Description
Wehrmacht Wehrpass to Obergrenadier Alfred Kutzner
Kutzner was born on the 18th of June 1910 in Liegniz Germany. He was of Protestant faith and married, in his civilian life he was trained as a butcher. He lived with his wife Gertrud tin Breslau (today: Worclaw, Poland).
His Wehrpass was issued in Breslau on the 7th of June 1937, on the 23.7.1942 Kutzner was called up for duty, in August he swore an Oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler.Trained on the K98 Riffle, Light Machine gun and the Luger p08 pistol.
After a short time in training he was sent directly to his frontline unit, on the 7th of August 1942:
The 12 Company (Machine Gun) of Infanterie Regiment 676 (332 Infanterie Division)
The division was serving as Coastal Defence in Brittany France, a what would seem to be rather silent part of the world during this time of the war. Although after being with his unit only 12 days, Kutzner would see action in what was to go don in history as a the Dieppe Raid also known as Operation Jubilee .
Entered in his Wehrpass is the following for the raid: ‘Zerschlagung der Britische Landungsversuche in Dieppe’ meaning the destruction of the British landing attempt at Dieppe. A very rare entry in any wartime Wehrpass.
Operation Jubilee Synopsis
The Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe, northern France in the Second World War (19 August 1942).
Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a regiment of tanks, were put ashore from a naval force operating under protection of Royal Air Force (RAF) fighters.
The port was to be captured and held for a short period, to test the feasibility of a landing and to gather intelligence. German coastal defences, port structures and important buildings were to be demolished. The raid was intended to boost Allied morale, demonstrate the commitment of the United Kingdom to re-open the Western Front and support the Soviet Union.
Aerial and naval support was insufficient to enable the ground forces to achieve their objectives; the tanks were trapped on the beach and the infantry was largely prevented from entering the town by obstacles and German fire. After less than six hours, mounting casualties forced a retreat. The operation was a fiasco in which only one landing force achieved its objective and some intelligence including electronic intelligence was gathered.
Within ten hours, of the 6,086 men who landed, 3,623 had been killed, wounded or became prisoners of war. The Luftwaffe made a maximum effort against the landing as the RAF had expected but the RAF lost 106 aircraft (at least 32 to anti-aircraft fire or accidents), against 48 German losses. The Royal Navy lost 33 landing craft and a destroyer. The lessons of the Dieppe Raid influenced preparations for Allied seaborne operations in the Mediterranean and the Normandy landings (Operation Overlord).
Kutzner was sent to the Eastern Front with the Division in 1943, on the 23.7.1943 he was hit by an infantry bullet in the head, killing him. During the opening stages of Operation Cidatel. Also known as the ‘Battle of Kursk’ Kutzner was still with his unit, now attached to the 4th Panzer Armee they were ear marked for the main parts of the attack.
According to Kutzners Wound Badge Document he was shot on the 18.7.1943, whilst serving in the Machine Gun Company. According to the records, he was killed near Butovo, Bjelgorod. Hi Body was never found and he has no known grave.
Included with his Wehrpass is a large certificate displaying the Iron Cross, it states that the German Army are returning his Wehrpass to his Wife and that he gave his life for Germany, moreover that the Wehrpass be held as a memory of his service and for any claims of her husbands service.
