A very nice Soldbuch Grouping to Waffenoberfeldwebel Erich Hoppe.
It would seem that he first served with the famous Infanterie Regiment 17 (Braunschweig) given the very nice portrait wearing the Skull and Crossbones!
After a while with the Regiment he learned to be a weapons expert!
He would served with:
Heeres Flak Abteilung 271 (13 Panzer Division) Later (Panzer-Division “Feldherrnhalle 2”)
From May 12, 1941, the division moved to Upper Silesia in preparation for the Russian campaign. By June 21, the division had reached its staging area west of Hrubieszow. As a division of the 2nd wave, the division crossed the bow on June 23 and marched via Luck and Rowno into the Holsk area, where it broke through the Stalin line on July 7 and then advanced further east on Zhitomir. The division reached the Irpen by July 10, where the first defensive battles took place by July 19, because the division had to wait for the advancing infantry. The division then advanced on Fastow and formed a Unawa bridgehead by July 23. Security fights at Mironowka and Korssun followed by August 3, which were followed by two days of rest. Subsequently, the division was deployed to security fighters at Ivanovka and Datscha. By August 22, the division reached Dnepropetrovsk, around which heavy fighting raged until August 31, 1941. At the end of August the division was relieved (the artillery remained in the Dnepropetrovsk area until mid-September 1941) and moved to the area south of Dnepropetrovsk, where it was refreshed until September 15. Then she moved to the Kremenchug bridgehead. From here it crossed the Oriol on September 26th and took part again on September 28th in the fighting for Dnepropetrovsk, which was finally taken on that day. From September 30th to October 10th the division advanced to Mariupoal on the Sea of Azov and marched from there over the Mius in the direction of Rostov. After attempting to capture Rostov by November 20, 1941, the division had to withdraw to the Mius by early December 1941. The division remained in the Taganrog Mius bridgehead for the following months. At the beginning of summer, the division was refreshed in the front and prepared for the 1942 summer offensive. Among other things, the Army Flak Artillery Department 271 was subordinated to her. The German summer offensive began on July 21, 1942. The fighting over Rostov lasted until July 27th. The division then advanced to the Kuban and formed a bridgehead there until August 6th. On August 9th the division took Maikop and formed a bridgehead there. On August 14, the division was pulled from the front and marched via Armavir to the area between Ssablinskoye, Petrowka and Alexandrowskoye. By August 26, she advanced to the Terek via Miropolsky and Tarsky. Up to 9 September, clean-up battles followed on the northern Terek bank and a new deployment to the Terek crossing in the Mosdok and Kisljar area, as well as fighting in the Mosdok and Kisljar bridgeheads. In October 1942 there were trench warfare in the Terek Arch. After a brief refreshment on the right of the Uruch-Terek estuary from October 22nd to 25th, the division attacked Nalchik by October 28th and then on Ordzhonikidze. Here the advance of the division ended. At Gisel, the division was surrounded by Russian troops in early November 1942. She was able to break out of the cauldron until November 12th. After breaking out of the pocket, the division was gathered in the Alagir / Ardon area and refreshed a little by November 15th. By the end of the year defensive battles followed south of the Terek Arch and then the division withdrew first to the Zolka-Kuma position, then to the Kalaus line and finally to the Kuban bridgehead at Kropotkin and the Goten position by the end of January. The fighting in the Goths lasted until August 20, 1943, then the division left the Kuban and crossed over to the Crimea. From the Crimea, the division was transported to eastern Ukraine. In the area around Wassiljewska she took part in the first defensive battles. At the end of August 1943, the division was included at Jefremovka. The division was able to break free by August 31, and then move to the Mariupol – Stalino line. From September 20th to October 26th there was a defensive battle in the Melitopol area, followed by retreat battles through the Nogai steppe. From the beginning to the middle of November the division in the Golaganowka area was refreshed. From November 19, 1943, the division was engaged in heavy defensive battles in the Nikopol bridgehead and eastward to Krivoy Rog, from December 18 in the Kirovograd area and from January 6, 1944 at Nowo Ukrainska. After heavy offensive and defensive battles on the southern edge of the Cherkassy basin until February 17, 1944, defensive battles south of Zvenigorodka followed until March 9, 1944. After the Russian Army broke through the German front, the 13th Panzer Division found itself in further retreats. The Bug was crossed at Pervomaisk from March 12-14. After further retreat fights between Bug and Dniester, the area around Kishinev was reached at the beginning of April 1944. From April to August 1944 the division was at Kishinew. After the beginning of the Russian Sommer offensive on August 20, 1944, the division was torn apart. By August 24, the remaining parts of the division reached the Prut in the bridgeheads Leova and Falciu. By the end of August these remnants of the division between Prut and Sereth also disintegrated. At the beginning of September 1944, the division was reorganized in Hungary about 50 km south-east of Budapest at the Örkeny military training area. However, the division no longer achieved its full target strength. From October 8, 1944, the division was already engaged in heavy defensive battles in the Pussta in the Karcag and Tisza areas. Withdrawal fights followed east of the Tisza by the end of October 1944. At the beginning of November 1944, the division in Budapest was trapped and again destroyed. In January 1945 the division in Budapest was destroyed again. The division was re-established as Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle 2 in February 1945.
Awards
- Wounds Badge in Black
- War Merit Cross with Swords 2nd Class
- Eastern Front Medal
- War Merit Cross with Swords 1st Class
- Kuban Arm Shield
Comes with his driving Army licence, discharge papers, as well as papers sending him home to his home in Braunschweig!
A nice Soldbuch to a decorated experienced NCO!
