Description
Soldbuch opened on December 1943 to Walther Aubaret from Nurnberg, Germany.
He served int he following frontline units:
SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment 35
SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 5 – Thule (Totenkopf)
SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment 5 – Totenkopf (Pioneer Komp)
Lastly, he was with SS Panzer Pioneer Battalion 3 (Totenkopf) in May of 1945!
He was wounded in Battle by a fragment of shrapnel (31b) on the 13.10.1944,
According to his Soldbuch he was released from service on the 13.5.1945 by a SS Untersturmführer, although it seems he was caught shortly after and handed to the Soviets. His name has been written in russian language above his name in German.
By 1944, the situation on the Eastern Front was very dire. Everywhere the Soviets were advancing. In the center of the Front, the Soviets had managed to launch what was probably the largest offensive of the entire war, sending hundreds of units against the German lines, pushing them nearly 300 miles in four weeks. When the Soviets finally came to a halt, they were at the gates of Warsaw. With the Soviets so near, an uprising in Warsaw took place and the 3rd SS Division was sent in. The Division helped push the Soviets out of the city and back across the Vistula River. Around two Soviet Armies were held back by the operations of the 3rd SS Division with the help of the SS Division Wiking and the 19th Panzer Division.
Next, the Division was sent south to help rescue the encircled German units in Budapest. Totenkopf launched an assault taking it all the way to the Budapest airport, but was pulled back in an action that was hoped would result in the destruction of Soviet units to the North of Budapest. The Division was on the verge of rescuing some 45,000 Germans trapped in the city, and the Soviets proved stiff once again, as no Soviets units were trapped as was hoped.
From there, the Division was pushed back West, fighting battles west of Budapest, and then in Vienna. The Division surrendered to the Americans on May 9th, 1945, and handed it over to the Soviets.
Equiptment: K98, P08 Luger Pistol, Camouflage Jacket,
Final Comments:
A nice Soldbuch to a feared division, these have become very hard to find. He was there right at the end also, during which the division was handed over to the Soviet by the Americans. I was unable to find out Aubarets fate, but most likely he was sent to the Gulags.
