4 gallons. Range: 20-40 yards. Fuel type: Gasoline. Propellant: Nitrogen. Burn time: 10-20 seconds.

A U.S. Marine Corps Historical Co. flamethrower team operates the M2-2 flamethrower at a public demonstration of World War II tactics.

Into the mouth of hell. A USMC-HC flamethrower team in action at a public event.

American flamethrower operators move back up the line after refilling their tanks with fuel. Iwo Jima, 1945.

American flamethrower team in action on Iwo Jima. Riflemen provide security for the flamethrower operator while he engages a target.

Poster: “Leave flamethrowing to US—YOU be careful with Fire!”

U.S. soldier firing an M1 flamethrower.

U.S. soldier demonstrates an M1 flamethrower.

U.S. soldier firing an M1 flamethrower into an enemy position.

Americans of the 7th Division using flame throwers to smoke out Japanese from a block house on Kwajalein Island, while others wait with rifles ready in case Japanese come out. 4 February 1944.

Flamethrowers continued to work hard, and at considerable peril, throughout the Battle for Iwo Jima. The fighting continues and continues. For weary flamethrower operators Pvt Richard Klatt, left, and PFC Wilfred Voegeli the campaign is just one cave after another.

Marine with flamethrower, 1st Marine Division.

Flamethrowers at the Army War Show, 27 November 1942. Raising money for the Army Emergency Relief Fund, the Army War Show toured eighteen U.S. cities. The shows were seen by sellout crowds, even in enormous stadiums.

A soldier of the U.S. Army Chemical Warfare Service with his M1 flame gun somewhere in France. His shirt and trousers are of the 1942 pattern for parachutists, but in the very rare and non-standardized summer camouflage version of HBT cloth. Only one example of this uniform is known to exist today. The M1C paratrooper's helmet bears the semi-standard British contract helmet netting but is festooned with native foliage—a practice common in other armies but generally scorned in American forces. The use of camouflage face paint is also unusual for the period. Although identified as a combat photograph by the Army Signal Corps, this shot was probably taken in the rear areas of France, summer 1944.

A demonstration of an M1 flame gun against a bunker. If the occupants were not caught in the flames, they were overcome when the oxygen inside the emplacement was exhausted. Allied flamethrowers, unlike German weapons, could project unignited fuel through a bunker embrasure, and then follow it with a burst of flame.

155mm Mortar T25, Mount T16E2, in action in the Pacific.

M1 81mm mortar, Pacific.

4.2-inch mortars, Pacific.

Crews from the 129th Infantry Regiment of the 37th Infantry Division set up their 4.2-inch mortars on the outskirts of Manila.

Infantrymen firing a mortar, located on one side of a bitterly contested hill, at Japanese positions on the other side of the hill, 8 March 1944 on Bougainville. The mortar is a 60mm M2 on Mount M2.