3rd page of military actions
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Here is a Soldbuch Pz Aufklärung Abt. 26 with the photo missingComment
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unit entriesComment
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this is the interesting part in that the entry is in the Soldbuch that authorizes wear of the "Grenadierkopf" badge on the capComment
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Here is a Sturmgeschutz SoldbuchComment
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this one has many entriesComment
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unitsComment
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last units in rearComment
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awardsComment
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Hey all-
As promised, here are a few of my Panzer, StuG and fully tracked vehicle crew member Soldbücher and Wehrpässe.
First up is a Soldbuch to Feldwebel Heinrich Rönn with five awards (PAB in silver, EKII, Eastern Front medal, wound badge and black and EK.I). Rönn served in either a Panzer.38(t) or Panzer II with the 7.Panzer-Division, then a StuG.III and finally Panzer IV with the 14.Panzer Division.
Rönn’s Soldbuch was issued on 15.July 1940 through the 2./Pz.Ers.Abt.25. As you can see there is a very nice portrait photo of Rönn in his black panzer wrap attached inside the front cover. Rönn served first in the Stab of the II.Bn./Pz.Rgt25, 7.Panzer-Division with whom he took part in the invasion of the Soviet Union on 22.June 1941. What I find very special about this Soldbuch is that pasted-in between pages 16 and 17 is a Einsatztag sheet for Rönn’s Panzer combat days, and you can see that between 22.June 1941 and 18.April 1942 he took part in no less than 13 separate armored engagements, quite a lot of action for someone in a Bataillon HQ vehicle. Also, note that his PAB in silver is dated 30.June 1941; he must have seen a lot of tank combat in the first few days of Barbarossa! As the 7.Pz.Div was one of the divisions which was substituted the Panzer 38(t) in place of the Panzer III, subsequently the Stab of each Bataillon was equipped with both the Panzer II and 38(t) along with the Panzerbefehlswagen 38(t). As I cannot tell exactly which vehicle he served in, I can only narrow it down to one of these three.
In mid-1943, Rönn was transferred to Panzer-Regiment 36, 14.Panzer-Division. Rönn served first in the 12. and then 10.Komp./III.Bn of Pz.Rgt.36 which, as a expanded III Bataillon of the standard Panzer Regiment, was equipped with Sturmgeschütz III due to the shortage of actual “tanks” to fill these expansion Bataillons. In the spring of 1944, Rönn was transferred to the II.Bn./Pz.Rgt.36 which was equipped with Panzer IV’s, and was wounded in December of the same year, fighting in the Kurland. The wound must have been quite severe, as it ended Rönn’s combat career and he spent the remainder of the war in hospital.
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Next up is one of my most cherished groupings, a Soldbuch, award docs and two photographs to a Panther crewmember from Panzer-Regiment 3 / 2.Panzer-Division who was awarded the PAB in silver, EKII and black wound badge for Panzer combat in Normandy during the allied invasion, who was trapped in and escaped from the Falaise pocket and was wounded when his Panther was knocked out during the Battle of the Bulge.
The Soldbuch was issued on 15.October 1942 to Panzerschutzen Max Waldeck through 1./Pz.Ers.Abt.4. Shortly thereafter, Waldeck was sent to 1./Pz.Rgt.3, 2.Panzer-Division. On 7.May 1943, the I.Bn/Pz.Rgt.3 was re-designated “Pz.Abt.507” and sent to Paderborn to form the nucleus for a new independent Tiger I unit and receive training on the Tiger I (notice the Pz.Abt.507 entry in the field troop section of page 4 in his Soldbuch). However, about a month and a half later these former members of I/Pz.Rgt.3 were sent back to the 2.Pz.Div, re-equipped with brand new Panthers, and a completely new “heavy” company was created to crew the Tigers.
Because the 2.Pz.Div was stationed in Amiens in anticipation of the expected Allied attack via Pas-de-Calais, Pz.Rgt.3 did not arrive in Normandy until 18.June 1944 (after a harrowing trip via Poix-Beauvais-Paris-Versailles-Dreux-l’Aigle-Argentan under almost constant attack by allied fighter-bombers.)
In his baptism of fire, Waldeck, in his Panther, fought alongside the 12.SS.Panzer-Division against British forces in attempt to re-take Caumont-l’Evente, and in 5 days Pz.Rgt.3 and SS-Pz.Rgt.12 accounted for some 50+ allied tanks. By 01.July Waldeck’s Abteilung had reached a tally of 89 Allied tanks knocked out. Still, the Allied advance proved to be much too strong and continued to push the Germans back. On 16.July Waldeck’s I.Abteilung was used as reinforcements to counter-attack allied units that had penetrated around Villers-Bocage. The effort was a failure, which resulted in a large number of lost Panthers. By late July, the remainder of the I.Bn was used to form small Kampfgruppen which were used piecemeal south of Caen to fight off the allied advance, where many of the remaining Panthers were systematically knocked out by hidden anti-tank guns, fighter-bombers and artillery fire (notice that Waldeck was awarded the EK.II on 16.August 1944 for his participation in these fierce combat actions.) On 29.July the remaining forces of the 2.Panzer-Division were fighting south of St.Lo and was attempting to link up with Panzer-Lehr and “Das Reich” to the west. A kampfgruppe of Panthers succeeded in reaching the crossroads at la Denisiere between St.Lo and Villebaudon and in fierce tank-on-tank combat knocked out several American Shermans.
By 06.August , Pz.Rgt.3 was left with just 50 to 60 operational tanks (a mix of Panthers from Waldeck’s I.Bn and Panzer IV’s from the II.Bn) and after a failed counter-attack at Mortain, the division retreated in the direction of Argentan. On 13.August, the remainder of the Division was now trapped in what became the Falaise pocket, but - despite its losses - was still fielding roughly 30 tanks. On 19.August, the order came through for the 2.Pz.Division to begin pulling out of the “gap” and on 20.August made its way towards St.Lambert and regrouped around Bernay. On 28.August 1944, the remaining personnel of Panzer-Regiment 3 (which consisted of roughly 1500 men and 5 tanks) crossed the Seine.
Waldeck was one of these 1500 survivors.
The 2.Panzer-Division was reformed in September of 1944 and outfitted with new men, equipment and tanks. Waldeck, still in the I.Bn and serving as a Panther crew member, was awarded the PAB in silver for combat against Allied British and American tanks during the summer of 1944 in the invasion of Normandy.
On 16.December 1944, Waldeck found himself engaged in combat yet again, this time participating in the Ardennes Offensive. He was wounded on/about 14.January when his Panther was knocked out and as a result received shell splinters in his left shoulder (which leads me to believe that he could have been a gunner.) For this, he was awarded the black wound badge.
Waldeck spent the remainder of the war in Hospital. There are pay entries in his Soldbuch all the way through September and October of 1945.
Included in the grouping are Max’s award documents for the BWB and EKII (sadly, the PAB in silver has been separated from the grouping) and two period photographs of Max; one of him in his black panzer uniform and another taken with a member of Panzerjäger-Abteilung 3 – most likely a good friend of his (notice the “P” and “3” ciphers on the shoulder straps.)
This is one of the most significant Soldbücher in my collection; a Soldbuch to a Panther crew member who fought against the British and Americans and received the PAB in silver for tank-on-tank combat during the Normandy invasion, was trapped in and escaped from the Falaise gap, and fought through the Ardennes offensive and was wounded shortly thereafter when his tank was knocked out.
I just hope that one day the PAB in silver award document resurfaces…
Last edited by Rob Johnson; 04-18-2009, 09:38 PM.Comment
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Panzer Crew
Superb Books!!!! Thanks for sharing!
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Here's one to a member of Pz.Rgt. 2, 16 Pz.Div. Nice uniform photo unfortunately showing wounds he received February 1944 whilst fighting at Tscherkassy.Photos/images copyright © Ian Jewison collection
Collecting interests: Cavalry units, 1 Kavallerie/24 Panzer Division, Stukageschwader 1
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Award page....Photos/images copyright © Ian Jewison collection
Collecting interests: Cavalry units, 1 Kavallerie/24 Panzer Division, Stukageschwader 1
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His driving licence for fully tracked vehicles class B (16 to 30 ton) and C (over 30 ton)Photos/images copyright © Ian Jewison collection
Collecting interests: Cavalry units, 1 Kavallerie/24 Panzer Division, Stukageschwader 1
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