Help With Wehrpass

[Gerdan]

Your question # 6

from 26 Sept 1944 - 5 March 1945 he was in the vetrinarian instruction and traning unit No 5

located in Ulm/Donau

Gerdan

[Lt. Martin]

What about after the 5th of March 1945?...it looks like he was in another unit, what does that unit read out to be?

[Lt. Martin]

So based off of the information, what do you think his role was during the war. I understand that he was heavily envolved with horses/horse-pulled carts. Does this mean he would not have fought? Or does this just mean one of his jobs was to deal with horses/horse drawn carts in addition to fighting as a "regular soldier?"

All I really want to know is, did he fight? (I know he had a "shell-splinter wound")

Thanks, Swayne Martin

[Gerdan]

Swayne Martin.

when he was WIA (shell-splinter) 21.8.43, he was with the Gren.Rgt. 868 (10.5.43 - 24.9.43)
protecting the Mediterranen coast.
Yes, he fought.
After that he was mostly ill wth Malaria and other medical problems. So he could train the horse units.

Gerdan

[Gerdan]

When he was woundet 28.3.43 it happened with 10./ Gren. Rgt. 868 "südl. Charkow,

Rußland" (south of Charkow, Russia), so the entry on page 34.

After that he was sent to the Mediterranen area, starting 10 May 43 ending 25 (29. ?).5.43.

Gerdan

[Lt. Martin]

Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it.

Swayne Martin

[Lt. Martin]

What does the 1945 unit on page 12 say?

[Gerdan]

page 12 last entry: very difficult to read:

" 6. 3 45 Stab/ Kampf ....btl. (?)= I/V "

Gerdan

[Gerdan]

page 26

there was a last medical check of Muske 5.3. 1945 made by a Oberstabsarzt Dr. Pal in Ulm in which he was classified "kv" - kriegs-verwendungsfähig"

In the entries of the Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgard (Main State Archive Stuttgard) (Sig.: M 743/2 Bü 384) I found a file of an Oberstabsarzt der Wehrmacht Dr. med. Karl Palm, born 8.1.1893 and he was living in Ulm

This could be the military physician named on page 26.

Gerdan

[Gerdan]

I made a mistake: the doctor's name is always Dr. PALM

Gerdan

[Lt. Martin]

It looks as if on pg 12 (last unit entrie) that he went back into a "non-reserve" unit. It doesnt say anything about working with horses.

Did the goverment call him up to fight again late in the war? (he was in erstatz units working with horses, but then he went back to a non-reserve unit) Why??

Swayne

[Gerdan]

Swayne

as he went back "fighting" 5 March 1945 I think time to work with horses or train soldier with horses ended in those days. They called a l l soldiers they could get to "win the war".

Even if we do not know when for him ended war I think he fought only a few weeks/days.

Gerdan

[Lt. Martin]

Many Thanks, Swayne

[Gary T]

When he was woundet 28.3.43 it happened with 10./ Gren. Rgt. 868 "südl. Charkow,

Rußland" (south of Charkow, Russia), so the entry on page 34.

After that he was sent to the Mediterranen area, starting 10 May 43 ending 25 (29. ?).5.43.

Gerdan

Actually this is incorrect. 355. Infanteriedicision was sent to Crimea in May 1943 and from there was sent to the Kharkov region in mid-August. I did have a WP to a member of 355. ID and below was the brief summary of the research I did. Note this manwas killed on 23rd August, two days after your soldier was wounded:


The son of a steel worker, Georg Deyß was born in Saarbrücken on 24th February 1906. A married man he worked as a railway yard shunter. Despite being initially registered in May 1939 he was not conscripted until February 1943 almost certainly because of his employment in the rail industry. Just over week after his call up he was sent to 2./ Reserve-Grenadier-Batallion 212, part of 182. Reservedivision, to complete his training.

This was a training division based in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Paris</st1lace></st1:City> region where it's recruits doubled as occupation troops. In early May he was transferred to 5./ Grenadier Regiment 868, part of the new 355. Infanteriedivision. The division was created in the south of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">France</st1lace></st1:country-region> from several reserve units. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o></o>
At the end of May the division departed for the <st1lace w:st="on">Crimea</st1lace>. At this time the <st1lace w:st="on">Crimea</st1lace> was not a combat zone and the division settled into security duties on the peninsula. On 12th August the division was ordered to move north to <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Kharkov</st1lace></st1:City> where fierce fighting had been raging since the launch of the Soviet offensive (Operation Rumyantsev) on 3rd August.

By the 18th August the division had arrived to the south of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Kharkov</st1lace></st1:City> where it was assigned to XXXXII Korps, 8. Armee. The previous day 1st Guards Army had launched an attack from it's bridgehead over the River Donets. This had created a ten kilometre gap in 161. Infanteriedivision's defences and threatened to cut the Kharkov-Lozovaya rail line. The 355. Infanteriedivision arrived at this critical moment and it's counter attacks halted the Soviet advance just short of the rail line. The division took over a large part of (the very stretched) 161. Infanteriedivision's sector. This enabled XXXXII Korps to stabilise the front in this sector.

The next few days saw the attacks renewed but the Soviets only made limited progress. However, slightly further north <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Kharkov</st1lace></st1:City> was abandoned to the Soviets on 23rd August after days of ferocious fighting. The combat continued unabated all along Army Group's south front and made the German position east of <st1lace w:st="on">Dnieper</st1lace> increasingly untenable and a general retreat to the Dneiper became inevitable. Before this could begin however, Deyß was killed in action on 28th August 1943 while still in defensive positions to the south of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Kharkov</st1lace></st1:City>.

[Gary T]

So based off of the information, what do you think his role was during the war. I understand that he was heavily envolved with horses/horse-pulled carts. Does this mean he would not have fought? Or does this just mean one of his jobs was to deal with horses/horse drawn carts in addition to fighting as a "regular soldier?"

All I really want to know is, did he fight? (I know he had a "shell-splinter wound")

Thanks, Swayne Martin

Based on his trades and trianing I would say he probably sepnt most of his time with the company headqaurters and train. It's impossible to say whther he saw any fighting...but based on the fact that his division only saw it's first major combat action (not withstanding possible anti-partisan operations in the Crimea from May-August 43) on 18th August 1943 and he was wounded three days later I would say it was slight.

page 12 last entry: very difficult to read:

" 6. 3 45 Stab/ Kampf ....btl. (?)= I/V "

Gerdan

I would say it's Stab/ Kampf-Marsch Btl. I/V