forces

Italianen

** translation of describtion ** Second World War. Allied forces in the snow at the front in Greece. * Note: According to the previous post these are Italian soldiers.

Those absolutely are Italians.

How can you tell they are italians? By the helmet shape?

Exactly. Plus the rifle, and the cannon. I'm curious as to what these pictures are doing in the Dutch archives. Were they German pictures left behind, or sent for local publication?

The former Southern Guardhouse was constructed between 1941 and 1942. It was an important part of the most northerly munitions works constructed in Australia during the Second World War. At its peak the factory employed around 3000 workers and traffic in and out of the factory was immense. As the factory was an important and highly vulnerable establishment guardhouses were established as checkpoints through which all pedestrian and vehicular traffic flowed thus ensuring the security of the site. Since the war the building has been converted to serve other purposes. It is presently accommodates a picture framing business. At its peak the Rocklea Munitions Works employed approximately 3,000 people. The larger Footscray factory in Melbourne, by comparison, employed over 9,000. The peak for Rocklea was reached in May 1943 when 926 men and 1,573 women were recorded as engaged in factory work. An additional 500 men and women worked in the associated areas of Army inspection, food services, medical and welfare. Absenteeism was a problem. The reasons blamed for this included the introduction of night shifts, the regimentation of the work, industrial fatigue and lack of proper meals. Source: heritage.brisbane.qld.gov.au/heritage-places/1406

During World War II (WWII), Australia faced a dilemma: Many women were eager to do their bit and contribute their skills to the “war effort”, but there was still widespread resistance to the notion of a woman doing a “man’s job” – surely they could not handle the physical or mental exertion and maintain their “femininity”? Meanwhile, many able-bodied men were refused enlistment to the armed forces because their occupations were considered essential to civil defence or other critical services and industries. As the war progressed and came closer to Australia’s shores, this need for more “manpower” grew even more pressing. Eventually it was conceded that women’s services would be required, though one question was still perplexing some: what exactly could women do? Source: www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/australian-women-work-wwii-keep-c...

The Women’s Australian National Service (WANS) was inaugurated in 1940. Training for members of the WANS included air raid drills, first aid, basic military drills, and even shooting, signalling, and mechanics. In the period leading up to the formation of the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS), the WANS demonstrated that women were capable of filling roles traditionally filled by men. Sir Percy Spender, Australia’s Minister for the Army, considered women to be an underutilised resource in Australia’s war effort. Consequently, he approved the formation of the AWAS on 13 August 1941 with the objective of releasing more men into forward areas. Source: www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/awas

And work of high merit has been carried out by women members of AEME. Hundreds of AWAS are in the corps, and they are very proud of their AEME colour patch. Some are University graduates. The Army has to rely on many complicated optical instruments for sighting long range artillery, field artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, and coast artillery. These instruments range from ordinary binoculars to complex construction. In all-optical predictors of most work the AWAS has shown extraordinary skill. The girls have also been especially useful in instrument making, armature winding, and other work requiring delicacy of touch, quickness of movement, and perseverance. Source: The Arguse, 20 Jan 1945 trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1108145