Description
Stabsfeldwebel Waldemar Ullmann
Ullmann was born on the 17th of March 1910 in the area of Reuthen, Germany into a catholic family. Ullmann married during his service in 1941, although oddly it seems his wife was removed as next of kin.
Ullmann volunteered for service in October 1929, with Infanterie Regiment 7 , as part of the 100,000 Man Reichswehr! His Kompanie was the 13th Kompanie which was named in honour:
Schlesisches Füsilier-Regiment “General-Feldmarschall Graf Moltke” Nr. 38
Infanterie Regiment 470 / 260 Infanterie Division – From Belarus to Moscow!
According to Ullmanns Wehrpass he served in the following actions, here an extract from the history books.
The move to the eastern front began on June 30, 1941. The train went to Siedlce, which was reached on July 4th. Unloading took place here and the march into the Wysokie Litowskie area was carried out until July 6th. As a corps reserve, the division then marched via Pruzana and Baranowicze to Lubany. There IR 470 had its first skirmishes with Russian units. On July 19, the march continued in the direction of Berezovka and on July 20, parts of the regiment attacked Romanishche together with the IR 460. At 8:20 p.m. the location could be taken. The attack continued on July 21st. The regiment crossed the Rudyanka River, passed through Pess’tschanya, and took Chernin in the evening. On July 23, the battle of Romanishche broke out and was to be retaken by the Russians. This was prevented by the 260th Infantry Division. On July 27th the regiment marched further north.
After Rudjaanka was reached, the division and the regiment set up to secure the front. From August 5th, an attack to the south was launched to close the gap between Army Groups Central and South. On August 10, the division was replaced by the 45th Infantry Division and marched north again. On the night of August 12th the Berezina was crossed at Shazilki and the Dnieper at Streschin on August 13th. They then met their army corps and attempted to prevent the enemy forces from breaking out between Rogachev and Shlobin. The regiment had to fend off difficult enemy breakthrough attempts. On August 19th the encirclement was over and the regiment marched south again towards Gomel. On August 23, the movement began with an attack in the direction of Chernigov in order to enclose the enemy armies near Kiev. Parts of the division had reached Desna by August 30th. On September 1, the regiment began its attack on Kisseleska from the heights around Tschernisch. When the 5th Company reached the bank of the Desna, a platoon succeeded in crossing the river with river boats and forming a bridgehead. The regiment extended the bridgehead to the villages of Poski, Wibli and Uborki. The next day it had to fend off severe counterattacks. Via Chernigov, Kiev was advanced further and the return route of the Russian troops was cut off. The division established itself on the Chernigov-Kiev road and repelled all Russian attacks. The badly battered division and thus the regiment no longer took part in the further fighting during the Battle of Kiev. It stayed in the positions it had reached and rested. It was not until September 14 that the regiment marched again, this time to the northeast in the direction of Bryansk and then further north to Dubrovka. The first frost occurred on September 27th. At the end of September the 52nd Infantry Division was relieved at Dubrowka.
On the night of October 2, the regiment began to attack Moscow. The regiment crossed the Dessna and formed a bridgehead. By the evening 120 bunkers had been knocked down and 200 prisoners taken. The first snow fell on October 6th. On October 7th, the Kaluga-Brjansk railway line was taken, and it continued in the direction of Kaluga. But on October 21st, the advance in the baseless mud was stopped. The regiment took up position in the Okatal. At the beginning of November the regiment and the division moved into the Kremenki bridgehead. When the German attack on Moscow resumed on November 13th, the regiment moved into its staging area on either side of Browna and made a deep break in the enemy frontline on the first day of the attack. In spite of this, the division and regiment’s attack remained concentrated in the increasingly fierce enemy resistance. On November 14th, the initiative passed to the Red Army and breached the frontline on the wings of the regiment. The attacks of the regiment did not abate on November 15 either, and only the 260 Artillery Regiment, which fired 2050 shells that day, was able to prevent a breakthrough. But the attacks began again on December 8th. On December 15, Russian units succeeded in breaking through the 52nd Infantry Division, so that the Kremenki bridgehead had to be evacuated. On December 17, the regiment repelled a Soviet attack into the seams of the 260th and 52nd divisions.
At noon, the regiment was overrun by Russian tanks and 40 soldiers were killed. The regiment went back to Radenki. The division was trapped by Russian forces and had to free itself from the encirclement at Christmas. The division withdrew to the Detschino area and moved to the new line on December 31st. Ullmann was wounded in these breakout fights and was lucky to have made it out.
It was not until January 1943 until he was back on the frontline again, now healed from his wounds and now a Stabsfeldwebel.
Serving with the Machine Gun Company of Infanterie Regiment 684 / 335 Infanterie Division
The division was then transferred to France as an occupying force and used to secure the coast in Brittany and near Marseille. In October 1942 the division was reclassified into an attack division and in February 1943 it was transferred to the 1st Panzer Army on the Don. Heavy defensive battles followed on the Donets and in the Voroshilovgrad area by August 1943. In September and October 1943 the division withdrew to the Dnieper via Stalino and was then deployed at the Zaporozhye bridgehead until the end of the year. At the beginning of 1944, fighting followed at the Nikopol bridgehead and, from March 1944, fighting back over the Ingulez south of Krivoy Rog, Michailowka, the Ingul (bridgehead Peressadowka), the Bug north of Nikolajew to the lower Dniester. The division then fought in Besserabia and in the Tiraspol – Kishinew area. The division was destroyed by Army Group South Ukraine in the Jassy area in August 1944 and formally dissolved on October 9, 1944.
Very detailed Battle Report of IR 684 at the Bridgehead of Saporoshje
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Zusatz/Heer/Gefechtsbericht335-R.htm
Wounded again by a piece of shrapnel Ullmann spent some time again in hospital and would see the front for the third time with:
Volks Artillerie Korps 766 / 5 Panzer Armee
In the offensive in the Bulge, which began in December, it fought in the central section of the front and was to advance as far as Antwerp. After the Ardennes offensive was a failure, the army returned to the Siegfried Line. From the end of January to February 10, 1945 the army fought on the Urft and Roer and then withdrew to the Rhine by March 7, 1945. After the Allies had crossed the Rhine, the 5th Panzer Army was trapped in the Ruhr Pocket.
On April 17, 1945, the army surrendered in the Ruhr Pocket.
Interestingly, Ullmann wrote that he was captured on the 16th of April 1945 near Iserlohn, Paderborn and was sent to the POW camp in Remagen. The infamous POW camps, known as the Golden Mile, many would die there due to malnutrition and having to live under the open skies. Many pictures of the Remagen POW Camp can be found online.
Training
K98 Rifle, LMG 16 & 18, Luger P08, LMG 18, LMG 08/15, Grenade M24, LMG 34, Pistol 35(P). As well as extensive Infantry training!
Awards
Marksmanship 1st Class for K98 Rifle
German Riders Badge
DLRG – Life saver permit
Wehrmacht 4 Year long Service Medal
1.12.1942 – Black Wounds Badge – Wounded by shrapnel with IR 470 in Russia
14.10.1942 – Eastern Front Medal
30.1.1943 – War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords
14.19.1944 – War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords
20.11.1944 – Wounds Badge in Silver – Grenade Splinter in the upper body
28.12.1944 – Iron Cross 2nd Class
Comments
Ullmann seen 17 years of service for his country, he is not recorded as killed or missing. This Wehrpass is quite incredible with a long battle list, Ullmann saw the brunt of war on both fronts.
