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Panzerbär Newspaper – Berlin 1945 – Archive of Walther Ulbricht – Rare
Here we have an extremely rare edition of the Panzerbär. This particular example was sent from Berlin KPD Leader Jenny Malern to Walther Ulbricht and was to be personally delivered as described on the cover. These are really hard to find items, and this edition was what seems to be one of the last if not the last edition.
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WWII German Soldbuch – FJ Egon Steinhagen – Regiment Kratzert – Battle of Berlin 1945 – Rare
Steinhagen was enlisted on the 27th of March 1945 at 17! Assigned to the Fallschrimjäger unit on the 9th of April 1945. Fallschrimjäger Ersatz und Ausbildungs Regiment 1 Also known as Regiment Kratzert named after the Austrian Regimental Commander. Major Rudolf Johann Kratzert – Knights Cross Holder in 1942 renamed Fallschirm-Jäger-Ausbildungs-Regiment 1. Reorganised in 1943 and moved to Bar le Duc in France, now known as the Fallschirm-Jäger-Ausbildungs-Regiment (no number). In 3.44 renamed: Fallschirm-Jäger-Ersatz- und Ausbildungs-Regiment 1. Withdrawn from France after the Allied invasion, and demobilized. Reformed 1.45 in Halberstadt, with I. Battalion at Quedlinburg, subordinated to the Fallschirm-Jäger-Ausbildungs- und Ersatz-Division. On 14.4.45 had 4500 men in the Oder/Berlin area, for the defence of Berlin.
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WWII German Wehrmacht Soldbuch Grouping Uffz Hamm – Kampfgruppe von Luck – Iron Cross – Normandy 1944 – Mentioned in Saving Private Ryan!!! (Reserved)
Soldbuch Grouping to Robert Hamm ( Born in Schellweiler 1919) issued in October 1940 with Grenz Infanterie Panzerjäger Ersatz Kompanie 125. https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/InfErsBat/InfErsBat125-R.htm Frontline Units Grenz Infanterie Panzerjäger Ersatz Kompanie 125. In the Field: April 1941. Stab / Panzer Abteilung 223 Promotion: December 1942 Set up on July 15, 1942 in Versailles. The unit was set up from captured tanks with 2 companies, first the 1st Company was created from the captured tanks. After the formation, it was placed under the command of the 22nd Infantry Division as a divisional force. Deployed in the Crimea, Ukraine. On January 10, 1943 they were incorporated into the 100th Panzer Regiment as the 1st Abteilung. Panzer Regiment 100 – 21st Panzer Division Equipment Issued: April 1944 Re-established on December 8, 1942 as regimental staff Panzer Brigade 100. The II. Abteilung was established on January 8, 1943. The I. Abteilung was established on January 10, 1943, mainly from Panzer Division 223. The II. Abteilung was formed from Panzer Replacement Division 100, the Panzer Company of the LXXXI Army Corps, the Panzer Company of the LXXXII Army Corps and the Panzer Company Paris. In July 1943, the regiment replaced Panzer Regiment 5, which had been destroyed in Tunis, and joined the newly formed 21st Panzer Division. At the beginning of June 1944, the regimental command post was in Aubigny. The divisional command post of the I. Abteilung , under Major Wilhelm von Gottberg, was in Jort. The divisional command post of the II Abteilung, under Major Martin Vierzig, was in Fresné-la-Mère. The regiment was badly damaged in Normandy in the summer of 1944 and was subsequently destroyed at Falaise and Caen and was never re-established. Sonderstab F – 21st Panzer Division Stab / Panzer Artillerie Regiment 155 “Kampfruppe von Luck” Promotion: 10.1944 – Sonderstab F – Hauptmann Füssel (1) Shortly before D-Day, Panzer Regiment 100 broke into different Battle Groups. They were stationed in the area around Caen and Falaise. Battle Groups were formed to counter attack the landings north of Caen on the Juno and Sword beachheads. Three regimental battle groups had very distinct flavours and roles – Oppeln retained the bulk of his Panzer Regiment and was thus the main armoured fist of the division. However, he had gained some armoured and motorised infantry from Luck. Rauch meanwhile, remained an entirely infantry formation (albeit with some armoured support elements and personnel carriers), and was thus intended to operate in close support of Oppeln. Luck on the other hand, had a well-balanced force of infantry, panzers and assault guns and was therefore quite capable of reasonably independent action. Whether by accident or design, their dispositions on 6th June reflected these divisions in role – Rauch performed a classic infantry/antitank holding action north of Caen while Oppeln prepared to support him and launch his own armoured counter-attack against the bridgehead. Luck meanwhile, operated east of the Orne against British and Canadian paratroopers, divorced from the rest of the division by the nature of the terrain. 21. Panzer-Division adopted combined-arms battlegroups immediately following the Allied invasion of 6th June. The three battle groups were formed using the Panzer and Panzer-Grenadier regiments as the nuclei. Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 155 was split equally, with a battalion of artillery being attached to each group. The Soldbuch owner was sent to the Stabskompanie of Panzer Artillerie Regiment 155, attached to Kampfgruppe von Luck. The counter attack – According to the book by Hubert Meyer – The 12th SS: The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division – Page 84, “Kampfgruppe von Luck consisted … I and II Abteilung of Art Reg 155 – Orders were to move to the area of Vaudeloges (five kilometers from Morteaux-Couliboeuf). During the move, it encountered Poles advancing toward Trun. They had already reached Norrey-en-Auge the previous evening. The Cromwell tanks of the 10th Polish Rifle Regiment (Reconnaissance) attacked from le Moutiers in the direction of Trun. They came under effective fire from Kampfgruppe von Luck.” According to the book: Pegasus-Brücke und Batterie Merville – Zwei britische Kommandounternehmen – D-Day: Die ganze Wahrheit über den britischen Angriff auf die Hebebrücke über den Caen-Kanal By Helmut Konrad von Keusgen · 2024 During the movement to Ranville, Kampfgruppe von Luck came under heavy fire from the sea, von Luck stated, “ Then an inferno broke out. We were shot at with the heaviest cannons from ships artillery, calibers till 36cm. Everything hammered down on us, also the fighters. I was there myself, and I seen the chaos. Our troops broke apart, even the radio communications. Everywhere lay wounded … “ Mentioned by Tom Hanks in the Movie, “ Saving Private Ryan” 1998 – after they secure the beachhead Hanks playing Captain Miller tells his superior Officer he met , “ von Luck Kampfgruppe, we took 23 Prisoners, and turned them over to MPs of the 29th.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6P9OKrpNxo – Marder 1 Footage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGoD-g8m76E – D-Day – The German Counterattack 1944 Armeegruppe Blumentritt – 1945 The Armeegruppe Blumentritt was formed on 10 April 1945 from Armeegruppe Student. Established to control troops on the Weser River from Hameln to the Baltic Sea coast, Armeegruppe Blumentritt tried to delay the Anglo-Canadian advance to keep the Baltic Sea ports open as long as possible so German refugees could continue fleeing the Soviet advance in the east. Commanders General der Infanterie Günther Blumentritt (10 Apr 1945 – 8 May 1945) It seems that Hamm survived the war. —————————————– Awards 1940 – West Wall Medal 28.10.1944 – Iron Cross Second Class 2nd – Signed by Generallt – Feuchtinger (2) Tank Licence Class 2 – Full Tank Licence – June 1942 Hospital Stays 4.1941 – 8.1941 – Pneumonia 24.7.1943 – November 1943 – Code 26 : Nerve damage (Reserve Hospital Paderborn) Payments Front Payments: June – July 1943 – FpnNr: 04723 & 03069 FI Front Payment: July – August 1944 – 21st Panzer Div Security Stamps Feb 1943 – Pz Abt 223 Dec 1943 – Pz Reg 100 Sept 1944 – Sonderstab F – Signed Hauptmann Füssel…
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WWII German Army Soldbuch Obergefreiter Krey – Panzergrenadier Regiment 59 – Breakout Bobruisk – Close Combat Clasp – FREE SHIPPING!
Soldbuch belonging to Gefreiten, (Corporal), Erich Krey, born on December 9, 1922. Solduch released on October 15, 1941. It served initially in the Feldersatz Batailion 20, attached to the 20 INFANTERIE DIVISION, that at that time, was destined in Russia, attached to 18 Armee, within the Group of Armies North. With this division, fought in defensive battles, between October of 1941 and September of 1942, in the front of Leningrad, near the town of Tschudowo, in the area of Voljov, fighting against the troops of the Soviet Army, and the Partisans acting behind the German line. On October 1, 1942, he was transferred to the Panzergrenadier Regiment 59, attached to the 20- PANZER DIVISION, which on that date was stationed in the Russian village of Orel, attached to the 2 Pazerarmee, within the Group of Armies Center. In November of that year, 20-PD was sent to the Bukinos Paschkowa-Burisy-Koloschina-Warnawina sector, where the 7 Luftwaffen Feld Division, was collapsed by the Russian attacks, opening a major gap on the German front, That the 20.PD, had to close with strong struggles, and major losses. In December, he was seriously injured, and removed from the battlefield, until December 1943. In February of 1943, the division returned to Orel, fighting, against a new Soviet offensive, to the south of the city. Later, the 20-PD was sent to rear, to prepare for Operation Citadel, the Battle of Kursk. The battle began on July 5, 1943, and the 20-PD, fought alongside the 4 Panzer Division, in the north of Orel, but only advanced a few kilometers, suffering significant casualties. Between 7 and 10 of July, the Panzergrenadier Regiment 59, lost a third part of its personnel. Then, the Soviet counterattack, and 20-PD fought in the defense of Stolptscheje, fighting, which lasted until August 8, when the exhausted division, with heavy losses, retired to the area of Roslavl – Juchnow. Between September and October, new retreats, towards Jelnja, Roslavl, Pokot and Gorodok. At the beginning of November, the remains of the division were sent south of Newel to cover a new breach opened by the Russians between the Northern and Central Army Groups. NOTE: throughout this year, this soldier did not participate, having been wounded in combat. After this battle, 20-PD planned to withdraw from the battlefront, to rest and refuel, but the Russians started a new offensive on December 13 against Vitebsk. Along with the 129 Infanterie Division, the 20PD, was in charge of the defense of the city. The Russians attempted to conquer Malaschenki airfield, but the Panzergrenadier Regiment 59, along with several tanks of the division, momentarily halted the Soviet onslaught, but the airfield was conquered the next day. Finally the front stabilized in January of 1944. In February, the division was withdrawn to a quieter battlefront, where it remained, until May 1944. On June 22, the Soviets launched Operation Bragation, the great offensive, against the Army Group Center. The division was sent to Bobruisk-Mogilev, where it was surrounded, in which it was called Bobruisk’s kessel. Later the kessel was divided in 2 groups, separated by the river Berezina. With the remaining tanks of the 20 Panzer Division, at the point of attack, 15,000 to 30,000 German soldiers fought their way, with terrible losses. The Panzergrenadier Regiment 59 was reduced to a simple kampfgruppe, with hardly any fighting ability. The survivors of the Division, and the remains of the vehicles, were transferred to East Prussia, to rest, and receive new replacements. On January 5, 1945, 20-PD, was sent to Hungary, to attack the Uiszla bridgehead, on the Vistula River. But, due to new Soviet offensives, the divison, was urgently moved to Ratibor, (Poland), to defend the river Oder. In February, a new mission: to try to break the siege of the city of Breslau, but the division was very weakened, and did not achieve its objective. Between March an April, 20-PD fought in defensive battles in Neisse, Königsbrück and Dresden. Finally, the remnants of the division marked to the west, to surrender to the American troops. Soldbuch, with numerous entries, delivery of material, including a Luger P08 pistol and another Walther P38, a Kar98 bcd mauser, (manufacturer: Gustloff Werke), winter clothing, … .. Seriously injured, by grenade shrapnel, the December 14, 1942; Was admitted to several military hospitals, for a year, (so he could not participate, in the Battle of Kursk). He received a Führerspacket in May 1944. The soldbuch, has a record of 21 days of close combat, dated from December 15, 1942, until January 28, 1945. Decorated in 4 occasions: 1) Wounded Badge in Black, , (Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz), granted on February 2, 1943, due to the serious shrapnel wounds sustained in the month of December of the previous year. 2) Iron Cross of 2nd class, ( EK2), won on February 21, 1943. In the photograph on the cover, you can see, the ribbon of this medal, sewn in the buttonhole of the jacket 3) Panzer Badge in bronze, (Panzerkampfabzeichen in bronze), granted the 15 of March of 1943 – he can be seen wearing it. 4) Close Combat Clasp, (Nahkampfspange), awarded on November 15, 1944 Picture in the Soldbuch- indeed it seems to be Krey, although it seems it was added to a new cover at some point. Priced Accordingly
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WWII German Army Soldbuch – Feldwebel Hösch – Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 99 –
Soldbuch belonging to Feldwebel, (First Sergeant), Georg Hösch, born on February 6, 1920 in the small German town of Weinstadt. Soldbuch discharged on January 31, 1944, but it’s a duplicate, “Zweitschrift”, because on page 9, on vaccines, and on page 19, there’re records from 1941/42. Unfortunately, it’s unknown in what units he served during that time, if he was injured or suffered any illness. On January 31, 1944 he was assigned to Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 99, mountain hunter regiment, attached to the 1 Gebirgs-Division, which at that time, was in Bosnia and Croatia, fighting against partisan troops of the Marshal Tito. During these fighting, the 1- Gerbirgs Division was accused of war crimes, of burning several villages, and killing civilians. In March 1944, the regiment was sent to Hungary as reinforcement to the German troops that were there, to prevent the Hungarian government from capitulating or negotiating peace with the Soviets. When Hungary fell to Russian troops, the GJR-99 was sent to Greece as an anti- partisan force. In July of that year, again, these soldiers committed the same excesses they had committed in Bosnia, burning villages, killing civilians and stealing cattle, in the policy of “burned land”. After the fall of Greece, the regiment was sent to Montenegro, to face again the forces of Tito. On September 13, 1944, this Feldwebel was assigned to Grenadier Regiment 893, attached to the 264 Inf Div, which at that time was fighting in Belgrade and northern Serbia, next to the 118 Jäger Division, fighting, first against the Yugoslav partisans and then against the Soviet troops. In October the 2 divisions defended the Zara – Benkovac – Biograd line, but little by little they retreated through Drnis, Knin, Biha and Agram, suffering terrible casualties due to heavy artillery and Soviet bombers. On November 15, the 264-ID, together with the 373 Infanterie Division, (Croatian), fought in the defense of the Podkonje-Ocestovo line. But the Croatian division gradually decomposed, between casualties and desertions, exposing the right flank of the 264-ID. Finally, the German division, to avoid being surrounded, had to retreat north from Belgrade. In December 1944, the division suffered significant casualties, including the destruction of IBataillon / Grenadier Regiment 893, after having been surrounded near the town of Ruma. In the middle of the month, part of the division, which included units of the 891 and 892 regiments, almost the entire artillery regiment, communications, intendancy and supplies units, and the remains of the 373 Croatian division, were surrounded on the eastern shore of the Danube river, where they were destroyed by soviet heavy artillery and tanks. Both divisions suffered 4800 casualties, among dead, wounded, missing and captured; only about 500 soldiers managed to cross the river and contact the rest of the division. In early January 1945, the remains of the 264-ID forming a kampfgruppe, established a weak defensive position on the Bihac-Medak line, where they were supported by the also decimated 392 Infanterie Division, (Croatian). At the end of January, the division was removed from the front to be reorganized, and to receive replacements of just 17 years, without combative capacity. In March 1945, (in the soldbuch the exact date is not specified), this sergeant was assigned to the Jäger Regiment 21 der Luftwaffe, attached to the 11. Feld-Division (L), field division of the Luftwaffe, which by that then fought in Croatia and Serbia, along with some units of the Ustacha, the Croatian fascist militia. At the end of the month, the Luftwaffe division, attached to the LXXXXI Armeekorps, was very decimated, without receiving replacements, and with a few pieces of artillery, defended a broad front of almost 75 km. Between the Cepin-Bizovac- Valpovo-Marijanci line. In early April, a combined attack by Tito partisans and Soviet troops, supported by heavy artillery and tanks T-34 and KV-Il, broke the entire front. The sector of the 11. Feld-Division (L), at first remained calm, but the disarray of the 5th Croatian Division, exposed the right flank of the division, and initiated the withdrawal towards Nasice, Bukovica and Cancinci. In May, finally, the division surrendered to the Soviet troops, refusing to surrender to the partisan troops of Tito. Soldbuch with numerous records: material delivery, (among them, an MP40 automatic submachine gun and a Walther P38 pistol, vaccines, etc. Pages 21/24 are missing, for which the number of awards and / or permits it’s unknown. In the photograph of the cover, in the left pocket of the jacket, there is a pin of three medals, which seem to correspond to: 1) Iron Cross 2nd class, “Eiserne Kreuz 2 Klasse 2) Russian Campaing Medal 1941/42 , “Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42, Ostmedaille” 3) Wehrmacht Long Service Medal 4th Class , “Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung , 4 “
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WWII German Luftwaffe Soldbuch – Feldwebel Bund – Verb Kommando OB West Paris – Captured 1945
A nice clean Soldbuch to Feldwebel Bund who worked in communications with the Luftwaffe OB West in Paris. He was a veteran of WWI and during the Second World war he was awarded the War Merit Cross with Swords Second Class. Bund was also a member of the DLV (German Sport Flying Club), included his wartime Membership Card. Capture papers from 1945, along with some special Permit issued by the French to enter Friedrichshafen Docks. Worthy of some further research!
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WWII German Wehrpass – Gefreiter Kapralik – Panzer Späh – Aufklarungs Regiment 9 – Iron Cross Posthum -KIA in France 1940 – with EKM! Rare
Kapralik was enlisted in the German Army in 1938, with the Austrian Aufklarungs Regiment 9 (Vienna). He was trained on the K98, Luger P08 and the MG34 and KwK30! The regiment was set up with a 1st (motorcycle) division with 4 squadrons and a 2nd (tank reconnaissance) division with 3 squadrons. After it was set up, the regiment was placed under the command of the 4th Light Division. While it was still being set up, the regiment marched into Slovakia from 9th to 18th October 1938. The regiment remained there until it moved to its deployment area west of the High Tatras on 19th August 1939. The Polish campaign began on 1st September 1939 with the advance from the Beskids via Tarnow and Rzeszow to the San. The regiment then took part in the encirclement battle at Tomaszow with the front facing west. After the end of the Polish campaign, the regiment remained in Poland until 25th October 1939 and then returned home before finally being relocated to the west of the Reich. During its stay in Poland, the regiment’s leadership also changed. Lieutenant Colonel von Hauschild took over the 7th Panzer Regiment and Lieutenant Colonel Vichytil, commander of the 1st Battalion, took his place as head of the regiment. There the 4th Light Division was converted into the 9th Panzer Division, and the regiment continued to be subordinate to this division. In the Western campaign the regiment joined forces with the paratroopers who had dropped out at Moerdijk on 11 May 1940 and fought their way into Rotterdam. Moved to the Somme for action at Dunkirk, the regiment advanced from 5 June 1940 via Amiens towards Paris and as far as Clermont. Turning south, it left Coulommiers-La Charité on 10 June, where the secret files of the French General Staff were captured. It continued towards Lyon and Roanne, which was taken on 19 June. From there, the regiment was thrown to the southwest, reaching Bordeaux before France surrendered. Following the immediate march home, the regiment was disbanded on July 31, 1940, after almost exactly two years of its existence. Killed on the 19.06.1940 in France at 08:30 he was hit in the head with a bullet in Le Monjon , he was buried at the Castle Taligny. His body was later moved to Andilly France.
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WWII German Wehrmacht Steel Belt Buckle w/ Tab – Hermann Knoller 1941 Pforzheim
Nicely marked original with some green paint left on the front. Marked H.K for Hermann Knoller. Tab is nicely marked also. Price includes WW Tracked Shipping!
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WWII German Army Soldbuch Hauptmann Haussler – Bahnhofs-Wach- u. Streifen-Abt. 108
An interesting unit! Max Haussler, born in Ulm in 1889. He served in the First World War. He was enlisted into the German Army in January of 1941. He spent some time in Trier on duty, interestingly the role of these units can be seen below: During the Polish campaign, the Wehrmacht had already shown a lack of discipline on an unexpected scale. The reason for this was certainly that the army, including the officer corps, had grown too quickly and still lacked internal strength. As early as October 1939, Brauchitsch (commander of the army) reprimanded the deficiencies in the officer corps that had arisen during the short war against Poland in a decree: “illegal collections, including theft, embezzlement of looted goods, mistreatment of subordinates while completely drunk, disobedience, rape”. He spoke of “lansquenet manners that cannot be condemned harshly enough”. (<>Decree of the Ob.d.H. of 25.10.1939, printed in: Messerschmitt, M./Gersdorff, U.v. (ed.): Officers in images of documents from 3 centuries. (= Contributions to military and war history, 6), Stuttgart 1964. p. 277). In addition, the Wehrmacht was forced to call 1.2 million combatants of the First World War back to the flag during mobilization in 1939. These family fathers, well over 40 years old, showed little enthusiasm for war. Many of these soldiers were deployed in state rifle units in the rear of the front or in the divisions of the 3rd wave on the Upper Rhine front, and during the phase of the “seat war” up to spring 1940 there were repeated contacts with the French on the opposite side. In the area of
the HGr. C, the first cases of soldiers carrying their rifles with the muzzle pointing downwards became known at the end of October 1939. When front-line troops were transferred from the east to the west after the Polish campaign, transport wagons were decorated with slogans that fatally equated party divisions with the staging of the World War. For example, they said: “The front-line pig is here, where is the SS, where is the SA?” Such incidents, which were harmless in themselves, immediately triggered memories of revolting troops in November 1918 and caused considerable unrest among the political leadership of the regime, but also among the army leadership. Brauchitsch and Halder both compared the internal state of large parts of the army in autumn 1939 with signs of decay towards the end of the First World War. For example, the Chief of the Army General Staff noted in his diary at the beginning of November 1939: “Pictures like 17-18 are emerging.” <>(Halder, Franz: War Diary. Daily notes of the Chief of the Army General Staff 1939 – 1942. Vol. 1, Stuttgart 1962, p. 116.) The field gendarmerie, which was primarily intended to monitor military order and discipline, was only able to monitor soldiers to a limited extent due to its ties to large units and commands. Large areas of the German sphere of influence were also not covered by local commands (home war zone, parts of the occupied territories under civil administration), so that there was initially hardly any control here. In November 1939, these phenomena gave rise to the establishment of the army, air force and naval patrol services, which were combined on February 1, 1941 under the leadership of the OKW to form the “Wehrmacht patrol service”. The patrol units set up in 1940 as individual patrols or patrol companies of the respective command authorities were combined from 1941 onwards into army patrol groups (later Wehrmacht patrol groups) and train guard departments. The task of monitoring the behavior of individual soldiers in public was later replaced by the requirement to look after soldiers by setting up food stations, warming rooms, overnight accommodation, washrooms, etc. at rail junctions at home and in occupied territories, as well as at other locations where large concentrations of soldiers traveling alone suddenly appeared. To this end, the patrol services were then linked to the Wehrmacht travel agencies (transport offices, front control centers) and the mobile or stationary care facilities. The unit he was posted with also was: Bahnhofs-Wach- u. Streifen-Abt. 108 Spent the winter of 1944/1945 in Bad Ems, their main task was the checking of Soldiers Soldbücher for holiday overstays etc. Entries in the Soldbuch: Nice entries for, M43 Field Cap, Riders Boots, Peaked Visor Cap, and a Belgian Herstal Pistol in 7.65mm. Entry on page 14, on the 16.4.1945 he was demobilised although this did not work when the allies got hold of him and he was arrested the same day! Awarded the War Merit Cross with Swords in September of 1943.
