Revealing War Mysteries - Secret Weapons of World War 2

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The Second World war is riddled with stories of mad scientists working for the Nazi’s and the Allies, developing technology which was much far advanced than any of the technology seen today.

Michael Surbrook maintains an archive of source material for the Hero System role-playing game on his site, Surbook’s Stuff. He has collected images from the internet and has supplemented his photoshopped images with amazing stories.

The gallery displays some of the allegedly secret weapons used during the Second world war, like Gundam style megarobots and Starwars style battle ships.

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The following thread will show pictures of the soldiers of nations and states that took part in World War II, otherwise known as the 'Great Liberational War' in Soviet History, the 'Great Pacific War' in Japanese History or 'The War of German Expansionism' in German History.

Pictures will include, but will not be limited to, soldiers of The United States, the United Kingdom, France, The German Third Reich, Fascist Italy, The U.S.S.R, the Japanese Empire and other nations and territories affected by the global war.

All are welcome to contribute to this thread. Let History come back to Life!

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United States Marine Corp. Storming the beaches of Japanese-occupied Leyte, Philippines.


American Army and Marine Uniforms in the Pacific War


The United States Armed Forces captures the Island of Iwo Jima, of the Imperial Japanese Empire.

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The Great Empire of Japan (1940s) {Dai Nippon Teikoku}


Elite Units of the Imperial Japanese Army. Imperial March.


Kamikaze Pilot. Of the Imperial Japanese Air Force.




Imperial Japanese Navy. In the beginning of the War, was considered the 2nd Largest Navy in the
World. Second only to the British Navy. In the beginning of the pacific war, the Imperial Navy had the largest carrier-groups in the world. And was a force to be reckoned with. In the beginning of the war, the Japanese Navy's combat force was almost twice the size of the United States Navy. The Imperial Fleet was based on destroyers and carrier-based invasions. Its ultimate downfall was its lack of anti-submarine capability. American submarines mangled the Imperial fleet and wiped out its destroyer-fleets.


The Might of the Imperial Japanese Air Force.
A squadron convoy of Imperial Japanese Air Force Bombers pumelling Clarke Air Force Base. Destroying the American Air-Defense in the Philippines. After 2 months of aerial, naval siege, the Philippines fell and the United States was forced to hand the Philippines to the Japanese Empire.

The Philippines was part of the Japanese Empire for 2 years.


Bataan Death March.

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The German Third Reich {Großdeutsches Reich}


Nazi Rise to Power. Late 1930s


German Army in early 1940s. Marching into France.


The Much-feared German Army. Goose-Step March.
Nazi Germany brought Europe to her knees. Fighting a sustained 3 front war with Britain and the United States in Western Europe, with Russia in the East and with the Allied Forces in Africa-Middle East.


The Eagle of German Third Reich.

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The Philippine Defense Forces (The Guerilla Units)

The Importance of the Philippines: The Phillippines was cruicial to the eventual defeat of Japan. The Japanese realized this, and had constructed a bold master plan to lure the American fleets into a trap near the Sibuyan Sea. This became the famous Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest Naval Air engagement in history.

This plan nearly succeeded in destroying the Americans off the coasts of Leyte. What ultimately foiled them was the presence of a well-developed, competent rebel force on the Visayan islands, particularly the one established on Panay by Lt. Colonel Macario Peralta. Without the efforts of these rebels, the US Pacific Fleet would have almost certainly been surprised, and would have suffered another disaster of Pearl Harbor proportions.

The problem was that every time the USAFFE would make a move or broadcast an encrypted intelligence signal, Filipno civilians would be summarily massacred by Japanese Occupational forces. Stories such as the bayonetting of pregnant women and bleeding to death of teenagers were rampant. A balance between his "lay low" policy, requiring heroic disciplining of entire populations and secret submarine rendevouz's, and finding ways to get the "stolen plans" to MacArthur's forces, without jeopardizing more civilians, is the untold story only briefly covered here.

Japanese battleships and carrier escorts were travelling stealthily down the Suriago and San Bernadino strait, seeking to intercept the flotilla of American Landing Forces approaching Leyte. Leyte is an area in the southern-most parts of the Visayan islands. Leyte was the optimal choice for the Americans for the following reasons. The rebellion was strongest in the mountainous Visayas. This is in contrast to the northern Luzon mainland, where Manila and Corregidor is, which was relatively flat and open, with enemy air bases, where the Japanese occupants were strongest. The Visayan islands were thus the most difficult to defend from a Japanese perspective.

Rebel forces there had already cleared way for several spots of unopposed landings. The only opposition then could come from the Japanese fleet, whose location was not readily discernible given the technology of the time. However, such a fleet would be forced to navigate through the hazardous Suriago straits, where it would be more vulnerable to spotting by the rebel-controlled Visayas and fishermen. Upon post-analyses, no better spot could have been chosen than Leyte. General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz thus planned their major landings there.

The largest, most formidable battleship of the Pacific, the Japanese 'Yamato' got within 40 miles of the American fleet when Peralta's scouts spotted it . Without adequate warning, this ship would have likely come within 25-mile firing range of MacArthur's landing force of 100,000 soldiers. One hour more, and the American flotilla would likely have been dead ducks headed for murky bottom.

Importantly, the scouts would have had no way to relay this information to Peralta, then to Pacific Command had there not been an underground "government" support system established in the Phillippines. This was won at a great cost in human lives beforehand. Civilians--men, pregnant women and children--were regularly bayonetted in retaliation each time the rebel forces made a move.

Overall
The Philippine Guerillas, which numbered to a force of over some 100,000 units throughout the country, were responsible for damaging Japanese command and control in the rural provinces of the Philippines, disrupting Japanese defenses and aided in the successful American-reconquest of the Philippines in 1944.

Filipino Guerillas were responsible for giving and relaying American forces the locations of major Japanese installations and defensive perimeters, thereby allowing the American Navy and Air Force to bombard the defensive positions easily and damage Japanese defenses in the Philippines.


Lieutennant Colonel Macario Peralta, known affectionately as "the other Mac". This man played a decisive role both for the US and the Philippines in the Pacific World War II. He was the key organizer of the USAFFE (US Armed Forces of the Far East) rebel resistance under General MacArthur, whom prepared the way to land American forces in the Phillippines.



Filipino Guerillas working with an American officer in the midst of the Pacific War.


Philippine Commonwealth Scouts.
Shown here with a Japanese Officer's Katana.
These men are the precursor of the Philippine renowned Philippine Army Black Panthers.



Philippine Scouts in late 1930s.

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The Italian Empire {Nuovo Impero Romano}


The militarization of the youth. Italian children indoctrinated into a military society under the auspices of Benito Mussolini.



Italian Tank Armour. Ravaged the people of Ethiopia and assisted the German Panzer Divisions in Africa as well as in Palermo.


Italian NAvy

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The Royal British Empire (United Kingdom)

The British Empire was a major player in World War II, its forces fighting a two front war, one in the European theater against Nazi Germany. Britain's navy and army waged an attrition war with Germany, pounding the German military bases with its air force and cooperating with the United States and Russia in the invasion of Germany in 1944.

Britain's Imperial forces were also operating a military engagement with the Japanese Empire in the Pacific with help from its Indian colony. The British primarily played a support role in the Asia-Pacific Theater. Helping to clean up Japanese defenses after the United States liberated regions through constant aerial and naval bombardment.


The British Soldiers. Rugged, Defensive, Cold, the 'Proto' American.


His Majesty's Royal British Army Infantry.