Normandy KIA soldier

[Daniele C]

I asked volksbund for info about this soldier as i have his deathcard:

Name: Anton Waldinger
Dienstgrad: Obergefreiter
geboren: 31.01.1911, Hilgen
Erkennungsmarke: -399-I.E.E.Kp.268
Todestag: 01.08.1944
Todesort: Montabot/Manche
Erstbestattungsort: Montbray/Manche
Zweitbestattungsort: Morigny/Manche, Fdh. Feld Puisney 7-25
umgebettet nach: La Cambe / Frankreich

Can anyone find out what unit was there in MONTABOT (south west of ST.LO) when he died so i can guess what division he was in?
thanks

Daniele

[Johnny R]

Soldier

The 29th Infantry Division was in that Sector when he was killed. Some unit histories will list the units they were facing. There may be German records too but I have found it usually is easist to look at American Division records to figure this out. His dog tag is not too helpful here as far as I can tell with Lexicon but someone else may have more experience or different research materials for the units etc.. Goodluck!

[Daniele C]

Thanks john!

[Larry deZeng]

I think the easiest thing to do would be to get a copy of Paul Carell's Invasion - they're coming!: The German account of the allied landings and the eighty days' battle for France (London: Harrap, 1962). It's pretty widely help by public libraries, or you could buy it on-line used. The St.-Lô breakout at the end of July begins on p.230 and there is at least one map.

But what bothers me is his Erkennungsmarke. "I.E.E.Kp.268" appears to be something unusual. Infanterie-Ers. units were usually "Btl." and not "Kp.". I checked Lexikon and other sources and it doesn't seem to connect to anything. I thought one of the "E"s might be for "Eisenbahn" but I couldn't find any Eisenbahn-Ers. units with the number "268". Perhaps some of the Erkennungsmarke specialists out there can help with this.

--Larry

[Daniele C]

Hi Larry,
I have that book( i reread it few weeks ago...)and i ll check there again but i doubt it...
From what the seller said he was in a panzer unit

Daniele

[Larry deZeng]

Then the answer is the Panzer-Lehr-Div. It was the only Panzer-Div. on the southwest side of St.-Lô 27 Jul - 1 Aug 1944.

--Larry

[Johnny R]

Tag

I would check the math on what the dealer told you. It may be correct but . . .it does not seem to be right based on the tag.

I remember a dealer trying to sell me plan white Panzer towels with raised swastikas "from the SS panzer school". Maybe they were real, maybe they were BDM? Always pays to do research yourself when it is important to you.

I still would bet the US records and documents would tell you what you need to know if it is not to be found in popular literature (eg. 1962 source). There are records and AARs etc. available in the US archives, the 29th Division history should be fairly available, if you figure out the Regiment, the US Army published a series of volumes on individual Rgt. histories too. I have not looked at it in years but there is information in there and I believe they are cited etc. There usually is info on the German units they were facing. Once you figure out the German unit then there are documents in German, Division histories etc.

[Daniele C]

i wouldnt mind basing in the dogtag as a soldier could have 1 dogtag and change 1000 units during the war.
these are the pics of the card(sorry for the bad pic)

[Daniele C]

2

2

[Daniele C]

the one im talking about is ANTON waldinger

[Larry deZeng]

Montabot is exactly 20.6 km due south of St.-Lô (not southwest), so that may change the equation a bit. Now, or so it appears, it was the 116. Pz.Div. that would have been in and around Montabot on 1 August 1944. There are two other possibilities: elements of either 363. Inf.Div. or 2. Pz.Div.

[Keegan, John (ed.). The Times Atlas of the Second World War (Avenel/NJ: Crescent Books, 1994), p.154, map #2.]

--Larry

[Daniele C]

Lets see if Paul carell book says something or at the most i ll ask again to volksbund!
thanks!

Daniele

[Larry deZeng]

Or:

Heinz Günther Guderian - From Normandy to the Ruhr: With the 116th Panzer Division in WWII

Fritz Memminger - Die Kriegsgeschichte der Windhund Division: 16. Infanterie Division (mot.), 16. Panzergrenadier Division, 116. Pz Division

K. Wendt - Warum: Bildband der 116. Panzer Division

--Larry

[Simon O.]

Assuming he was still a Pz.Gr. i think the 2 Pz.Div. is a very likely candidate. According to 'Panzers in Normandy: then and now' a Kampfgruppe of the 2 Pz.Div. was in the area of Villebaudon and Tessy sur Vire around this date and that's within a couple of miles of Montabot.

[Larry deZeng]

He was only an Obergefreiter, so it will probably be pretty difficult to get a definitive determination without the help of WASt or surviving family members. I would imagine things were pretty chaotic in that sector on 1 August, and there may have been some inter-mixing of units that would make a positive ID difficult to sort out.

BTW, Simon, what's your take on that odd Erkennungsmarke?

--Larry