Heer Pioneer Info: Help Needed Please

[Larry F.]

Hi Guys:

Could someone please provide me with any information on the attached Heer Pioneer?

Thanks in advance.

Best,

Larry F.

[Larry F.]

Pio Info.

[Larry F.]

The eagle is a replacement. I still have the original but it was broken in half when I got the cap.

[vacollector]

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16. Panzer-Division was formed Nov 1940 from 16. Infanterie-Division. It was transferred to Romania Dec where it was used as a training unit under the name Lehrstab R II and was a reserve unit during the Balkans campaign. It fought on the southern sector of the Eastern front starting June 1941 until Jan 1943 when it was destroyed at Stalingrad.

It was reformed in France and remained there until June when it was sent to Italy. It fought the western allies at Salerno and Naples before being transferred to the central sector of the Eastern front. It suffered heavy losses during the fighting at Kiev and was transferred to Poland for refitting in the summer of 1944 and was sent back to the front Jan 1945. It ended the war in Czechoslovakia where some parts of the division surrendered to the Red Army and other parts to the US Army.


Commanders
Generaloberst Hans-Valentin Hube (1 Nov 1940 - 15 Sep 1942)
Generalleutnant Günther Angern (15 Sep 1942 - 2 Feb 1943)
Generalmajor Burkhart Müller-Hillebrand (? Mar 1943 - 5 May 1943)
Generalmajor Rudolf Sieckenius (5 May 1943 - 1 Nov 1943)
Generalmajor Hans-Ulrich Back (1 Nov 1943 - 14 Aug 1944)
Generalleutnant Dietrich von Müller (14 Aug 1944 - 19 Apr 1945)
Oberst Kurt Treuhaupt (19 Apr 1945 - 8 May 1945)

Area of operations
Germany (Nov 1940 - Dec 1940)
Romania (Dec 1940 - June 1941)
Eastern front, southern sector (June 1941 - Nov 1942)
Stalingrad (Nov 1942 - Feb 1943)
France (Mar 1943 - June 1943)
Italy (June 1943 - Nov 1943)
Eastern front, central sector (Nov 1943 - Mar 1945)
Czechoslovakia (Mar 1945 - May 1945)


Order of battle (Apr 1941)

HQ

Divisional Staff

Mapping Detachment (mot)

2. Panzer Regiment

Panzer Signals Platoon

Light Panzer Platoon

Regimental Band

2 x Battalion

16. Schützen Brigade

2 x Regiment

16. Motorcycle Battalion

3 x Motorcycle Company

Heavy Machine Gun Company (mot)

Reconnaissance Company (mot)

16. Panzerjäger Battalion

Signals Platoon (mot)

3 x Panzerjäger Company (mot)

Company / 66. Heavy Machine Gun Battalion (mot)

16. Reconnaissance Battalion

Signals Platoon (mot)

Armored Car Company

Motorcycle Company

Heavy Reconnaissance Company (mot)

16. Artillery Regiment

Support Detachment (mot)

3 x Battalion (mot)

16. SIgnals Battalion

Panzer Telephone Company

Panzer Radio Company

Light Signals Supply Column (mot)

16. Pioneer Battalion (mot)

3 x Pioneer Company (mot)

Brüko T (mot)

Light Pioneer Supply Column (mot)

Support & Supply Troops



Order of battle (Apr 1944)

HQ

Divisional Staff

Mapping Detachment (mot)

Military Police Detachment (mot)

Escort Company

2. Panzer Regiment

Regimental Staff

Regimental Staff Company

2 x Battalion

Panzer Maintenance Company

64. Panzergrenadier Regiment

Regimental Staff

2 x Battalion

Pioneer Company (mot)

Infantry Support Gun Company (self-propelled)

16. Panzerjäger Battalion

Battalion Staff

Battalion Staff Company

2 x Sturmgeschütz Company

Panzerjäger Company (mot)

16. Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion

Battalion Staff

Battalion Staff Company

Luchs Reconnaissance Company

3 x Reconnaissance Company (half-track)

Reconnaissance Supply Company (mot)

16. Panzer Artillery Regiment

Staff & Staff Battery

2 x Battalion (mot)

Battalion (self-propelled)

16. Panzer Signals Battalion

Battalion Staff

Panzer Telephone Company

Panzer Radio Company

Signals Supply Company (mot)

16. Panzer Pioneer Battalion

Battalion Staff

2 x Pioneer Company (mot)

Pioneer Company (half-track)

Support & Supply Units

[Larry deZeng]

Pi.Btl. 16 became Pz.Pi.Btl. 16 on 20 August 1940:

http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/...zPiBat16-R.htm

So the history of the battalion can be found in the history of the 16. Pz.-Div.:

Günter Schmitz - Die 16. Panzer-Division 1938-1945.
Wolfgang Werthen - Geschichte der 16.Pz.Division.

--Larry

[Johnny R]

Sakowski

Larry, is there a first initial anywhere in the hat, 87 KIAs with that last name. You could try to match the unit to the place of his death and figure out if he is in there. I have a pioneire namedd to a KIA in buried Poland. Always makes the stuff more interesting for me

[Larry F.]

WoW. Thanks guys for the help.

I've had this cap for many years. It came direct from the vet along with several other "goodies" he brought home.

Larry-thanks for your link. I noticed that in May '45 these guys were in Gratz Germany (if I'm reading the information correctly). The vet I got it from couldn't remember where he picked it up. He got it because he also picked up an Inf. NCO's walking out tunic and thought they two could go together (piping didn't matter to him I guess. )

John-no first initial in the cap. Only the last name.

Thanks again.

Larry

[Larry deZeng]

Hi Larry -

It says:

Teile der 16. Panzer-Division kapitulierten vor den russischen Truppen, andere Teile kapitulierten vor U.S.-Truppen bei Brno (Tschechoslowakei) im April 1945.

"Elements of the 16. Pz.-Div. surrendered to advancing Russian troops (in the Troppau - Grätz area), other elements surrendered to advancing U.S. troops near Brno (Czechoslovakia) in April 1945."

Brno (called Brünn during WW II) is a city in south-central Czechoslovakia 115 miles southeast of Prague. But this is not an issue. The German information (above) is wrong because no U.S. forces got within 100 miles of Brünn. The city was taken on 26 April 1945 by the Soviet 2d Ukrainian Front. So your vet may have taken the items from Germans who fled west to avoid being captured by the Russians.

--Larry

[BACTON]

Interested in this thread because I have a crusher made by Max Berger of Hoxter, the home town of the 16 Pioneer Battalion...named, but pretty illegible.