On the road with the 2nd Armored Division (Hell on Wheels): from Limburg to Magdeburg, 1944-45

In publication here for the first time, this collection of 110 high-quality photographs printed on heavy art paper capture the capture the humanity of those who served in their moment - bringing sharp relief to a history now nearly lost with the passage of those who knew them, yet increasingly relevant to our current age.As Division Surgeon of the Second Armored Division, Col. Dr. RP Johnson MC took what little time he could to document what he saw in these candid images, some of which depict active combat on the battlefield, others of tankers sharing rare moments of 'down time' - none of which are posed. Seen here for the first time in print are images of the broken borderlands of the Siegfried Line, and exchange of artillery as tanks meet in battle at Puffendorf and Gereonsweiler in the drive to the Roer under Operation Queen. Reproduced on these pages in color facsimile are a battle log covering that advance, mimeographed hand-drawn maps covering the lightning advance on Ardennes in the Battle of the Bulge the next month, and surrender orders issued as the 2Δ rolled across Lower Saxony the following April. The faces in these images show the humanity of the tankers in their rare moments of rest and preparation for battle, the abject defeat of the surrendering enemy, and the relief and joy of the liberated prisoners of war as they greet the liberators and make their way back to freedom. The images convey the armored might of the invasion of Germany - crossing the Weser River to Hamelin, cruising the shattered remnants of Hildesheim, and rolling on across Germany to the final tank assault on Magdeburg.