German Field Hospital, Invasion of France WW2, Wehrmacht Phanomen Granit 25H Ambulance & Opel Kadett K38 Staff Car, Original Photo

Today we'll be continuing along with a another one of my original WW2 German military photos.

This photo was taken sometime during the Invasion of France in 1939.  It depicts a group of Wehrmacht medics having a big meal behind a French barn.  There are bits of black paper and some glue on the back of the photos where it was removed from the original veteran's album.  Unfortunately, we will never know the complete story behind this photo.

 Note:  Click on the photo and it will open its larger scanned size for better viewing.

The most interesting thing about this photo, is the amazing variety of unique and iconic, WW2 Wehrmacht items that are shown.  
First off are the vehicles.  In the background to the left, we can see a Phanomen Granit 25H field ambulance.  The ambulance has a red cross flag on a short mast.  These ambulances were first produced in 1931, and the Wehrmacht put them into service with the military in 1936.  They served the German military in Spain during the Spanish Civil War and then continued their service throughout WW2. 
On the right side of the photo, we can see an Opel Kadett K38 staff car with the sliding rag-top open.  The Opel is marked with a red cross on the door and has two bundles of firewood tied to the front bumper.  These Opel Kadett's were produced from 1937-1940 and again in 1942-1943.  

When we look close at the soldiers seated at the table, we can see that there are open mess tins all over the place, including on the ground beside the benches.  There are buckets placed around the table, and the soldiers appear to be eating something like chicken or corn (just my speculation, but the buckets could be for the bones or cobs).  The soldier nearest to us, on the left, is wearing the early style Model 1936 (M-36) trousers with suspenders.

All in all, this is an amazing snapshot of "daily life" for a Wehrmacht Field Hospital Company during the early Invasion of France days.  It is also a wonderful addition to my collection of photos depicting various items in my collection.

Here is a link to one of my previous posts showing off a WW2 German Luftschutz First Aid Pouch that my grandfather brought back home from his service in the US Army, in Germany during WW2.  It is not the same type of kit that the Wehrmacht medics would carry, but very similar.

 http://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2011/04/luftschutz-sanitatstasche-air-raid.html

I also have a WW2 issue, Sturmabteilung Field Medic First Aid Pouch that I will be showing off later.  Stay tuned!