Operation 25. In order to secure the assembling of his forces on the German-Yugoslav border prior to the invasion, the commander of the German 2nd Army (von Weichs) issued an order for the formation of units for border protection and the organisation of communications. The task was entrusted to the 538th Division for Special Use (composed of border troops) and elements of the 188th Division temporarily subordinated to it (replacement mountain troops). Responsible for the defence against a potential enemy attack were units of the 188th Division – named "Magic Fire" (Feuerzauber) for this occasion, referring to Germanic mythology and the impenetrable fire that guarded valkyrie Brynhildr. Even though the role of these troops was purely defensive and their use outside the borders of the Reich was not planned, the "Magic Fire", however, flared up – and the protectors soon turned into attackers... Pictured, mountain troopers of the 188th Division disarming Yugoslav soldiers at the Seeberg Saddle border crossing, on the first day of the invasion.
Text: Ivan Ž.
Photographer: Leander Gofferjé, 649th Propaganda Company.
Date: 6 April 1941.
Location: Seeberg Saddle (district of Kranj), Yugoslavia.
Original caption: "Serbian prisoners deliver weapons upon their capture."
File source: Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1975-036-24.
NOT ALLOWED: removing source credits from the files – using text without crediting the original author – using files and information for political propaganda and commercial purposes.
Operacija 25. Da bi osigurao prikupljanje svojih snaga na nemačko-jugoslovenskoj granici pred invaziju, komandant nemačke 2. armije (fon Vajhs) izdao je zapovest o formiranju jedinica za zaštitu granice i organizaciju veze. Ovaj zadatak je poveren 538. diviziji za posebne namene (koju su činile pogranične jedinice) i privremeno joj potčinjenim delovima 188. divizije (dopunske brdske jedinice). Za odbranu od eventualnog neprijateljskog napada bile su zadužene jedinice 188. divizije – koje su ovom prilikom nosile naziv "Čarobni plamen" (Feuerzauber), aludirajući na germansku mitologiju i neprobojni plamen koji je čuvao valkiru Brunhildu. Međutim, iako je uloga ovih jedinica bila isključivo odbrambena i njihova upotreba van granica Rajha nije bila planirana, "Čarobni plamen" se rasplamsao – i zaštitnici su se ubrzo pretvorili u napadače... Na slici, brdski lovci 188. divizije razoružavaju jugoslovenske vojnike na graničnom prelazu Jezerski vrh, prvog dana invazije.
Tekst: Ivan Ž.
Fotograf: Leander Goferje, 649. propagandna četa.
Datum: 6. april 1941.
Mesto: Jezerski vrh (srez Kranjski), Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: "Srpski zarobljenici po zarobljavanju predaju oružje."
Izvor fajla: Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1975-036-24.
