Brandenburger Soldbuch

[Stormfighter]

Here is another Soldbuch that I owned many years ago and recently re-acquired. Gefreiter Erich Franke served in several Brandenburger units, that is, elite Sonderkommando (Special Forces) units that were trained to fight behind enemy lines. This is a second-issue Soldbuch, and I imagine that Franke most likely served as a Brandenburger before this Soldbuch was issued on 3 April 1944. The Franke Soldbuch shows that specific units weren't listed in Brandenburger Soldbuecher, just Feldpost numbers, for security/secrecy purposes. Franke last served with Pionier M. Zug (mot) of Heeresgruppe E (Army Group E) for use in the 12th Army. Units from this Army Group were distributed throughout the Eastern Mediterranean area, including Albania, Greece, Serbia and Croatia. I am wondering if anyone can tell me about Pionier M. Zug (mot) - I am specifically interested what the "M" refers to.

Barry

[Stormfighter]

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[Eric JB]

I don't know if his hospital stay was due to a special operation

yours friendly

Eric-Jan

[Stormfighter]

Actually, Franke was treated for VD, which was a log process in the pre-penicillin days. A soldier could also be imprisoned for a few days or more for getting VD and charged with undermining the armed forces.

[Eric JB]

I was joking Barry.

I know how the treatment was in those days, and seen as a crime.....