Original WWII German Wehrmacht Soldbuch Obergefreiter Ferdinand Schmidt Grenadier Regiment 861 – 341 Infanterie Division  The Soldbuch is incomplete! Seems he was assigned from January 1945 with the above unit: On December 2, 1944, the division’s command post was located in Püttlingen. On December 4, 1944, the division still had a combat strength of 2,600 men, including 800 infantry. A report from Army Group G dated December 6 stated: “Composed mainly of untrained Luftwaffe soldiers and stragglers; due to poor weaponry, low combat value, unsuitable for large-scale combat. During the night of December 8, 1944, the division withdrew to the Fenne-Klarenthal-Petite Rossel line on the Saar. It remained quiet there for the following days. From 11 p.m. on December 31, the division participated in Operation “Nordwind,” the German offensive in Alsace and Lorraine. By morning, the division had captured Schaffhausen, the forest east of Werbeln, and the settlement 1 km east of Ludweiler. On January 2, the heights southwest of Wehrden were taken. The division then remained in the positions it had reached as flank protection for the 1st Army. From February 1945, there was increased fighting and heavy casualties in the division’s area south of Saarbrücken on the Spichern Heights. Artillery bombardment. In the battle for the West Wall positions in this area, the division suffered heavy losses in the following weeks. On March 2, 1945, the division was relieved by the 559th Volksgrenadier Division and relocated behind the front line. During the night of March 13, 1945, the 347th Infantry Division relieved the 559th Volksgrenadier Division in its sector of the front. The division initially relocated its command post to Fischbach. Here, it was within the firing range of long-range American artillery. On the afternoon of March 13, the command post then relocated to Wahlscheid. The enemy remained quiet in the entire division sector for the next few days. During the night of March 18, 1945, the division withdrew to the Püttlingen-Völklingen line. The Americans only hesitantly followed the retreat of the division and the entire LXXXV. The division was then reunited near Homburg. the Saar and northeast of the city. During the night of March 20, 1945, the division received orders to withdraw to Homburg and secure the Vogelbach-Homburg line against any American forces attacking from the north. Following on the right, the 719th Infantry Division was to assume security on both sides of Landstuhl. The division’s command post was located in Bildstock. On March 20, 1945, the LXXXV Army Corps received orders to secure the northern flank of the XIII SS Army Corps, which was deployed in the west of the Palatinate Forest, with the weak remnants of the 347th Infantry Division, the 719th Infantry Division, and the 19th Volksgrenadier Division. The three divisions engaged in hard and heavy fighting against vastly superior American forces between March 20 and 22, 1945. The 347th Infantry Division defended a section southeast of Homburg. The division was gradually pushed back and finally received orders to fight its way through the Palatinate Forest. The bulk of the 861st Grenadier Regiment and parts of the 347th Artillery Regiment were unable to retreat to the Vogelbach-Homburg area and were taken prisoner. The 860th Grenadier Regiment and the remnants of the 36th Reserve Grenadier Regiment / 880th Grenadier Regiment under its command were able to break away from the enemy and establish a new security line in the Homburg area by March 20. The divisional command post had been relocated to Knopp, about 12 km east of Homburg. On the evening of March 20, the 347th Infantry Division received orders to withdraw to the western edge of the Palatinate Forest during the night of March 21 and to secure the entrance to this forest area on both sides of Steinalben. secure. The command post was to be relocated to Johanniskreuz. Upon arrival at the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest the following day, the division came under the command of the XIII SS Army Corps. Because the retreat roads were blocked by units of the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division, numerous elements of the division were taken prisoner by the Americans. The division’s command post was initially set up in Eschbach and relocated to Bornheim, east of Landau, on the afternoon of March 21. The division received new orders to assemble its remnants east of Landau. However, as early as March 22, 1945, the division received orders to secure the Westheim-Oberhochstadt line, about 11 km northeast of Landau, with its remaining remnants. There was no longer any connection to the left or right. The division’s command post was in Zeiskam that day and relocated to Mühle, about 3 km south of Nieder-Lustadt, that evening. On March 23, the command post was in Nieder-Lustadt. At nightfall on April 23, the division moved to the area west of Germersheim. Retreated and secured the Rhine crossing there. The command post relocated to the barracks in Germersheim. All of the division’s remaining vehicles were transferred to the east bank of the Rhine. To support the Germersheim bridgehead, the 4th Engineer Bridge Training and Replacement Battalion and the 308th Panzer Grenadier Replacement and Training Battalion were placed under the division’s command. On March 24, heavy fighting broke out around Germersheim, during which the division headquarters was almost completely eliminated by artillery fire. The division commander acted as commander of the Germersheim bridgehead that day. That evening, the division crossed the Rhine over the bridge near Germersheim. Rear troops remained in the bridgehead on the west bank until the following morning. However, the division was thus destroyed. The remaining Grenadier Regiment 860 was subordinated to the 2nd Mountain Division, and the divisional headquarters and Signals Detachment 347 were deployed to the 7th Army. The Grenadier Regiment 860, along with all remaining elements of the division, was finally incorporated into the 47th Volksgrenadier Division on March 27, 1945. By April 12, 1945, the headquarters of the 347th Infantry Division had been re-established. It assumed command of the southern sector of…

Here we have a very interesting SS Soldbuch to Karl Heine, born in 19.7.1925 in Grabatz, Banat Romania. SS Soldbuch Issued with: SS Rekruten Depot der Waffen SS Debicа Below an interesting account from a young soldier in July 1943 in the same place mentioning the many Romanian Recruits. His first frontline unit till late 1943 was: SS Polizei Infanterie Regiment 2 – (Feldpost Number: 32194)  The unit was sent towards the Leningrad Front. SS Polizei Grenadier Regiment 1 On January 29, 1943, the remnants of the regiment were withdrawn from the front and transferred to the LIV Army Corps. The division assembled in Sablino. Nominally, the regiment was renamed SS Police Grenadier Regiment 1 on February 1, 1943, but in practice the division’s three SS Police Grenadier regiments were formed into three weak battalions. The division received 1,200 replacements from home on February 9, 1943. At the end of February 1943, the fighting died down. On March 18, 1943, the Red Army launched another offensive, but called it off after two weeks. A comprehensive reorganization of the division and regiment began at the Heidelager training area, followed by its transformation into SS Police Panzergrenadier Regiment 1 on June 6, 1943. The III. Battalion of the SS Police Grenadier Regiment 3 was incorporated as the new III Battalion. On October 22, 1943, the regiment was finally renamed SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 7. It seems that in early 1944, he was sick or wounded, arriving in Riga, Main Hospital Nr 1. (building still standing today!) Interestingly, the unit was not filled out with the new designation although the entries in the Soldbuch go up to April 1944. It seems that he was indeed active again in April of 1944, as he was given pay. Although the unit was involved in killing around 300 Partisans in Greece only a few months later. Also he was issued a full winter compliment! An interesting entry into the equipment page not often seen. Two Security Stamps with SS Officers Signatures worthy of further research. ——————— An Account from July 1943 from another Romanian Volksdeutsche at Debica: In mid-July 1943, Friedrich Bolaritsch from Orschowa/Romanian Banat arrived with approximately 1,000 ethnic Germans after a one-day rail transport to Vienna, where a medical commission examined the volunteers. After two days, all were transferred to the Waffen SS and transported the very next day by rail for three days to Debica. Friedrich Bolaritsch: “At dawn, we marched from Debica train station toward the Heidelager military training area.” We had already loaded our suitcases onto a truck. The paved road led through endless coniferous forest, and heavily armed guards could be seen almost every 500 meters. After walking about three kilometers, we saw the first residential barracks and suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a barrack town. After another two kilometers, we finally reached our destination: a block of empty barracks. Each block, i.e., a certain number of barracks, had a kitchen with a dining room, a bathhouse, a barrack with an infirmary, a canteen, a barrack for cultural events, and a barrack where the brothel (!!!) was located! Several Unterscharfuhrer (Second Sergeants) immediately appeared and greeted us with great cheers. We were assigned to the available quarters, so that every 10 men shared a room with five double beds. We immediately headed to the bathroom, and even before showering, we were carefully examined by some medics for lice or pubic lice; then our haircuts followed. By now it was already midday, and we were almost collapsing from hunger and exhaustion. Our first lunch here in the “Heidela-ger” consisted of meat goulash with boiled potatoes and pudding for dessert…. Immediately after the meal, we had to report to the clothing and equipment reception, which took place in a barracks designated for this purpose. Each of us received: a set A (cloth uniform), a drill suit, a coat, a pair of shoes, three pairs of socks, three pairs of foot wraps, two shirts, three undershirts, a cap/cap; a knapsack (backpack), a haversack, mess kit, eating utensils, a butter dish, a belt, a field flask, a blanket, bed linen, a toiletry bag, a clothes brush, a shoe brush, three handkerchiefs, two uniform collars, a sewing kit with thread, a Shoulder straps, a steel helmet, and a tarpaulin. We carried our things to our barracks, where each was assigned a bed and a locker. Under instruction and constant reminders to hurry, we had to make our beds, organize the lockers, and get dressed. In an incredibly short time, everything was ready, and we suddenly found ourselves as soldiers. We had to pack our civilian clothes in suitcases and label them with our home addresses. They were picked up in the evening… Some tried to lock their lockers with various locks, but shortly afterwards, Uscha appeared, raging and screaming about it. So they were quickly removed! Dawn fell… On that first evening, we were given potato salad with herring, bread, margarine, jam, and cigarettes… At 10 p.m., it was tattoo… Our group consisted of 10 men, all ethnic Germans from Romania and the Batschka (Serbian Banat). Only one was Romanian, his last name was Petru, and he couldn’t speak a word. German… Our day began at 5 a.m. with a wake-up call. The UvD arrived and noticed that our room wasn’t very tidy. We were immediately dragged out of bed and made to report for punishment drills. For the eight or nine days we spent in the “Heidelager,” we endured this every day, with one or two punishment drills per night! After the wake-up call, we had 15 minutes of morning exercise, washed, made the beds, fetched coffee, and cleaned the room. A quarter to seven was “company assembly,” followed by five hours of duty. This consisted exclusively of “geography”…drilling until we dropped…. Every day, we ran about 15 kilometers, threw ourselves to the ground countless times at the command “Full cover,” and jumped at the command “Jump to march!” Jumped up again. Crawling was particularly…

Here we have a very interesting SS Soldbuch issued in May 1942 with the Replacement unit (Ersatz) SS Polizei Infanterie Regiment 3 in Holland/Netherlands – s-Hertogenbosch to:  Kurt Affeldt (Born 1924 – Died 2012) from Steinhagen, Westfahlen Germany. In his civilian lifer before the war he was a Maschine Engineer/Worker. Units served in: SS Polizei Infanterie Regiment 3 SS Schutzen Regiment 3  The SS Polizei Infanterie Regiment 3 was formed on September 18, 1939, during the formation of the Police Division from militarily trained members of the Order Police. After being assembled and spending three months at the Wandern military training area, the regiment was deployed to the Upper Rhine at the end of February 1940. During the French campaign, the regiment was deployed in June 1940 to storm the Argonne Forest and cross the Ardennes Canal. The fighting for the heights of Rilly and Voncq on June 9 and 10 was particularly fierce. After the fighting ended, the regiment remained in France as an occupation force. Older men were exchanged for younger recruits. From mid-June 1941, the regiment was relocated to East Prussia. On June 30, 1941, the regiment crossed the Lithuanian border and followed the army units northeast. On July 14, it crossed the Daugava River near Dryssa. On the night of July 24, it crossed Ostrow. On August 1, 1941, the regiment moved to capture the key position at Luga. After suffering heavy losses, the regiment ceased its attacks and on August 22, 1941, moved southwest past Sopolje to attack the flank of the Russian positions. To avoid encirclement, the Red Army evacuated the city on September 1, 1941. After breaking through the Russian defenses, the regiment took part in the encirclement of Leningrad and subsequently remained in the Leningrad area. By order of February 10, 1942, the regiment was transferred from the Ordnungspolizei to the Waffen-SS on February 24, 1942, and renamed SS Police Infantry Regiment 3. The regiment remained outside Leningrad for the entire year of 1942 and took part in the heavy defensive fighting there. On January 12, 1943, the Red Army began its winter offensive on the Northern Front. When Russian troops were able to break through the XXVI Army Corps stationed to the south, the SS Police Division with the SS Police Infantry Regiment 1 received orders four days later to fight to free Schlüsselburg and liberate the German troops trapped there. By November 1942 – Affeldt was shot in the face and returned to Germany for treatment. 31a – Infantry Bullet – Left Cheek.  He was not released till September 1943, after which he spent some time with a replacement unit in the Netherlands (Nijmegen). By Early 1944, he was assigned to the SS Panzer Division Totenkopf  Affeldt spent some time with SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 5 – “Thule” then was assigned in September to the Stab of the Wirtschafts Batl of the SS Panzer Division Totenkopf. 1944: Defensive Battles in the East January–March 1944: Retreat from the Dnieper and the Korsun Pocket Totenkopf was part of Army Group South, fighting in Ukraine. In early 1944, the division was engaged in heavy defensive battles during the Soviet Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive. It helped to relieve and later withdraw from the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket, avoiding encirclement, though with significant losses. April–July 1944: Poland and the Kovel Sector The division pulled back into Poland, regrouping near Kovel and participating in defensive battles in Galicia. It became part of SS-Obergruppenführer Herbert Gille’s IV SS Panzer Corps, within Heeresgruppe Nordukraine. July–August 1944: Operation Bagration Aftermath The division was ordered northward as part of efforts to stop the massive Soviet Operation Bagration, which devastated Army Group Centre. Totenkopf fought defensive battles near Warsaw and Modlin, facing continuous Soviet offensives. 1944–1945: Battles in Hungary October–December 1944: Operation Panzerfaust and Debrecen Sent to Hungary, Totenkopf took part in Operation Panzerfaust, where the Germans secured control of Hungary following its attempt to exit the war. It fought in the Battle of Debrecen, part of the defense against the Soviet advance into Hungary. December 1944 – February 1945: Battle of Budapest As part of IV SS Panzer Corps, Totenkopf was one of the key divisions involved in relief operations for the encircled German and Hungarian forces in Budapest. Engaged in Operation Konrad I–III, failed attempts to break the siege of the city. Totenkopf suffered extremely heavy casualties in these operations and had to withdraw toward western Hungary. 1945: Final Battles and Surrender March 1945: Operation Frühlingserwachen (Spring Awakening) The division took part in Operation Frühlingserwachen, the last major German offensive of the war, near Lake Balaton in Hungary. Totenkopf was part of 6th SS Panzer Army, tasked with protecting the Hungarian oil fields. The offensive initially made progress but was soon repulsed by the Soviets, leading to a major retreat. April–May 1945: Retreat into Austria The division retreated through Austria, fighting rearguard actions. By April 1945, its remnants were pushed back through Styria, near Graz and Vienna. May 1945: Final Surrender On May 9, 1945, the remnants of the SS Panzer Division Totenkopf surrendered to Soviet forces near Radstadt, Austria, after Germany’s unconditional surrender (May 8). Many surviving members were taken prisoner by the Red Army. Unlike Western Allies, the Soviets dealt harshly with captured Waffen-SS troops, often regarding them as war criminals. A significant number of Totenkopf soldiers were either executed or sent to Gulag camps in the Soviet Union, where many perished. Security Stamps  20.IX.1943 – 8. Genesenden SS Grenadier Ausb u Ers Batl 4 – Stationed in Nijmegen, Netherlands   6.XII.1943 – 8. Genesenden SS Grenadier Ausb u Ers Batl 4 – Stationed in Nijmegen, Netherlands   4.III.1944 – SS Totenkopf Infanterie Regiment  1.Sept.1944 – Wirtschafts Batl – SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment Totenkopf  Awards Black Wounds Badge – 28.1.1943 Silver Wounds Badge – 2.12.1943 – Awarded by the Totenkopf Inf Regiment was likely an upgrade due to the nature of his facial wound. War Merit Cross with Swords – Awarded During the Hungary Operation in Feb 1945 Last Comments  A fascinating bit of…