norwest78

The attached photo shows the grave marker (with French-style dog tags attached) of 4 Moroccans KIA in November 1939. My assumption is that they were colonial troops who fell sometime during the "Phoney War" when France made limited incursions into Germany while most German forces were engaged in Poland. Is that a reasonable assumption? --Kevin

T-26. Only the most common Soviet tank, lol. So many variants that I missed it in my searches.

I've searched but not found a match for this tank. I thought T-34 at first glance, but looking closer it doesn't seem to be. --Kevin

Here's a LW colonel wearing one.

After a little help, I've come to the conclusion that this is a Landwehr group, probably activated for refresher training.

Werkluftschutz - Factory Air Defense

I'm hoping that someone can explain why the mix of insignia/buckles in this group photo. Seems to be a mix of Heer and SA men. Are the guys in the caps early/SA mountain troops? There is a mix of SA, Imperial, and Reichsheer belt buckles being worn. Some caps have SA eagle, one has what looks to be a Heer eagle, and many have no eagle. Ideas?

Yeah, I think you may be right that there's something wrong with the photo. There spots seem to be contained in the darker areas, which made me think it was a camo pattern. But it's on the trees, also. LOL

What type of camo are the soldiers wearing in this photo? You can see that they have also "dotted" their faces, boots, and even the guns. What the heck?

Photo taken at a District Leadership School in Jan 1935. The person whom I think looks like Ribbentrop is in the second row, first on the left.

Speculating here, but could this fellow, Schikowsky, be one of the Eben Emael pilots?

That's interesting. Do you know where I could find another photo, or reference to the Landespolizei insignia? Regards, Kevin

I have not been able to find an exact match for these collar tabs. What are they? Thanks in advance. --Kevin

Thanks for commenting, guys. POWs or allies, I'm not sure. Probably never know for certain. Either way it's an interesting photo.

A friend sent this info to me, which lends credence to the possibility that these Czechs were allied with the Germans: There was a small Czech Army setup after the Nazis took over and they were used against partisans and in 1944 they were sent to Italy ...and the uniforms in that pic would be correct so , if they were part of that group , they were allied with the Germans at the time ...but since there's no date , we don't know https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Army_(Bohemia_and_Moravia)