Here is a Zwetschrift Soldbuch issued on the 30.6.1944 and photos of Ernst Guckes,
Born on 28.12.11 Siegen/Westfalia , Guckes was part of the 35.SS Standarte in 1939, He moved for a brief period with the Heer Infanterie Regiment 138 in 1940 and then back to the SS Panzer Nachrichten Regiment 3 of the Totenkopf Division in 1941.
He finally Joined Stab company of the SS Panzer Regiment 3 around October 1944 where the Totenkopf Division was fighting in Ukraina.
From the WAFFEN SS website:
At the end of 1944 Totenkopf was moved with the IV.SS-Panzerkorps south to help rescue encircled German and Hungarian troops in the Hungarian capital of Budapest as a part of Operation Konrad. After the failure of Wiking's first operation, Konrad I, Totenkopf and Wiking launched an assault aimed at the city centre. Named Operation Konrad II, the attack reached as far as the Budapest Airport, but when resistance stiffened, Gille's corps was ordered to fall back as part of a ruse to encircle Soviet units north of the city. Operation Konrad III got underway on 17 January, 1945. Aimed at encircling ten Soviet divisions, the Outnumbered relief forces could not acheive their goal, despite tearing a 15 mile hole in the Soviet's line. Although they had been on the verge of rescuing the 45,000 trapped Germans of IX.Waffen-Gebirgskorps der SS, the encircled troops could not be reached and capitulated in early February.
The division was pulled back to the west, executing a fighting withdrawal from Budapest to Vienna, the division surrendered to the Americans on May 9 1945. The Americans promptly handed Totenkopf back to the Soviets, and many Totenkopf soldiers died in Soviet Gulags.
Born on 28.12.11 Siegen/Westfalia , Guckes was part of the 35.SS Standarte in 1939, He moved for a brief period with the Heer Infanterie Regiment 138 in 1940 and then back to the SS Panzer Nachrichten Regiment 3 of the Totenkopf Division in 1941.
He finally Joined Stab company of the SS Panzer Regiment 3 around October 1944 where the Totenkopf Division was fighting in Ukraina.
From the WAFFEN SS website:
At the end of 1944 Totenkopf was moved with the IV.SS-Panzerkorps south to help rescue encircled German and Hungarian troops in the Hungarian capital of Budapest as a part of Operation Konrad. After the failure of Wiking's first operation, Konrad I, Totenkopf and Wiking launched an assault aimed at the city centre. Named Operation Konrad II, the attack reached as far as the Budapest Airport, but when resistance stiffened, Gille's corps was ordered to fall back as part of a ruse to encircle Soviet units north of the city. Operation Konrad III got underway on 17 January, 1945. Aimed at encircling ten Soviet divisions, the Outnumbered relief forces could not acheive their goal, despite tearing a 15 mile hole in the Soviet's line. Although they had been on the verge of rescuing the 45,000 trapped Germans of IX.Waffen-Gebirgskorps der SS, the encircled troops could not be reached and capitulated in early February.
The division was pulled back to the west, executing a fighting withdrawal from Budapest to Vienna, the division surrendered to the Americans on May 9 1945. The Americans promptly handed Totenkopf back to the Soviets, and many Totenkopf soldiers died in Soviet Gulags.
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