Description
Wehrmacht Soldbuch to Gefreiter Ernst Kornfeind
Kornfeind was born on the 15th of June 1925 in Vienna, and was trained as a carpenter.
In Septmeber 1943, Kornfeind was issued his Soldbuch with a Infantry replacement unit in Nikolsburg (modern day Mikoluv, CZ). He was trained in the MG company. His father died when he left for training, and Kornfiend was given special leave to attend the funeral.
Kornfeind joined his frontline unit in early 1944:
Reichsgrenadier Regiment Hoch und Deutschmeister (44 ID)
Divisional Synopsis
The division was rebuilt as Reichsgrenadier-Division Hoch- und Deutschmeister in Belgium when Hitler ordered the Stalingrad divisions should be reconstructed. By the summer of 1943 it was back up to strength and sent to fight in Italy, where it was heavily engaged at Monte Cassino. It withdrew up the Italian peninsula during 1944 and briefly clashed with American forces attacking the Gothic line. Withdrawn to refit, it was instead sent to oppose the Soviet breakthrough in Hungary. The division joined the efforts to recapture Budapest with the 6th SS Panzer Army, and was subsequently nearly destroyed near Lake Balaton. The remnants of the division retreated into Austria, until the final days of the war, when it marched west and surrendered to the American forces near Linz.
Monte Cassino to Hungary 1944/1945
Kornfeind joined the division in early 1944, issued with various items including a camouflage Helmet net! The Regiment was at this stage involved in the battles around the Cassino area in Italy till May 1944. After which it moved in the direction of Apennin.
On 23 September 1944 at Ca ‘Cosellini, near Sassoleone, a group of partisans of the 62nd Garibaldi Camicie Rosse brigade, accidentally encountering a German vehicle, opened fire and killed an officer and his driver; a third German was wounded and managed to escape. The next day, September 24, German soldiers of the 44 Infanterie Division set fire to the houses in the vicinity of Ca ‘Cosellini and then surrounded the town of Sassoleone. The inhabitants present were killed in their homes, in the streets or near the church.
On 25 September 19444, according to an entry on page 12 of the Soldbuch, Kornfeind was badly wounded by an Allied fighter plane, ‘Spl.Gr Seite v. Teifflieger‘ meaning a splinter wound on his side, from an enemy fighter plane. For this injury he was awarded the Wounds Badge in Black in October as he lay on a hospital bed.
He was sent two various hospitals including one in the Iglau (Modern day CZ), and interestingly as the frontline grew closer was forced to move hospitals to a safer area. By March 1945 he was once again fit for duty, joining the unit just in time for the next Operation coined Spring Awaking. Kornfiend was once again issued interesting equipment including a camo net!
It is unknown when he was captured, the Soviet issue document in his Soldbuch states:
‘Military Unit – August 31, 1945 N 318 – Reference given to the liberated prisoner of war Kornfiend Ernst born 1925. Nationality Austrian, in that he follows to his place of residence Vienna. Chief of the military unit 71731-N Savko’
Additional Information
Insignia
The Hoch und Deutschmeister cuff title was authorised for this unit on 26 February 1945. The Hoch und Deutschmeister Kreuz or the Stalingrad-Kreuz was authorised for certain units of the division on 23 March 1944. The emblem took the form of a small blue enamel Maltese cross edged in gold, with a Reichsadler and banner in the centre reading “STALINGRAD”. The emblem was authorised to be worn on the epaulettes of all ranks of the divisional staff and Reichsgrenadier Regiment Hoch- und Deutschmeister. It was also used as a semi-official cap insignia.
