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    #1

    German grave in my backgarden.

    Hi all,

    On 27th of may 1940 schuetze Johan Schapfeld was killed in action in the battle of Rumbeke (one of the last battles of the Blitzkreig in Belgium).

    Schapfeld was burried in a fieldgrave +- 20m of where I live.
    In my research I found the unit where he belonged to :

    3/BAU.KP.247

    I hope someone can give me more information about the Regiment, Division where this man belonged to ?

    Kind regards,
    Jelle
    Tags: None
    #2
    Is this soldier still buried on your property, and if so do the German authorities know about him?

    Chuck

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      #3
      His body was excavated in te 60's, but the the place where he was burried once is still visible today. My grandfather still maintain the grave as a memory.

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        #4
        Originally posted by lestweforget View Post
        My grandfather still maintain the grave as a memory.
        Please tell your Grandfather for me, I salute him. It is too bad there are not more like him. He is

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          #5
          About 20 German and at least 80 Belgian soldiers where killed that day in the battle. The most of the Belgian casualtys where killed by their own artillery
          I have spoken with some Belgian veterans of the battle and they said it was hell on earth. If you left your head above the edge of the foxhole you where killed instantly.

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            #6
            Originally posted by lestweforget View Post
            His body was excavated in te 60's, but the the place where he was burried once is still visible today. My grandfather still maintain the grave as a memory.
            Your grandfather is to be commended.

            Chuck

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              #7
              Where does the info on his unit come from? a dog tag perhaps?

              The reason i ask is because it may not have been his unit at the time of his death. Bau Btl. 247 was a construction unit created from the RAD. In March 40 it had been renamed to Nachschub Btl. 549. It was 'Heerestruppe' which means it was an independent unit attached at korps or army level.

              As such it was not a combat unit and should have been well to the rear of any fighting. It could well be your man was transferred prior to May 40.

              I suggest reasearching which German formation or formations were active in and around Rumbeke on that date.
              Collecting German award documents, other paperwork and photos relating to Norway and Finland.

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                #8
                Hi Jelle

                I found your guy in the list of the Volksbund. He was born 10 Feb 1918. The date of his death is given there with "June 1940".

                Now his grave is in the war grave cemetary of Lommel: Block 42, grave 564.

                Gerdan

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                  #9
                  Thanks for the info guys!

                  I found the info regarding his unit in the records of the German Military cemetery in Lommel.

                  The 74th and 59th Infanterie regt. (19 inf Div. later 19 Pz div.) where engaged in the battle.
                  So he could be transferred to one of this units or wounded somewhere else and died of his wounds over here ? Who can say ?

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by Simon Orchard View Post
                    Where does the info on his unit come from? a dog tag perhaps?

                    The reason i ask is because it may not have been his unit at the time of his death. Bau Btl. 247 was a construction unit created from the RAD. In March 40 it had been renamed to Nachschub Btl. 549. It was 'Heerestruppe' which means it was an independent unit attached at korps or army level.

                    As such it was not a combat unit and should have been well to the rear of any fighting. It could well be your man was transferred prior to May 40.

                    I suggest reasearching which German formation or formations were active in and around Rumbeke on that date.
                    I agree, it probably was on his tag and he was later assigned. I just got a list of markers for Nbl. Abt. 4 and almost half of the soldiers assigned to the Werfer unit have tags for other non-nebel units. Pretty interesting.

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