What's he holding?

[Sturmgeist]

Wow! Then in that case, I'm convinced! About the first photo, That could be a bell, but that may not be him. It really looks as if he is wearing those earlier war, non waffenfarbe, shoulder straps. Does that look like a pistol holster on his back? Looks like an anti tank ditch, and alot of barbed wire in front. A sign is also up. Maybe an unfinished barbed-wire obstacle at his feet?

Thanks!

[Sturmgeist]

I'm not too big on my Great War history, but was there any fighting in North Western France during WWI? Of course you'd have to get there from somewhere, so it is possible that they moved in from eastern France. Just for some reason I really don't think its France though, and the fresh grave is also questionable. I have a photo of him which is 1941+ (He's wearing an M41 Tunic) and hes just a private. Any WWI battlefields in the Crimean regions?

[Frank Schneider]

Hi Brendan,

looking at the countryside, the freshly dug anti-tank trench in the first picture and the info on the 46. ID, my guess would be it's somewhere around Sebastopol. Could you confirm he was in that area?

Frank.

[Sturmgeist]

Hi Frank

I'm in the process of trying to figure that out. My first suspicion about the anti-tank ditch not being around Sevestapol is the fact that it looks as if the man standing there is wearing pre-war shoulderstraps (without the Waffenfarbe). Does it seem like that to you?

[Sturmgeist]

His unit was in Perekop, Kretsch, and other areas of Crimea during later 1941 and the majority of 1942. Sebastopol is nearby that.

[tobi1418]

The guy is carrying the EXPRESS steeringbar of his bicycle. Wehrmacht bicyles were equipped with it to provide stealing--try to steal a bicycle without steeringbar!!