I thought I'd share one of my favourite acquisitions of last year. Hermann Reinhard, a young professional driver from the city of Stuttgart, was called up for his Reichsarbeitsdienst service in 1936. One year after, he was drafted in the 5th Kompanie of Panzer-Regiment 7, receiving training in several weapons including the Kampwagen-Kanone 30 and more specifically driving vehicles and Panzers up to 10 tons. He would stay with this Kompanie for the rest of his life...
Panzer-Regiment 7 formed the base of the well-known Panzer-Division Kempf (also including the SS Deutschland regiment), with whom Reinhard crossed the Polish border on the 1st of September, 1939. The Wehrpass has a detailed battles list all the way up to the battle for Modlin at the end of the month. Reinhard was promoted to Unteroffizier during the campaign.
On the 10th of May 1940, Panzer-Regiment 7 was part of the 10th Panzer-Division when it crossed the Luxembourg border. Reinhardt was the dedicated driver of the Befehlspanzer of the 5th Kompanie, commanded by Oberleutnant Georg Baumunk, a later DKiG winner. Reinhard did great and was awarded the EKII in the field during the first two weeks in France, quite an honour so early in the campaign. On the 23rd of May, the 10th Panzer-Division was ordered to take the harbour city of Calais. After a long and typical 'Blitzkrieg' rush, the 5th Kompanie of Panzer-Regiment 7 was the first to receive enemy fire in the southern suburbs of the city. During their advance on the western border of the Coulogne-Calais canal, they neutralised several British machine gun nests when suddenly they ran into an ambush in the 'chemin de Regniers' street. On the crossroads with the 'rue de l'Equateur' and the 'rue Henri Lefebvre', they received heavy fire from the right flank by 4 well-camouflaged anti-tank guns and one British tank. Two light vehicles were already destroyed when the Befehlspanzer took a direct hit as well and was set to fire. Georg Baumunk and three other crewmen managed to escape the burning tank safely, but Hermann Reinhard was killed by a bullet in the head when he bailed out. At least, that's what his comrades wrote to his parents and his widow Berta; his faith was possibly a lot more cruel... I guess we will never know.
According to the Lexikon der Wehrmacht, four Panzer II's were taken out during this skirmish, two of which burned out. The 5th Kompanie retreated and regrouped in Coulogne. They resumed their attack in the afternoon on the other side of the Coulogne-Calais canal. Six men of the 5th Kompanie had been killed, and burried in the front garden of one of the houses on the intersection. Uffizier Hermann Reinhard now rests in Bourdon, Block 17, Reihe 3, Grab 84.
Panzer-Regiment 7 formed the base of the well-known Panzer-Division Kempf (also including the SS Deutschland regiment), with whom Reinhard crossed the Polish border on the 1st of September, 1939. The Wehrpass has a detailed battles list all the way up to the battle for Modlin at the end of the month. Reinhard was promoted to Unteroffizier during the campaign.
On the 10th of May 1940, Panzer-Regiment 7 was part of the 10th Panzer-Division when it crossed the Luxembourg border. Reinhardt was the dedicated driver of the Befehlspanzer of the 5th Kompanie, commanded by Oberleutnant Georg Baumunk, a later DKiG winner. Reinhard did great and was awarded the EKII in the field during the first two weeks in France, quite an honour so early in the campaign. On the 23rd of May, the 10th Panzer-Division was ordered to take the harbour city of Calais. After a long and typical 'Blitzkrieg' rush, the 5th Kompanie of Panzer-Regiment 7 was the first to receive enemy fire in the southern suburbs of the city. During their advance on the western border of the Coulogne-Calais canal, they neutralised several British machine gun nests when suddenly they ran into an ambush in the 'chemin de Regniers' street. On the crossroads with the 'rue de l'Equateur' and the 'rue Henri Lefebvre', they received heavy fire from the right flank by 4 well-camouflaged anti-tank guns and one British tank. Two light vehicles were already destroyed when the Befehlspanzer took a direct hit as well and was set to fire. Georg Baumunk and three other crewmen managed to escape the burning tank safely, but Hermann Reinhard was killed by a bullet in the head when he bailed out. At least, that's what his comrades wrote to his parents and his widow Berta; his faith was possibly a lot more cruel... I guess we will never know.
According to the Lexikon der Wehrmacht, four Panzer II's were taken out during this skirmish, two of which burned out. The 5th Kompanie retreated and regrouped in Coulogne. They resumed their attack in the afternoon on the other side of the Coulogne-Calais canal. Six men of the 5th Kompanie had been killed, and burried in the front garden of one of the houses on the intersection. Uffizier Hermann Reinhard now rests in Bourdon, Block 17, Reihe 3, Grab 84.
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