Feldpost group of a SS-LAH tanker of the 101th

[Bobbe]

Dear All,

I'm posting this my group of feldpost with letters of a SS-LAH Sturmmann who fought in the schwere panzer battalion LAH and then it was employed in the 101th SS panzer battalion.

The group is very interesting because it includes different dates with different Feldpost stamps that indicate some of the units in which the soldier fought.

I also have a copy of the his sheet service. He fought in the second company under the command of Michael Wittmann!

He was captured by the Russians in the final battle for Berlin and then miraculously escaped and was able to return home from captivity.

I have voluntarily obscured the names....


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[Bobbe]

#1

The first envelope is dated 8/22/1943. He is completing his preparation and contained in the letter he asks if you will be part of a corps of armored artillery , or he will be on a tiger ... luck was on his side ... will go shortly thereafter on a tiger!

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[Bobbe]

#2

This is the part of letter where there is the reference to the tiger....

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[Bobbe]

#3

The second is a postcard written on 09/21/43 in a moment of relaxation when Rudolf with the Leibstandarte was in Italy after the Italian armistice of 8 September.

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[Bobbe]

#4

The next letter was written on 02/05/44 while Rudy is fighting on the Russian front with his tiger in the Cherkassy area.

He describes in the letter the extreme weather conditions on the Russian front ... it snows all the time and the mud is thick....

The Feldpost 48165 is of the company's heavy panzer (schwere Kompanie Panzer-Regiment 1 (1. SS-Panzer Division)).


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[Bobbe]

#5

The next two letters were written on the same day 02/15/44.

He asks in one of the letters news about the bombing at home ...

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[Bobbe]

#6

This letter was hand written by Rudolf in a moment of pause on 25/04/44 while he was fighting near Tarnapol

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[Bobbe]

#7

The next I confess that gives me some excitement ... ... written on 06/04/44 two days before the invasion of Normandy!

During this period, the Leibstandarte Rudolf is being prepared in Belgium, tiger training with the company pending the expected invasion by the allies, but was wounded in May for an unknown reason.

Feldpost The 59450C is the second largest of the 101 battalion of Tiger tanks LAH .... 2nd Company, 101st SS Panzer Battalion!


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[Bobbe]

#8

After to have asked to my friend Antonio S. I can also added:

The SS-Schw-Pz-Ab 101 with which Rudolf fought, was rebuilt after the heavy losses suffered in Normandy at "Sennelager" near Paderborn and renamed in September in 501th.
Here was also position the SS-Panzer-und-ers Ausb-Regiment (of which you can 'see the stamp in a letter dated 10/10/1944) which then was headed by Rudolf unit, although Antonio thinks this was positioned a little further north in the "Senne Nordlager" of Augustdorf which we can find traces in the letters.

Here in the "Senne Nordlager" it (you see reported in the letter dated 01/01/1945), which was a training barracks near Augustdorf, he was in those days. In this place was probably taking a course in preparation for the Junkerschule that would lead an officer to be precisely within the SS-Panzer-Unterführer-Lehr-Abteilung (but the stamp is the SS-Panzer-und Ausbildungs Ersatz-Bataillon and the name "Ausbildungs" was next to that simple "Ersatz" and is located for the W-SS troops of this kind only after the war, in fact, the SS-Pz-Ersatz-Abteilung SS-Pz-becomes Ausb-u-Abt-ers).

Thanks to my friend Antonio S. for these informations and your help!

[Bobbe]

#9

The next letter is dated 10/10/44.

During this period, Rudolf was part of 2. SS Panzer Lehr-Abteilung Unterfuehrer and was in Augustdorf.

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[Bobbe]

#10

On 30/12/44, we are at the end of the war for the Germans and Rudy continues to be part of the 2. SS Panzer Lehr-Abteilung Unterfuehrer.

A soldier holding the bag on the back 7. SS Panzer Ausbau Lehr-Abteilung

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[Bobbe]

Tomorrow I will post other feldpost and informations on this group...

Best regards,
Roberto

[Glowlight]

Great history in these items. Thanks for posting and I look forward to more.

[markus]

Great group! A small treasure!

Tonight I only had a short time to view it, but I will take some time this weekend to look at it in more detail!

[Bobbe]

Thank you Glowlight and Markus!

Below the letter of the 4/6/44 written to his father.

Rudolf wrote to his father saying he was in hospital for quite some time.
Here, already hints at the possibility of obtaining a convalescent leave after being discharged. He promises his father to send a telegram to inform him in order to obtain a permit for few days. Then ask the parent how his service.
His father was a naval gunner, perhaps he was in the coastal artillery where most likely consisted of older people ..
He had a second-line assignment, was a coastal artillery service in the Reich..

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