Description
An interesting small grouping to the Sniper Alfred Weis, born in 1927, he was enlisted into the German Army in February of 1945.
He served with : Festungs Pak Kp 2/XXXX (Festungs-Pak-Verband XXXX) – Oberrhein Front
On December 16, 1944, the Germans attacked in the Ardennes. What became known as the “Battle of the Bulge” forced the movement of large numbers of U.S. troops north out of Alsace and Lorraine to counter the German attack. In January, additional U.S. troops were moved north in response to the German counter-offensive into northern Alsace, Operation North Wind (Unternehmen Nordwind). Taking advantage of the stretched Allied lines, Himmler ordered the recapture of Strasbourg. German troops assaulted across the Rhine near Gambsheim on January 5, 1945[4] and soon occupied a bridgehead including the towns of Herrlisheim, Drusenheim, and Offendorf north of Strasbourg. South of Strasbourg, German troops in the Colmar Pocket attacked north toward Strasbourg on January 7, inflicting painful losses on the French II Corps, but were ultimately unable to break the French defense.
Reinforced by elements of the 10th SS Panzer Division, the German troops in the Gambsheim Bridgehead held their own against U.S. and French counterattacks during January 1945, manhandling the U.S. 12th Armored Division at Herrlisheim. The German successes of January, however, marked the high point for the Upper Rhine High Command. The Gambsheim Bridgehead, and further to the south, the Colmar Pocket, would not be reduced by Allied forces until well into February 1945, but the operations of the Upper Rhine High Command after mid-January were defensive in nature.
Equipment:
G43 with DOW Scope on the 5.4.1945 along with a pistol and cleaning kit for the Sniper Rifle, as well as a set of 6×30 BLC Binoculars . (PLEASE NOTE: These are very late entries, and we do not really think the Rifle entries are provable 100%).
Swiss Issued IDs
Interesting, and what seems to be incredibly rare is the Swiss ID attached. He is pictured in a Panzer Wrap, without Eagle issued in December of 1945. So he made it over the border to Switzerland to surrender on the 27th of April 1945. The photo was taken by Photo Brandt in Arosa, and the Swiss Countryside can be seen in the background. It seems he was then interned in a Camp in Chur, under the Military Internment Graubunden Chur. Another ID, was issued for when he was in Arosa Switzerland , and had to be presented when he visited any local businesses.
Extra
A nice uniform photo in RAD Uniform. Another document states that he was handed over in December to the French Army in Tuttlingen, interestingly it states he is a POW and a Deminer, so he was likely active in post war mine clearance. Also a 1947 issued Sport ID was in the grouping.
Final
What an incredible bit of history with the Swiss link, he was active with arms for about two weeks and made it to Switzerland.
