A thread about the Kampfgruppen

[Guardian 5]

Definitely a P.O.W.

[Guardian 5]

Chow line (and probable source of previously documented medevac....)

The back is labeled "1979" or "1977". I would guess it is 1979 as that is the date on some of the other pictures.

[Guardian 5]

"Dushka" ground mount. Wow, that must have put down a serious base of fire.

AAA sights present however; note upturned wheels at the base of the tripod.

[Guardian 5]

Damn, another re-do...

[Guardian 5]

Sorry, the wheels and AAA sights are visible in this photo.

Well gents, I hope these pictures further our knowledge of the KdA.

All the best,
TJ

[TimoJ]

Definitely a P.O.W.

Anyone else curious about his boots? They look like western combat boots, which is very odd.

Timo

[delta576]

..... in this video, you finde a lot of fighter, wearing former rank-insignia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3twGCZeYN8

... for example:



.... and two rare pics of an "Innendienstleiter"



greeting delta576

[delta576]

...here are some pics of a Hundertschaft / Reichsbahndirektion Halle:

1) July 1955 ..... members of the "Objektschutz", a formation befor the KG


2) Oct 1955 ...... now the II. Hundertschaft / Reichsbahndirektion Halle:


3) may 1955 ....... a new flag for the V. Hundertschaft / Reichsbahndirektion Halle:


4) 1972 Gelöbnis (vow)


5) 1973 - 20 years of the KG, presentation of the own flag


6) 1983 - 20 years of the KG, presentation of the own honorific title "Fritz Menzel"


7) a leader of an independent platoon and a leader of a Hundertschaft


8) fighter of the KG / Reichsbahndirektion Halle


9) Commander - wearing the badge of the central school of KG "Ernst Thälmann"




10) member of a honor guard - wearing a DLA (Sapper or weapon service) on the wrong sleeve


11) Leader of the Hundertschaft - owner of the combat-order for merit for the nation and fatherland


12) heavy maschine gun squad


13) a member of the Reichsbahn in front of a KG-formation



greeting delta576

[Kozlov]

Hey Genossen, long time no see

I have finally picked up a KdA flag.

Its for 64.Zug Strausburg.

Where is Strausberg? (yes I have tried google maps!)

[comune1aclasse]

Hi,

There are several towns called Strausberg but I think that the one you are looking for is the Strausberg which is next to Berlin in direction east.
As you may know the KG units were dislocated all over the Republic. Strausberg would have been part of the Command Frankfurt/Oder. In this Command there were 3 BKK (Bezirkskampfkräfte), 27 KKK (Kreiskampfkräfte) and 67 SK (Sicherungskräfte)
Cheers,

Alex

[Kozlov]

Thanks Alex.

Torsten told me earlier (via FB) that Strausberg was the HQ for the DDR's Ministry of Defence.

Which I guess explains the KdA unit, because when I look at the town of about 24,000 people it doesn't seem to have much industry.

I've been after one of these banners for well over a decade, so to have one now makes me very happy

[Guardian 5]

Genossen,

Please see below for some interesting KdA pictures.

In these pictures we will see the following images which were somewhat exciting for me:
- KdA usage of the practice Wehrmacht style "potato masher" grenades
- Fighters wearing Kar 98k bayonets
- KdA using .22 caliber practice rifles

We will start off with the potato masher pic. The grenades look newly manufactured. Even though the grenadier is jumping into a trench, I don't think the grenades are live for his compatriots remain unprotected.

[Guardian 5]

Another view.

This seems to be a "before" picture. Note the grenades stacked behind the NCO. Note too that he is wearing STG-44 ammo pouches that appear to contain magazines. The STG-44 is nowhere in evidence however.

[Guardian 5]

Here we see KdA at target practice with .22 caliber rifles. Does anyone have the nomenclature of this rifle? Was it Wehrmacht vintage?

The fighter lying prone furthest from the camera appears to have a Kar 98K bayonet on his belt. Has anyone seen this before?

[Guardian 5]

Here is a photo of fighters marching off to pugil stick training. Note the ubiquitous VOPO shadowing the formation.