Kriegstachebuch Radfahrabteilung 1

[oberst40]

Is there a forummember out there who owns the kriegstachebuch of the Radfahrabteilung 1? (In may 1940 under command of Oberstleutant Von Edelsheim)
Or maybe has the digital version available?

For some research I'm looking for the tachebuch entry 09-05-1940 till
17-05-1940.

Thanks in advance

[Ypenburg]

As far as I know the KTB didn't survive the war. Have been looking for it in Freiburg. Even "Die Aufklärer (Rf1, K4, PzAA24)" by Hubertus Schulz has little to no information on that period and used the KTB and books of 1.Kav.Div. RR1 and 24.Pz.Div. to write his book. Maybe if you can find the administration of the former "Der Springende Reiter"- Kameradschaft there could be something to find.

[oberst40]

Thanks!

[oberst40]

Up, all Rf1 Holland (1940) related material can be posted here. Thanks!

[tigre]

Radfahr-Abteilung 1

Hello to all ; a bit late I'm afraid but anyway.......................

The Radfahr-Abteilung 1 in the North of Netherland 1940.

The Radfahr-Bataillon 1 was set up on October 1, 1935 in Tilsit, in Military District I, with parts of the Berlin and the East Prussian on call police (Bereitschaftspolizei) and a company of the Infantry Regiment 43. The battalion was attached from October 1, 1936, the 1st Cavalry Brigade. On October 1, 1937, the battalion was re-organized as Radfahr-Abteilung 1. It was divided into:

HQ with Signal Pl and Panzerspähzug; 1st - 3rd ciclyts squadron with three Pls with 3 lMG and 1 light mortar each and 1 Pl of 4 sMG. Heavy squadron with 2 cavalry guns, Pak Pl, mortar Pl and pioneer Pl.

At the end of October 1939 the Cavalry Brigade was expanded to a one Cavalry Division and the Radf. Abt. was attached unchanged to it. End of March/beginning of April the Spähtrupp was in Papenburg/Ems with 3 light armored four-wheeled cars. Two of them were armed with machine-gun and the third was a signal vehicle. These were lightly armored vehicles that were open at the top (Sd.Kfz. 247 A??).

Late fall the Radf. Abt. 1 was billeted in Papenburg/Ems and Aschendorf. The division was subordinated to the 18. AOK, which was foreseen for the conquest of Netherland. The division's sector ran from Dollart to southwest of Lingen, circa 100 km.

The task: The 1. Kavalleriedivision, under the command of Generalmajor Kurt Feldt, was commissioned to conquer the northern provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. This sector runs from the Dollart to the river Vecht in the northeast of Overijssel. The division must also occupy the Afsluitdijk and form a bridgehead on the west bank. Feldt had on hand four cavalry regiments, a battalion of cyclists, an artillery regiment, an anti-tank company, an Eng. battalion, a liaison detachment, anti-aircraft batteries and an armored train. It is this armored train with which the Germans must surprise and disturb the Dutch defense zone around the head of the Afsluitdijk, the Wonsstelling.


Area of deployment........................................ ...........................
https://www.google.com/maps/search/P...9,7.2135172,9z

Sources: Die Aufklärer der 1. Kavallerie Division/24. Pz Division.
Von Lemberg bis Bordeaux. Leo Leixner.
Nach Holland. De Meidagenvan 1940 dor Duitse ogen.
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/...g/KavBrig1.htm

Cheers. Raúl M .

Feliz Año Nuevo - Happy New Year - feliz Ano Novo - gluckliches Neues Jahr - Bonne Année - Felice Anno Nuovo - Szczęśliwego nowego roku!!

[enorepap]

Many thanks Raúl for these very detailed information

Happy New Year

Marcello

[brooksbz]

I would love to get a copy of this book:

"Die Aufklärer (Rf1, K4, PzAA24)"

[brooksbz]

More info that may be helpful in your search.

[tigre]

Radfahr-Abteilung 1.

Hello to all ; thanks to all for joining. A bit more.......................

The Radfahr-Abteilung 1 in the North of Netherland 1940.

Generalmajor Feldt ordered the attack on three fronts. His Radfahrerabteilung 1 will cross the border in Nieuwe Schans at the same time as the armored train. In the middle, just north of Emmen, the Reiterregiment 2 will cross the border with an artillery battery and in the southern sector, between Emmen and Coevorden, the Reiterregiment 1 will attack and advance towards Steenwijk while the Reiterregiment 22 south of Coevorden, was to cross the border and continue towards Meppel.

Feldt does not expect many problems. He has well-trained and armed soldiers, many of whom have already been shown during the campaign against Poland. In addition, he can count on the air support of the Luftwaffe and the Kriegsmarine with a plan to land a naval command in the Afsluitdijk, right in the rear of the enemy. "In the area of the 1st Cavalry Division, initially only defense on the border should be counted," Feldt writes in his assault order. "The defense will collapse soon if a quick success is achieved. The rapid conquest of bridges in the border area is therefore of great importance. No attacks are expected from the Dutch. "The heavy concrete bunkers would be neutralized with aerial bombardments or with heavy shooting artillery stretched as 8.8 cm.

For their part, the Dutch, in the design of the delay lines in Drenthe, used the existing obstacles in the form of channels and rivers. Three lines of defense were established along these waters. For example, in the area of the Radfahrerabteilung were the lines A, Q and O. The prerequisite for the delay function of the channels was, of course, that the bridges could not be used in the event of an attack. Therefore, they were given dynamite and partially blown up during the night of 9 to 10 May 1940. At the height of the bridges, reinforcements were built on the west bank, mostly concrete casemates. These bunkers or casemates, of the so-called type S, were also called "porcupines" and were provided with hooks on the upper part, with which the camouflage nets could be stretched over the bunkers.


Defensive lines on the border........................................ ...........................
http://historischekringerica.nl/verh...e-ericasebrug/

Sources: Die Aufklärer der 1. Kavallerie Division/24. Pz Division.
Von Lemberg bis Bordeaux. Leo Leixner.
Nach Holland. De Meidagenvan 1940 dor Duitse ogen.
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/...g/KavBrig1.htm

Cheers. Raúl M .

[oberst40]

many thanks, maybe we can make this thread a "special" about the 1 Kav. Div / Radfahrabteilung 1

[tigre]

Radfahr-Abteilung 1.

Hello to all ; a bit more.......................

The Radfahr-Abteilung 1 in the North of Netherland 1940.

Border crossing - May 10, 1940.

At the beginning of the attack, German troops also crossed the border in the far north of Groningen. Here the attack was carried out by the 1. Kavallerie-Division (under Generalmajor Kurt Feldt), of about 13,000 men to conquer the Vesting-Holland from the north via the Afsluitdijk. General Feldt's day order was: "Looking forward, thinking forward and riding forward".

In the attack on the Northern Netherlands, the German orders for the 1. Kavallerie Division were:

To quickly occupy the Northern Netherlands as the northern flank defense of the German central attack on the heart (Grebbeberg) of the Dutch defense before the 'Vesting Holland';
conquering the Kornwerderzand position and overpowering the 'Kop' region of the Afsluitdijk including the strategic highway 43 Bolsward - 'Kop', with, among other things, Pingjum as a flank cover;
taking possession of the IJsselmeer ports / requesting vessel space to subsequently invade the Vesting Holland.

In order toaccomplish that, the 1. Kavallerie-Division entered the Netherlands in four places. Between Nieuweschans and Kloosterhaar the Radfahr-Abteilung 1 had to advance towards Groningen, supported by an armored train that had to drive via Groningen and Leeuwarden to the Afsluitdijk to surprise the Dutch troops there.

At Emmercompascuüm, the 2. Reiter-Regiment crossed the border, reinforced with a battery of artillery. These troops had to move to Assen and Beilen.

The main attack was carried out south of Coevorden by the 1. Reiter Regiment and the 22. Reiter Regiment, led by Oberst F.M. von Senger und Etterlin. This area was chosen because the distance from the German border to the IJsselmeer was the smallest here. The 21. Reiter Regiment was held in reserve.

It would not be that easy. At 03:00 hours a German armored train surprised the station watch at Nieuweschans. Fortunately, the bridge at Buiskooldiep (about four kilometers away) could be blown up and the ride came to an early end. Nieuweschans was defended by a detachment of Dutch soldiers under the command of lieutenant J. Kok. In the early hours of May 10, 1940, they were surprised by violent cannon fire from the armored train, aimed at the station and the concrete bunkers next to the traffic bridge over the Aa. When the German machine guns also took the Dutch positions under fire, the Dutch were forced to take cover. Lieutenant Kok reports the attack to the command post in Beerta and ordered two soldiers to blast the undermined bridge. They run up the bridge, jump over the railing and see the chance to light the fuses. The moment they reached their own positions after a sprint, a deafening explosion blows up the bridge deck, which then slips in the water of the Aa. During the subsequent gunfight, the dutch realized how wrong was going the fight. Around 05:00 hours Luitenant Kok saw no other way out than to stop the fight. Soon the Germans were able to repair the bridge, but the defense had been warned in the meantime. The railway bridge over the Zijlsterdiep was destroyed and the entrenched Dutch troops managed to hold the German train. On this the armored train was withdrawn.

The Radfahr-Abteilung 1 under Oberstlt. Frhr. von Edelsheim advancing on the far right wing of the division encounters just light enemy resistance and reached the area around Groningen in the evening. A bridgehead across the Ems-canal north of the town is established. Reiter-Rgt.2 reached Assem, Reiter-Rgt.1 Havelte, Reiter-Rgt.22 Meppel in the evening; Reiter-Rgt.21 follows in reserve. In short, The 1. Kav.Div. reached the line Adorp – Assen – Havelte – Meppel at 18:00 hours against light enemy resistance.


Attack carried out by the 1. Kav. Div...........................

Sources: Die Aufklärer der 1. Kavallerie Division/24. Pz Division.
Von Lemberg bis Bordeaux. Leo Leixner.
Nach Holland. De Meidagenvan 1940 dor Duitse ogen.
https://pingjumgeschiedenis.wordpress.com/b-1940-1945/

Cheers. Raúl M .

[Harmen]

Really intresting topic. I would say continu the good work . The 1 KD is an intresting division (later 24 PD). For me as a May 1940 Dutch Wehrpassë and Soldbücher colletor, those stories and research topics are really intresting. Unfortunally especially the 1KD books (WP/SB) are hard to find. Although I collect 5 divisions the 1KDis my favorit, first of all I'm raised in the North of the Netherlands and second,my grandfather was stationed in Nieuweschans (as a Dutch soldier) and withdrawed to the final battle by the Afsluitdijk.

This is my little Dutch contibution, I have other 1KD wehrpasse unfortunally not of te 1.Radfahrabteilung.

[oberst40]

[tigre]

Radfahr-Abteilung 1.

Hello to all ; thanks for joining Harmen . A bit more........

The Radfahr-Abteilung 1 in the North of Netherland 1940.

Border crossing - May 10, 1940.

A little more about the Radfahr- Abt. A German column crosses the border in Nieuwe Schans coming from Bunde. It's 03:55 a.m. Dutch time. This sector the northernmost front was assigned to the Radfahr-Abteilung 1, a unit of the 1. Kavalleriedivision, reinforced with anti-aircraft guns and pioneers. Near the village of Ganzendijk an the advanced guard of the 3rd Squadron is met with enemy machine gun fire, coming from a detachment of border guards under the command of the first lieutenant C.J.C. Roorda. Seven Dutchmen are wounded, one German is dead. Oberleutnant Naujoks, commander of the 3rd Squadron, has to deploy all his subunit of 200 men in the attack to break the resistance. A Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft is circling in the air. The observer carefully passes his findings. The Dutch are retreating, but they are causing a considerable delay in the German advance. The cyclists have lost valuable time and then pass through Finsterwolde in the direction of Nieuwolda......

But what happened to the floods? In order to delay the advance of the Germans through Friesland to the Afsluitdijk, secret plans are being prepared to flood polders in twelve municipalities in Friesland polders - a Frisian lake. This includes the west of Weststellingwerf, the Groote Veenpolder of 3500 hectares and a polder at Oldelamer.

But the preparation is absolutely bad. It might have been a formidable line of defense. At the beginning of May 1940, however, the water in the Frisian basin was much too low to be able to submerge areas, and the IJsselmeer water's position does not offer an inlet option either. Nevertheless, on May 10, the mayor of Weststellingwerf, among other things, ordered the residents to clear the area. Loose livestock is also part of the fairly orderly exodus towards the Old-Amsterdam bridge, because animals can be removed from the polders more quickly. In total there are 6133 animals and 2277 people. On the evening of 10 May, a group of workers crossed the dyke in the river Tjonger near Langelillie. But the water does not come in with much violence.

The fast German advance and the alternative route from the German night camp at Frederiksoord via Oldeberkoop also makes the defense pointless. Maybe a lucky accident. In total, 200,000 cattle from 20,000 farms would otherwise have been sent out. Yet in Friesland all 10,700 people are forced to leave their homes. That same evening the further submerging of polders will be canceled and holes will be closed again, well before the Groote Veenpolder changed into a large lake of two meters deep. Even the houses did not suffer any damage.

The German advance is so fast that Friesland is already cut from the rest of the Netherlands after the first day of the war. They enter with horses and old carts. Even before the Germans, starting from Lingen and Nordhorn, want to cross the border over an area of one hundred kilometers wide, bridges are already being blown up. It is possible to destroy 236 bridges on the early morning of 10 May 1940.


German column of the 1. Kav. Div. around the border in the north...................

Sources: Die Aufklärer der 1. Kavallerie Division/24. Pz Division.
Von Lemberg bis Bordeaux. Leo Leixner.
Nach Holland. De Meidagenvan 1940 dor Duitse ogen.
https://pingjumgeschiedenis.wordpress.com/b-1940-1945/

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Radfahr-Abteilung 1.

Hello to all ; thanks for joining Harmen . A bit more........

The Radfahr-Abteilung 1 in the North of Netherland 1940.

Inland - May 11, 1940.

The detachment headed towards Leeuwarden, then further southwest, and came to strong resistance only on the approach to the final dam of the Zuidersee. A coup foreseen for May 11, against the fortress Kornwerderzand had to be suspended.

The vanguard reached Achlum already in the morning of 11 May 1940. Around 11:30 hours, the Germans approach the village of Arum behind it, where citizens are busy digging a canal across the road, meant as a roadblock. A group of three armored cars explores the area and reports that all roads leading to Pingjum and Zurich have been blocked. The sappers are instructed to clean up the barriers.

The first scouts on motorcycle with sidecar reach Pingjum on May 11 at 04:00 o'clock in the afternoon under beautiful weather conditions. The 1. Radfahr-Abteilung is focused on the Wonsstelling and is located on the same day northeast of the village.

The soldiers of the German Radfahr-Abteilung 1 under the command of Oberstleutnant Maximillian Reischsfreiherr von Edelsheim (aka 'Der Alte') use the village as bivouac, nestle in the farms in the straw from where a Dutch detachment disappears and chase their horses in the meadow to graze. The occupiers are doing well to 'Eiercognac' (advocaat), Bohnenkaffee (real coffe), Kwatta chocolate rings and cigarettes. There is no struggle in and around Pingjum, except in the air.

In short. the 1.Kav.Div. reached Lemmer – Harlingen – Statvorem and prepares the attack on the northern dam of the Zuidersee.


Over a provisional bridge, soldiers of the Radfahr-Abteilung 1 pulls a motorcicle across to Achlum............................................

Sources: Die Aufklärer der 1. Kavallerie Division/24. Pz Division.
Von Lemberg bis Bordeaux. Leo Leixner.
Nach Holland. De Meidagenvan 1940 dor Duitse ogen.
https://pingjumgeschiedenis.wordpress.com/b-1940-1945/

Cheers. Raúl M .