Description
Soldbuch to Obergefreiter Otto Stock
Stock was born on the 7.11.1921 in Germany.
Soldbuch was issued on the 31.10.1944 in Naumburg with an Infantry replacement unit.
Although Stock must have had another Soldbuch as he was previously serving in the Luftwaffe with Kampfgruppe z.b.v 4 and Kampfgruppe z.b.v 40
Stock was awarded previously with the Front Flying Clasp in Bronze for Transport.
It seems he won this award whilst on flights (Not a Pilot) into Stalingrad and out with a Junkers JU52. As well as flying in and out of the Kuban Bridgehead. Stock must have had at least 20 flights to be awarded the Bronze award.
His flying career started early, as in 1939 he had both A + B Classes of the Glider Badge. 1943 Stock was awarded the War Merit Cross with Swords. In November 1944 Stock was also awarded the Medal for the Fight against Communism.
By late 1944, Stock was now transferred to the Wehrmacht and after a short training on how to fire both a rifle and Machine gun he joined his frontline unit Feldersatz Bataillon 3 under the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division just in time for the Ardennes Offensive.
In the middle of December 1944, the division was briefly refreshed in preparation for the Ardennes offensive and then, from December 20, 1944, was deployed to protect the northern flank of the German Ardennes offensive.
The division fought in the Krinkelt – Elsenborn area until December 26th and then marched into the section west of Bastogne. Defensive battles followed around Chenogne and in January 1945 at Flamière and the retreat to the area west of Houffalize. At Lichtenborn the division was withdrawn from the front in order to move to the north at the end of January 1945. The division was used to defend the Gmünd-Schleiden section. From February the division fought on the Erft section and then withdrew over the southern edge of Cologne to the right bank of the Rhine.
It must have been around February 1945 when Stock was captured, as his last entry was for injections at that time.
It seems he was captured by Allied Soldiers as his POW number 31G indicates on page 1, sadly it seems that Stock passed away in a POW Camp in France and is mentioned in the German War Graves Commision lists as such having passed away on the 18.5.1945
