WWII German Wehrmacht Soldbuch – Obergefr Alois Brandl – Grenadier Regiment 1034 (59 Inf Div) – Operation Grenade

Description

 Soldbuch Issued to Alois Brandl, he served with various units:

Infanterie Regiment 449 – in Russia 

Landesschützen Batl 880 

Severe Wounds: He was hit by grenade fragments in Russia and took him sometime to recover. For which he was awarded the Wounds Badge. 

And in December of 1944 he arrived at his last unit. Which would be heavily involved in combat operations on the Western Front. Brandl was taken POW by US troops. Below find the combat diary for the period he was in the unit. 

Grenadier Regiment 1034 – 59 Inf Div 

The new section of the division was on the left at Tetz (south of Linnich) and reached on the right to the Wurm (1 km south of Randerath), then turned off to the east bank of the Rur and continued to follow the course of the river. On January 1st, 1945 the division’s sector on the left wing was extended to Jülich-Mersch and later J.-Welldorf. In return, the 183.VGD took over the section in the Randerath area on the right wing. When the GR 1036 was handed over to the neighboring XII.SS-AK during the British attack to gain the west bank of the Rur in mid-January, the Division section was shortened again on the left to Linnich-Tetz.

Due to this enemy operation, the division had to withdraw its right wing to the east bank of the Rur near Rurich. At the end of January, the GR 1036 returned to the division with the fighting strength of only one battalion. The DivGefStd is located in Katzenm and later north of Opherten (southeast of Titz). By mid-February, the division was ready for action: 4 battalions (including 1 reserve at Hottorf) with only 3 companies each, plus a full FEB, the artillery with a total of 22 barrels and 2 heavy French booty howitzers with very little ammunition (nö Muentz ), the remaining anti-tank (motorized) consists of 3 guns. In addition, there is a larger number of about 30 fixed 8.8 guns deep in the main battlefield. The supply troops are at target strength.

The division’s opponents are the 102nd US Inf. Div and then to the south the 28th US Inf Div. across from.
The expected major Allied attack (Operation “Grenade”) to capture the Rur began with unusually heavy bombardment and subsequent artillery fire on the night of February 23, 1945. The attackers were able to cross the Rur in ten places. In the divisional section, too, it was possible to win a bridgehead over the Rur near Linnich and thus obtain a secure starting position for further actions. The villages of Glimbach, Geven and Grevenich are lost. A counterattack carried out by Muentz on Grevenich the following day with the support of a subordinate battery from the 341st Assault Gun Brigade failed. Trunks are also lost on this day and our own infantry is trapped at Tetz and cannot be relieved. Boslar and Hompesch are also lost and the enemy enters Muentz. On the night of February 25th 11.PzDiv took over the left divisional sector with all troops there (GR 1036) up to the Linnich-Titz-Ralshoven road included. In the division’s right sector, the line with the farmsteads between Katzen and Ralshoven was held despite high infantry losses, but the enemy managed to break through at the interface between 59 ID and 183 VGD in the direction of Erkelenz. There are heavy fights for the “Hauerhof”, which changes hands several times. An army order in support of the XII. Breaking through to Erkelenz by SS-AK turns out to be obsolete as the town is already in enemy hands. The enemy, advancing further to the north-west, conquered on 26.2. Holzweiler and reached on 27.2. Garzweiler. Here parts of the AR 159 are lost. There is no longer any connection to the neighboring units. From Elfgen, the remnants of the division, together with the remnants of a local police battalion, respond to army orders to recover Garzweiler on February 28th. at. The attack gets caught in the preparatory fire of an enemy tank formation and fails. The division commander, GL Poppe, was also wounded and left the division.

The Rgt Kdr of the GR 1034 Obstlt i.G. Liebe takes over the command. On the same day, 11.PzDiv took command of the entire sector of the Division. In the days that followed, the remaining parts of the division fought their way back through the forest on both sides of Broich, and on March 4 they succeeded in crossing the Rhine near Dormagen and Worringen. On the right bank of the Rhine, the remainder of the division was deployed in a quiet sector for the next few days, and after the heavy losses the division was again refreshed by regional units and the Volkssturm. On March 20, GL Hoecker takes over command of the division at the Gef Std in Leichlingen. A replacement battalion will be assigned to the division for further replenishment on March 23rd. Nevertheless, the division was only half its target strength when, on March 27, parts of the division began to be moved on foot and partly by truck to the Sieg front west of Siegen. A first Div Gef Std is set up at Fischbach. All incoming parts (March 30/31) are immediately used on the southern front of the Ruhr pocket. The divisional sector extends from Betzdorf to Siegen (places excluded) and the main line of defense is the Sieg. After pulling out the right neighbor (12.VGD) from April 2nd. the division section extends to knowledge. In the course of the fighting until April 4, however, it shortened again to the Betzdorf-Freudenberg railway line border. Right neighbor is now the 62nd VGD. During these battles (March 31 – April 3) the enemy managed to win and fierce battles broke out around Freusburg, Mudersbach and Niederschelden. These places change hands several times. After the loss of the city of Siegen (April 4th/5th) and also the neighboring towns of Gosenbach, Aschenbach and Niederschelden – a counterattack together with the 12.VGD on April 3rd/4th. April fails – from April 5, the division is forced to retreat from the strong pressure of the enemy. The division has to hand over a battalion assembled with parts from the FEB to the 62nd VGD. The replacements from the young anti-aircraft soldiers and the older Volkssturm who had been freshly integrated into the division in advance proved to be overwhelmed and war-weary in these battles, so that smaller units of the troops repeatedly surrendered and were taken prisoner or, without offering any resistance worth mentioning, in the retreat to the less endangered rear area. On April 8, the division (DivGefStd in Huensborn) received the order to hand over the area west of Siegen to the 62nd VGD and to take over a new defensive section between Knowledge and Troisdorf from the 353rd ID.

This section had a length of 45 km and could not be held with the severely decimated remaining parts of the division during the enemy attack on April 9th. After the enemy breakthrough, hard fighting developed around Nuembrecht (April 9), where a combat group – made up of parts of the 353rd Infantry Division that had not yet been relieved and parts of the 59th Infantry Division that had just arrived – counterattacked, but failed. In the days that followed, the division retreated in a north-westerly direction from the enemy, who were pressing hard from all directions. Further fighting took place near Lindlar and on the Sülze (10/11 April) and between Kuerten and Junkersmühle (12 April) and on the Dhuenn between Kottenmühle and Neumühle (13 April).
On the further way in the direction of the Wermelskirchen – Burg railway line, the last remaining parts of the division were also taken prisoner.

Comments:  A perfect Soldbuch for those collecting Western Front fighters.