Montgomery and Von Thoma

Discussion in 'North Africa & the Med' started by dave500, Jun 23, 2019.

  1. dave500

    dave500 Senior Member

    "Commander of the Africa Corps is captured.

    "The captured German General, Ritter Von Thoma, is pictured here talking with Lt. Gen. Bernard Law
    Montgomery."

    SC 181868, Credit NARA.

    Resized to fit here.

    181868 PS El RS.jpg


    Dave
     
    dbf, Owen and Chris C like this.
  2. Chris C

    Chris C Canadian

    Thought I would look up an account of Von Thoma's surrender.

    "Slowly but inexorably, the line of panzers and guns was smashed, and towards noon it was seen that some of the panzers were drawing back and a few of the guns were being towed away - and as the British tanks and trucks drove cautiously towards the Tel, they saw amid the wreckage of the battle and the groups of German infantrymen and gunners rising reluctantly with their hands in the air from hastily dug trenches, the tall, weatherbeaten figure of a German general, dressed in a correct field uniform with epaulettes and decorations, standing beside a burning tank, impervious to the heat, the sand, the bullets which still whistled close.

    "General der Panzertruppe Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma had decided that he would soldier no more under a regime of 'unparalleled madness' and that if his men were expected to stand firm and fight against obviously overwhelming odds, then he should be there with them. He had taken his Kampfstaffel into the forefront of battle and seen it destroyed around him." - Barrie Pitt, The Crucible of War​

    I am not actually sure whether Von Thoma deserved to be portrayed in this manner, but the passage does paint a good picture.
     
  3. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

  4. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD


    "Several shots of Allied tanks moving through the desert in their advance in to Libya. L/S of aircraft overhead. ME 109 aircraft at a dispersal point at Fuka Airfield; they are all partly damaged. Also a Gotha glider that has been pranged.
    M/S of General Ritter von Thoma, Commander of the Afrika Korps, being escorted to Advance Headquarters where he shakes hands with Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery.
    General view of Mersa Matruh as we travel towards it. Tanks move into the town and soldiers start searching bombed buildings for remaining Germans. One building is labelled 'Marks and Spencers Laundry'! They flush out three Germans. Wrecked ship in Mersa harbour with wrecked Dornier in foreground. Lines of German and Italian prisoners coming in. C/U of a pile of German tin helmets. Tank moving on through Mersa."



    2m 45s
    HD Stock Video Footage - British troops attack German General Erwin Rommel's Army as it flees Libya.
    "Commander of Afrika Korps under General Erwin Rommel, General Ritter Von Thoma taken prisoner and greeted by General Montgomery."


    2m 20s
    HD Stock Video Footage - Axis forces of Rommel's Afrika Corps in full retreat after facing heavy Allied attacks in El Alamein, Egypt.
    "German General Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma, captured near the hill of Tel el Mampsra, marches on sand under British guard. "
     
  5. pennywell

    pennywell Member

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