La Segunda Guerra Mundial en Color

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British commandos who took part in The Dieppe Raid 'Operation Jubilee' at Newhaven, South of England. 19 August 1942

The Soldier with the bandaged leg is Gunner Len Ruskin of 'B' Troop and the one wearing the German cap is Private E.L. Fraser of 'F' Troop both of Group 2, 4/Commando on their return in landing craft (LCAs) at Newhaven Harbour, East Sussex, England.

During the Dieppe raid there was a number of smaller operations off to the sides of the main assault. These ‘raids within a raid’ were launched with the aim of preparing the way for the main assaults on the Dieppe beachfront by knocking out guns, observation posts and other flanking positions.

The most successful of these side shows was the attack by No. 4 Commando on the Varengeville coastal defence battery to the west of Dieppe.

The 252 men of the Commando were split into two groups. Group One landed in front of two gullies that led up to the battery position through scrubland. Group Two landed about 1½ miles west of Group One by the mouth of the Saane River.

Group One, commanded by Major Derek Mills-Roberts, consisted of the Group HQ, C Troop and 1 section of A Troop, plus various support personnel, a total of 88 all ranks. Group Two, commanded by the unit’s founder, Lord Lovat, had 164 personnel made up of A (less one section), B and F Troops, and the force HQ.

The Plan
Their objective was to destroy the battery near Varengeville to stop it firing on the naval forces and the Canadians engaged in the main assault on Dieppe.

Group One’s Landing on Beach One -
At 0430 hours No. 4 Commando hit the beach. Group One made straight for the gullies in front of their landing position that led off the beach, all haste was called for as the lighthouse had shut down, indicating the raid may have been detected.
No. 2 Section cleared the houses immediately above the beach and guarded the gully down to the beach.
The single section of A Troop attached to Group One worked its way behind the lighthouse and cut the observers telephone cable running from it back to the battery. Once C Troop had worked its way forward to the wood edge facing the battery position, they were soon engaged in a firefight with the Germans.
The Group One A Troop section then worked around the flank of the German positions and engaged them from positions among the houses. By 0540 hours all of C Troop was in position and pouring rifle, Bren light machine-gun, Boys anti-tank rifle and mortar fire onto the Germans.

Group Two’s Landing on Beach Two -
Group Two’s landing was not so easy. A Troop (less the section attached to Group One) came ashore under fire from mortars and machine-guns and had to negotiate the thick barbed wire entanglements, suffering four casualties in the process.
The commandos used Rabbit netting to cross the wire. The remainder of the Group Two, coming ashore 150 yards up the beach from A Troop, made for the Saane River mouth, also taking casualties. Relief came when the mortar fire lifted to focus on the withdrawing British landing craft.
At the woods to the rear of the German Battery B and F Troops split. B Troop continued east and followed the southern edge of the wood. They then split into their sections and used fire and movement to advance through the orchard and village. They silenced a machine-gun post in the process and were soon in position to assault the battery. 95 minutes after landing they were ready for the assault.
F Troop headed northeast towards the rear of the battery. Using the cover of smoke they advanced from the wood on the German positions to penetrate their wire perimeter. They surprised a patrol of Germans just inside organising an assault on C Troop from Group One. The F Troop commandos assaulted, killing them all. Once these were cleared away, further resistance was met in and around the farm buildings. The fighting was fierce, but the commandos’ special combat training shone through, they proved quick and deadly against all opposition encountered. Several more casualties were sustained. Finally they reached their planned start positions for the assault on the battery.
The Force HQ move up between the positions of B and F Troops, coming under fire from F Troop, but this was soon stopped by radio calls from the HQ.

The Assault on the Battery -
Both Group One and Two were in position for the assault and firing on the battery. The A Troop fighting patrol (the section attached to Group One) continued to inflict heavy casualties on the Germans from their flank position west of the battery.
The planned Hawker Hurricane flight arrived on time to strafe the battery position, unfortunately they were followed by some FW-190 Focke-Wulf fighters who interrupted their strafing run.
B Troop attacked the buildings to the east of the guns while F Troop stormed the battery position itself. F Troop rushed across the open ground through defensive fire overrunning several strong points to finally end amongst the battery itself. All the Germans were quickly dispatched, with only four prisoners taken for intelligence purposes. The Guns were made inoperable by explosive charges. Gun barrels, breach blocks and other equipment vital for the batteries continued use were destroyed.

The Withdrawal -
While B, C and F troops withdrew to Group One’s landing beach, A Troop was busy guarding the St. Marguerite flank in case of German counterattack. A German patrol was sent from St. Marguerite and was ambushed by A Troop. Once the wounded were withdrawn, A, B, C and F troops retired covered by C Troop who were the last off the beach.

The whole operation had been a complete success. The No. 4 commando had suffered 45 casualties, 12 killed, 20 wounded and 13 missing.

 

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Men of the 6th King's Own Scottish Borderers cleaning their Lee Enfield Nº4 rifles in a wood near the village of Hamminkeln in the district of Wesel, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
25th of March 1945.

 

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Gilberts Operation, November 1943

A Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat fighter makes condensation rings as it awaits the take-off flag aboard the Essex-class Aircraft Carrier - USS Yorktown (CV-10), 20 November 1943.
The plane is from Fighting Squadron Five (VF-5).
Yorktown was then hitting targets in the Marshall Islands to cover the landings in the Gilberts.

(Source - Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives # 80-G-204747-A).

On 10 November 1943, 'Yorktown' departed Pearl Harbor in company with Task Force 50—the Fast Carrier Task Force, Pacific Fleet—to participate in her first major assault operation, the occupation of the Gilbert Islands. On 19 November, she arrived at the launch point near Jaluit and Mili Atoll and, early that morning, launched the first of a series of raids to suppress enemy airpower during the amphibious assaults on Tarawa, Abemama, and Makin. The next day, she sent raids back to the airfield at Jaluit; some of her planes also supported the troops wresting Makin from the Japanese. On 22 November, her air group concentrated upon installations and planes at Mili once again. Before returning to Pearl Harbor, the aircraft carrier made passing raids on the installations at Wotje and Kwajalein Atolls on 4 December. The warship reentered Pearl Harbor on 9 December and began a month of air training operations in the Hawaiian Islands.

 

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Two US Infantrymen of the 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, watch over French civilians attending mass in a farm courtyard after retreating German forces destroyed the village church at Couvains, Manche, Lower Normandy, 22 July 1944.

Private First Class Angelo Brichellio of Staten Island, New York (right) stands with a Browning .50 Caliber heavy machine gun as German resistance in the area was still not completely quashed.

Image courtesy of the Archives départementales de la Manche(Departmental Archives of the Channel), 13 Num 545.

 

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'At the end of a very long fight, a Marine flamethrower operator pauses to light up his pipe'.

An unknown US Marine with a M2-2 Flamethrower at Iwo Jima. February 1945.

(Source - Department of Defence Photo [USMC] 111147)

The inherent dangers of operating a fuel-laden backpack flamethrower in open space were readily apparent with the M2.
The operator still needed to expose at least his upper torso to enemy fire before he could squeeze a burst of flame fuel towards the enemy position. The enemy was quick to learn and began targeting flamethrower infantry as soon as they could be spotted. A single well-placed shot with incendiary ammunition held the possibility of igniting the fuel stores, though standard bullets simply punctured the pressurised tanks and sent the operator flying. Conversely, American infantry soon learned to apply covering fire for their flamethrower brethren through standard infantry suppression tactics.
They were adept at clearing out dry cover brush or flushing tunnels, bunkers and foxholes of hidden/dug-in enemies. Some Japanese infantry stood their ground and paid a terrible price of being burned alive while others surrendered at the sheer sight of an incoming M2 unit.

 

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A crew member of a Panzer Mk. III Ausf.J chats with two Grenadiers, possibly part of the 38. Korps, 16. Armee which was to the north of Novgorod where it occupied positions on the southern side of the Volkhov salient, which had come into being as a result of the Soviet offensive in January 1942.
c. Spring 1942.

The Panzer Ausf. type J was a real step forward because of its new, slightly larger (5,41 to 5,52 in length) and redesigned hull, with increased armour up to 50mm at the front, rear and superstructure, as its 50 mm main gun KwK-38 L42 right from the start, with a new mantlet. The hull machine gun received a ball mounting and the visor was also new.

 

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An American G.I. (possibly of the 79th US Infantry Division) runs past a German Sd.Kfz 251 Ausf D (SonderKratfahrzeug 251) - it's probably one of many SPW (Schützenpanzerwagen) belonging to 2.Panzer Aufklärer (recon.), knocked out near St Aubin d'Appenai in Normandy during mid-August 1944.

Many 2.Pz.Dv. Sd.Kfz 250 and 251 were destroyed by air attacks on the roads in Normandy.

(Source - Photographer, Rodger Hamilton - 8th Signal Mobile Photo Lab Unit - National Archives USA)

 

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This is a famous photo taken by the British War Correspondent, George Rodger.
It is of a British soldier standing by the grave of an English Flight Lieutenant and the inscription reads;
"Here lies an unknown English Lieutenant who died in Air Battle".
14.6.1941

According to the Imperial War Museum, the partially burnt out aircraft is a Martin Maryland Mk.II of Nº 39 Squadron RAF in the image taken by Lt. Cash of the No 1 Army Film & Photographic Section, Army Film & Photographic Unit (E7297).
That image shows the graves of three British airmen, in an area situated south west of Gazala, Libya.

We were unable to establish the identity of these airmen or that of the Maryland with the letter 'Q' on the fuselage.
(We believe that the soldier in the photo could be George Rodger's driver)

(Nb. On the 14th of June 1941, a Martin Maryland of Nº 24 Squadron SAAF, was shot down near Ain el Gazala but the Pilot (J.C. Newborn) parachuted to safety and was taken prisoner by the Germans (no record of the other two crew).

 

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Four US soldiers of 3rd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division look up at Allied bombers heading to bomb German positions outside of Saint-Lô, France, at the start of Operation Cobra on the 25th of July 1944.

Operation Cobra was the codename of an decisive offensive launched by the 1st US Army seven weeks after the D-Day landings during WWII. The intention was to take advantage of the German preoccupation with the British and Canadian activity around the town of Caen further to the east, and create a corridor that would allow the First Army to push through into Brittany.

Having been delayed several times due to poor weather, the Operation commenced on the 25th of July with a heavy allied aerial bombardment, which reduced the city of Saint-Lô to ruins.

By the 27th of July, much of the German resistance had collapsed, and the Operation concluded a week after it began on the 31st of July.

(Nb. "The G.I in the middle is wearing the M23 Cartridge Belt that could carry ten M1 Garand clips, one in each pocket. He is also carrying the M43 Pattern Entrenching Tool Cover and Shovel which was actually the first M43 Pattern item that reached troops prior to D-Day in huge numbers. The G.I. on the left is wearing HBT's at least over his M37 Wool Shirt. His HBT Trousers are the 2nd Type with added Cargo Pockets.")

(Colourised and Researched by Benjamin Thomas from Australia)

 

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M4A2 Sherman tanks of the French 2ème Bataillon, 3éme Compagnie, 12ème Régiment de Chasseurs d’Afrique, 2ème Division Blindée unload from LST-517 onto the Utah Beach at Saint Martin de Varreville in Normandy.
2nd of August 1944.

(The Platoon leader and commander of the lead Sherman tank, turret Nº45 "Ile de France" (Nº420657) was Lt. Jean Baillou who was injured when this tank was destroyed on the 12th of August 1944.
When the earlier Somua S35 tanks of the 12e RCA were replaced by M4 Shermans, the crews often affixed the 'SOMUA' name plate on their new tanks. (as seen on the front right of the Sherman in this pic).

The division's 14,454 personnel included men from the 2nd Light Division, escapees from metropolitan France, about 3,600 Moroccans and Algerians, and about 350 Spanish Republicans.

The division embarked in April 1944 and shipped to various ports in Great Britain. On the 29th of July 1944, bound for France, the division embarked at Southampton. During combat in 1944, the division helped liberate Paris, defeated a Panzer brigade during the armoured clashes in Lorraine, forced the Saverne Gap, and liberated Strasbourg. After taking part in the Battle of the Colmar Pocket, the division was moved west and assaulted the German-held Atlantic port of Royan, before re-crossing France in April 1945 and participating in the final fighting in southern Germany.

LST-517 was laid down on 10 September 1943 at Seneca, Illinois by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company; launched on 15 January 1944; sponsored by Miss Onita Watland Walker; and commissioned on 7 February 1944. During World War II, LST-517 was assigned to the European theatre and participated in the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944. Upon her return to the United States, she was decommissioned on 21 December 1945 and struck from the Navy list on 21 January 1946.
LST-517 received one battle star for World War II service.

 

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Student pilots of the Royal Canadian Air Force watch aircraft manoeuvres before taking off, Initial Training School, Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden, Ontario, 30 July 1940.
The group stands in front a North American T-6 'Texan', or 'Harvard' as the aircraft was known amongst Commonwealth air forces. Some 1,173 were supplied by purchase of Lend Lease, mostly operating in Canada as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

 

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**Seized Artillery, 1941**

Pictured is Gabriel Tossu, a Finnish soldier, who is posing with captured Soviet field artillery; a Russian Maxim 1910 water cooled machine gun on a Sokolov mount, and the larger Soviet 76mm regimental gun M1927 (76-мм полковая пушка обр. 1927), known to the Finns as a 76 RK/27.

Gabriel Tossu was presumably a war correspondent and Finnish soldier. He is possibly the Finnish author Eino H Ahti whose pen name was Gabriel Tossu, making him 47 years of age in 1941, participating in the Finnish re-conquest of Ladoga Karelia.
20th of August, 1941.

Location - Kilpeenjoki, now modern day Комсомо́льскоe (Komsomolskoye), Russia, roughly 11 miles from the present day Finnish border.
(Nb.The Finnish army attacked on both sides of the lake Ladoga, On the north side, between lake Ladoga and lake Onega, and on the south side, the Karelian isthmus, between lake Ladoga and the gulf of Finland. This picture is taken on the latter front, north-east of the city of Vyborg.)

One of the less well known conflicts during World War II were numerous hostilities between Finland and the Soviet Union, beginning with the Winter War of 1939 - 1940 and beyond in the Continuation War (also known as the Great Patriotic War) between 1941 - 1944.

The Soviet Union ostensibly sought to claim parts of Finnish territory, demanding—amongst other concessions—that Finland cede substantial border territories in exchange for land elsewhere, claiming security reasons, primarily the protection of Leningrad, which was only 32 km (20 mi) from the Finnish border. Finland refused and the USSR invaded the country.

Finland eventually ceded just over 10% of its former land to the Soviet Union, now modern day Karelia in the Moscow Peace Treaty, preserving Finnish independence.

Though there was a small period of tenuous peace, hostilities resumed the following year in the tumult of both Nazi and Soviet expansion in Europe. Following its restoration of diplomatic relations with Germany who intended to use Finland as a base of operations against the Soviet Union from the west, the Finns changed their strategy from one of defence to re-conquest against the continued subjugation of the Soviet Union.

Letting the Germans begin the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, a month later the Finns initiated a major offensive on the Karelian region and northern Lake Ladoga - the area in which this photograph was taken - re-capturing their ceded territories. At the end of the war, the Finns conceded the same territories as part of the Moscow Peace Treaty, but avoiding occupation by the Soviet Union.

(Source - Courtesy of SA-kuva - Photograph by Vänrikki (2nd Lt.) P. Myllymäki of the Information Company (IC) photographers, TK-kuvaaja. Item #39081)

 

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From left to right: Marine 1st Lieutenant Merrill F. McLane (6th Marine Division), Japanese war dog 'Motobu', Corporal Howard Lee Cox (6th Marine Division).

'Motobu', the German Shepherd pictured, was a Japanese war dog stationed in Motobu, Okinawa, upon which one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific Theater was to be waged.

'Motobu', was found shortly after the battle. He was suffering from severe shell shock; lying nearly unconscious under a rock, the dog was unable to stand and find his way to a nearby stream to drink. Lieutenant McLane, who found 'Motobu', fetched some water and, with the help of Corporal Howard L. Cox, nursed the dog back to an acceptable condition.

On April 1st, 1945, XXIV corps and III Amphibious Corps were the first to land on the Hagushi beaches. The 6th Marine Division's (part of III Amphibious Corps) initial objective was the capture of Yontan Airfield and the protection of the north flank. These objectives were met with surprising ease, as the Japanese battalion that occupied the area gave little resistance.Twelve days ahead of schedule, the 6th Marine Division was already approaching Ishikawa, and only a few days later the division swept through the northern Ishikawa Isthmus.

Already, the 6th Marine Division was approaching Motobu, but their stroke of luck inevitably came to an end when the division discovered the majority of the Udo Force dug in at Yae-Take. Yet, after some of the hardest fighting yet to be seen on the Pacific island, US forces succeeded in pushing through.

The fighting at Motobu was savage; three battalions attacks from the west, and two from the east. Every man, be him private or general, who traveled to the front lines carried either five gallons of water or a case of ammunition. Anyone who left the front lines was tasked with bearing stretchers. One April 15 alone, one company of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines suffered 65 casualties, three of which were company commanders.

After five more days of relentless fighting, General Shepherd declared the Motobu Peninsula secured. 207 Marines were killed and 757 wounded in battle.

The German Shepherd in the photo, Motobu, was found shortly after the battle. He was suffering from severe shell shock; lying nearly unconscious under a rock, the dog was unable to stand and find his way to a nearby stream to drink. Lieutenant McLane, who found Motobu, fetched some water and, with the help of Corporal Howard L. Cox, nursed the dog back to an acceptable condition.

Marine Merrill McLane from Rockport, was an enlisted man in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1934 to 1938. In World War II as a Marine rifle platoon leader in the operation to retake Guam from the Japanese he was awarded the Bronze Star. He retired as Colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves.
He died in September 2008 aged 91.

Marine Howard Cox from California, started the war in Guadalcanal in a Ranger Company - then saw action on all the Islands finishing on Okinawa. He said he was in the 3rd, 5th,and 2nd Divisions as the confusion of battle displaced him. He was a BAR rifleman.
(We think that he was still alive in 2013 aged 87)

 

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M-29 Weasel ('St Lo Special 1') personnel and supply carrier of 'C'Coy, 121st Combat Engineer Battalion, 29th US Infantry Division.
Normandy. c. July 1944.

The 121st landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, fought the hedgerows and entered St. Lo on the 19th of July '44

Some of the added chalk written notes,
"Essayons" (French) = 29th Division Motto, "Let us Go"
"Nihil Timemus" (Latin) = 121st Engineers Motto, "We Fear Nothing"

 

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Guardsmen from the 3rd Battalion Welsh Guards are passed by a Sherman tank of the 26th Armoured Brigade, 6th Armoured Division as they move forward on Route 6 to attack Monte Piccolo outside Arce, Lazio, Italy. 27th of May 1944.

3rd Battalion History (extract for the 27th of May)

"...... they came out in to the spring sunshine. The battle line moving forward. It was not until they reached the town of Arce on the road to Rome that the Battalion was called for. The 3rd Battalion was a long way back in the divisional column when they were ordered to come up in tanks. They "married" with the Lothians and Border Horse and moved up to an assembly area behind the Grenadier Guards. They had had a tiresome journey; the tracks had been bull-dozed through the farmlands, in the rear it was overcrowded with traffic struggling to push forward.
Mounted on the tanks the Battalion was separated from the transport, which resulted in the men having no hot meal, and wireless batteries could not be renewed. They could not see beyond the rising ground which lay ahead but their maps told them that Arce lay about six miles from their assembly area, two miles before they reached the highway they now ran through Monte Oria which lay on the right and Monte Piccolo and Monte Grande on the left. Information was received that the enemies were leaving Acre and the hills were not being held in which they passed. It was not clear that the enemy had moved, and this was to prove right as patrols were sent out.
Of the Battle that was fought at Arce the 1st Guards Brigade received nearly three hundred casualties, of which one hundred and twelve
were Welsh Guardsmen."

 

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Las Aguilas Aztecas, pilotos Mexicanos de la Escuadrilla “A” Escuadrón Aéreo de Pelea 201
The Mexican 201st Fighter Squadron – (July 1944 to August 1945)

Top left - 1st Lt. Fernando Hernández Vega #240391, top right - the Escuadrilla “A” Commander Capt. Roberto Legorreta Sicilia # 259420, bottom right - 1st. Lt. Graco Ramírez Garrido #249329, bottom left - 1st. Lt. Carlos Varela Landini #261629.

The 201st Fighter Squadron was a Mexican fighter squadron, part of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force that aided the Allied war effort during World War II. The squadron was known by the nickname Aguilas Aztecas or "Aztec Eagles", apparently coined by members of the squadron during training.
The squadron was attached to the 58th Fighter Group of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during the liberation of the main Philippine island of Luzon in the summer of 1945. The pilots flew Republic P-47D-30-RA Thunderbolt single-seat fighter aircraft carrying out tactical air support missions.

The Squadron was composed of more than 300 volunteers; 30 were experienced pilots and the rest were ground-crew. The ground crewmen were electricians, mechanics, and radiomen. Its formation was prompted by the attack by German submarines against Mexican oil tankers Potrero del Llano and Faja de Oro, that were transporting crude oil to the United States. These attacks prompted President Manuel Ávila Camacho to declare war on the Axis powers (May of 1942) and to join Brazil as the only Latin American countries to actually send military forces overseas.

(Nb. All four survived the campaign)
(Of the 30 Squadron Pilots, 7 were killed in action and/or training accidents)
(The gun in the background could be a .50 caliber Browning M2 aircraft machine gun as fitted in a P-47 Thunderbird)

 

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Local villagers come out to meet a British column of trucks, jeeps and carriers on a road near Flers, north-western France.
17th of August 1944.

(Source - © IWM B 9333
Sgt. Laing of No 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit)

Officers Diary from the Field Battery, 86th (East Anglian)(Hertfordshire Yeomanry) R.A.
Aug 17th '44
"Our 2 days rest lasts exactly 20 hrs. We join the 11th Armoured Div: to chase the enemy in the Falaise Gap. Recce parties moved at 1300 hrs to recce the route to FLERS as the bridge at CONDE is not yet completed. The C.O.24 runs over a mine and is severely wounded in the leg. The recce party makes a long detour held up by mines and blown bridges. After a 4 hr journey the Recce arrives in FLERS to see the tail of the Regt disappearing east out of the town. The bridge at CONDE has been opened and the Regt has come the quickest way. The guns are in action laid out by compass before the recce party catches up."

"In FLERS we have our first taste of liberation and understand something of what we have been fighting for. All the tiredness and fatigue, all the casualties we have suffered seem worth while when we see the ecstasy and pure joy on the faces of the French people newly liberated from the enemy. Old & young men women & children are waving flags & shouting & singing, all struggle to shake the hand of Tommy. The strain of the fighting drops from our minds & bodies. Moral goes up 200% and we throw away our sweets & cigs ……"

 

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A Bren gunner of the 1st Gordon Highlanders, 153 Brigade, 51st Highland Division in action near Nieuwkuijk, Holland.
6th of November 1944 .

(Source © IWM B 11751
Sgt. Gee - No 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit)

The Battle for the Dutch canals
After St Valery-en-Caux and Le Havre had been secured, the 51st Highland Division moved north east towards Holland. The Division was at Amiens and Vincennes in north east France on 30th September 1944.

The Allies then pushed towards the port of Antwerp in Belgium so that the Royal Navy could re-supply the troops. On 23rd October, the Division formed part of “Operation Colin” to drive the Germans across the River Maas and to liberate southern Holland. The Division attacked from St Oedenrode towards ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

“The Island” was a strip of land between the River Maas and the River Rhine (Neder Rijn). Tracked Kangaroos had been used to move men forward rapidly. Tracked Buffaloes were also used. They were assault boats with spade tracks for water crossings. By 18th November there were no Germans south of the River Maas.

On 7th December 1944, the Germans flooded “The Island.” The Division had to retire south of the River Maas. The Germans held Arnhem on the Rhine

 

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Today, the 24th of January, one of the last surviving well-known 'Tiger' commanders, Otto Carius, passed away after a short, but serious illness, aged 92

Otto Carius was a German Panzer ace of WW2, fighting on the Panzer 38(t), Tiger and finally the Jagdtiger. It is estimated that during the war, Carius’ crew managed to knock out 150 enemy vehicles and many more soft targets and AT guns. He survived the fighting and after the war, he opened a pharmacy called 'Tiger-Apotheke', that exists to this day. He is best known for writing a book of his memories about fighting on the Tiger, called “Tigers in the mud”.

Carius had been drafted twice before, but sent home as "Not fit for service at present underweight!". But in May 1940, Carius was finally drafted into the 104th Infantry Replacement Battalion. Following training, he volunteered for the Panzer Corps. Carius learned the fundamentals of tank warfare at Putlos in Holstein as a member of the 7th Panzer Replacement Battalion.
His unit was integrated into the newly formed 21st Panzer Regiment and in June 1941 was sent to East Prussia. He experienced his first battle as a loader in a Panzer 38(t) during Operation Barbarossa in late June 1941. It was during this operation that Carius suffered wounds from a round that struck his tank.
In 1943, Carius transferred to the schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502 (502 heavy tank battalion). This unit fought at the Leningrad front and then in the area of Narva, Estonia (Battle of Narva), and was subordinated to Strachwitz Battle Group, under the command of Hyacinth Graf Strachwitz von Groß-Zauche und Camminetz. Carius was severely wounded on 24 July 1944 while reconnoitring a village on a motorcycle ahead of his tanks. Until that day, he was unofficially running the 2nd company of 502nd. He officially became the commander of 2nd company; on the same day he was shot through the leg and arm, received four bullets in the back and one through the neck. He subsequently became the commander of a Jagdtiger company of the 512th Heavy Antitank Battalion (schwere Panzerjägerabteilung) in the West at the beginning of 1945. On 8 March 1945, without finishing its training, 2nd company was directed to the front line near Siegburg. It then took part in the defence of the River Rhine and eventually surrendered to the US Army on 15 April 1945.

Awards:
- Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class (EK II and EK I),
- Knights Cross (Ritterkreuz),
- Oakleaves to the Knights Cross (Eichenlaub),
- Wound Badge in Gold,
- Panzer Battle Badge in Silver (100),
Total victories (kills):
- 150-200 tanks,
* Majority of this score was tallied on the Eastern Front.

(Nb. He was not accused of or tried for War Crimes)

 

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Pfc. Richard Larock, of 'E' Company, 119th Infantry Regiment, 30th US Infantry Division, relaxes after a day of fighting by playing piano in a wrecked German beer hall. 8th of October 1944.

He was killed in action two days later near Aachen on the 10th of October 1944, aged 31.

Richard Larock from Helena, Montana, left behind a wife and three young children.
He is buried at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial in Hombourg, Belgium.

(Source - US Army Signal Corps - 195022)