Great work & great documents!
Thank' Oriano
Thank' Oriano
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The "Madonna of Gemmano" who survived the the destruction of the Church,
after the Allied conquest, with an English helmet, to introduce another special group of a soldier who fell from the "Cassino dell'Adriatico"Comment
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a lot with many interesting paper: Wehrpass released in January 1942 to Werner Pensel, born in 1924 in Bernsgruen.Comment
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Enlisted the 16 October 1942 in the Gebir.Jag. Ersatz Reg. 136 in Innsbruck Innsbruch, where he remained until February 1944 when he moved to Italy in Feld Ersatz Abt. 95 of the 5 GJD, and therefore definitively from 1 April 1944 in the 100 GJR of the some Division, on the Cassino front… his mail for home from Inssbruck.Comment
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His gebirs-rifle, his promotion and his first injury, just in Cassino on May 17, 1944, then in the clash at the "Casa dei Fantasmi" (ghost house) north od the Abbey, against the Poles of AndersComment
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and one of the interesting points of this lot (but there are several) is the rare signature of Colonel Ernst, here Major, commander of the 100 GJR and Ritterkreuz a few months later right in Gemmano on the Gothic LineComment
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Thenice letter for Mother's Day delivered to the young Gebirgsjager of the 5 GJD in Cassino. Werner is transferred convalescent to Abano Terme in Veneto until the end of july. He returns to his regiment while he is near the Gothic line, in Appenin South of Rimini (near Urbino) where he receive his EK2: the certificate dated 1st September 1944 (illegible signature or someone signs for Baade) when the 100 GJR was near Apecchio, while his regiment was about to go to the reserve, and moved to Piedmont in the Alps on the border of France.Comment
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But as we have seen back, after the breakthrough of the Gothic the 100 GJ Regiment is recalled to the Adriatic coast while it was already in transfer, exactly in Gemmano where it becomes one of the cornerstones of the German resistance that will stop the allies on the ridge of Coriano. Werner falls to Marazzano, a strategic point towards the Valle del Foglia, on September 10, 1944, at 6 hour of the morning, under a bombing. On 10 September there is a large artillery fire on both sides, in particular the local memories remind some civilians, who fell under the bombing of the naval artillery of ships off the coast of Rimini.
San Marino seen from MarazzanoComment
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He is buried in the small civil cemetery of Albareto, on the road to San Marino.
Albareto a fortified medieval village of the lords of RiminiComment
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in addition to photos of his grave there are several letters on the movement of his body first to the German war cemetery in the Cemetery of the Rimini Enklave in Cervia then definitively in the early sixties in the great German cemetery of Futa Pass ( I went to see him a few months ago)Comment
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His commanded letter to his mother: he write to her of the OKW citation of the 100 GJR three days later the Werner's death . Another letter for some of his lost things, still a memory for Christmas, and a camradey that reminds him of his mother.Comment
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But the last cards of the lot are exciting and sad: the last postcard received by his mother and her letters turned back after her deathComment
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and finally one of his last letters sent to her, written on September 8 and has the fedlpost dated September 10 the day of the his death, written a few days before, on September 2 that tells of his regiment down in the street, 200 km from Rimini that quickly goes back ... with his last portrait of him for his mother ...Comment
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what a fantastic add to this thread!!Comment
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