Mercendes Benz Parade And Staff Cars

Mercedes-Benz automobiles were popular in Germany and were naturally taken into use by the various agencies of the Third Reich. Many of these automobiles appear in famous photographs of the era, from pre-war Party rallies to the entry into Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland to Hitler's departure from Rastenburg after the assassination attempt upon him.The author traces the early history and insignia of the various predecessors of Mercedes-Benz, culminating in the merger of Mercedes and Benz in 1926.Since Mercedes-Benz automobiles were seen as symbols of the prosperous Germany promised by the Nazis, they were often displayed by Party leaders during the years of struggle, with Göring's 1931 roadster being the most famous example. The cars were also speedy and sturdy, allowing Hitler and his top associates to campaign throughout Germany at a speed that caught his political opponents unprepared.State power brought almost infinite resources into the hands of the Nazi Party, and liberal use of luxury automobiles were part of the spoils of victory. Again, a vehicle belonging to Hermann Göring typifies the era, in this case his massive Grosser Mercedes six-seat touring car.The early war brought the automobile's most colorful moment, as part of Hitler's personal Grey (or Führer) Column, which toured parts of Poland even as fighting was still in progress. Allied air supremacy soon made such operations too hazardous, but Mercedes cars soldiered on with important state duties, often with bullet-proof windows and low-visibility headlights and occasionally with anti-aircraft machine guns mounted. Mercedes-Benz Staff Cars covers in detail all of the models, personalities and important events in the automotive history of the Third Reich. Blaine Taylor's fascinating text is supplemented by an extraordinary array of illustrations, from retro-futuristic paintings of the 1930s to unpublished photographs from the Hermann Göring, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Eva Braun, and Heinrich Hoffmann archives.

On the 29 June 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo triggering events leading to the outbreak of the First World War. Less well known is that the car he was in was a borrowed Graf + Stift Double Phaeton, that the route was published in advance, and the decision to lower the hood was only taken at the last minute. As with the other events in this book, the car played a central role, yet its history is largely unknown. These cars not only had their own stories in terms of design, ownership, and the role they played but they are also a way of telling the story of the events themselves – they are literally a vehicle for history. In this book James Morrison takes 20 cars involved in twenty key 20th century world events and examines their involvement and history to provide a new angle and fascinating insights.

Teutonic Titans: Hindenburg, Ludendorff, and the Kaiser's Military Elite covers the era 1847-1955-heavily illustrated with over 500 images of German Emperor Wilhelm II's First World War marshals and generals, emphasizing their lives, careers, battles, and campaigns. The book covers both Western and Eastern Fronts, as well as the Balkans, Baltics, Middle, and Far East. It is also heavily detailed with maps, cartoons, graphics, and photographs, plus descriptions of strategies, tactics, weapons, statistics on all losses, and results. Period cartoons add to the vast array of photographic sources worldwide: United States National Archives and Library of Congress, Washington and College Park, Maryland; Imperial War Museum London: Bundesarchiv, Bonn, and also His Majesty's own albums at Doorn House, Holland, many of them previously unpublished. German Crown Prince Wilhelm and Bavarian Crown Prince Rupprecht, all German Chiefs of General Staff and War Ministers are detailed as well, plus all top Allied leaders and commanders: Woodrow Wilson, John J. Pershing; David Lloyd George, King George V, Sir Douglas Haig, and Sir John French among them; Tsar Nicholas II, Grand Duke Michael, and more; Frenchmen Henri Petain, Joffre, Foch, and Weygand; as well as those of Serbia, Italy, Greece, Rumania, and Bulgaria.

When modern readers think of Hermann Goering, what probably comes to mind is the overweight drug addict and convicted war criminal who cheated the hangman's noose at Nuremberg by committing suicide just hours before he was due to die. Or perhaps there is the image of his powerful German air force in the Second World War – the Luftwaffe – bombing defenceless European cities and towns in the early part of the war, until it was defeated by the Royal Air Force in the epic Battle of Britain. Perhaps the reader might think of Goering the debauched art collector who pirated captured collections all over Nazi Europe during the Occupation years. All of these images are correct, but here we see another Hermann Goering: the slim, dashing fighter pilot and combat ace of an earlier struggle, the Great War of 1914-18, which he began as an infantry officer fighting the French Army in the 1914 Battle of the Frontiers. During a hospitalization, his friend Bruno Lorzer convinced him to become an aerial observer-photographer, photographing the mighty French fortress of Verdun. He did, and began these never-before-seen personal photo albums of men and aircraft at war: up close. This remarkable book – the first of an intimate series of photographic diaries – is an unique photographic record of the early years of this notorious figure. Illustrations: 348 black-and-white photographs