which regiments

[sovvisor]

can anyone help me telling where this man have been? which divisions?
best

[Gary T]

Hey, I recognise that!

SS-Sturmann Kurt Heiland. Served with 5. SS-Panzergrenadierdivision 'Wiking' from November 1940 until December 1941 and then with 3. SS-Panzerdivision 'Totenkopf' from December 1942 until February 1944. Awarded Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse.

I have a 3/4 finished write up somewhere on my computer.

[Gary T]

Actually I've found it...still needs a bit of work but this is as far as I got.

Excuse the grammar and spelling errors - a rough draft. A bit sketchy about Kursk, the retreat to the Dneiper and fighting on the west bank of that river but I was getting there!

The son of a fitter, Kurt Heiland was born in Dersen, near Madgeburg on 18th July 1921. He was a bricklayer before he volunteered for the Waffen SS in April 1940. He was sent to SS Totenkopf Art. Ers. Abt., the artillery training unit for 3rd SS Motorised Inf. Division ‘Totenkopf’. He remained here until November 1940 when he was transferred to 4./ SS Art. Regt. 5, equipped with 105mm howitzers, which was part of the newly formed 5. SS Mot. Infanteriedivision ‘Wiking’. A third of this division was made up of Scandinavian and Flemish volunteers. The division remained in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region> building up until June 1941 when it moved into <st1:country-region w:st="on">Poland</st1:country-region> in preparation for the invasion of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><ST1Russia</ST1</st1:country-region> in June 1941.


The division moved into the area south east of <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1Lublin</ST1l</st1:City> where it became part of XIV mot. Korps, 1. Panzer Gruppe. This Korps formed the Panze Gruppe’s reserve. The division remained in this area in the early days of the invasion and it was not until the 29th June that it began to move. It marched to Lemberg, <ST1which was already in German hands, and from there began to advance eastwards towards Tarnopol where the division saw its first real action in the first week of July.

From Tarnopol the division moved in a north easterly direction towards <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1Zhitomir </ST1</st1:City>where it was transferred to III mot. Korps, which was coming under heavy Soviet counterattacks. Several days of heavy combat followed before the Soviet attacks petered out. The Korps now received new order to strike in a south easterly direction, down the west bank of the Dneiper. The Korps advanced via Boguslav and Korsun, reaching the Dnieper at <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1Kremenchug</ST1</st1:City> by the 7th August. The advance continued along the west bank of the river with <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1Dnepropetrovsk</ST1</st1:City> falling on the 21st August. A bridgehead was forced on the far bank of the Dneiper that Wiking occupied together with 60. (mot.) Infanteriedivision and later, 198. Infanteriedivision.


Wiking remained in the bridgehead until 28th September when the breakout began in conjunction with the rest of the Panzergruppe which was advancing south along the eastern bank, having completed its operations in the <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1lace w:st="on">Kiev</ST1lace></st1:City> encirclement. Now as part of XIV Mot. Korps again, Wiking advanced south where, between 5th and 10th October it was involved in the destruction of the Soviet 9th and 18th Armies trapped in the Chernigovka area. Over 64,000 prisoners were taken by the German forces. Once this operation was completed Panzer Gruppe 1 continued east to the Mius, which was reached on the 4th November. As III mot. Korps advanced into <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1Rostov</ST1</st1:City>, XIV Korps guarded its northern flank. Although <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1Rostov</ST1</st1:City> fell to the Germans a Soviet counter offensive struck XIV mot. Korps on the 21st November. The German defenders were unable to hold the Soviets and the order was given to abandon <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1Rostov</ST1</st1:City> and fall back to positions on the River Mius.


By early December the Germans had withdrawn behind the Mius with Heiland’s division holding positions north of <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1lace Taganrog. </ST1</st1:City>In the defensive fighting that followed Heiland was shot through the hand on the 15th December. He was evacuated back to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><ST1Germany</ST1</st1:country-region> where he was sent to SS-Art. Ers. Regt to recover from his wound.


In early August 1942 Heiland was deemed fit and was assigned to 3./ Art. Ausb. Abt SS-Totenkopf, a training unit for 3. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division ‘Totenkopf’. In December 1942 Heiland was transferred to <ST1<?xml:namespace prefix = st2 ns = "urn:schemas:contacts" /><st2:Sn w:st="on">Stab</st2:Sn> <st2:Sn w:st="on">I.</st2:Sn></ST1/ Art. Regt Totenkopf, part of 3. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division ‘Totenkopf’. This battalion was the self propelled artillery unit of the regiment and was equipped with Hummels (150mm howitzers on Pz III\IV chassis) and Wespes (105mm howitzers on Pz II chassis). The division was situated in the <st1:City w:st="on">Bordeaux</st1:City> region of <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region> after returning from the Eastern Front in October 1942 and the occupation of <st1:City w:st="on">Vichy</st1:City> <st1:country-region w:st="on"><ST1France</ST1</st1:country-region> in November 1942.


In early February 1943 the division received orders to entrain for the southern sector of the Eastern Front which was in desperate straits from the German perspective. On the 17th of February the division began arriving in <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1Poltava</ST1</st1:City> where it was assigned to SS Panzer Korps. On the 20th February the German counter offensive began with the SS Panzer Korps (comprising of Totenkopf and Das Reich) striking south east. This advance cut off the advancing units of the Soviet 6th Army and by 25th February these Soviet units were destroyed.


The Korps now advanced north towards the River Donets, destroying the rest of the Soviet 6th Army on the way, before swinging <st1:State w:st="on">north west</st1:State> towards <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1Kharkov.</ST1</st1:City> On 3rd March the advancing SS divisions were counter attacked by the Soviet 3rd Tank Army. The Soviet attack recoiled as the SS divisions immediately launched an attack of their own. The Soviet spearheads were destroyed in the fighting that followed over the next few days. This did however give the Soviets time to erect a rudimentary defensive line south of <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1Kharkov</ST1</st1:City>.


The German offensive restarted on 5th March but Totenkopf did not join it until 6th March as it was engaged in mopping up the remnants of 3rd Tank Army. The weight of the German armoured assault quickly breached the Soviet lines and the Germans were shortly advancing on <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1Kharkov</ST1</st1:City>. By 10th March Totenkopf had advanced to the north of the city while LAH and Das Reich fought for the city itself. On 12th/13th March Totenkopf struck out towards the south and east and on the 15th March it met up with the Army’s 6th Panzer Division advancing from the south. <O</O
<O</O
It remained here until February 1943 when it was urgently dispatched to southern <st1:country-region w:st="on"><ST1Russia</ST1</st1:country-region> . Here, together with ‘Leibstandarte’ and ‘Das Reich’, it formed part of 2. SS Panzer Korps. This Korps played a major role both in halting the Soviet advance to the Dneiper and the following counter offensive that culminated in the recapture of <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1Kharkov</ST1</st1:City> in March. The spring thaw prevented further offensive operations and ‘Totenkopf’ spent the next three months preparing for its role in Operation Citadel, the assault on the <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1Kursk</ST1</st1:City> salient.


This began on the 5th July and by noon the next day the SS Panzer Korps, part of 4. Panzer Armee, had advanced twenty miles. However, progress on its right flank had not been as rapid and ‘Totenkopf’ was used as flank protection while the other two divisions continued the advance north. By the 10th July ‘Totenkopf’ had been relieved and took up position on the left flank of the Korps and broke through the final Soviet defensive line. However, Soviet armoured reinforcements were streaming south.


These met 2. SS Panzer Korps on the 12th July, south of Prokohorovka, in what was the largest tank battle of the war. Despite German optimism for continuing the offensive on the southern flank, Soviet offensives on other sectors of the front and the Allied landings in <st1:State w:st="on"><ST1Sicily</ST1</st1:State> caused the entire offensive to be abandoned. ‘Totenkopf’ was switched south to the Mius sector where the Soviets had made limited breakthrough. In August, ‘Totenkopf’, as part of 6. Armee, assisted in recapturing the lost terrain but was heavily criticised for tactical incompetence, lack of co-ordination, poor leadership and training etc, which resulted in unnecessarily heavy casualties.


No sooner had the front-line been restored, than new Soviet offensives broke through 6th Army’s front. In order not to be cut off there was a major retreat to the Dneiper. As part of 48. Panzer Korps, 8. Armee, ‘Totenkopf’ took part in the fighting retreat eventually crossing the Dneiper at <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1Kremenchug</ST1</st1:City> under severe pressure from the Soviets. The division held positions along the Dneiper at <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1Kremenchug</ST1</st1:City> until early November when it was switched slightly further south to Krivoy Rog to help halt a new Soviet offensive. When this had been achieved the division once again settled down in defensive positions. It continued to hold these positions until the new year. On 4th January 1944 Heiland was taken ill (unspecified) after which there are no further entries. Was awarded Iron Cross 2nd Class (9.9.41) and also entitled to the Black Wound Badge and Winter War Medal.<O</O

[sovvisor]

amazing

there aren´t to many out there.right?
thanks alot
erik

[Gary T]

there aren******180;t to many out there.right?
thanks alot
erik

There are quite a number of SS Artillerie documents out there but not may 5 SS or 3 SS ones. I initially bought this one in October 1997 from Gordons (those were the days!). I sold it about four years ago for ******163;250.

[douglynn]

gary are you leaving us???