Army Licence to Lt Erich Lacroix. 

Really impressive photo of this young man, who is wearing the 118 on his shoulder board. He was combat decorated, with at least the Iron Cross Second Class. 

He served with:

Infanterie Regiment 118 (36 ID)

Defensive battles along the Lama followed by mid-January 1942 and then by February 23, 1942, the withdrawal to the barbarian position east of Wosskressenskoje. The division stayed here until the end of July 1942, when it had to withdraw to more favorable bases on Gshat near Trisseli – Barsuki – Prilepy. From October the division, especially its infantry and artillery, could be refreshed close to the front. From November 24th to the beginning of January 1943 she took part in the defense of the Russian winter offensive against the front arc of the 9th Army east of Sychevka – west of Rzhev – on both sides of Belyj. Then the division was used for defense in the area south of Karmanowo. From March 1 to March 22, the division withdrew in the course of the “Buffalo Movement” detachment operation to a shortened defensive section of Army Group center northeast of Smolensk, in line around Dorogobusch north of Duchowtschina around Welisch. The division was withdrawn from March 24th, as reserve 9th Army, and gathered in the area west of Dorogobusch. On March 27, the command of the Army High Command to de-motorize the division, which was then carried out from May 1, 1943 to June 1943 in the Dorogobush area (Army Group Center). The division was then used in the defensive front on the Optucha east of Orel. After the Russian breakthrough began, the division had to retreat to the Oka and then further to the area south of Jelnja in heavy fighting.

According to his official record, he was hit in the head from a piece of exploding artillery. How is Wehrmacht Licence, which looks weathered was removed from his body or person is unknown. A sad reminder of the life of young soldier. 

Heer Wehrpass issued to Johann Lamy. 

He served with the RAD with Army Group North behind the front lines. 

A few pages are missing inside this Wehrpass, although luckily its not he important ones! 

On the May 1945, he joined: 

Infanterie Regiment 673 (376 Inf Div) 

It was reformed in the Netherlands in April 1943. Returning to the Eastern Front in November 1943, the division fought in the Ukraine before withdrawing to Romania.

Lamy was killed in June 1942, not long after he arrived on the front. 

A postcard to his mother was wrote short before he was killed, he describes 5 hard days of marching up to 55 KM per day. He mentions the front, and that people are falling away. They are pushing further and further… A sad story and could be further translated. 

A letter to his mother from his officer stated: 

… during an attack on an enemy nest of resistance. A bullet hit his left side, a few mins later he died… He was true to his Oath… 

 

A letter to his mother from the Commander of Vienna, Generalleutnant Heinrich Stümpfl wrote to her giving his condolences, the document is hand signed. 

Interestingly Generalleutnant Heinrich Stümpfl was hailed as a ‘resistance fighter’ evidence that he had in fact worked against the persecution of individuals lead to him getting an award after he passed away. Seen below:

SS Soldbuch to Erwin Keller

Keller spent from 1941 till March 1945 (!) with the:

SS Panzer Artillerie Regiment 5 (SS Panzer Division Wiking)

The division took part in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, advancing through Galicia, today’s Ukraine. In August the division fought for the bridgehead across the Dnieper River. Later, the division took part in the heavy fighting for Rostov-on-Don before retreating to the Mius River line in November. In the summer of 1942, the unit took part in Army Group South’s offensive Case Blue, aimed at capturing Stalingrad and the Baku oilfields. In late September 1942, Wiking participated in the operation aimed to capture the city of Grozny, alongside the 13th Panzer Division. The division captured Malgobek on 6 October, but the objective of seizing Grozny and opening a road to the Caspian Sea was not achieved. The division took part in the attempt to seize Ordzhonikidze. The Soviet Operation Uranus, the encirclement of the 6th Army at Stalingrad, brought any further advances to a halt and later necessitated a retreat from the Caucasus.

After Operation Winter Storm, the failed attempt to relieve the 6th Army, Erich von Manstein, the commander of Army Group South, proposed another attempt towards Stalingrad. To that end, Wiking entrained on 24 December; however, by the time it arrived on 31 December, it was forced to cover the withdrawal of Army Group A from the Caucasus towards Rostov-on-Don. The division escaped through the Rostov gap on 4 February.

1943–1945

In early 1943, the division fell back to Ukraine south of Kharkov, recently abandoned by the II SS Panzer Corps commanded by Paul Hausser. In the remaining weeks of February, the Corps, including Wiking, engaged Mobile Group Popov, the major Soviet armoured force named after Markian Popov during the Third Battle of Kharkov. As the post-Stalingrad Soviet offensive exhausted itself, Manstein was able to stabilize the front.

In 1943, Herbert Gille was appointed to command the division. The SS Regiment Nordland, along with its commander Fritz von Scholz, were removed from the division and used as the nucleus for the new SS Division Nordland. The Finnish Volunteer Battalion was also withdrawn and they were replaced by the Estonian Battalion Narwa.

In the summer of 1943, the division, along with the 23rd Panzer Division, formed the reserve for Manstein’s Army Group in Operation Citadel. Immediately following the German failure in the Battle of Kursk, the Red Army launched two counter-offensives, Operation Kutuzov and Operation Rumyantsev. Wiking, together with the SS Divisions Totenkopf and Das Reich, was sent to the Mius-Bogodukhov sector. The Soviets took Kharkov on 23 August and began advancing towards the Dnieper.

In October the division was pulled out to a quiet sector of the line just as the Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive overtook Army Group South. In the aftermath of the fall of Kiev in late December 1943, the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts of the Red Army encircled several German divisions during the Battle of the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket in January 1944. Over 60,000 soldiers, including the Wiking division, were trapped along the Dnieper River. Roughly half of German forces broke out of the encirclement. Similar to other formations in the pocket, Wiking suffered heavy casualties and lost nearly all of its heavy equipment.

On 13 February 1945, the division was ordered west to Lake Balaton, where Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich’s 6th SS Panzer Army was preparing Operation Spring Awakening, an offensive at Lake Balaton. Gille’s remained as a support to the 6th SS Panzer Army during the beginning of the operation. Dietrich’s army made “good progress” at first, but as they drew near the Danube, the combination of the muddy terrain and strong Soviet resistance ground them to a halt. The division performed a holding operation on the left flank of the offensive, in the area between Lake Velence-Székesfehérvár. As the operation progressed, the division was engaged in preventing Soviet efforts at outflanking the advancing German forces. On 16 March, the Soviets forces counterattacked in overwhelming strength causing the Germans to be driven back to their starting positions. On 24 March, another Soviet attack threw the IV SS Panzer Corps back towards Vienna; all contact was lost with the neighbouring I SS Panzer Corps, and any resemblance of an organised line of defence was gone. Wiking withdrew into Czechoslovakia. The division surrendered to the American forces near Fürstenfeld, Austria on 9 May.

Equipment:

Many items issued, Pistol P38 

He had Malaria in 1943, note his blood could not be used also as a result. 

Security Stamps:

There are six control stamps in this Soldbuch, each one is worthy of research I will leave this to the next owner! 

One is for March 1945, so he was with the Division in 1945.

Awards:

1. Eastern Front Medal
2. Wounds Badge in Black 
3. Drivers Badge in Bronze 
4. War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords
5. Assault Badge 
6. Iron Cross Second Class

He was likely the driver of a Wespe, as they had these see below:

 

Summary, this sadly is missing page 1/2 and I am not certain that the picture is actually of him. That said, his name is there and with further research more details could be worked out. There is an abundance of nice Signatures in this SS Soldbuch, and likely many are for high award winners. Lastly, SS Soldbücher are becoming so rare that any of them with combat experience is getting so sought after they demand high prices.