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notice the awarding of the Infantry assault badge after his stug was shot out from under him, and from what I understand, most of the unit was without rides!Comment
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Absolutely spectacular Wiking Soldbuch, PoluxOriginally posted by polux View Post
What a beautiful photo 
Very, very nice - thanks for sharing this one with us!
Rob
Curtiss-Originally posted by nonameno View Post
I never get tired of looking at this wonderful StuG crew member Soldbuch and I'm sure there are members here who missed out on it last time you posted it
What a great example to own... I'd be very happy with that one in my collecton 
RobComment
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It is also interesting to see that the Stug Soldbuch started out as Gebirgsartillerie and a very nice Stug Soldbuch it is!
Rob, I agree, the documents help to provide a more complete picture and that is one reason why I often prefer a Wehrpass to a Soldbuch in that more information is there.
If we go to Stug, I might have to turn in that direction as I am running out of Panzer (but still have a few in reserve!).Comment
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I started a thread on this a while back, but thought I'd post it in this thread as well...
Here's a Wehrpass to a 1.Pz.Div panzer crew member who was KIA on 15.May 1940 in La Horgne, France, just 5 days into Operation Fall Gelb.
Fritz Oswald Goritzka was born on 04 May, 1914 in Sagan, Kreis Sprottau, Schlesien (Silesia) - now Poland. Goritzka, an electrician by trade, began his active duty service in the Wehrmacht’s 1.Panzer Division on 01 November 1935 in the 8./Panzer-Regiment 2, with whom he served until 12 October 1937 when he was transferred to the Regiment’s 6.kompanie. Goritzka was promoted to Panzeroberschutze on 01 October 1936, Gefreiter on 01 November 1936 and Unteroffizier on 01 October 1937. If you look closely at the photo, you can just make out a ‘2’ on Goritzka’s shoulder strap as well as the pink piping on the straps as well as the collar litzen. Orders and Decorations listed in the Wehrpass are the 4 year Wehrmacht service medal and Sudetenmedaille which he was awarded on 06 November, 1939.
Goritzka received individual training on the Kar.98, L.M.G.13, P-08 and Machine Pistol, held a Wehrmacht Führerschein for class I and II vehicles, and received Panzerausbildung (Panzer training) on the Panzer I, Panzer II and Panzer III.
One entry worth noting is that page 20 lists Goritzka as a gunner for a Panzer III (Richtschütze Panzer-Kampf.Wg.III).
What really makes this WP special are the combat entries on pages 32 and 33 for Goritzka’s participation as a Panzer crew member in the invasions of Poland in September 1939 and France and the Western Countries in May 1940.
Panzer-Regiment II./1.Panzer-Division entered western Poland on 01 September 1939 under the command of Heeresgruppe Süd. I won’t bore you with multiple paragraphs of text on the 1.Pz.Div’s combat activity in the invasion, but needless to say Goritzka saw a lot of Panzer combat and participated in some major battles! At the beginning of the invasion, Panzer-Regiment 2 (1.Pz.Div.) was outfitted with 54 Panzer I’s, 62 Panzer II’s, 6 Panzer III’s and 28 Panzer IV’s. I have not been able to find the actual breakdown of Panzers for each company, but with the “Richtschütze Panzer-Kampf.Wg.III” entry on page 20 it is quite possible that Goritzka was a gunner in one of the Division’s six Pz.III’s.
On 10 May 1940, Pz.Rgt.2 began Operation Fall Gelb equipped with 26 Panzer I’s, 49 Panzer II’s, 30 Panzer III’s and 20 Panzer IV’s. On 15 May, 1940 Goritzka was killed in action fighting in the village of La Horgne during the battle of Stonne, verified by the entry on page 34 (15.5.1940 – Gefallen, 6./Pz.Rgt.2 bei La Horgne.) If you are not familiar with this battle, you may want to check out the following links:
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=45336
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums...ad.php?t=13572
Here’s a short write up written by David Lehmann, and taken from www.militaryphotos.net:
“On May 13 1940, Guderian's Panzer Korps was in the process of breaking out from the Sedan bridgehead, heading West, between the French IXth and IInd armies. In front of them remained only scattered units, including the 3e Brigade de Spahis (cavalry), which was ordered to hold the road junction of La Horgne against the panzers for as long as possible in order to delay the German advance. On the day in question, 15th May, the 1.PzD split into two Kampfgruppe, one of which (battalions Richter and Von Stüdnitz + infantry and support elements) headed for La Horgne, where the Spahis had hastily dug themselves in.
The village is a small one, comprising stone houses/farms and a tiny church, lying at the end of a modest rise in ground, which projects about a kilometre from a steep wooded ridge. There are other woods scattered around but the ground is clear for 500-1000 m around the village.
From May 10 to May 15 the 3e brigade de Spahis had already fought interrupted in Belgium, in the southern Ardennes after the retreat of the Belgian troops and on the Meuse river. Half of the men were already dead. During the night of May 14/15, less than 2000 Spahis were ordered to defend the town of La Horgne itself and to establish a defensive line at 800m south to the village. All the soldiers realised this was going to be a mission of sacrifice.
Apart from a couple of outposts, one of the Spahis regiments occupied the village and the other the rise between La Horgne and the wooded ridge, on which one MG squadron were posted. The brigade had taken heavy losses in previous battles and its AT weaponry consisted of only one 37mm mle1916 TR infantry guns and a single Hotchkiss 25mm AT gun. There were no AA weapons at all, no artillery, no mines. Not much to face half a Panzer division ! They positioned the guns in the village. All the horses and transport were kept in relative safety in the woods along and adjacent to the ridge. Everyone dug trenches, each building had been transformed in strongpoint and the HQ was installed in the church with the single AT gun firing from a hole in the wall. This was clearly going to be a last stand job, so even the "escadron hors rang" (HQ staff company) was dug in as part of the main defense line.
Early in the Morning German Luftwaffe's fighters straffed the position. At 08.00 AM the 1. Schützen Regiment coming from Singly was engaged and at 09.00 AM the Germans started their all-out attack with light and heavy tanks. The Germans attacked initially the village end of the position, commencing with light elements which were easily beaten off. Over the course of the afternoon they mounted attacks with Stukas and artillery support, and also worked around the flanks so that the Spahis were more or less cut off from the ridge and surrounded.
Bitter fighting took place ; 16 tanks were knocked out, mostly at point blank range whilst breaking into the village. The battle lasted 10 hours and the French troops led several local counter-attacks to repulse the Germans and avoid encirclement. The men literally died on their position instead of retreating, until total use of all ammunitions.”Comment
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