Original German WWII Gebirgsjäger Regiment 100 1940 Battle of France Photo Album with Illustrated Inside Cover - Over 175 Photographs and Postcards
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Original Item: One-of-a-kind-set. The Battle of France (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) and France during the Second World War. The countries unexpected rapid was a surprise even to German leadership, who had assumed it would take millions of lives, and instead France fell after only six weeks and relatively few casualties. The resulting wave of euphoria in Germany and understandable alarm the British experienced would set the tone or much of the early period of the war. It also meant that Germany would be ready to invade the Soviet union sooner than anticipated.
This is a fantastic photo album from that battle and the aftermath, made up of what look to be a mixture of personal photographs, professional photographs, some of which are probably cigarette cards, and also a fair number if illustrated post cards. It is contained in a lovely fabric cover, bound with green cord, and features a printed Bergmütze Mountain cap in the middle which is surmounted by an oak leaf with an Edelweiß (noble white) mountain flower at the base. This is the symbol of the Gebirgsjäger mountain troopers of Austria and Germany, and the bottom of the cover has the following printed inscription:-
1940 FELDZUG IN FRANKREICH 14. / G.J.R. 100
Translated, this reads as "1940 Campaign in France", and indicates the album was made for members of the 14 Kompanie, Gebirgsjäger Regiment 100 (14th Company, 100th Mountain Trooper Regiment). The album measures approximately 11 1/2” x 8 1/4”, and features 22 uncaptioned pages filled with over 175 photographs and postcards from the Fall of France and aftermath. A true treasure-trove of images taken from the viewpoint of a young, patriotic German soldier during the opening days of WWII. They even took the time to glue in an illustrated postcard on the inside of the front cover, and then added a hand drawn KRIMSCHILD Crimea shield award and some Oak Leaf and Acorn sprigs around it.
The 100th Mountain Division had been part of the 1. Gebirgs-Division (1st Mountain Division) during the French Campaign, but would be transferred to the 5. Gebirgs-Division (5th Mountain Division) in October of 1940, and subsequently took part in Operation Barbarossa, the Invasion of the Soviet Union. The album was most likely assembled at some point after the fall of France but before deployment to the Eastern front, and the Illustrations inside the cover were added after the owner received the Crimea Shield. Really a fantastic album with some great history.
The photos and postcards inside the album are great, and begin with images of training, quickly changing to scenes from the French campaign, showing destroyed buildings, collapsed bridges, and even a picture of a destroyed turret encasement in the ground, probably part of the French Maginot line. These are interspersed with pictures of soldiers at camp and at ease, presumably in France. The tone changes as pictures changes to showing soldiers at ease, moving into winter, and then there are a series of professional photographs with small captions written directly on them. Following this are more winter photos at military camps, as well as personal photographs taken on leave. The album concludes with numerous illustrated postcards of French locations, which have small captions on them, followed by a few more picture postcards of German alpine areas. also captioned.
This is a remarkably extensive and thoughtfully assembled photographic record associated with the 14th Company of Gebirgsjäger Regiment 100 during the 1940 campaign in France and its aftermath. The combination of personal snapshots, professional photographs, illustrated postcards, unit-specific cover inscription, and later artwork inside the front cover gives the album considerable historical and collector interest. With more than 175 images spread across 22 pages, it offers an unusually broad visual account of training, campaign damage, camp life, leave, and the changing experiences of German mountain troops during the early years of WWII.
Historical records like this album have become priceless time capsules that provide an incomparable level of insight into the individual experience of the Second World War, now that almost eighty years have passed.
The older albums such as these usually withstand the ravages of time. The leather or fabric covers may wear, but the pages stay well intact. The black paper albums of the early 20th century are more fragile, while the glue from magnetic albums can damage photographs. And, as with all old photographs, keep albums in a safe, climate controlled environment.
Gebirgsjäger material is among the most popular of all German WWII items. They were the light infantry part of the alpine or mountain troops (Gebirgstruppe) of Germany and Austria. The word Jäger (meaning "hunter" or "huntsman") is a characteristic term used for light-infantry or light-infantryman in German-speaking military context.
The mountain infantry of Austria have their roots in the three Landesschützen regiments of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The mountain infantry of Germany carry on certain traditions of the Alpenkorps (Alpine corps) of World War I. Both countries' mountain infantry share the Edelweiß insignia. It was established in 1907 as a symbol of the Austro-Hungarian Landesschützen regiments by Emperor Franz Joseph I. These troops wore their edelweiss on the collar of their uniforms. When the Alpenkorps came to aid the Landesschützen in defending Austria-Hungary's southern frontier against the Italian attack in May 1915, the grateful Landesschützen honored the men of the Alpenkorps by awarding them their own insignia: the edelweiss. Together with the Fallschirmjäger (Paratroopers) they are perceived as the elite infantry units of the German Army.
- This product is available for international shipping. Shipping not available to: Australia, France, or Germany
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- Due to legal restrictions this item cannot be shipped to Australia, France or Germany. This is not a comprehensive list and other countries may be added in the future.
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