War

Side Car motorcycles found their use fullness as a military tool during the war years. The German Government produced thousands of them during the 2ND. world war. They were used in numerous tasks from courier uses to combat uses. The above BMW R75 was a workhorse staple of the army. It weighed in around 9oo pounds and this particular restoration unit sported a MG34 machine gun. They usually had a three man crew and had two wheel drive. The side car wheel was driven from the M.C. rear axle. They had two forward gear ranges and two reverse gear ranges. Note the gear hand shift lever on the right side of the tank. They were used in nearly all theaters of operation from the Libyan desert to the arctic like conditions of the eastern front in Russia.

This model is accompanied by two small ammunition trailers in tow. These rigs were eaten up by the war and were destroyed and abandoned by the thousands across the war zones. A few have survived and are now cherished by many collectors. Every now and then one will surface which was stashed after the war and kept in the original condition.

These guys have their work cut out for them to dig this 900 lb. machine out of the quagmire. This appears to be a Zundapp(?) machine. Most likely this was on the Russian Front where the soldiers were faced with endless miles of mud and open country. Many of the common German soldiers were not unlike our soldiers. They were called out by their government to serve and did the best they could. Mostly they served for the survival of their fellow comrades and made the best of the conditions they were confronted with. Most were not hard core Nazis but were common men who felt a duty to serve their country, right or wrong. Nearly all were quickly disillusioned with the theory of "glory". There is no glory in war, only suffering, hardship and horror. So many of the young men on all sides of the conflict gave their lives from the direction of a few. Maybe someday the leaders of the world will all face off and settle the future conflicts and leave the common man out of the picture. That would surely simplify the "art" of warfare. Dream on.........

Slogging through what used to be a road. Soldiers probably thousands of miles from home with little chance of ever seeing home or family again. The Russian Front was the graveyard for hundreds of thousands of German and Russian soldiers and civilians. Of the millions of German Army troops that entered Russia only a few thousand ever made it home, and most of them were held prisoner in Stalin's' Russia for dozens of years after the war. Of course the German troops had little regard for the lives of the Russians so after the war it was payback time. No mercy given on any side, except for maybe the Americans. War is definitely the lowest point that any country can sink to as there is never a winner, only losers in the long run. The 2ND world War was probably the one exception as there was a definite goal to be achieved, and a positive result for the multitudes of enslaved people.