Deer and Wild Boar Hunting in Germany in 1945...

Discussion in 'Veteran Accounts' started by Ramiles, Jan 12, 2017.

  1. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    Saw this on ebay:

    WW2 Photo WWII US Soldiers Hunting Deer Harz Mountains Germany 1945 / 1490
    (Albeit - odd little typo - 1490? I would assume it might be the winter of 1945/46 - though there is more text on the page saying: "This is a nice reproduction of an original WWII photograph showing US Army soldiers who have taken a deer putting it on the back of their M8 Armored Car, in the Harz mountains, 1945. Size of photo is about 5" x 5". "

    WW2 Photo WWII US Soldiers Hunting Deer Harz Mountains Germany 1945 / 1490 | eBay

    My grandfather was also hunting deer in the Harz in 1945, albeit with slightly less luck (this time) it seems...

    7880500 Sgt.B.Symes
    Sherwood Rangers
    B.L.A.

    ...Last Friday morning at 4am we went to try to get some Deer. The gun I’d been using was out so my mate just picked up any one. I was up in a box for about an hour and decided to take a quiet stroll. The mating season is just starting so one can usually hear the Stags calling. I’d just rounded a bend when I saw the prettiest sight possible, five does having a lovely game. I watched for a few moments hoping to see the Stag. He didn’t appear so I let fly and missed. I go up to stroll…

    …on when lo there was Mr.Stag about 200 yds away looking straight at me with just his head showing, I was plumb in the middle of a ride but knelt down and took a very good aim and fired, Mr.Stag was still there and very much alive, I took even more careful aim, taking plenty of time as they seldom move if they’re as interested as that. Fired again and must have just caught him, he bolted. I was too disgusted to continue so went back to the wagon. On return to camp I took the rifle to the armourer who calmly informed me that the…

    …sights on the rifle were obsolete and had no business to be on there. Small comfort after missing a Stag, but I hope to have at least one more try before leaving here."

    He also mentions going after wild boar and lots of fishing etc. for food, or for swapping the meat for other things.

    Also found this "U.S. Forces Europe Hunting, Fishing and Sport Shooting Program" : https://grafenwoehr.armymwr.com/files/3813/8429/8080/Guide_08a_Red_Deer_Reduced_2013-08.pdf
     
  2. RCG

    RCG Senior Member, Deceased

    Nice pic. but what I don't understand is why people pay money for these pics?

    And there is no mention of the poor chap sucked into the front grill. :omg: s-l1600.jpg
     
    Ramiles likes this.
  3. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    What is it that puzzles you about people paying for a higher resolution photo, RCG ? This one holds no special interest for me but if I owned or was modelling a similar US vehicle then I'd be examing any photo that I could find with a magnifying glass, trying to identify the manufacturer of the hurricane lamps hanging on the ammunition box and the type of buckle on the strap holding the spade !
     
  4. RCG

    RCG Senior Member, Deceased

    I can find nowhere in the advert that says what resolution the reproduction photo is.
    So would it be any different than the one I posted which is free?
    If it was the actual photo, yes might be worth buying.
     
  5. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    I agree with you.

    There's one picture that I've seen published in a number of books and magazines over the years. When I finally got my hands on a larger high-resolution print of it, I was able to identify faces who had just been generic background figures in the degraded copies I had previous seen.

    It's the same reason why I have just sacrificed one arm and one leg to the IWM for an A3 scan of a picture I've already got in a regimental history: a good photo taken on good film can store an awful lot of detail; a poor print can sacrifice a surprising amount of it.
     
  6. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    As regards its provenance, i.e. "This is a nice reproduction of an original WWII photograph showing US Army soldiers who have taken a deer putting it on the back of their M8 Armored Car, in the Harz mountains, 1945. Size of photo is about 5" x 5"." and the provenance for many like it, it would always be nice (of course) if there was more info on where the original negative(s) came from, if it was an "official army photo", or just a snapshot among friends, who they were and exact dates and locations etc. even the next shot of them presumably eating the venison ;) "nice" but not essential, though I guess that depends :blush:

    I saw "google books" pointing towards this:
    "The Occupation of Germany, 1945–1949: A Soldier’s Viewpoint"
    By C. Kent Palmer"

    As there's a chapter in there about the hunting. i.e. some excerpts : The Occupation of Germany, 1945–1949

    I assume that this is something a number of the SRY did / got to do. Regimentally quite a number of them were of the hunting, fishing, country type, and someone now or in the future might have, or find, similar pics of them there.

    All the best,

    Rm.
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2017
  7. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    Re. Wild boar hunting near Einbeck, September 1945...

    20220906_122729.jpg
     
  8. ltdan

    ltdan Nietenzähler

    I know a few pictures of this, mainly of American origin. A tradition, by the way, that was also unofficially cultivated in the Bundeswehr until the 1980s:
    We shot in my active time with G3 + night vision scopes occasionally wild boars in Bergen-Hohne....
    Not exactly according to hunting laws - but as we say in Germany: where there is no prosecutor, there is no judge... ahem
     
    Ramiles likes this.
  9. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    There certainly seems to be a bit about how the American forces organised things in their areas of occupied Germany... though by-and-large there seems to be less from the British perspective...

    Screenshot_20220906-192658_Drive.jpg
     

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