Page 4a added in my soldbuch?

[Lt. Martin]

I bought a german artillery man's soldbuch. He was a member of Art. Regiment 199, something i cant read, and O.K.H. Kartenlager 582....what is the last unit?

There is some sort of letter dated 21-1-1945 that came with the book, it was written on feldpostbreif, what is feldpostbrief?

There was a page 4a added that is dated 27-1-1945 it reads:

Der Obergefreite
his name

gehort der Einsatz-Division Barwalde an. Dieser Ausweis gilt nur in Verbindung mit dem Soldbuch.

O.U., den 27.1.1945
signature
oberleutnant und kp. fhr.

This page is stamped.

What I am really after is what this page means, can any of you help me?

Many Thanks, Swayne

[Gerdan]

1) Feldpostbrief - field post letter/Army postal Service letter

2) Division Bärwalde/Baerwalde:
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/...Barwalde-R.htm

Gerdan

[JUNGCO]

Who knows why they added the page and didn't just write it in on page 4 or page 17. To save time rather then enter it on a thousand Soldbücher?
Jeff

[Lt. Martin]

What does it mean though? Does it mean that he was a part of that division?

Plus, what exactly was the purpose of this division?

Also, what is an Einsatz-Division?

Swayne

[Lt. Martin]

Sorry I forgot to ask, what does O.K.H. Kartenlager 582 stand for. This is one of the units listed in the soldbuch.

Swayne

[Gerdan]

He was part of that Division because "gehört der ..Division ...an" does exactly mean that he is a member of that Division.

Gerdan

[Gerdan]

A "Kartenlager" of the O.K.H. (Ober Kommando des Heeres - High Command of the Amy) was a storehouse/bearing with geographical maps.

Gerdan

[Lt. Martin]

Do any of you know what the purpose of Division Barwalde was? I found out from lexikon that it replaced another group. Was this like a "last ditch" group, because it was formed Jan. 20 1945?

The latest dated entry I found in the soldbuch was Febuary 26th 1945, a new
K98. Does this mean anything? (last ditch units, fought as an infantry soldier when they needed him, etc.)

He was issued four different K98's.

Swayne

[F L Clemens]

If you read the page link about the division, you will see that it was used to defend Pomerania. It was indeed a last ditch division and barely deserved the name "division" because it was formed up and thrown into the line before it had time to develop any cohesion. The defensive lines that it was put into were lines on a map but not much more in reality. At best, they could help slow down the Soviet advance by a few days, at worst, it was an irresponsible sacrifice of manpower.

As an end war unit, it is desirable for collectors who are interested in that period.

[Lt. Martin]

Thanks so very much for the help. I really appreciate it.

Swayne

I guess that this man must have had a long time in the service, his last entry in the book is for a K98 February 26th 1945. Even though he was with an artillery regiment early on, does this mean he could have been a front line soldier when they needed him?

[JUNGCO]

The whole idea of these last ditch units was to throw what ever could be "rounded up" into the front lines. An idea of where this unit got some of it's men is from the Artillery School in Groß-Born. This could be students and instructors. Give them a gun and point them in the right direction.
Jeff

[Lt. Martin]

Thanks so much for the help guys.

Swayne Martin