Mr Battle of the Bulge...... Hans Tragarsky??

[Danmark]

The interesting thing is that the jerrycans on the White half-track are US ones but the ones at the dump are NOT AMERICAN .... they are British, the same design as the Germans....

[kradman]

Yes the jerry cans look to be British or warbooty ones taken from the Germans ,interesting as you would think they would be American jerry cans

[Paul D]

Guys sorry for being pedantic but just for historical correctness , which can be altered over time by the continued posting of information / names etc that perpetuate that misinformation there is no actual evidence that this man is called Hans Tragarsky.

Only four posts out of the blue on AHF by someone who has been unable to provide any proof at all to back up their statements !! This iconic photo is of someone who remains unidentified !!

[Martin Bull]

Yes, this great photo was discussed in considerable depth a few years back on the WWII Forums and several people then thought the 'mystery man' had been identified beyond any doubt as one 'Walter Armbrust'. And then a published author on the Bulge came on with absolute confirmation that it was not !

IMPO one of the above posts hits the nail on the head ; it's just such an iconic image of a late-war German soldier and maybe best left unidentified. For me, he is 'everyman' of the Germans who attacked in the Bulge.

[DioMac]

"Mr Battle of the Bulge" or "Winter Fritz" as he has been called is one of the iconic images of the 1944 offensive. Young and with chiseled good looks, he has never been identified and many believe never will be - but will forever remain the unknown German SS machine-gunner of the Ardennes offensive...

However on another Axis history forum a poster as recently as September this year has come forward with an identity.
He believes his name was Hans Tragarsky and he passed away on January 7, 2011. He claims to have known him and that the old man didn't know that his pictures had become somewhat famous.

He was 23 when the photo was taken and all he recalled about that day was that his unit ambushed a convoy of American armour & soft skinned vehicles and, after the fight was over, they took food, weapons and cigarettes from the US wreckage. Cameramen from the "Propagandakompanie" came by, stopped and asked if they could take pictures.... nothing spectacular, another skirmish, another day.

Luckily for us, the images found their way into US hands ( from a captured cameraman as the newsreel tells us ) so at least we can see the cine images for ourselves to get a feel for what may have transpired.

So, is the story true or false? ....... Hans Tragarsky has now passed on, so no-one but the OP can know for sure. Should it be case closed or do we ponder some more? .... Should he always remain the unidentified the face of the bulge? .....Does it even matter?
Cheers, Dan

Whatever the story, it is probably one of the most iconic images of WWII.

[4md]

You would think that if he survived the war there would be other photos of him,most people dont go through 67 without having at least one snapshot of them. Also this is a very famous photo its in every second ww2 book, surely if this is Hans Tragarsky,one of his friends,family,fellow veterans would have seen it and said this looks a bit like you Hans.

the other possibility is that the soldier is not even German

[Danmark]

Thank you all - this thread has generated some good opinions. Please recall my subject was posed as a question and concluded with "Should it be case closed or do we ponder some more? .... Should he always remain the unidentified the face of the bulge? .....Does it even matter?"

An iconic photo among a series of iconic images is all we can consider as a definite conclusion to the matter - what his name was (or any of them ) is and always will be speculation. It doesn't REALLY matter who he was - he existed, he may have survived, he may not have but he was a loved son,brother and possibly husband, whoever he was..........

Dan

[TheGoon]

I was looking for information on this man! And I learned a lot here. Some people say his name was Hans Tragarsky but who knows if that's true, there must be some records out there where they can find out his real name. It's a shame he passed away I would of loved to of talked to him. He's the toughest looking soldier I have ever seen

[Salzburg]

A fine rendition of a superb photograph:

[tailor marc]

did he ever light that cigarette?.

Didnt get a chance , to busy fighting haha