WWII German Panzer Soldbuch – Oberleutnant Hans Kurt Vetter (Swiss Born) – Panzer Regiment 2 & Panzer Lehr Regiment – Fought against US 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne – Ardennes & Holland – Ultra Rare (Sold)

Description

A very rare Soldbuch to a Swiss Born German Officer fighting in a Panzer Regiment. 

His first edition Soldbuch was likely damaged due to his tank being hit and him sustaining injuries in December of 1943 with Panzer Regiment 2  

His Second edition Soldbuch was issued in September 1944 with:

Panzer Ersatz und Ausbildungs Abteilung 1 in Erfurt. 

Joining his frontline unit once again, he was sent to the Panzer Lehr Regiment: 

The Ardennes – Operation Wacht am Rhein
In early November 1944, Panzer Lehr was transferred to Hasso von Manteuffel’s Fifth Panzer Army, part of Field Marshal Walter Model’s Army Group B in preparation for the planned winter offensive, Operation Wacht am Rhein, commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge. On 21 November, the partially refitted Panzer Lehr was ordered out of its assembly area to counterattack the American forces driving towards the Saverne Gap.At that time, it has a strength of 34 Panzer IV and 38 Panther tanks.The counterattack stalled, and Panzer Lehr was called back out of the line, much reduced in strength.

The time spent refitting Panzer Lehr and several other units which had been committed prematurely meant that the operation had to be delayed. During the run up to the offensive, Panzer Lehr was kept in reserve, along with the Führer Begleit Brigade. On 15 December, the day before the offensive began, Panzer Lehr was still severely understrength, with only one of its two tank battalions ready for action, the other restored to its parent unit, the 3rd Panzer Division. Both of its Panzergrenadier regiments were at 80 percent of its authorized strength. It had only 57 tanks (30 Panthers and 27 Panzer IV) and 20 Jagdpanzer IV/70’s by the time the attack jumped off. In compensation, it was reinforced by two tank destroyer battalions and an assault gun brigade. The division’s armored reconnaissance battalion was its only organic unit up to strength.

Wacht am Rhein opened on 16 December 1944, and Panzer Lehr moved out from the start positions in the center of the German line. The 26th Volksgrenadier Division was to clear the way for the division, but they soon became bogged down and the Panzer Lehr found itself moving forward at a crawl. The situation worsened over the next two days, with the 901st Panzergrenadier Regiment being halted by the Americans along the road to Wiltz, and the 902nd encountering heavy resistance in the town of Hosingen. 

Bastogne

On 18 December, the assault got back underway. The 26th Volksgrenadier Division had secured the bridge over the Clerf River, opening the way to the road and rail-hub of Bastogne. Panzer Lehr’s armored reconnaissance battalion raced ahead, attacking towards Wiltz before rejoining the division on the route to Bastogne.The horse-drawn 26th Volksgrenadier had gotten itself mixed up in Panzer Lehr’s column, greatly slowing the advance.

On the 19th, the division’s panzer regiment ran into a roadblock near Neffe, held by troops of Combat Team Cherry of the U.S. 10th Armored Division. After initial success, Panzer Lehr’s follow up attack resulted in heavy casualties. Combat Team Cherry pulled out, and the way to Bastogne was open again. However, the majority of the division’s armor had been sent north to Mageret to support 26th Volksgrenadier. After the taking of Mageret, a local informed Bayerlein, the division’s commander, that a column of about 50 American tanks and infantry was seen moving to Longvilly. Bayerlein ordered his troops to halt and set up a roadblock, giving him a chance to regroup and reorganize his troops. By the time that Panzer Lehr moved out again and reached the town of Bastogne, the US 101st Airborne Division (Screaming Eagles) had already secured it. Panzer Lehr was then divided, with half the division left to help 26th Volksgrenadier Division capture Bastogne, while the rest of the division, including most of its armor, were to continue on to the Meuse.[75]

Over the next few days, the Kampfgruppe helping 26th Volksgrenadier, made up mostly of the 901st Panzergrenadier Regiment, wore itself out in successive attacks on the town of Bastogne. As the remainder of the division sped east, it enjoyed some minor successes, including the capture of a large American convoy, but it was brought to a halt by fierce resistance near St. Hubert, and was soon drawn into heavy fighting south of Bastogne. On the 21st, Manteuffel pulled Panzer Lehr out of the fight for Bastogne and grouped it with the 2nd Panzer Division and 116th Panzer Division Windhund for an assault on Dinant and the Meuse.

Assault on Dinant
After a day spent on reorganising the attack, Panzer Lehr finally got underway. It fought its way through St. Hubert and the road to Dinant and the Meuse again seemed open.

The assaulting unit, the 902nd Panzergrenadier Regiment, was met by heavy resistance. Nor was the advance to become any easier thereafter. On 23 December, the division fought all day to reduce the town of Rochefort, suffering heavy casualties. The Americans finally withdrew – their casualties 25 men killed and 15 men wounded, after holding off an elite panzer division for an entire day.

Bayerlein later compared the defence of Rochefort to that of Bastogne. Panzer Lehr made two rescue attempts to save 2nd Panzer and succeeded in retaking Humain, but Was unable to go any further. After another failed rescue effort by 9th Panzer, Panzer Lehr was ordered to fall back. Of the 2nd Panzer Kampfgruppe, only Major Cochenhausen and 600 or so of his men managed to escape on foot, abandoning almost all of the division’s armor to the advancing Allies.[86] The Meuse would not be reached; Wacht Am Rhein had failed.

Relief of Bastogne
The remnants of Manteuffel’s strike force were pulled back for one final attempt to take Bastogne. Panzer Lehr began to move into its new positions, after US 4th Armored Division, the spearhead of George Patton’s US Third Army, began its attack to relieve Bastogne and a corridor to the surrounded 101st Airborne was created. Panzer Lehr was then involved in the unsuccessful operations to close the corridor, and finally the exhausted division was pulled out of the battle. Panzer Lehr had once again been virtually annihilated.

The Netherlands to Ruhr Pocket

After the failure of the Ardennes offensive, Panzer Lehr was refitted once again, though not to anywhere near the lavish standard of its earlier incarnations. Many of the veterans were dead, and the Panzer Lehr of early 1945 bore little resemblance to that of June 1944.

The division was moved north, into the Rhineland, where it was engaged fighting Bernard Montgomery’s Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group again during Operation Veritable, serving under the First Parachute Army. Panzer Lehr saw very heavy fighting, and again sustained heavy losses. By 15 March, Panzer Lehr had only 6 Panzer IVs, 29 Panthers and 14 Jagdpanzer IVs available. When the U.S. 9th Armored Division captured the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, Panzer Lehr was sent to crush the bridgehead. The attack was unsuccessful. The Allies’ ground and air superiority inflicted heavy casualties on the division. By then, it was reduced to just 300 men and 15 tanks.  Engaged in a fighting retreat across northwestern Germany, the division was trapped in the Ruhr Pocket and the remnants of the once powerful division were taken prisoner by the US 99th Infantry Division on 15 April.

Comments on the Soldbuch: 

It would seem the Swiss born Vetter suffered in early 1945 from a mental disorder (26- Nerve and mental problems). He was admitted to hospital and seen the rest of the war out. He was also issued a Pistol, and had the following awards from his early service, Iron Cross Second Class, Eastern Front Medal and the Black Wounds Badge. 

Please note: The archive material is not part of the auction, you can print this and keep it with the Soldbuch.