From Press Photo to Book Illustration

[foundy]

SS Kriegsberichter Wisnewski

Hi Ron

Excellent series of SS Kriegsberichter photos, some i have seen before but did not know they were from Wisnewski.

A little bit more information to go with what Marc has posted.

Wisnewski was in Karelia with SS Nord , from april / may 1942 through to december 1942.
When he was transferred to the SS KB abteilung Stab gruppe-bildpresse around December 1943. And covered various assignments including as Marc as said at Sennheim.
He was transferred to SS KB Zug 7 around june-july 1943 , which matches with the photos, and at least some of the KB Zug must have stayed at the Leningrad front with the KG Polizei division.
Later been transferred around February 1944 to the 2 Zug SS KB Kompanie 3 with the III SS.Pz.Kps at Narva where he was killed.

[RonR]

Many thanks guys for that information.

Here are a few more photos from the previous role of film #187.

Interesting the Gebirsjager patch on this soldier........


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[RonR]

34

[RonR]

56

[RonR]

Really like his weapon.....


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[RonR]

910

[RonR]

And one form a previous role #184 in "Leningrad" to include a Luftwaffe soldier.........


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[MarcRikmenspoel]

The mountain trooper was probably from the 5. Gebirgs Division, which fought in that area. HG Nord dealt with its constant crises, and constand shortage of reserves, by shuffling battalions around. So if I division's zone was quiet, a battalion or two would be pulled out and sent to the hottest spot. This meant that units were all mixed up in the heat of a battle, then would be sorted out in between, only to get mixed up again when the next Soviet offensive began. From January 1942 onward, HG Nord, just around Leningrad, faced the Volkhov Offensive (January through June), the First Battle of Lake Ladoga (September - October 1942), the Second Battle of Lake Ladoga (several phases January - March 1943), the Third Battle of Lake Ladoga (July - August 1943), follow-ons to the Third Battle in September-October which finally took Sinyavino on the 6th try, and then the January 1944 offensive which finally drove the Germans back to Narva, and away from Leningrad once and for all.

Most of the above info comes from Glantz's The Battle for Leningrad book, which has extreme detail about these matters.

[MarcRikmenspoel]

About the LW soldier, the 9. and 10. LW divisions (by late 1943 run by the Heer and known as Feld Divisionen (L)) were just west of Leningrad, helping contain the Oranienbaum Pocket. The KG SS-Polizei Division was the next unit to the west of them on the Oranienbaum perimeter. So it makes sense that Wisniewski would encounter LW guys. Roll 184 would probably have been taken during the lulls between the Second and Third Ladoga battles.