Sunday, May 15, 2016

Generalmajor Erwin Engelbrecht with a Dead Bear

Generalmajor Erwin Engelbrecht, commander of the German 163. Infanterie-Division, smirking over the fallen Russian bear. Engelbrecht had received the Iron Cross while leading the division during the occupation of Norway. This image was taken in 1942 before Engelbrecht moved to lead the Higher Command (Höheres
Kommando) XXXIII. Armeekorps in central Norway.

Source :
Book "Finland at War: The Continuation and Lapland Wars 1941-45" by Vesa Nenye, Peter Munter, Toni Wirtanen and Chris Birks

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Fritz Witt in the Third Battle of Kharkov

Fritz Witt (center) photographed in March 1943 as a commander of SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 1 of the Leibstandarte Division. He holds the rank of SS-Standartenführer, but he has abandoned military etiquette and opted for comfort and warmth, commandeering a loose sheepskin jacket. Witt, the decorated veteran of the war in the Soviet Union who participated in the capture of Kharkov, went on to forge the 12. SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend into a crack fighting unit, and was killed in action leading it during the campaign in Normandy in June 1944. Max Wünsche is right below Witt's hand

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/143185314092/fritz-witt-center-photographed-in-march-1943-as

SS-Obersturmbannführer Kurt Meyer After Receiving Eichenlaub

SS-Obersturmbannführer Kurt Meyer, commanding Leibstandarte’s reconnaissance battalion, after being awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight’s Cross during his one-day visit to the Führerhauptquartier Werwolf, Vinnytsia, 25 February 1943.


 Kurt Meyer, commander of the Leibstandarte’s reconnaissance battalion, receiving the Oak Leaves to the Knight’s Cross from Adolf Hitler on 25 February 1943 at the Führerhauptquartier Werwolf in Vinnytsia.


Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/143449739262/ss-obersturmbannf%C3%BChrer-kurt-meyer-commanding

Jochen Peiper in the Battle of Kharkov

Joachim Peiper (foreground) in his command vehicle Sd.Kfz. 251 giving instruction outside Kharkov in February 1943. During this period the 320. Infanterie-Division was cut off by the Red Army with a wide gap of some 65km (40 miles) appeared between it and the Leibstandarte Division. A kampfgruppe under the command of SS-Sturmbannführer Joachim Peiper was formed and tasked with penetrating some 40km (25 miles) behind enemy lines, contacting the 320. Infanterie-Division, and guiding it back to the German lines. This was no small undertaking, but was one which Peiper accomplished with great success and remarkably little loss of life. For this achievement, Peiper was awarded the Knight’s Cross. It was the first of many daredevil exploits which would be carried out by this remarkable soldier.

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/143657246447/joachim-peiper-foreground-in-his-command-vehicle

General der Infanterie Walther Graeßner

Generalleutnant Walther Graeßner (left) in the Eastern Front. He finally reached the rank of General der Infanterie. He served with Division 187, 298. Infanterie-Division and 7. Armeekorps. Graeßner received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross) on 27 October 1941 as Generalleutnant and commander of 298. Infanterie-Division.

Source :
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=29879&start=11295

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

SS-Untersturmführer Karl-Heinz Worthmann

 

Karl Heinz Worthmann (18 January 1911 – 6 July 1943) was a SS-Untersturmführer (Second Lieutenant), in the Waffen-SS during World War II who was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross) for his feat in the Third Battle of Kharkov, spring 1943.

Worthman was born in Hagen, Germany on the 18 January 1911. He volunteered to join the SS and was posted to the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT). He took part in the Battle of France as an Infantry platoon commander and was awarded the Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse and I.Klasse.

During the invasion of Russia (Operation Barbarossa) in 1941 he was severely wounded and after recovering from his wounds trained as a Panzer crewman.

He was promoted to SS-Hauptscharführer (Master Sergeant) and made a platoon commander in the 6.Kompanie / II.Abteilung / SS-Panzer-Regiment 2 / SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Das Reich". In the Battle of Kharkov Worthman, was in command of 4 tanks supporting the infantry in an attack near Wossyschtschewo on height 209.3 during which they destroyed 27 anti tank guns and 2 infantry guns without loss. For his actions during this battle, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz in 31 March 1943.

Worthman was promoted to SS-Untersturmführer (Second Lieutenant) and given command of the 6. Kompanie, when he was killed in action during Operation Citadel on the 6 July 1943, in the Belgorod sector.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl-Heinz_Worthmann
http://www.kriegsberichter-archive.com/index.php?/category/58

Monday, March 21, 2016

Erwin Rommel and Sepp Dietrich in Normandy

From left to right: Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe B) and SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (Kommandierender General I. SS-Panzerkorps) photographed on the invasion front in Normandy, 17 July 1944.


Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/141277708232/generalfeldmarschall-erwin-rommel-and

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Major der Reserve Max H. Rehbein

Max Heimo Rehbein (9 December 1918 - 13 November 2015) received Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes in 5 March 1945 as Hauptmann der Reserve and Kommandeur Pionier-Bataillon 23 / 23.Infanterie-Division.

Source :
http://das-ritterkreuz.de/index_search_db.php4?modul=search_result_det&wert1=5042&searchword=rehbein

Oberst Karl Prinz zu Salm-Horstmar

Karl Walrad Emich Hermann Bolko Friedrich von Salm-Horstmar (8 January 1911 - 2 August 1991) received Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes in 19 February 1942 as Rittmeister and Kommandeur Aufklärungs-Abteilung 123 / 123.Infanterie-Division.


Karl Prinz zu Salm-Horstmar in his 70th birthday (8 January 1981), wearing all of his wartime decorations including the Ritterkreuz.

Source :
http://forum.panzer-archiv.de/viewtopic.php?p=167139
http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/photos-papers-propaganda-third-reich/hugo-von-senger-roa-178462/

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Walter Neumann-Silkow with Flak Officer

Generalmajor Walter Neumann-Silkow (left), Kommandeur 15. Panzer-Division, with Luftwaffe Hauptmann from Flak unit in North Africa.

Source :
NARA/Tom Nutter

Fröhlich, Gause and Rommel

From left to right: Generalmajor (Luftwaffe) Stefan Fröhlich (Fliegerführer Afrika), Generale di Brigata Aerea Ferdinando Raffaelli (Commanding Officer Eastern Sector, North African Italian Air Command), Generalmajor Alfred Gause (Chef des Generalstabes Panzergruppe Afrika), and General der Panzertruppe Erwin Rommel (Kommandierender General Panzergruppe Afrika). The picture was taken between September-November 1941.

Source :
NARA/Tom Nutter collection

Søren Kam with His Brothers in Studio Portrait

The Kam brothers in the Waffen-SS (from left to right): Poul, Søren and Erik. The Danes were photographed in 1943 and they fought in the ranks of the Wiking Division.

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/138570281717/the-kam-brothers-in-the-waffen-ss-from-left-to

Danish Knight’s Cross winner SS-Obersturmführer Søren Kam

The Danish Knight’s Cross winner SS-Obersturmführer Søren Kam photographed after the presentation of the award. Kam, a veteran of the Wiking Division, won the Knight’s Cross for bravery during the Wiking’s battles in Poland’s ‘Wet Triangle’ in front of Warsaw, and was personally presented by Hitler in February 1945, thus becoming one of the three Danes to receive this award.


Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/138692506842/5sswiking-the-danish-knights-cross-winner

SS-Standartenführer Helmut Dörner

SS-Standartenführer Helmut Dörner (right), considered one of the finest officers in the 4. SS Panzergrenadier Division Polizei, is seen here in Hungary on the way to the main battle line to Budapest to prepared it for defence, October 1944. At this period Soviet troops were only a few kilometres from Budapest, and by Christmas the city would be encircled. When that happened some 50,000 German and Hungarian troops would be trapped. Helmut Dörner was killed on 11 February 1945 in Budapest during a breakout attempt while leading SS-Polizei Regiment 1. He had been awarded the Oakleaves and Swords to the Knight’s Cross and promoted to Oberführer during his time in Budapest cauldron.

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/138826966557/5sswiking-ss-standartenf%C3%BChrer-helmut-d%C3%B6rner

SS-Hauptsturmführer Joachim Boosfeld

SS-Hauptsturmführer Joachim Boosfeld was awarded the Ritterkreuz (Knight’s Cross) on 21 February 1945 as Chef of 4.Schwadron / SS-Kavallerie-Regiment 16 / 8.SS-Kavallerie-Division "Florian Geyer" for his heroism in the heavy defensive fighting in Budapest and his actions in fighting his way back to German lines. Boosfeld led his men along with some other troops safely out of the city and reached German position west of Budapest on 14 February 1945. During his time in Budapest cauldron he had 57 days of close-combat fighting and was awarded the Close Combat Clasp in Gold.

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/138892947397/5sswiking-ss-hauptsturmf%C3%BChrer-joachim-boosfeld

Herbert Otto Gille during the Siege of Kovel

Herbert Otto Gille is seen here as an SS-Gruppenführer and commander of 5. SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking" in an observation post during the defense of Kovel in the spring of 1944. In the historic battle for the Cherkassy Pocket in January 1944, Wiking Division, held out against superior Soviet forces, before successfully breaking out. Subsequently ordered to take command of the Fortress Kovel, Gille refused to take his battered division into what he knew was a death trap; but he himself flew into Kovel, where the garrison under his command held out against repeated armoured assaults by four Soviet armies - despite not having a single remaining tank of their own - until a relief force from the Wiking Division broke in and later with the help of two Panzer divisions and a infantry division established a permanent linkup. For this remarkable achievement Gille was decorated with the Diamonds to the Knight’s Cross on 19 April 1944.

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/139447110277/herbert-otto-gille-is-seen-here-as-an

SS-Obersturmführer Karl Nicolussi-Leck of Wiking Division

SS-Obersturmführer Karl Nicolussi-Leck of the 5. SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking" in the cupola of his Panther after he was awarded the Ritterkreuz (Knight’s Cross) for his leadership and courage during the Battle of Kovel in 1944. Nicolussi-Leck led a group of 9 Panthers from Wiking Division on a drive to reach the besieged city of Kovel on 30 March 1944. Despite being ordered to turn back owing to ferocious resistance, Nicolussi-Leck pressed on and reached his beleaguered comrades after destroying several Soviet positions.

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/139508111452/ss-obersturmf%C3%BChrer-karl-nicolussi-leck-of-the

Bremer, Rundstedt, Dietrich, Mohnke

A Sd.Kfz. 251/16 fitted with flame projectors from 12. SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend being inspected by officers at the Beverloo Training Ground, Belgium in 3 March 1944. From left to right: SS-Sturmbannführer Gerhard Bremer (Kommandeur SS-Panzeraufklärungs-Abteilung 12 / 12.SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend"), Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt (Oberbefehlshaber West), SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (Kommandierender General I. SS-Panzerkorps), SS-Obersturmbannführer Wilhelm Mohnke (Kommandeur SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 26 / 12.SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend").

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/140529428842/a-sdkfz-25116-fitted-with-flame-projectors-from

Gerd Bremer during Military Manouvre of SS Hitlerjugend Division

SS-Sturmbannführer Gerhard "Gerd" Bremer (Kommandeur SS-Panzeraufklärungs-Abteilung 12 / 12.SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend") photographed in 3 March 1944 during a military drill with Hitlerjugend Division at the Beverloo Training Ground, Belgium. He was awarded the Knight’s Cross for outstanding leadership during the initial phase of the Operation Barbarossa with Leibstandarte Division and on 26 November 1944 the Oak Leaves with Hitlerjugend Division.

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/140530227782/ss-sturmbannf%C3%BChrer-gerhard-bremer-photographed-in

Rundstedt, Meyer, Dietrich, Witt

From left to right: Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt (Oberbefehlshaber West), SS-Standartenführer Kurt Meyer (Kommandeur SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25 / 12.SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend"), SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (Kommandierender General I. SS-Panzerkorps) and SS-Oberführer Fritz Witt (Kommandeur 12. SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend") watch a military drill of the 12. SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend at the Beverloo Training Ground, Belgium in 3 March 1944.

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/140531735037/generalfeldmarschall-gerd-von-rundstedt

Oberst Karl Rothenburg in France 1940

Oberst Karl Rothenburg (Kommandeur Panzer-Regiment 25 / 7.Panzer-Division) in France, 1940. Given the urban feel of these photographs, it may be that they were taken in Rouen on or about June 10, 1940, for that was the date on which the units under Rommel's command entered that city. Rommel was advancing at considerable speed on that day, and it was consequently necessary for him and his staff to have a clear grasp of the surrounding territory and its road net. Hence, the preoccupation of the General and his officers with maps.



Source :
http://www.instahlgewittern.com/first-rounds-fired/rommel-in-france-1940-no-4

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Major der Reserve Johannes Grimminger


A nice portrait of Johannes Grimminger as an Oberleutnant der Reserve before he received Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (23 August 1944 as Hauptmann der Reserve and Führer Panzergrenadier-Feld-Ersatz-Bataillon 25 / 25.Panzergrenadier-Division). In this picture he spotted the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold in his uniform, which he received in 29 January 1942.


Major Johannes Grimminger, an infantry Eichenlaubträger, fought in 25. Panzergrenadier-division and later as a commander of Panzergrenadir-regiment 192 / 21.Panzer-Division. In this picture, Major Grimminger is on the right with his Ritterkreuz. The other Ritterkreuzträger is Hauptmann Martin Lenz, commander of II.Bataillon. According to Mr. Kitamura, this picture was probably taken in March 1945, just before he was awarded with an Eichenlaub and after Lenz received his Ritterkreuz (January 1945). 


Major der Reserve Johannes Grimminger at a conference.
Source :
http://www.history.jp/wehrmacht/008b.htm

Theodor Busse and Bruno Ortner

From an album of a Stabsoffizier of 281.Infanterie-Division. Here Generalleutnant Theodor Busse (Kommandierender General I. Armeekorps) walks together with Generalmajor Bruno Ortner (Kommandeur 281. Infanterie-Division). Busse is wearing the ledermantel (leather jacket). The picture was taken in 1944

Source :
http://www.history.jp/wehrmacht/008b.htm

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Blaskowitz in Capitulation of Warsaw

At 12:45 hours appeared, led by the Chief of Staff of the Polish First Army Corps, General Tadeusz Kutrzeba (right, back to the camera) accompanied by the Chief of Staff of the Commander of the Garrison of Warsaw, Colonel Aleksander Tadeusz Praglowski (2nd from right). In the command vehicle of 8 AOK (Armeeoberkommando) were established the conditions for a 24-hour truce, in order to begin negotiations for the surrender of the fortress. The beginning of this is set for September 28, 1939 at 09:00 hours. On behalf of German forces was General der Infanterie Johannes Blaskowitz (Oberbefehlshaber 8. Armee), who sit in the middle. The negotiation was held inside the Omnibus Opel Blitz Typ 3.6-47 2.5-ton, 4x2.

Source :
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=204416&p=1843948&hilit=blaskowitz+kutrzeba#p1843948

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

GFM Georg von Küchler with 12. Panzer-Division Officer


12. Panzer-Division incorporated remaining tanks from Panzer-Abteilung z.b.V.66 such as this VK 16.01. The picture also showing the commander with Generalfeldmarschall Georg von Küchler (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe Nord) in late 1942. The VersuchsKetten VK-1601 (experimental fully tracked vehicle 16 tons model 01) was a tank slightly based on the Panzer II. The object was to improve the armor and therefore the survivality in the battefield. In order to do so the frontal armor was 80 mm and 50 mm in the side hull /turret. This tank copied the crew layout in the Pz II , with an Tank commander/gunner/ loader, radio operator and driver. The development for an "ZERO" series was issued in December 1939, development of the chassis was entrusted ton MAN and the turret went to Daimler-Benz. The fisrt VK1601 was completed in June 1940.

Source :
http://www.history.jp/wehrmacht/008a.htm
http://panzerserra.blogspot.co.id/2012/10/panzer-ii-ausf-j-alan-135-part-01.html

Greim and Grasser at Award Ceremony for 15.(Spanische)Staffel / Jagdgeschwader 51

 
2 July 1942: General der Flieger Robert Ritter von Greim (Oberbefehl über das Luftwaffenkommando Ost) greeted by Major Julio Salvador Díaz-Benjumea (Staffelkapitän 15.[Spanische]Staffel / Jagdgeschwader 51) in his visit to the 15.(Spanische)Staffel base at Orel, Soviet Union. Behind Greim standing Hauptmann Hartmann Grasser (Gruppenkommandeur II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders")


 7 July 1942: Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse award ceremony for the celebrated members of 15.(Spanische)Staffel, awarded by General der Flieger Robert Ritter von Greim (Oberbefehl über das Luftwaffenkommando Ost). The recipients, from left to right: Oberleutnant Federico Garret-Rueda, Hauptmann Bengoechea Menchaca, and Oberleutnant Emilio Barañano (Baraño).


The Blue Squadron (Spanish: Escuadrilla Azul, German: 15. Spanische Staffel) was a generic name given to the group of volunteer pilots and ground crews recruited from the Spanish Air Force that fought in the side of Germany on the Eastern Front, during the Second World War. The "Blue Patrol" was a counterpart offered by Franco to Nazi Germany for its help with the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War.

Between September 1941 and May 1943 five Spanish squadrons rotated through the Eastern Front, attached to Luftwaffe fighter wings Jagdgeschwader 27 and Jagdgeschwader 51. Flying Messerschmitt fighters and Focke-Wulf fighter-bombers, the Spaniards were credited with destroying more than 160 Soviet aircraft in nearly two years, while losing 20 pilots killed, missing, or captured. The unit remained in central Russia, despite requests by Muñoz Grandes that they be attached to the Blue Division, until their withdrawal in 1943.

Source :
http://www.history.jp/wehrmacht/008a.htm

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Bio of Major Helmut Hudel (1915-1985)



Helmut Hudel, born in 4 July 1915 at Raunheim, joined the Reichswehr in 1934 and initially served with Kraftfahr Abteilung 5, ostensibly a transport unit. It should be remembered, however, that at this time many such units were being used for the surreptitious training of Germany's future tank crews. Identified at an early stage as a potential officer, Hudel subsequently underwent training at military academy and was commissioned Leutnant in 1936, being posted to Panzer-Regiment 7, part of 10. Panzer-Division.

Two years later he was appointed to the staff of the Kriegsschule at Potsdam, remaining in that post until 1940 and missing the campaign in the West. On completion of his posting he rejoined Panzer-Regiment 7 in time to take part in the opening phases of Operation Barbarossa on the central sector of the Russian Front, seeing particularly heavy combat around Minsk and Smolensk. In early 1942 Hudel's division was badly battered in heavy fighting against the Soviet winter counter-offensive. Hudel, by now a company commander with the rank of Hauptmann, was temporarily attached to a Kampfgruppe from 20. Panzer-Division. He showed such determination, skilled leadership and gallantry in heavy fighting around Viazma that he was recommended for the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross), and the award was made on 27 May 1942.

That month the mauled 10. Panzer-Division was withdrawn from Russia for rest and rebuilding near Amiens in France. It remained there until December 1942, when it was shippped to North Africa to bolster Rommel's forces in Tunisia after the Allied landings in Morocco and Algeria. Now the battalion commander of I.Abteilung / Panzer-Regiment 7, Hudel once again showed considerable skill and leadership in difficult defensive fighting under heavy enemy pressure. He was rewarded with the addition of the Eichenlaub (Oak leaves) to his Knight's Cross on 2 April 1943. By 21 April his division's armored strength had been worn down to just 25 tanks; Hudel himself was transferred back to Europe in the closing days of the campaign, and avoided the captivity into which the remnants of 10. Panzer-Division passed when they surrendered to US troops.

Hudel subsequently served in Italy, where he was promoted to Major and commanded schwere Panzer-Abteilung 508, a battalion equipped with the Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger. In late 1944 he was transferred to command the tank training and replacement battalion of the elite "Großdeutschland" division. In February 1945, Hudel took command of Panzer-Lehr-Regiment 130, the tank unit of the crack Panzer-Lehr-Division. He saw action in Holland and later against the Allied bridgehead at Remagen. By the closing weeks of the war, Panzer-Lehr-Regiment 130 had been reduced to just 15 tanks; it finally surrendered to US forces in the Ruhr Pocket.

Helmut Hudel died in retirement in 11 March 1985 at the age of 69 years.





Source :
Book "Knight's Cross Oak-Leaves Recipients 1941-45" by Gordon Williamson
https://www.andreas-thies.de/auktionen/52-749454
http://ww2colorfarbe.blogspot.com/2016/02/helmut-hudel.html

Monday, February 15, 2016

Major Hans-Joachim "Jochen" Löser, Survivor of Stalingrad


Jochen Löser (born in Weimar, 3 April 1918) joined the Infanterie-Regiment 68 at Brandenburg as an ensign in 1936. As a Leutnant in the Infanterie-Regiment 230 / 76.Infanterie-Division, he served as battalion then later regimental adjutant in France, the Balkans and Russia. Subsequently at Stalingrad he fought on the Northern Boundary.

For his bravery and personal involvement, Hauptmann Löser received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 3 October 1942 and the Ritterkreuz on 26 January 1943. He spent the next year alternating between military hospitals and studying atWeimar. After General Staff training and promotion to Major, Löser spent the remainder of the war at the Hirschberg War Academy. In 1956 he joined the Bundeswehr and reached pensionable age in the rank of Generalmajor commanding 1. Panzer-Division at Hanover.

This is his story about the battle in Stalingrad:
It had become important to defend between Kotluban-Gorge and the northern edge of Stalingrad in order to protect the movements of our panzers, cost what it might. In fierce fighting the Russians were trying to break through this cover. On the evening of 5 September 1942 we built our defence, in the middle of the empty and wild steppe, without any reference point, without a tree or a bush. Luckily it was a fine, bright autumn. At night, however, it fell so dark that it was difficult to find one’s way and we had to orientate ourselves by the telephone wires. We had the job of identifying the small elevations in the steppe which could be used for our artillery spotters and to maintain contact with our neighbouring divisions.

As regimental adjutant, in the evenings I had to go looking for the battalions. It was so difficult to get one’s bearings that we rarely found them and so followed the telephone wires. That turned out to be a stroke of fortune for the commander of III. Bataillon, who was lying very seriously wounded at the end of this wire. The battle for Stalingrad was not hate-filled, but a battle bitterly contested. I never encountered hate. Thus Russian prisoners carried back Leutnant Buhl so that he could receive treatment: the telephone line had saved him! The regimental commanding officer, Oberst Erich Abraham, who had won the hearts of his men and knew the name of every man in his regiment, set his bandsmen to bunker-building. He sent his pioneer platoon back to the banks of the Don to fell trees and prepare cover. His foresight proved itself well-founded next morning when the Russians sent over a very large swarm of fighter-bombers to Kotluban-Gorge, which was easy to make out and carpet-bomb. Happily we had dug some trenches below our tents and took cover in them.

From this day onwards the Russians attacked mostly in the early hours, and after very heavy artillery preparation, with strong forces and individual assault troops, also until late in the night. In our sector we had to bear the attack of at least two divisions daily; but our division repulsed them all. From 7 until 25 September 1942 these incessant attacks were very trying on everyone’s nerves. Fortunately the Russians always attacked at the same spot using the same plan and mostly at the same hour, apparently on Stalin’s personal orders!

Many of us caught the troublesome ‘eastern fever’: we all had yellow, cheesy faces and were very tired and sluggish. One had to make a special effort to overcome the effects, even at HQ, and hurry forth from the bunker with one’s messenger at four or five in the morning, picking up a rifle to help beat off the Russians, who had breached the neighbouring regiment’s line in a few places. The company strengths of the 178th Regiment were sometimes down to two men!

The regiment had its command post in the foremost frontline. We had built up a small assault troop from our bandsmen and clerks, whose job it was to sortie out immediately after an attack and take prisoners if the Russian T- 34s had abandoned their infantry. That led once to our fifteen officers and men having about seventy prisoners in the command post.When they realized how few we were we had to get them away as quickly as possible.This fighting was a great burden on the division and the regiment: we really did fight to the last round – worse still, until our nerves gave, and there was no question of sleeping. With the exhausted remnants of the Infanterie-Regiment 230 attached to our regiment, we succeeded in holding the northern perimeter, thus enabling Stalingrad to be supplied and reinforced. The fighting strength of the companies was often only twenty-five men: many of the best had fallen.

My batman, Obergefreiter Max Gens, a gilder from Berlin, who had served me loyally for a year and a half, had his hands full, for he had to alternate between fetching sandwiches for the commanding officer and bringing up SP-guns for me. These three SP-guns under Hauptmann Koch fought stoutly and when all is said and done it was due to them that we held the northern perimeter. The estimated fighting strength of the division was still only 5,000 men, of which 1,000 were ‘Hiwis’.

On 29 September 1942 the remnants of our division were withdrawn from the northern perimeter: we could scarcely believe it. We were to be ‘topped up’. What did that mean? The young soldiers, who had received a pretty basic training in the Reich, fell in: the CSMs of the exhausted units, together with their commanding officers, stood facing them. Lists were brought out and the soldiers assigned. It must have been a strange experience for these young men on the Stalingrad steppe to be included in lists composed by brave warriors of frightening appearance, asked one’s trade or profession and then directed to join this group or that. They were all very young and pale-looking and we, without saying anything, were all very doubtful that they would be a proper replacement for the many dead and wounded. Oberst Abraham recognized the difficult situation for these young men. He went along the ranks, spoke to them, personally and man-to-man. I believe that this meeting between the young soldiers and the old commander really did result in their feeling not only at home in the regiment, but also welcome.

The time for rest was short: there was some brief training and on 9 October 1942 we were sent to re-occupy the northern perimeter. This time the left flank of our division was on the Don. The weather was still very fine and clear. I was made commanding officer of III. Bataillon and was pleased to be given a battalion at last. We were given a very favourable position in rugged gorges where we put our command posts and heavy weapons and also some captured mortars with suitable ammunition. We installed the heavy weapons as a battery and had a very good liaison with the III.Abteilung / Artillerie-Regiment 176 whose spotters’ positions we shared. The attacks at this time were moderate. Thanks to our ‘weapons organization’ we were able to quickly ward off the Russians with our heavy guns and thus my battalion had few casualties. The Russians increasingly concentrated their attacks against the left flank of Heeresgruppe Don.

On 22 and 24 November 1942 orders came from Regiment and Division: we are encircled, the Führer has ordered that Fortress Stalingrad is to be held. As the Germans like to do in the face of such setbacks, we heaped all the blame on our allies. Young officers saw the reason as being the failure of the Romanians to hold firm north of the Don unlike ourselves, who had held firm at the northern perimeter. At the time we did not take such a dramatic view of it: our divisional commanding officer visited me at my command post, briefed me soberly on the situation and said, ‘We have often experienced such problems. You have set yourselves up nicely here. You have a quite excellent position. You Brandenburgers will pull through, of that I have no doubt!’ We believed him, for we had had similar experiences on a smaller scale but perhaps more hard-pressed than here. Therefore we were fairly relaxed about it all, although we watched less passively as our rations shrank. At this point the fighting was not so hard: in my strip. There were only a few breaches of the line. One night the Russians captured a strongpoint: we counter-attacked by night and under my leadership with SP-gun support won it back. The battalion commander’s course scheduled for me in Antwerp and my transfer to the General Staff course were ruled out by reason of the encirclement.

My friend Hauptmann Kulli Müller flew into the Pocket voluntarily to be with his men. On a reconnaissance we got lost in fog, crossed our own narrow frontline to the enemy’s side and in the course of this had a serious talk about the sense and stupidity of our mission and the suffering of our men. A day later, once we had found our way back, he went missing – a very brave and exemplary officer and commander. Of the four ensigns from our Brandenburg days he was the last I lost.

Rations were diminishing: every day just two slices of bread and thin horsemeat soup. For the Russians it was the same: they came to our field kitchen at night to raid it.We would chase them off, but never fired at them. There was no firewood in the steppe. The men did have their own small bunkers and trenches, but no wood. They used to crawl forward and raid the Russian stocks of wood which were protected by explosives. That proves how desperate the situation was. We derived special pleasure from the way the pilots of the six fighters stationed in the Pocket looked after us. They flew operational sorties from their base. They had adopted my battalion, and came up every evening to us with something from their rations. Airmen were always better fed than infantry!

Christmas 1942 was behind us and still no information was passed down from the powers that be, leaving us in the dark as to what would become of us.We had ammunition, but not that much.We were unable to receive radio messages because the valves had been removed from our portable receivers: we were urged: ‘Soldiers, hold out! The Führer will get you out of this!’ This slogan was in a way symbolic of what was happening to us there. We had fought bravely, loyally and trustingly: now we had all kinds of doubts, not so much because we were exhausted, but because we were deprived of information. An army can only be properly led if one says honestly and soberly and clearly what the situation is. Frequently in Russia it came down the infantry grapevine. But now even the ‘grapevine’ had run its course and had nothing more to say. For us fighting officers great doubt in the leadership developed not so much because we were encircled and in a crisis situation, but because we had no information.

On 10 January 1943 the Russians attacked with fresh forces and broke through our frontline at our neighbouring 44. Hoch-und-Deutschmeister-Division. The difficult retreat into Stalingrad for the troops who were located outside the city now began. We drew back several kilometres. We built ourselves makeshift sledges, put the remains of our food into haversacks and had practically only the ammunition loaded in our weapons and not many boxes of it.

During our withdrawal I met two men who belonged amongst the most important personalities and comrades of the division: the commanding officer, Generalleutnant Carl Rodenburg, attempting to lead his division from the front, and the Catholic divisional chaplain Joseph Kayser who spent his time with the 200 wounded at the main dressing station at Rossoshkatal. It was a very cold and frosty day with a glorious snowscape and bright sunshine. My battalion was about 140 strong, still with three company commanders. We proceeded in file, one company providing security. On the way we went through a small village in the centre of a collective farm. I saw the flag of a dressing station and determined that it was our former main dressing station. This was set up in a large collective farm with stables set out in a cross. My divisional commander was standing at a crossroads holding up a rifle and called me to him. He gave me the job of defending the village, and enlisted my help to round up the many troops all heading for Stalingrad, some fleeing, and incorporate them into the defence.We were not successful: those not from our unit ignored us. They did form up into groups, however, but as soon as our backs were turned they set off for Stalingrad again. I placed only the men of my own battalion around the main dressing station where we took up positions.

That same afternoon, while forming a hedgehog defence with my Füsilier-Bataillon 239 in the Bol Rossoshka collective farm with the priest Joseph Kayser, I had a unique, unforgettable experience: over a hill, glittering in
snow and sunshine, hundreds of German soldiers came down the slope and, accompanied by loud shouts of ‘Hurra!’, stormed the trenches where the Russians had assembled intending to surround the collective farm. They were the surviving artillerymen of the Artillerie-Regiment 176 led from the front by Oberst Wilhelm Boeck. After having been forced to destroy their guns for lack of ammunition, they made their last attack on foot! Many fell, possibly only one or two returned later to Germany. Oberst Boeck and Hauptmann Fritz-Joachim Freiherr von Rotsmann were awarded the Ritterkreuz in the last days of the encirclement.

During the night we formed a small defensive hedgehog around the village. Suddenly I heard engine noise and saw faintly against the snow in the darkness the outline of a lorry, which shortly stopped in front of me. I thought the driver, who stepped down, was one of ours from the rear. Because my adjutant, Leutnant Johannes Nichtweiss had been wounded through the upper thigh, I wanted to arrange transport out for him and spoke to this driver. We were standing three metres apart when he answered me in Russian, drew his machine-pistol; and squeezed the trigger. A click – misfire! I drew my own pistol, in my excitement forgetting to release the safety catch, and it also failed to fire. We faced each other in silence. Then he turned away, returned to his lorry and drove off! Without getting us involved in a fight, I went back to my bunker. That was proof again that this battle was fought violently but without hate.

Back in my bunker I witnessed a strange scene: my haversack lay on the table and was being emptied by a Romanian soldier (therefore one of our allies), by a Russian soldier whom we had captured, and my batman.When I saw these three sitting there eating so peacefully, the Russian still with his rifle(!), I burst out laughing. We shared out amongst the four of us what remained in the haversack. A small cameo illustrating that hunger and cold were often worse than the enemy.

Now I faced a dilemma: to carry out the orders of my divisional commanding officer and defend the village, or also to head into Stalingrad. I held a short counsel of war with my company commanders who advised me to leave. A member of the artillery radio squad now appeared and told me he had orders to support me in my fight to hold the village. That, and my duty to protect the wounded in the main dressing station, were decisive. In the duel with a Russian rifleman while going from cellar to cellar I received a round stopped by the metal cockade of my soft field cap: like me he was probably no sniper.

Meanwhile the Russians had surrounded us: their infantry lay with light weapons at 300 to 400 metres distance around the village. A number of men with leg wounds had set up a light MG at the exit of the collective farm, took part in the battle and fought bravely. We held out the next day as well, but then took the decision to abandon the struggle. We took the wounded still able to move and broke out – or rather slipped out. The priest Kayser and a doctor remained with the wounded who could not be moved and these were taken prisoner by the Russians.

Thus we came out with thirty to forty lightly wounded, which brought my battalion strength up to 120 men. We crept into earth bunkers but found ourselves in action next morning in the snow and without cover. Each man had about five rounds. My old friend Jupp Holl, until then my telephones officer, was faithfully at my side: my batman, Max Gens, had frostbite in the feet and was to be flown out but did not want to go, preferring to remain with his commanding officer. On 19 January 1943 we fought in a thin line, only four to five rounds per man. Under fairly heavy mortar fire I was wounded in the right hand but could not leave the position and so stayed until evening, by when my battalion, the remainder of a whole regiment, was down to two officers and forty men. I was taken by lorry that night to Gumrak airfield and unloaded at the side of the runway. I lay there with Max Gens, who had meanwhile taken the shawl from his legs and wrapped it around my hand. The sun no longer shone: it was misty. Snow, almost darkness. I watched the first machine, an He 111, a bomber, landing in the slush. It overturned because Russian artillery started up at the same time. An anti-aircraft officer was in charge of the flights out. We waited a day to be flown out, found ourselves a crater and waited to see what happened next. Other He 111s landed. Parcels, loaves, provisions and ammunition were thrown out. Fifty to eighty men then stormed these machines which could take maybe ten to twelve wounded. Field-gendarmes attempted in vain to keep them back. After the first eleven were crammed in, the hatch was shut. The machines took off under artillery fire in the midst of this throng of soldiers, some of whom grasped the wings in their despair, cursing, looking like a pack of crazed animals. Neither Gens nor I saw any prospect of getting into such an aircraft!

Thus we spent another whole day in this crater: a sergeant from my battalion with a leg wound joined us. Finally the three of us succeeded, on the early morning of the third day, 20 January, when less and less aircraft landed and most of the wounded had abandoned hope, to get a flight through the intervention of the young officer in charge of the airfield. The machine had put down some distance from the usual spot, where no others came, and therefore there were no large numbers of people nearby. I crammed my batman Max inside and I got aboard last. Above me was a filthy-dirty NCO bleeding from a neck wound who had to stand upright so as not to bleed to death! I rested with hands and feet against him as I lay in the bomb-bay.

It was a miracle – the aircraft started! We did not see anything else for we were all so exhausted that we fell asleep at once.We were unloaded at Stalino and cared for outstandingly by the Luftwaffe. In the military hospital there I received treatment for the first time. I had a lung infection and almost lost my hand to frostbite. Swiss surgeons operated on it at Cracow to avoid amputation.We Stalingrad-returners were barred from entering the Reich on Hitler’s orders so as to prevent us telling of the suffering at Stalingrad, and were brought to the Carpathian mountains instead for our cure.


Source :
Book "Survivors of Stalingrad: Eyewitness Accounts from the Sixth Army 1942-43" by Reinhold Busch

Generalleutnant Fritz Schlieper

The commander of the 45. Infanterie-Division Fritz Schlieper. Schlieper believed that his infantry ‘would manage everything on its own’. In June 1941, he had to acknowledge the era of infantry attacks without air or tank support was now past

Source :
Book "The Siege of Brest 1941: A Legend of Red Army Resistance on the Eastern Front" by Rotislav Aliev

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Generaloberst Hans-Valentin Hube



Probably the best German general to fight at Stalingrad was Hans-Valentin Hube, commander of the 16. Panzer-Division, who replaced Gustav von Wietersheim as commander of the XIV. Panzerkorps on September 15, 1942. Hube was born in the garrison town of Naumburg in 1890, joined the army in 1909, and received his commission in the Königlich Bayerische 26. Infanterie-Regiment the following year. After two years of fighting on the Western Front, he was so badly wounded in the Battle of Verdun that his right arm had to be amputated, and it seemed that his military career was over. With the same iron determination that characterized his entire career, however, young Hube rehabilitated himself, overcame his handicap, and returned to duty. He was a Hauptmann (Captain) when the war ended.

When the 4,000-man officer corps was selected in 1919 and 1920, the Army Personnel Office had the pick of the best, both physically and mentally. Hans-Valentin Hube was the only one-armed officer they chose to retain! Known for his determination, innovation, energy, and attention to detail, Hube strove to master every facet of his profession. Even so, promotions came slowly for officers in the Reichsheer (which was typical of a small army in this respect), and Hube did not become a major until 1929. He was promoted to Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant-Colonel) in 1934, the same year he took charge of a special experimental motorized battalion, which distinguished itself in the summer maneuvers and added impetus to the demand for mechanization in the German Army. Meanwhile, Hube was named commandant of the prestigious Infantry School at Döberitz, a suburb of Berlin. This was a choice assignment, but Hube’s rise was just beginning.

In October 1935, Hube was named commandant of the Olympic Village, which was to be erected in the meadows adjoining the barracks. He was also in charge of security. Since Hitler was personally involved in all aspects of “his” Olympics, it was only natural that he conferred frequently with Hube. It was soon obvious that the one-armed officer was the master of his assignment. Hitler was so impressed that he rewarded Hube with a special promotion to full Oberst (Colonel) in August 1936.

When World War II broke out, Hube petitioned OKH (Oberkommando des Heeres) for a field command. He was given the Infanterie-Regiment 3 in early October 1939, but this formation was nonmotorized and had an ultra-conservative (and almost hereditary) East Prussian officer corps. Not happy with his assignment, Hube used his contacts in Berlin (and possibly even the Führer himself!) to get a transfer. On May 15, 1940, he assumed command of the 16. Infanterie-Division, whose commander had fallen ill. This unit was already scheduled to be converted into a panzer division, and part of it was already motorized. In any case Oberst Hube led it with exceptional skill in France and was promoted to Generalmajor on June 1.

After France capitulated, Hube supervised the conversion of the 16th into a panzer unit and oversaw its armored training. It was slated to take part in the invasion of Yugoslavia, but the country fell so quickly that Hube’s division was not committed to any heavy fighting. After taking part in the triumphant entry into Belgrade, Hube and his men were sent to Silesia and then into the Soviet Union.

From the first, Hans Hube proved to be an outstanding panzer commander and a master tactician, both in offensive and defensive operations. He fought at Uman, Kiev, Rostov, in the Mius River defense in the winter of 1941–1942, and at Kharkov. He was successively decorated with the Ritterkreuz (Knight’s Cross) and Eichenlaub (Oak Leaves), and was promoted to Generalleutnant on April 1, 1942. Meanwhile, he earned a reputation throughout the army as a tough, fair, no-nonsense commander, noted for his physical courage and tactical brilliance. The men of his unit—and others as well—called him "Der Mensch" (The Man), implying that no one else in the whole German Army approached his stature. And that is exactly the way that many of the men of the 6. Armee felt about him.

A measure of the respect that Hube commanded was the fact that he echoed Wietersheim’s objections to the way the Stalingrad campaign was being handled, including his criticisms of Hitler’s meddling in the affairs of subordinate units. An outspoken officer known for his absolute honesty, Hube stood so high in the estimation of the Führer that he not only got away with it, but he also received his promotion to General der Panzertruppe on October 1, 1942—only six months after his previous promotion!

In January 1943, as the end neared for the soldiers trapped in Stalingrad, Hitler signaled for Hube to fly out of the dying pocket. Many in the city would have given everything they owned to have received this order, but Hube categorically refused to obey it. He sent word back that he had led his men into Stalingrad and had ordered them to fight to the last bullet. Now he intended to show them how to do it. Hitler responded by sending four members of his SS bodyguard to Stalingrad in a special airplane. Hube and four members of his staff were called to 6th Army headquarters, where the SS men surprised them and flew them out of the pocket at gunpoint!

In 1943, Hube rebuilt the XIV. Panzerkorps and led it in the Battle of Sicily, where he held off 12 Allied divisions (including those of the redoubtable General George S. Patton) for 38 days with four understrength German divisions, in spite of the Allies’ almost total command of the sea and the air! Then Hube escaped across the Straits of Messina with his entire command ("The Man" himself left in one of the last boats). After serving for a short time in Italy, where he fought at Salerno and was briefly acting commander of the 10. Armee, Hube assumed command of the 1. Panzerarmee in Russia and, much to the delight of the Führer, brilliantly led it out of a Soviet encirclement in March 1944, with help from Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein. On April 20, 1944—his own birthday—Hitler promoted Hube to Generaloberst and decorated him with the Brillanten zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern (Diamonds to his Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords). Hube was also earmarked to take charge of Heeresgruppe Südukraine (Army Group South Ukraine) shortly thereafter; presumably it had already been decided to give its then commander, Ferdinand Schörner, command of Heeresgruppe Nord (Army Group North). But Hans-Valentin Hube was killed the very next day, when his airplane crashed a few miles from Hitler's private retreat at Berchtesgaden! A few weeks before his own death, Adolf Hitler was still lamenting the passing of "Der Mensch", stating that he was one of the top three commanders to emerge from the Second World War...

Source :
Book "Survivors of Stalingrad: Eyewitness Accounts from the Sixth Army 1942-43" by Reinhold Busch
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.co.id/2011/10/album-foto-terbaik-hans-valentin-hube.html
http://weaponsandwarfare.com/2015/08/17/hans-valentin-hube/

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Major i.G. Helmut Beck-Broichsitter

Major im Generalstab Helmut Beck-Broichsitter (30 August 1914 - 25 September 2000) received Ritterkreuz in 4 September 1940 as Oberleutnant and Chef 14.(Panzerjäger)Kompanie / IV.(Schützen-)Bataillon / Infanterie-Regiment "Großdeutschland".

Source :
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/554857616571492671/