Wehrpass liberation of Rimini (and POW exchange)

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September 21st 1944 (tomorrow) is the day of the liberation of Rimini, when the Greeks escorted by the New Zealand Sherman enter the city... .. but everything happens the day before, on September 20th 1944 (today) in San Fortunato, the hill cornerstone of the Yellow Line, when the 29 Panzer Grenadier Division, exhausted and decimated and forced to fill the ranks the Turk Regiment 314 of the 162 Turk, Division Reg. collapses and the Germans are forced to leave Rimini (and reorganize the the resistance behind the Marecchia river)


A small lot on a death card of a grenadier of the 29 Pz. Gren. Div. who fell on 20 September in San Fortunato ...

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And Rimini from San Fortunato (it is the highest point of Covignano hill) Covignano) yesterday and today

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The wehrpass ... Released in Gotha on August 15, 1939 ... health dog tag ... Brautigam Hermann, class 1919, farmer

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Enlisted on n October 3, 1939, in Kassel in the Sanitäts-Ersatz-Abteilung 9, then in the Infanterie-Regiment 36 and then again in Kassel ..

But in February 1943 he is assigned to the Sanitats Kompanie of the Division von Manteuffel and goes to Tunisia where he is captured with the remains of the Afrika Kkorps only 3 months later the 8h may 1943

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And here an interesting part of this wehrpass, Hermann, a "Sanitats" soldier of was repatriated with the sixth (October 1943) exchange of prisoners: 1400 qualified German "medical" repatriated against 4000 allies ....

The closing date of the negotiations for the sixth exchange is teh 20 th October when in Alexandria 1009 German POW, for the most part health soldiers and disabled (the others from Oran) are boarded on the Taiera and Cuba hospital ships, and arriving in Marseilles on October 27th 1943 ....

two photo of the Tairea in Alexandria....

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the arrival of the prisoners at home

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Hermann returns to his Unists in Kassel, but 12th March 1944, he was assigned (always Health soldiers?) to the Grenadier Regiment 71 of the 29 Panzer Grenadier Division in Italy ... ..

04031D the feldpost of the 11th battalion of the Grenadier Regiment 71

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Ed Hermann falls the last day of the battle of Rimini, 20 September 1944. just below San Fortunato, exactly 600 mt SO "Sudosten" of Spadarolo, near 3 independent houses where the path crosses with the stream ... .. the houses and many things have changed, but the place is very easy to identify ....

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Sab Fortunato (yellow arrow above), the Church of San Lorenzo (yellow arrow) and the point where Hermann fell (red Arrow)....

and Spadarolo in a photo of Rimini in september 1944....

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and finally at the Futa Pass German Cemetery, the place of Hermann, fell to Rimini exactly 74 yer ago today,

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Oriano,
Always fascinating presentations.
Jeff

[Lutfen]

Excellent work Oriano - thanks for sharing!

Cheers,
Michael

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Excellent work Oriano - thanks for sharing!

Cheers,
Michael

Many thanks Michael
Ciao Oriano

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Oriano,
Always fascinating presentations.
Jeff

Many thanks Jeff !!
Ciao Oriano

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and on 21 September, today, the commemoration for liberation has,
as per tradition, a fixed itinerary in Rimini ... first the Gurkha war Cemetry on the highway to San Marino...... and the memorial for the fallen of the Queen Bays tankers in Ceriano (Montecieco). ... I pointed them and the place where Hermann has fallen .... here is the ceremony at the gurkha cemetery