I am trying to trace my father's movements (Alfred Ferch, Obergefreiter) when he was in the Wehrmacht during WWII. Here is a summary of what I know, and what I would still like to find out. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Moderators, please feel free to re-post this elsewhere if it is now in the wrong place.
Working backwards, I know my father surrendered to British troops and was held in a S.E.P camp ( "Surrendered-Enemy-Personnel" Camp), in Tessendorf / Klagenfurt, Austria, from 1945 until late 1948.
From his Personalausweis document I have.....I find that his last designation in the Wehrmacht (prior to surrender), was Jäg. Regt. 20. The document also shows the entry, "2.Inf. Ers. Bat. 590" .. .which I believe( from research)... is translated to mean 2nd Company of Infantry, and then either first ("Erstes") ...or replacement (Ersatz).... Battalion 590. Even here, there is a problem, as "Bat." may mean "Batterie", as common German abbreviation for battalion is "Btl".
The problem is, as I continue working backwards in time, I cannot reconcile these unit designations, with any possible prior Wehrmacht units, such that it makes any sense as to HOW he got to Austria in the end. Let me explain:
From talking to him when he was still alive....I know these things:
- he entered service on Feb 3, 1941.
- he was in Yugoslavia ( I don't know if it was BEFORE or AFTER his time in the Russian campaign)
- he was in Russia,
- he was a motorcycle messenger / rider
- he was sometimes part of a 3 or 4 man PAK group
- he surrendered in Klagenfurt.
So...his possible troop movements (in my view) during the war, could have gone 2 ways:
1.) He could have gone to Yugoslavia first.....from there to Russia,..... and then was pushed back during retreat again through Yugoslavia and ended up in Austria
.....OR.....
.
2.) He went to Russia first, and from there was pushed back in retreat through Yugoslavia and then into Austria.
I researched to find all the German troop units that ended up surrendering in Austria, and so far......cannot match up any of those units to what we know of his last troop designations when he surrendered. Here is one unit that I thought showed some promise.....the 118th Jaeger Division, previously known as 718th Infantry Division. It's movements include being in Russia, Yugoslavia, and surrendering to British in Klagenfurt....this all matches.....but does not match my father's Division or other unit numbers from his surrender documents I mentioned. See text here, details on 118th Jaeger Div--> (https://en.wikipedia..org/wiki/118th_J%C3%A4ger_Division_(Wehrmacht) ).
If anyone can help to offer what his possible troop movements "could have been" during the war, that would be greatly appreciated.
Working backwards, I know my father surrendered to British troops and was held in a S.E.P camp ( "Surrendered-Enemy-Personnel" Camp), in Tessendorf / Klagenfurt, Austria, from 1945 until late 1948.
From his Personalausweis document I have.....I find that his last designation in the Wehrmacht (prior to surrender), was Jäg. Regt. 20. The document also shows the entry, "2.Inf. Ers. Bat. 590" .. .which I believe( from research)... is translated to mean 2nd Company of Infantry, and then either first ("Erstes") ...or replacement (Ersatz).... Battalion 590. Even here, there is a problem, as "Bat." may mean "Batterie", as common German abbreviation for battalion is "Btl".
The problem is, as I continue working backwards in time, I cannot reconcile these unit designations, with any possible prior Wehrmacht units, such that it makes any sense as to HOW he got to Austria in the end. Let me explain:
From talking to him when he was still alive....I know these things:
- he entered service on Feb 3, 1941.
- he was in Yugoslavia ( I don't know if it was BEFORE or AFTER his time in the Russian campaign)
- he was in Russia,
- he was a motorcycle messenger / rider
- he was sometimes part of a 3 or 4 man PAK group
- he surrendered in Klagenfurt.
So...his possible troop movements (in my view) during the war, could have gone 2 ways:
1.) He could have gone to Yugoslavia first.....from there to Russia,..... and then was pushed back during retreat again through Yugoslavia and ended up in Austria
.....OR.....
.
2.) He went to Russia first, and from there was pushed back in retreat through Yugoslavia and then into Austria.
I researched to find all the German troop units that ended up surrendering in Austria, and so far......cannot match up any of those units to what we know of his last troop designations when he surrendered. Here is one unit that I thought showed some promise.....the 118th Jaeger Division, previously known as 718th Infantry Division. It's movements include being in Russia, Yugoslavia, and surrendering to British in Klagenfurt....this all matches.....but does not match my father's Division or other unit numbers from his surrender documents I mentioned. See text here, details on 118th Jaeger Div--> (https://en.wikipedia..org/wiki/118th_J%C3%A4ger_Division_(Wehrmacht) ).
If anyone can help to offer what his possible troop movements "could have been" during the war, that would be greatly appreciated.