Poignant Grouping of a 58th & 338th I.D. Obergefreiter (Long Thread!)

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4. Siege of Leningrad: The Oranienbaum Front (July 1942 – November 1942)

Sometime before July 19th he arrived at Leningrad, where the city was already experiencing a siege for almost a year. As can be seen in the attachment, he coded his stay in Leningrad. By combining the first letters of the sentences the words NAHE LENINGRAD can be read. To the west of Leningrad there was another siege going on for the Oranienbaum bridgehead, which is famous for the Russian imperial palace.

Hans-Jürgen was at first quite impressed with the German facilities in the region. However, he did notice the rather primitive infrastructure of the Russian countryside, with no roads within the next 40 kilometres and villages constructed out of cabins. Also he was surprised by the constant changing weather. For the first nine days after arrival he was stationed in Perejarowo, which he described himself as a large village with around 70 houses. The people were overwhelmingly ethnic Fins who were therefore friendly to the Germans. During this time Hans-Jürgen was not close to the front, as he was busy with further training in telecommunication in this town. He was still together with three of his comrades from basic training in Denmark: among them was Franz-Hermann d’Aubert, who was already in a Lazarett due to possible scarlet fever. However, he also made two other friends already: Erwin Acksen, who was his brother’s Hitler Jugend leader (Stammführer) before he was conscripted, and Heini Brüchmann from Bredtstedt.

In early August he moved closer to the front close to Petrowsskaja, as he had completed his training. This town was burnt to the ground with three houses only partially standing. The Soviet were not even one kilometre further ahead. Together with Erwin Acksen and Heini Brüchmann he was as of August 9th positioned in a bunker as part of the battalion-staff. Hans-Jürgen was actually quite scared in the bunker, but because of its location behind the front line he was not worried too much. His bedroom in the bunker was previously owned by his battalion commander and his adjutant, but as they had received a larger room, Hans-Jürgen and five others could rest there. Whenever he had nothing to do as a telecommunicator, he mostly helped the others with building bunkers and the sort. The region he was stationed at was quite safe in general, as there were few Soviet encounters, even with the close proximity to the Soviets. Hans-Jürgen realised himself that he was quite lucky with his position at the battalion staff. Soon his telecommunicating job would become quite obsolete in the region, as there was a vast telephone line connection throughout the front which he helped to create, therefore he was mostly helping building the bunkers and repairing damaged or broken wires. On August 28th he read in the newspaper that his superiors of Infanterie-Division 58 Oberst Alexander von Pfuhlstein (RK 17-8-1942) and Hauptmann Dr. Hans Gidion (RK 7-8-1942) were awarded the Knight’s Cross. During this time he was simply waiting in the forests for the Soviets to arrive, as the Soviets themselves had the upper grounds and were defending themselves with machine guns, as described by Hans-Jürgen.

On September 13th their front line was under attack by Soviet troops who tried to reach it. They were mowed down by German machine guns and therefore there were fifteen dead bodies lying close to their trenches. By late September the weather had become much colder, but their position was still really quiet, which he expected to continue for the coming winter.

On September 23rd a bomb landed close (around 100 metres) to his family home, which shattered its windows. Luckily no one was hurt during the blast. On that day 28 Halifax bombers attacked Flensburg, in which they lost five planes.

On October 7th Hans-Jürgen got a new job as a ‘Bursche’ (ordinance) of his Leutnant. On the evening of the 10th the entire staff battalion got together in a large bunker for a party which included a casino. As part of his new job he was partly responsible for organizing the casino night. Together with two other Burschen, he was quite busy these days with serving their three respective officers and their regular guests. This included all kinds of chores, including serving them food. His new job also meant that he and the two others shared a bunker room, which pleased Hans-Jürgen, especially with the upcoming winter. Still, he did not really like the job itself. By mid-October he already has enough of his new job, and hoped that he would be sent back soon. What did impress him at the staff’s headquarters, though, was that the food was still so excellent. He could only imagine what his father and his comrades went through during after three years of trench warfare in World War One. Around October 22nd he first heard from his Franz-Hermann d’Aubert again who was with another Nachrichten Abteilung within his division. He was moved to a Lazarett with suspicion of scarlet fever soon after their arrival.

His father was wondering in late October in which division or regiment Hans-Jürgen was part of, as he served in the 84th division/regiment himself during World War One. But he explicitly told his parents nothing, as his letters could be checked, and that way his father did not have to lie to others whether or not he knew that information. The only detail he could give is that he was not part of his father’s old unit.

Early November Hans-Jürgen got the unfortunate news from one of his childhood friend’s parents -Hans-Erwin Knutzen- that he had not returned from an attack late August and since then have not heard from him. He expected and hoped his friend to be killed, as he expected being a POW in Soviet hands to be horrible. Hans-Erwin Knutzen has been officially listed as missing in action since August 28th 1942 west of Chadyshenskaja, which is close to the Kuban river in southern Russia. On November 5th the freezing cold sets in. Luckily on November 10th he received a package from his parents with his winter clothing, and joked around that his mother packed too many clothes, as the cold would not get that bad that he needed to wear three scarfs. He originally only requested a sweater and arm warmers. Asking friends and relatives for goods was a common practise for German soldiers, as they had limited clothing and goods made available to them by the Wehrmacht.

On November 15th he mentioned that his II./Infanterie-Regment 154 had become II./Grenadier-Regiment 154, and therefore he could call himself a Grenadier from then on. By this time he became frustrated that he still was not released from his Bursche job, as his Leutnant was only an acting commander of his unit. Since fourteen days his true commander was already back in town, therefore the Leutnant was supposed to return to his own unit.

On the 20th his unit moved away from the front, after the Vorkommando had released his comrades two days earlier. This also meant that his Leutnant returned to his former unit, therefore releasing Hans-Jürgen from his terrible Bursche job. However, Hans-Jürgen stayed behind with his Hauptmann and three others as part of the Nachkommando, so for the next few days he would serve as a Bursche once again, this time for his Hauptmann.

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The first letter shows the coding. The second letters shows various aspects of his life, also that he tells his parents that it is not a good idea to spread unit information.

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5. The Demyansk Front (November 1942 – February 1943)

On November 30th he arrived at the new battlefield near Staraya Russa in the former Demyansk Pocket south of Lake Ilmen, after a one and a half day travel by bus. His new home, on the second line, was not as great as his previous one in Petrowsskaja. However, for now he could live with it. He was living with fourteen men in a bunker which was built for six. Also, his backpack with his personal belongings, including his letters, had not arrived yet from his previous position. And last but not least, because the bunker was not waterproof, his jacket got wet which damaged the few letters he had left. This meant that during his late November and early December, he was unable to write often due to the lack of paper.

On December 19th he mentioned to his parents where he was staying in the same way he did in the letter from Leningrad: STARAJA RUSSA. During Christmas he enjoyed the Christmas tree that was delivered, as well as the different sweets and cigarettes that were provided by the Wehrmacht.

On December 29th he wrote that he would receive his Urlaub around April to May, as he is number 34 on the list, and numbers seven and eight had left the day before. On December 31st he noticed that his correspondence was slower than at his previous position. Previously letters took around eight days to arrive, but by then it took ten to twelve days. Probably this was because they were further away from the Feldpostamt. Furthermore, previously, Hans-Jürgen shipped his payment to his parents together with his Feldpost, but from then on the authorities would send his parents the money directly, whenever his pay reached 100 marks.

His position was quite stable during the period, because the Soviets had been laying mines at their own positions to prevent their own men from deserting. Around 70 Soviets who were at the opposite side of the front were from the reserves, and the Soviets were afraid that they would try to cross the field. Still, eight of them managed to escape during a patrol, including a Belarussian Lieutenant who was in Siberia until recently. This was for Hans-Jürgen the perfect example that the Soviets were fighting with their last breath, as behind the lines there were only women and children left, according to the Belarussian. Rumours were that within two months the Russian front would collapse, though Hans-Jürgen was sceptical, as last year the same outcome was promised.

On January 3rd 1943 Hans-Jürgen mentioned that Erwin Acksen and Heini Brüchmann were both in the Lazarett. Erwin suffered a minor wound soon after their arrival, and since a week Brüchmann had been ill. Also, he was surprised to hear from his parents that they heard from Franz-Hermann d’Aubert’s parents that Franz-Hermann was stationed in Rzhev, hundreds of kilometres away from Hans-Jürgen’s position. Rzhev would soon become notorious in a series of the bloodiest battles on the eastern front. Furthermore, even by now he had not seen his backpack that was supposed to arrive from his previous position months earlier. Only a few weeks later he would see his stuff back.

During the night of February 5th to 6th they left their position and moved a few kilometres, arriving at their new position during the night of the 7th to 8th at the frontline. There the accommodations were even worse than before. In his new position his job was more important as well, as the communication lines were insignificant, therefore his company leader was relying on telecommunication. Also for the past few days there had been Soviet attacks, and as a consequence there were bodies lying near the houses. The next few days the Soviet attacks continued, however they decreased over time, until the frontline was silenced by the 22nd. On this day they also entered their newly build bunker. Previously they were sleeping in tents.

During the night of the 30th to 31st Hans-Jürgen was released from front duty and could rest with thirteen others in so called ‘Finnenzelten (a dodecagon (12 corners) plated shelter that is preferably reinforced with snow for warmth). During this period he also got trouble with his teeth, but for now there were no possibilities to visit a specialist.

On February 9th Hans-Jürgen argued with his parents about the defeat in Stalingrad. His parents seemed to think that the situation on the eastern front had become critical, but Hans-Jürgen was confident that the Soviets were weaker compared to the previous year. Therefore he hoped that he did not have to spend another winter there. He also got some negative news himself, as to due delays he expected his Urlaub to start only by next summer instead of spring. On the 11th he was on the move again in one of the LKWs, ending up in a forest at the small town of Godilowo.

(in the attachment there is another coded letter)

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5.1. Operation Polar Star (February 1943)

On February 15th things got bad for Hans-Jürgen as the Soviets started Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda or ‘Polar Star’. Its objective was to encircle the German troops and create a new Demyansk pocket. Although the Soviets managed to retake some terrain, they did not succeed in their main objective as the battle ended in a stalemate.

On the morning of February 15th Hans-Jürgen was informed in Godilowo that the Soviets had managed to break the German front lines. In the afternoon they were already closer to Hans-Jürgen’s position, who was sitting in his ‘Schneeloch’. Their line was too underpowered to hold a Soviet offensive, as there were several holes present. As a consequence the Soviets managed to pass his position left and right, cutting him and his comrades off from the other German troops for some time. On the 17th, at a quiet moment, Hans-Jürgen was moving from one Schneeloch to another, until suddenly he heard a shot and turned out to be hit. Fortunately, however, his buckle and outer layers of his clothing absorbed the hit, leaving him with only a bruise on his belly. As he said himself: ‘it would have been a clean belly shot, but sometimes one has to be lucky here’. He would bring up this remarkable moment later during the war. One can only guess what went through his mind when he realised that he was possibly hit in the belly. By the evening of the 17th the situation was under control again.

On the 22nd they returned to Staraya Russa, as region was being evacuated. This constant traveling visibly frustrated Hans-Jürgen, who would rather have a permanent stable position. Furthermore he hoped that the Soviets did not notice their retreat from the Demyansk region out of fear of an attack. On the 25th he left Staraya Russa and moved 100 kilometres north towards Novgorod over the next few days, away from the Demyansk region, north of Lake Ilmen.

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The letter in which he describes his incredible luck.

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6. The Novgorod Front (February 1943 – March 1943)

On February 28th he arrived at his new position, ten kilometres from Novgorod and around six kilometres behind enemy lines. During this period he did not know where Erwin Acksen and Heini Brüchmann were located. The word had spread that his regiment would stay there for the upcoming months. On March 9th he moved closer to Novgorod, around three kilometres away from the front as part of the second line, close to the Volkhov river. There he also met up with Heini Brüchmann again, who had been staying at the Narwa river for five weeks. Erwin Acksen was not among them. Due to the constant movement, Hans-Jürgen hoped that they would stay there for a while, even with the muddy terrain caused by the incoming spring.

This period was quiet for Hans-Jürgen, and in the meanwhile he continued training on his telecommunication skills to kill time. On March 18th the Soviets attacked the front line with a battalion, but Hans-Jürgen remained in the reserves. Also during this time he had no reason to complain about the food supplies, since one of the men went fishing in the Volkhov river with hand grenades. On the 20th there was another major assault by the Soviets, who attacked at five different occasions, which were all beaten by the German troops. In the evening Hans-Jürgen and his company had to check whether the Soviets had retreated from the river. There he stayed until next day in the afternoon.

Upon return later that day, his commanding officer announced the unfortunate news that all Urlaubs were cancelled until further notice, which meant that Hans-Jürgen would have to wait even longer for his Urlaub. There were still twenty men before him on the list, though Erwin Acksen had already left. He expected it could take another four months before he could go home, while last year he thought that he would be home by April or May. For the next three days until the 24th, the Soviets attacked fifteen more times, each time with 700-800 men. The death count measures for the Soviets were about 1500 during this period, according to Hans-Jürgen statistics. The first men were also leaving for Urlaub again since the 23rd, however very slowly.

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Photos during his Urlaub.

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7. To the Leningrad Front (March 1943 – July 1943)

On March 29th they were on the move again for two days, this time by train, to the north, behind enemy lines near Leningrad, 50 kilometres south at Krasnognardeisk (Gatchina). To his delight the post system was much faster here, as correspondence took only six to seven days. On April 1st he officially got promoted to Gefreiter. On the 4th he heard about a new weapon that sunk five enemy submarines. Hans-Jürgen found it unfortunate that they did not have it earlier, as it would have speed up the war. Also, for a while he could observe a Soviet artillery gun at the horizon, but although the Soviets attacked several times, they did not use the gun. In the meanwhile Hans-Jürgen is part of the reserves, training the new recruits.

For the next few days Hans-Jürgen retreated a few kilometres due to the Soviet pressure. Furthermore he heard for the first time of a Tiger tank attack on a village nearby, along with another ‘new weapon’ around April 19th. The tanks were trying to recapture the village, but they were unsuccessful. For now Hans-Jürgen was still sitting in a forest, training the recruits. By the 22nd his regiment had retreated another few kilometres, but Hans-Jürgen himself was still four kilometres behind the front, around ten kilometres from Tossno.

In late April he was mostly busy building huts, so he and his comrades could move out of their ‘Finnenzelten’. On the 29th he heard that he could attend a telecommunication course far behind the front, from May 14th to June 10th. Therefore soon he would leave the region. Afterwards he would get permission to go home for his Urlaub. Furthermore, his comrade Heini Brüchmann also left on April 31st for a longer Ausbildung period.

On May 4th Hans-Jürgen was surprised to hear that he had received two Sturmtagen for his Sturmabzeichen for his action during February 16th and 17th during the battle in Godilowo, where his buckle was hit.

(the attachment shows the letter where he talks about the Tiger tank attack. The map shows some of the towns. It also supports part 4)

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Part 2 of the earlier letter and the letter showing his first Sturmtagen.

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7.1. Ausbildung behind the front (May 1943 – June 1943)

On May 12th he left for Krasnognardeisk (Gatchina), leaving Tossno by train on the 14th. There he worked eight hours a day on his job as a telecommunicator. Hans-Jürgen was especially interested in speeding up his tempo when telegraphing, as he had nothing left to learn from the profession itself.

On May 19th heard that his home had been slightly damaged by another bombing, hitting the water and gas lines in the region. Nobody of his family got hurt.
On May 30th he visited his friend Heinrich Jordt from his hometown who was in a Lazarett at Krasnoje Selo, 20 kilometres away from Hans-Jürgen’s Ausbildung position. Jordt lost his parents’ house in northern Flensburg and had been laying in the Lazarett for quite some time after serving on the front for only a month, suffering from four splinters, two in each leg. He had to lie down for three weeks straight. He was pleasantly surprised when Hans-Jürgen visited him without informing him of his arrival.

7.2. Back to the Leningrad front (June 1943 – July 1943)

On June 12th he moved back to the front. By this time the front had retreated a few kilometres from where it was when he left in May. There he was also reunited with Heini Brüchmann and Erwin Acksen. Instead of huts, Hans-Jürgen had to get used to natural bunkers, built in the ground. Also his friend Franz-Hermann d’Aubert was located five to six kilometres away from Hans-Jürgen’s position. On the 18th Hans-Jürgen and Heini Brüchmann were next in line for their Urlaub, so they were hoping that they could travel together. However on the 22nd he heard that regulations did not allow travel in pairs from the staff battalion, so therefore Heini Brüchmann would leave first on the 24th, which also delayed Hans-Jürgen’s Urlaub. On July 5th he finally left by train and arrived in Flensburg around July 10th. For the first time after serving on the front, he got back to his family.

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8. The Neva Bridgehead near Leningrad (August 1943 – September 1943)

On August 1st he returned at his old unit, which was at that moment not at the frontline. Instead they were enjoying their time swimming southeast of Leningrad. Heini Brüchmann and Erwin Acksen were also with him. The Soviets were at that moment quite far away.

On August 4th Erwin Acksen was separated from Heini Brüchmann and Hans-Jürgen as the 154 Grenadier-Regiment was preparing an attack for the following morning on the town of Medanja, south of the Neva river close to the city of Leningrad. Erwin was part of a Genesungskompagnie together with his comrade Hermann Bloschies, while Heini and Hans-Jürgen were to take part together with seventh company. However, the Soviets attacked the position of Erwin and Hermann first, which killed them both on that day. Rumours were that they were killed by either a bombing, a ‘Ratschbum’ (German nickname for a Soviet 76.2 mm divisional field gun) or a shell from a Soviet tank. Hans-Jürgen only found out about a week after his death, and never found out where his friend was buried.

During the assault, on August 7th, Hans-Jürgen and Heini managed to run around the Soviet line with their communication devices in a village, covered by houses. Because of that action they managed to halt the Soviets temporarily as they were facing them from behind. During this assault Hans-Jürgen suffered an unknown minor wound, as he never wrote about it to his parents (probably not to worry them too much). He did not have to visit a Lazarett because of it. Because of this brave action, both Hans-Jürgen and Heini were awarded the Iron Cross Second Class, with Heini receiving one at a later date. Hans-Jürgen humorously mentioned that his superiors wanted to give him a Knight’s Cross at first, but he was happy with a Second Class as well, as he was not really impressed by his own actions. His wound also qualified him for the Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz.

Because of the assault Hans-Jürgen was cramped in a small bunker with many men on the 15th, which made correspondence difficult for the time being. The next day he sent his physical Iron Cross to his parents, as the German soldier only wears the ribbon. On the 18th the front became quiet once gain. On September 2nd he was released from front duty for a well-deserved rest.

On September 15th he became worried because of the lack of German tanks in the neighbourhood, as the Soviet managed to destroy another German Panzer in the morning. However, a few days later the Germans returned the favour. On the 18th he arrived in another village. He described it as ‘a regular Russian villages like so many others’.

The next day he asked his parents whether he had send them his Iron Cross document, as he did not recall whether he did so earlier. It is possible that instead he was actually sending them his Infanterie Sturmabzeichen document as a surprise (150). On September 22nd he and Heini Brüchmann were officially awarded the Sturmabzeichen. However, actually they did not receive anything, as there were no physical awards available. He jokes around with his parents because of that fact and therefore kindly asks if they could find one at home and ship it to him. The next day both Hans-Jürgen and Heini were awarded the physical award.

(In the attachment you can see his award document, and his EKII which was sent in the envelope shown.)

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His BWB document. The physical award is not part of the grouping. It is signed by Ernst Hartig who might have been KIA on April 4th 1945. You can find his photo album with some nice shots here: http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=573623

Second there is the IAB document and award (missing the pin and catch), along with a nice exclusive postcard from Grenadier-Regiment 154.

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Close ups

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Information concerning the death of his dear friend Erwin Acksen and the other comrade Hermann Bloschies. And also the story where he describes his action for which he was awarded the EKII.

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9. Service on the Nevel front (October 1943 – January 1944)

On October 2nd he was on the move again until the 7th when he ended up near the town of Nevel, which was liberated by Soviet troops on the 6th and where the Germans were attempting to recapture it. On the morning of the 8th he encountered Soviet troops in a village where he did not expected them. Hans-Jürgen was hit slightly by a splinter from a grenade launcher at his left hip, but he did not have to go to a Lazarett, much like his wound on August 7th. However, it is unknown whether this wound was officially registered (156). On the 14th he returned to the frontline in a two-person bunker, after recovering from his small wound from a few days earlier. However, as the front was really quiet during the next few weeks, he did not worry too much. His friend Heini Brüchmann was also positioned nearby. Hans-Jürgen was only frustrated by the bad correspondence, as he did not receive a letter from his parents between October 17th and November 4th. This was probably caused by the constant travelling by his regiment.

In early November he was on the move yet again. On November 13th Hans-Jürgen reached his new frontline position, this time without having Heini in the neighbourhood. However, he did encounter Franz-Hermann d’Aubert during his travels. It is unknown what became of his friend after this date. He is not registered in Volksbund, so it is likely he survived the war.

On November 24th he started to write his father separately, as he was being treated in a hospital in Mölln for his lung problems. His strength had been fading over the past years because of his wounds suffered during World War One.

(In the attachment you can see the letter where he describes the Soviet attack in October)