Sammy Flex the Unproblematic King
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sammyflex.bsky.social
Sammy Flex the Unproblematic King
@sammyflex.bsky.social
I'm a project ghost, I'm a hood apparition 🇺🇸 🇫🇷

Amateur historian, temporarily exiled from Paris

(Cover image: 6e Régiment de Tirailleurs Marocains, Viticuso, Italy, Feb. 1944)
November 1943, Italian detainees (the POW label isn't fully appropriate following the Armistice of Cassibile in September) are escorted by Moroccan tirailleurs in the port of Casablanca.

#WWII #WW2 #history #France #Morocco #Italy #Casablanca
November 10, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Another detail: Present at the site was Gen. Charles Huntziger, commander of the 2e Armée. Militarily incompetent, Huntziger, a quasi-fascist Catholic reactionary and convinced antisemite, was nevertheless elevated to the post of War Minister under the Vichy regime. He died in a plane crash in 1941.
November 10, 2025 at 9:09 PM
It is possible, though not certain, that this airman was aboard this Dornier Do 17, downed in the 2nd Army sector by an RAF Hurricane in November 1939.

#WWII #WW2 #history #France #Aviation #RAF #PhoneyWar
November 9, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Gendarmes interrogate a downed Luftwaffe airman in the 2nd Army sector, November 1939. The German aviator does not look particularly eager to be photographed.

#WWII #WW2 #history #France #Germany #Aviation #PhoneyWar #Gendermerie
November 9, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Prior to France's untimely exit from the war a large portion of that country's gold reserves were also transferred to Halifax.

A few snapshots of the unloading of the French gold from the cruiser Marseillaise and battleship Lorraine on December 1st, 1939, and a French sailor with the Halifax Mail:
November 8, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Loire 130 flying boat of the Marine Nationale in flight, exact date/location unspecified, 1939-40 period. Loire flying boats were employed by recon squadrons in both metropolitan France and North Africa.

#WWII #WW2 #history #France #Aviation #NavalHistory #NavalAviation
November 8, 2025 at 3:35 PM
German prisoners captured by the French 2nd Armored Division (2e DB) in Alsace, November 1944. The M10 Tank Destroyer likely belongs to the Régiment Blindé de Fusiliers-Marins (RBFM).

#WWII #WW2 #history #France #Alsace
November 8, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Soldiers of the 4e Armée in the Moselle, November 1939. They appear to be equipped with Lebel mle 1886 8mm rifles and outiftted in the tenue de campagne mle 1935, with ANP 31 gas mask bags.

#WWII #WW2 #history #France #Moselle #PhoneyWar
November 7, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Goumiers of the 2e Groupe de Tabors Marocains in and around Rochesson, #Vosges, 3-5 November 1944.

1. Goumiers on the march.
2. Cdt. Edouard Méric, wounded, of the 1er Tabor, and Col. Boyer de la Tour, commander of 2e GTM.
3. A farm near Rochesson.
4. Goumier and mule.

#WWII #WW2 #France #Morocco
November 4, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Char B1 bis No. 260 "Ouragan" (Hurricane) of the 8e BCC, 2e Division. Another unfortunate victim of the mechanically over-complex Naeder hydraulic system, which was meant to facilitate precise aiming of the hull-mounted 75mm gun. Here's two color photos from the excellent www.chars-francais.net
November 3, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Looking back I realized I'd posted a photo of two of these men previously: André Baudion and Henri Goupy were photographed in front of the Reichskolonialbund building in Lauterbach, Germany, during the Sarre Offensive in 1939.

#WWII #WW2 #history #France #Germany #Sarre #Saarland
November 3, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Elements of the 3e Division d'Infanterie Algérienne near Rochesson, Vosges, 3-5 November 1944.

1. Jeep armed with a Browning M1919.
2. A recon party after returning from patrol.
3. An M7 Priest self-propelled gun.

#WWII #WW2 #history #France #Algeria #Vosges
November 3, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Vietnam, French Indochina, November 1945. The city hall of Cần Thơ, built in classic French style, and a market, probably in Mỹ Tho.

#history #Vietnam #France #Indochina
November 2, 2025 at 5:19 PM
November 1945: Riverine operations on the Mekong.

1. Debarkation of troops at Vinh-Long to relieve the garrison in place.
2. A recon unit in a small boat is detached to scout a branch of the river.
3. Return of a lanfing ship to Can-Tho following a mission.

#history #France #Vietnam #Indochina
November 2, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Awesome detail shared by a reddit user: One of the ships pictured, LST 393, still survives as a museum ship in Michigan! Another user shared a page from the ship's diary, showing that she was loading troops in Oran on 16 Nov. 1943, which allows us to date these photos!
November 1, 2025 at 2:50 PM
[4/3 because I miscounted like usual] Arrival of the 2e Division d'Infanterie Marocaine (DIM), part of the French Expeditionary Corps (CEF) in Naples, November 1943. The North African troops were clearly greeted with some curiosity by locals.

#WWII #WW2 #history #France #Italy #Morocco
November 1, 2025 at 1:50 PM
[3/3] Arrival of the convoy carrying the 2e Division d'Infanterie Marocaine (DIM) in the Gulf of Pozzuoli, approaching Naples. Photo #4 shows a US Navy sailor manning an anti-aircraft machinegun.

#WWII #WW2 #History #France #Morocco #Italy #USNavy #NavalHistory
November 1, 2025 at 1:48 PM
[2/3] The 2e DIM (2nd Moroccan Infantry Division) aboard a US navy convoy from Oran, Algeria to Naples, Italy. The men in photos 3 & 4 belong to the 3e Régiment de Spahis Marocains, a mechanized cavalry reconnaisance unit.

#WWII #WW2 #history #France #Morocco #Italy
November 1, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Happy Halloween, joyeuse Toussaint, and welcome to November!

In Nov. 1943, the French Expeditionary Force (CEF) boarded American LSTs for transport from North Africa to Naples. Here the 2e Division d'Infanterie Marocaine embarks in Oran, Algeria. [1/3]

#WWII #WW2 #France #Italy #Morocco #Algeria
November 1, 2025 at 1:42 PM
October 1944: A camouflaged M10 tank destroyer of the 2e Régiment de Dragons is recovered from a tank trap in Saulxures-sur-Moselotte, Vosges.

#WWII #WW2 #history #France #armor
October 30, 2025 at 8:17 PM
October 1944: FFI resistance fighters, Senegalese tirailleurs of the 9e Division d'Infanterie Coloniale, and French customs agents share cigarettes with Swiss border guards at the border post in Villars-lès-Blamont, Doubs department.

#WWII #WW2 #history #France #Switzerland
October 29, 2025 at 8:04 PM
October 1945: American, British, Soviet and French guard at the Allied Kommandatura building in Berlin-Dahlem. This institution was the governing body for Berlin until 1948, when a Soviet walkout presaged the Berlin blockade and airlift.

#WWII #WW2 #history #Berlin #Germany #USA #UK #USSR #France
October 28, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Corsica, October 1943: Italian 75mm guns provide fire support to Moroccan troops assaulting the Col de Teghime. Due to the camouflage it's unclear if this is a Cannone da 75/32 field gun or Obice da 75/18 mountain gun.

#WWII #WW2 #history #France #Italy #Corsica
October 27, 2025 at 7:54 PM
The South Africans were also flying Rooivalks against M23 as part of MONUSCO in the DRC
October 26, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Not as cute as the Swedish attack jets they had in the '60s but for awhile there in the 2010s this gap was being filled by Ukrainian Mi-24s in both DRC and Côte d'Ivoire
October 26, 2025 at 3:12 PM