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I have long thought about starting a historical photo trivia thread: those types of mind games educate and entertain at the same time. Personally I think they would add some dynamic to the posting here, as well as provide some daily news for the readers of History.

So let's get the ball rolling.

Rules wrote:Rules:
1) Keep a check on the doubles and alert immediately (if the thread grows, it would be too hard for people to scroll through all). Doubles will be struck from the game by the moderator staff.

2) Clearly type the number of your photo in the post text above it.

2) The guessing on the current photo is done until the next is posted; one day is the minimal interval which one has to wait before posting a new photo. This serves to limit the tempo of the game and give people time to think through both their guesses and their possible contributions.

3) The general rules of the forum apply, although I find it dubious anyone would post porn or anything like that in a historical trivia game thread.

4) Regardless of whether the guesses were all failures or not, the poster in question must update the post when the time runs out with a concise description of the photo, and why it is deserving interest - a description of the historical person, location or the historical event depicted - below the photo.

5) Other members are free to start such threads on their own areas of interest. As they are meant to be updated daily, I do not see a reason to stickify them - at least until they are being locked due to size. If a trivia thread dies, that means the subject is not interesting enough.

6) Paintings do apply, because obviously photography covers only a small timeframe as an invention. Nonetheless, photography is preferred.

With this, the thread is open! Let's try something easy for the first run

Photo #1:

What's this and what's famous about it?

It kinda looks like the Stalingrad Grain Elevator, though I've never seen this particular picture.

In case it is (and it does look like it), isn't the reason it's famous a battalion of Soviet Marine Infantry that held the place for several days despite repeated attacks by vastly overwhelming numbers of German troops?

SiegeTank wrote:In case it is (and it does look like it), isn't the reason it's famous a battalion of Soviet Marine Infantry that held the place for several days despite repeated attacks by vastly overwhelming numbers of German troops?

Marine Infantry? I didn't know there were Marine Infantry involved in Stalingrad. Thought it was purely an army outfit under Chuikov?

I believe it was the grain silo where the Soviets held out under such intense conditions that the water in their Maxim machine guns dried up. Though I only know the little factoid because of a class debate last week. I think the same silo was used as the backdrop for a picture of German PoWs.

The Soviets formed dozens of naval infantry brigades, mainly from surplus naval personal whose ships had been sunk or batteries overrun during the War. Others came from the Far East. Mostly they did fight along the coasts, but I think its three brigades were sent into Stalingrad at an early stage when reinforcements were desperately needed. The Red Navy also manned many small warships, launches and ships on the Volga River.

Well, everyone's answer was correct and the bits of info already assembled are pretty on-spot serves me for picking an easy start

Stalingrad Grain Elevator

The elevator was the highest building in the southern district of Stalingrad, and simultaneously it was the most weakly defended district, defended by weakened 35th Guards and 131 Infantry divisions. After the Germans tried their first strike agains the elevator on 14th September 1942, the command reinforced the district with the 92nd Special Infantry Brigade which consisted of naval infantry from the Northern Fleet on 18th September, just a day after the Germans started a massive offensive against the building, trying to capture it as a strategic point. The elevator would become a place where battle would not cease for a day, just varying in intensity from "constant machinegunning" to "shooting once every hour", and it would last from the 17th till the 23th September - almost a whole week.

It was a critical point, giving oversight of the whole place and also total control over the "Stalingrad-2" cargo railway terminal. The elevator itself was defended by just around 60 men: naval infantry fought very hard and upon arrival managed to quickly cleanse several streets from the Nazis.

On 19th September the German troops once again tried taking the elevator, in two consecutive attacks, supported by 7 tanks. 45 Soviet soldiers under the command of A.S. Polyakov managed a counterstrike, killing around 30 of the attackers. One of the defenders recalled:

"The grain in the building caught fire. Water was evaporating in the machine gunes, the wounded asked for water but we had none. We defended the elevator for three days and three nights non-stop."

This set the Nazis back for a while, but on 21st September they tried storming the highpoint again, this time taking several bombers to ravage the elevator, as well as using mortars and 16 tanks as a support. During this day, a total of 7 attacks happened and all were averted by the defenders. The fights were very tense - often the Germans and Russians were fighting for a single story of the large building.

"...The fight for the elevator rages on. The Russians are pouring fire from everywhere. We're in the basement of a house, we cannot get up on the street... our entire battalion is less than a company in strength. Such ferocious fights no soldier of ours can recall. If all houses in Stalingrad would be defended as ferociously, none of us will ever see Germany again"

wrote one of the German soldiers - Wilhelm Hofman of the 267 infantry regiment of the 94th division - in his daily notes - he later was killed in a street fire, ironically proving his statement.

On 22nd of September the strain finally got the defenders. The ammunition and food supplies ran out, many defenders of the elevator were killed or wounded. However, for many hours they continued to fight, before finally abandoning the place.

It was recaptured in a similar ferocious battle, even if slightly faster, once again - by the Soviet naval infantry troops on 24th January, 1943. By the end of the fight, the elevator was pierced by gunfire in almost any place imaginable. In 1977, a memorial dedicated to the fierce fight for the elevator was erected there, depicting a naval infantryman.

The German POWs in a photo near the recaptured ravaged elevator:

Okay, another easy one.


What, no one knows? A hint: Italian.

I'm utterly stumped. I'm certain i've seen the guy before, but can't peg him. And it's not like I haven't tried to google it (didn't look at the picture address, though, that would be just cheap )

Looking at it won't help you. I'm picking images so that the link tells nothing. Hint #2: he's an aviation constructor. That narrows down the game field

Roberto Bartini of the Beriev design department. I admit that I googled it. The Italian part made it easy. Just luck on my part.

I knew I've seen that picture before!

Damn, but memory is frail...

Photo #3

What is this boat and its significance to Soviet Naval History, as well as its combat history?



Oh, and please don't try to look at the picture address. It was a bit hard finding a good picture.

Is it the S-56? One of the most successful soviet submarines and which successfully made a journey from the Pacific Fleet to the Northern Fleet during wartime.

It's not the S-56: the kiosk is all wrong, and it has no deck gun.

Damn, I know I should've read more about Soviet submarines

Well-well... I'm not commenting but some hints are there already in Pelranius' post. Think about it. But that's a jolly good round

Okay; I consulted...a source...and it says it's a ShCh (Scuka) class. You really can't mistake it with anything else, the ugly pig.

The class resisted Japanese forces in the Pacific without losses, but fared, uh...pretty badly in the Baltic and the North Sea.

I have no idea which one this particular submarine is, and have no way of identifying it without a tactical number or mark.

Is it the one that allegedly sunk the Tirpitz?

EDIT: In the sense that it claimed it, in 1942 IIRC. Obviously the sub's skipper got it wrong.

All right, here's a hint: The picture of that is after it underwent an extensive rebuild.

Pelranius wrote:All right, here's a hint: The picture of that is after it underwent an extensive rebuild.

The British sub they fished up and recommissioned? Sorry, that's about as detailed as it's going to get.

Hah!

Right, the kiosk has this forward balcony thing way higher than most Scuka class photos I've seen. It may be the L-55...

It definetely IS the L-55 I'm still hung up on making an article about Bartini, but I hope Pelranius posts a good history of the boat

Yep, it's the L55.

To cut a long story short, the L55 was a British submarine which was part of the British Baltic Squadron in 1919. She attacked two Soviet destroyers and got sunk for her trouble (whether she was hit by gunfire or mines is still up for debate). The Soviets came upon the wreck in 1927 and raised it, refurbishing and commission it in 1931 under the same name and using it as the basis for their L class mine laying submarines. They did do some major changes, such as rebuilding the conning tower and such.

I do not believe that she saw any combat action under Soviet service though I may be mistaken.

I wonder if the Soviets repatriated the remains of the original crew.

Assuming there were any. Bodies are very quickly deposed of in wrecks. I would say it depends on how much of the boat was covered in slick - the slick in the baltic sea, according to Ballard, preserves bodies perfectly.