Small Group Double TANKKILLER K.I.A. bei Orel 1943 / 7.I.D. !

[HouweTrouwe]

Beautiful set !! Thanks for sharing.

[Hofstetter]

great set , must have been interesting to hear the family story,
thanks for showing

[christof]

2 Sonderabzeichen, caramba very good

Thanks for sharing

[mvm71]

Can anyone translate the letter written to the parents describing what happened to their son?

I'm sure it's interesting.

Thanks in advance,
Mike

[mvm71]

Anyone??

Can anyone translate the letter written to the parents describing what happened to their son?

I'm sure it's interesting.

Thanks in advance,
Mike

[peterm]

Hi Mike!

Concerning his death the letter only says, that he was killed by a grenade after he had left his bunker in the morning. That happend in the Orel-area on 29.07.1943 at 7am.

Kind regards, Peter

[MarcRikmenspoel]

Some officers in the 7. ID had powerful friends in the OKH. I don't remember any of the specifics from when I read about this years ago. However, these connections not only ensured plenty of decorations, it also meant that the 7. ID was one of the only units in the Heer to be equipped with the taper-bore 7.5cm Pak 41. This had much more penetrating power than the conventional 7.5cm Pak 40.

You can read a bit about the 7. ID and its use of the Pak 41 in Robert Forczyk's Osprey Duel volume on Panzerjaeger vs. KV-1.

About decorations, I haven't personally counted, but supposedly the 4. Panzer Division and the 5. SS-Panzer Division Wiking had the most awards of the German Cross in Gold of any units of the German military.