May 10..............66 years ago.

[Eric Queen]

Wolfgang Schulz Trupp 7 (far right in above photo)

[Eric Queen]

EKI for Fort Eben Emael.

[Eric Queen]

.800 silver badge belonging to Wolfgang Schulz.

[Eric Queen]

FSS issued by Pi.Zug II./FJR1

[Eric Queen]

Tarnausweiss carried during the EE raid. Issued at Hildesheim.

[Ian Tannahill]

Giday everyone,

Yesterday Eric posted a fine example of a prelimnary award certificate for the Iron Cross, first and second class, that was issued by Hauptmann Witzig to Walter Kipnick.

Jäger Walter Kipnick attended jump school in March 1939 and made his first jump on the 31st day of that month. Kipnick completed his sixth jump on 27 April 1939, thereby qualifying for the Fallschirmschützenabzeichen. His certificate for the jump badge is dated 7 September 1939.

Kipnick was subsequently promoted to the rank of gefreiter and was transferred to Witzig's Pioneer Zug where he was assigned to the sixth squad commanded by Oberjäger Siegfried Harlos.

The book, "The Fall of Eben Emel", by Col James Mrazek, contains several references to the sixth squad including the following description of the first few hours of the attack:

"The glider of Sergeant Harlos' Sixth Squad was hit by anti-aircraft fire when it was 350 feet from the ground and coming in fast. Barbed wire in the landing path jerked the glider to a premature stop, snapping heads forward. The Belgian wire was so thick around the glider that it jammed the doors. Once out of the glider the men had a difficult time wading through the barbed wire strands. It tore their clothing and skin. Cutting and pickng their way gingerly as enemy fire would allow, the squad made it to the area where their objective should have been. They could not find it. Another squad had obligingly, but in error, blown the dome, which was a false cupola anyway. Where the dome should have been, Sergeant Harlos found an emplacement, perhaps for machine guns, but now unoccupied. Placing a 110-pound charge in the emplacement he blew a shaft into the earth and the concrete sides caved into it. Harlos then set up his machine guns to keep the other side of the canal to the west under surveillance. As the morning wore on he broke up several Belgian troop movements, one a column of cyclists which suffered heavy casualties from his fire."

A photograph taken after the fall of Eben Emael of Kipnick and the other members of the Sixth Squad can be found in the book, "The German Paratroops", by Rudolf Böhmler and werner Haupt.

With the creation of the Luftlande Sturm Regiment at the end of July 1940, I believe that Obergefreiter Walter Kipnick was assgned to the regiment's 16th kompanie.

I can't say whether Kipnick participated in the assault against the island of Crete. His jump logbook contains no reference to any jump having been made at this time.

Kipnick later saw action in Russia during the winter of 1941/42 and I believe that he survived the war.

Any additional information about Walter Kipnick would be greatfully appreciated.

Best wishes,


Ian Tannahill

[WJW]

Not a FJ but ...

... did attack EE. Award doc signed by high up.

[WJW]

Name

The FJ on the right in Gran Sasso's post #4 is called Uffz. HASENKOPF.
WJW

[Willi Z.]

Fascinating thread!

For now I can add this 1940 FJ. The smock ('38 dated) has had pockets added, which would have been done after this campaign, but everything else pre-dates the campaign.

Old scanned 35mm photo, will have to do a new one.

[WJW]

The FJ on the right in Gran Sasso's post #4

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