Picture of the day

Danish ,yes,but not collaborators.

http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn8929

Info here says its group of Danish resistance fighters in May 1945.Like a lot of resistance groups in Europe they used arm bands of those colors.

That also explains mix of arms used.

Ok, the armband thing, brings to mind a question about some info/misinfo I've had rattling around in my head for decades but never remembered to look up...

Was the use of armbands just a convention, to avoid being labelled as terrorists/criminals when attacking an occupying force, or is there some force of law behind it (ie: the Geneva convention or some other convention).

I know that it was done in place of a "uniform" to designate the wearer as a soldier, and therefore be accorded the rights of a soldier. But are their any actual treaties or agreements around this? IIRC, the practice goes back to the middle ages for retainers, conscript footmen, and even the famed English Longbowmen.
 
Ok, the armband thing, brings to mind a question about some info/misinfo I've had rattling around in my head for decades but never remembered to look up...

Was the use of armbands just a convention, to avoid being labelled as terrorists/criminals when attacking an occupying force, or is there some force of law behind it (ie: the Geneva convention or some other convention).

I know that it was done in place of a "uniform" to designate the wearer as a soldier, and therefore be accorded the rights of a soldier. But are their any actual treaties or agreements around this? IIRC, the practice goes back to the middle ages for retainers, conscript footmen, and even the famed English Longbowmen.
The Geneva Convention recognizes the following conditions for these folks.
1. They are commanded by a person who is responsible for his subordinates
2. they have a fixed and distinctive sign which can be recognized at a distance
3. they carry arms openly, and
4. they conduct their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war
 
Danish ,yes,but not collaborators.

http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn8929

Info here says its group of Danish resistance fighters in May 1945.Like a lot of resistance groups in Europe they used arm bands of those colors.

That also explains mix of arms used.

I stand corrected. Here though is an example of A Danish "collaborator" rifle, the RPLT 42, made by Madsen:

RPLT42.jpg
 
Trivia question of the day ....

What was the name of the RCAF pilot who made the first landing of a Spitfire on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier without a tail hook?

Clue: It was a USN carrier and the date was May 09/42.

If you had to google it or refer to Wikipedia, stand down and let others play.
 
The Geneva Convention recognizes the following conditions for these folks.
1. They are commanded by a person who is responsible for his subordinates
2. they have a fixed and distinctive sign which can be recognized at a distance
3. they carry arms openly, and
4. they conduct their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war

Thanks.
 
Madsen LMG, WWI toy and water? I don't know what that is supposed to prove.

Notice the Danes have two P14s or M17s BTW.

Internet story I heard about Danish occupation:

The Danish authorities passed a law where by all civilian firearms were to be confiscated and stored in Danish prisons. Resistance networks were 'killing' Danish prisoners overnight and their remains (in coffins) *ahem* were being taken out the next morning. This went on until the Occupation authorities got wind of what was going on. The arms were transferred to a Salt mine for storage. The allies heard of this and bombed the entrances to the salt mine. Supposedly the arms dump lies buried in what is left of the salt mine as of today.

End of poorly referenced internet story.

I would hazard a guess and say if the above story is true, then the Danish resistance network probably cherrypicked the *confiscated* arms that were available for perusal / plunder and high graded the ones which were military firearms for which the Allies could get them ammo for.
 
The Geneva Convention recognizes the following conditions for these folks.
1. They are commanded by a person who is responsible for his subordinates
2. they have a fixed and distinctive sign which can be recognized at a distance
3. they carry arms openly, and
4. they conduct their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war

I think there were two exceptions to this in WW2 Europe:
1.Many German officials in occupied Poland never recognized Polish Home Army and any other organisations as solders. Wehrmacht officers for the most part did but not SS, Generalgouvernement or anybody else.
2.Judging by pictures and Russian literature on subject their partisans hardly bothered with identifying themselves in any way unless they had pre-war uniforms or insignia.
Understandable since German practice was pretty much "shoot on sight" very much like in Poland.
 
Pilot Officer Smith, from USS Wasp, 9 May 1942, during a replenishment mission of Spitfires to Malta. His external fuel tank feed system failed so he landed back aboard after all the other aircraft had gotten airborne. Ref The Spitfire Story by Alfred Price Revised Second Edition page 132. This doesn't actually say he was RCAF, just Canadian.
 
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