some Westfront stuff 553.VGD

[HanSSturm]

Hello friends,

want to show you my stuff from my favourite unit, the 553. Volksgrenadier Division. Have a look and enjoy.

I think documents from the 553rd are very rare. If somebody has something from this unit, please share them too. In this or an own thread.

Thank you.

In the next time I will show you more stuff like relics etc. from this unit.

If I´m contravene the rules, please delete this until I get a full membership.

[matthias_AC]

nice award-document, beautifully signed by generalmajor gerhard hüther... i´ve had an ek1 award document of the same unit/regiment, dated december 1944... have a look here: http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=379500

(the document is not in my possesion anymore)

concerning rareness: i think there is rarer (heer-)documents than 553 vgd ones... i really like them and love to have them in my collection by i woul not consider them "rare". i come across them every now and again...


all the best,


matthias

[brooksbz]

Here is my contribution. A battle report (not translated) and unit entries from his Soldbuch (page 17) and his Wehrpass.

[Lionel H.]

THis is a nice Thread Idea from Hans. It is by far not my main Interest, but I also collect this Unit which was heavily engaged on the Lorraine-Front from September to November 1944.
Thank you for sharing these nice Items Hans and Brooksbz !!
Like most VGD's, there was a bunch of Soldiers coming from the Navy or from the LW (nicknames among old Heeres-Vet's "Hermann Göring Spende"". Here is my first contribution, the SB (get directly by the Widow, for Years) from a former "Matrose" which became a Grenadier in sept.44. He first fought with the Fest.MG.Btl.56 which was engaged since Sept.20th 1944 in the Avricourt-Blamont Area. At Oct.21st, this Unit was integrated to the Rgt.1120 (Tessin).

1) To Hans : Dear Hans, did you have SB's or WP's mentionning Close Combat Days in Lothringen from Sept. to November ?? Woukd be great to share..... and I will do the same
2) To Matthias : I do not share your point of View... The 553. and 559. VGD Award documents are scarce... just mathematically because these are late Divisions.... In your search List, you mentioned the Units you are looking for : My own experience is, for an example, that Award docs from the 21.PD, 3 an 15.Pz.Gren.Div. are much more comment that the two VGD's cited above. In the same time, they are also more collected, the 21.PD was a Normandy-engaged Unit (many collectors...) and both 3.and 15.PGD in Italy (many collectors too !)

The GvB Awards Docs are rare, very collected (Normandy), and, as I know this Unit especially well, the awarding Tradition in this Unit was very particular, especially in PGR.37 and 38... I have (or seen) SB's from Guys having 15-25 CC-Days without being awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class !!

For the other Units you are looking for, you have probably a bigger experience than I do, as I do not collect them...

Interesting debate anyway. Lionel.

[HanSSturm]

Thank you very much for sharing your documents, Lionel and brooksbz !

Very nice stuff ! Its right there were a lot of people from the Kriegsmarine - ordered to the 553.VGD - also from Luftwaffen-Feld units. When I was searching for relics in the battlefields of the 553rd I often found buttons from the Kriegsmarine.

I think like Lionel, that items from the 553.VGD are very rare. I see them very seldom and when I see something it is often heavily overpriced. In the last 2 years I saw notmore than a dozen of offers from this unit.

@ matthics_AC, maybe you have the better sources, Please tell me or show us in this topic if you can get some stuff of the 553. VGD

[HanSSturm]

Not to for forget, the division had so heavy losses that in fall 44 there were at times only 10-20 man per company.

[matthias_AC]

lionel,

and again you are right, but this time i only partly agree with you!

you are right in the way that 21st panzer and 15th panzergrenadier docs are more common in general, and also the reason you gave is correct. they had just been around longer.

but if someone, like me, collects award docs ONLY from certain theaters, docs of the mentioned units are harder to find as well. i, for example, don´t care about docs awarded to members of the 15th panzergrenadier on the southern front (unless it is somewhat cassino-related), i am only lookig for western front 44/45 related award documents. that narrows the pool of documents for certain collectors.

you see, it is always a matter of perspective. in this way documents of the 553 vgd are dispensably scarcer than documents of other units which fought on the western front.

let me know if i have been ignoring facts, i am always willing to learn! nice discussion and topic anyway!


all the best,


matthias


ps.: lionel, maybe show us your podehl-group? i think it would fit in here perfectly!

[brooksbz]

To be honest I thoought the 553VGD was boring. I was wrong. This thread has opened a new door for me! I am curious why you are so attached to this unit? Did they fight nearby? Also if someone could post a quick translation of my document in post #3 that would be great!

Thank you.

[matthias_AC]

To be honest I thoought the 553VGD was boring. I was wrong. This thread has opened a new door for me! I am curious why you are so attached to this unit? Did they fight nearby? Also if someone could post a quick translation of my document in post #3 that would be great!

Thank you.

I will happily do a proper translation for you when I get home from work

[Lionel H.]

A nice one.... Signed Hans-Juergen von Mitzlaff (german Cross 27.1.45). The fact that a simple Major signs a E.K.II Award is not common, but the most surprising is that no formel such "i.V." (in Vertretung) od "F.d.R." (Fuer die Richtigkeit) is employed. Until the end of the War, Iron Crosses / KvK's documents had to be signed by the divisional commander. How many days or Weeks this Major and Adjutant signed the Awards docs, that would be interesting to know !!

Matthias ! I am OK to show more, but I first wait that our new Friend Hans show some good catches from his Collection ! Especially documents with "Nahkampftagen" in my Area Autumn 1944 !

[Brian R]

Cool thread and very interesting to that KVK with Major's signature, Lionel.

[HanSSturm]

Hello Lionel,

I´m sorry but unfortunately I have to disappoint you - these are my only documents at all. To explain it : I started to search on battlefields 6 years ago, aged 14 - the 553. VGD fought literally in front of my door - and until I found out that the unit fighting in my place was the 553.VGD and I started collecting - it took four years. Now I´m 20 - and have to finance my studies at university myself - so I have not much money for my collection - and collect especially ,until I get enough money , docs from late dates January till April 1945

Please have therefore understanding - I will show you therfore relics from my 553.VGD battlefield journeys in Germany.

Thank you very much for sharing Lionel - I´m appreciate this very much !

My english is not the best, please forgive for mistakes in spelling or grammar.


@ brooksbz - I will later show some interesting reports from the 553VGD. (from the reports of the Kdr) Because of copyright i will tap them.

[HanSSturm]

20. November 1944 - The complete 553rd Division was encirceld in the area of Hartzviller and broke with very less casualties through the enemy lines - sometimes the division moved only meters from the enemy .

Also the Battle of Hagenau.

Of course this unit was not a real Attack-Unit, but I like it because it fought in my area and it fought hard and long battles with less man against lots of well equipped enemys.

Considering the KVK-Doc : Grenadier Regiment 1121 was dissolved in Okt.44, the remaining elements of it filled the gaps of Rgt. 1119 and 1120.

The regiment was again at 31. January 45 . In early January , the infantry of the 553rd were summarized in Regiment 1119 for Operation Northwind. There are only named a Polizei.Regiment, Infaterie-Regiment Marbach and Infanterie Regiment 1119. So the document was signed one day before the official realignment of Rgt.1121. Later in February the 1121 Rgt was submitted anywhere else and never heared again.

[Lionel H.]

Hi Hans. I am not disapointed ! It is a great pleasure to read that youstart collecting at 14 - i did the same - also as a digger ! (by the Way, the 553. was well equipped with STG and Gew.43, found a lot a magazin, some of them marked "MkB42".... And now you start collecting Papers, that's a good evolution ! There are a lot of things to learn by digging, and taht is exactly the same with Paperstuff ! You are very Young and you will have plenty of Opportunities to find good paperstuff... Money is not all.... passion and patience are important Weapons too !

So... I did not forget that the 20 years old collectors from now will probably buy the collections from most of us in the Forum in (hopefully) a couple of decades ! As I told before, be patient !!

More by MP tomorrow ! Lionel.

[Lionel H.]

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