Bernhard H.Holst

Hello Richard. Here is my guess: AfK: Ausgabestelle fuer Kraftfahrwesen ( distributionpoint for motoertramsport); M.K.A.: Marinekuestenartillerie ( naval coastal artillery) Perhaps in conjunction with the documents at hand this may make sense. Bernhard H. Holst.

Hello Bob: 1. "Meinem lieben Jungen, Dein Vati" 2. "Mutti's Liebling ? den ? 1944" Bernhard H. Holst

Hi: Yes indeed. He wrote what I would call an autobiography and I believe several contributions to periodic military subjects publications . I do not have his history of Jg.Btl. 10 , the last one offered was too rich for me. But the one volume history by Lt.d.R.a.D. Fritz Jung is quite adequate and is one source for the above post together with the Biblio series on German Army Generals as well as W.Keilig's reference book on the same subject. I should have made mention of sources. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello readers: Perhaps this post may attract some attention and is meant to underline the elite status Jaeger units enjoyed when one sees the subsequent careers of some officers who served in this Jg.Btl. -Gen.Oberst H. Guderian . Even though on detached duty during WW I he returned to the battalion after the war. His WW II career needs no further words. -Gen.d.Pz.Tr. Hermann Balck, Hohenzoller, WW II Diamonds to the K.C. w/Oak-leaves and Swords. (note: Gen Bailck wrote a 3 vol. history of this battalion) -Gen.d.Geb.Tr. Hans Kreysing, Hohenzoller, WW II Oak-leaves and Swords to the K.C.; -Gen.d.Inf. Bodewin Keitel (brother of Feldmarschall W. Keitel with whom he gets confused often because his signature appears on award documents while head of the Army Personnel Office and a certain likeness of their signatures on top of it), had no command of troops in WWII. -gen.Lt. Heinrich Kirchheim PLM, WW II K.C.; -Gen.Lt. Ernst Haccius WW II German Cross.i.G. and K.C.; -Gen.Maj. Fritz Fullriede, served in Res.Jg.Btl.10 and postwar in Jg.Btl. Kirchheim. WW II Oak- Leaves to the K.C. -Gen.Maj. Hans Joachim von Stolzmann, WW II German Cross i. G., Honor Roll Clasp and K.C. I believe this an exceptional record coming from the surviving officer personnel of a rather small size formation which experienced severe losses in all ranks especially during the Battle of Verdun in which and in other battles this battalion fought as a component of the German Alpenkorps Bernhard H.Holst

Hi: review of the regimental history of the 2.Hannoversches Inf.Rgt. Nr.77 shows the formation of a Nachrichten Mittel Abteilung with date of Dec.1916. The wording seems to indicate that this was done to improve the signals situation by concentrating all signals element within the regiment into the Abteilung under command of the Regt.Nachrichten Offizier. Bernhard H. Holst

Hi: The plot thickens? A quick review of the regimental history of the Fus.Rgt.73 resulted in the apparent existence of the regimental "Nachrichten Mittel Abteilung". Also scrutiny of the British "Handbook of the German Army 1918" showed that regiments formed unauthorized " Nachrichten Mittel Abteilungen" personnel for them were drawn from the regimental components. This approach caused a reduction of fighting strength. ( because of the nature of these unauthorized units it seems plausible to me that in the absence of official terms "...abteilung " and ...kompanie" are used interchangeably) Later on regular "Truppen-Nachrichtenabteilungen" were then formed with a strength of 1 officer and from 130 - 150 men, organized in telephone and lamp signaling sections. These Abteilungen were subordinated to the division in technical matters. However I am receptive to any other explanation of the meaning "N.M.K." Bernhard H. Holst

Hi Chris. I believe "N.M.K." stands for "Nachrichten Mittel Kompanie" which one would call Signals Company in English these days. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello readers; Perhaps this post may find some interest: Capitaine Serge Georges Egalite Lucien Gillenaves (surnom de Lancy) . DoB 13 Jul. 1921 commanded the 12.Company of the 13.D.B.L.E. in Vietnam in the 1950's . His name was mentioned by a comrade while en route to Indochina which would have been the second tour of duty overseas for him and my first. He spoke in most favorable ways of this officer who was his company commander during his previous tour. Our ways separated upon arrival in Saigon but I encountered him again while in the field in Tonkin in early 1952 and he told me how happy he was to have been reassigned in his former company the 12.and the commander was the very same. I did not see him again until later in 1952 after that unfortunate retreat from Hoa Binh and he told me of his company commanders death in action. I much later learned that my good friend , the Leg. Erhard Naundorf , Mle. 55842 lost his life on 5.Sep.1952 following a severe wound suffered in action during an operation in Annam (Central Vietnam). ex-By chance I acquired the book "Les Soldats Perdus" about french prisoners with the Vietminh forces and found an article by the former Caporal Chef Helmut Seelig of 12.company who describes his and others effort to bring the captains body with them who was killed right after the beginning of the company's rear movement on 23.Feb.1952. They were unsuccessful and Seelig was taken prisoner and not released until the armistice in 1954. I take the liberty to simply describe two members of the FFL one an officer who by what I remembered having been told and later also read, must have been simply an outstanding officer and my friend, a private who had refused any advancement offered him over the years but seemed to have all the prerequisites to make a NCO and a better one than some I encountered during six years of which 2 1/2 on active service . Some time ago I read a definition of leadership which went like this: "leadership is if you are followed not only willingly but voluntarily". I have yet to find a better one Sources : SGA Memoire des Hommes, "Les Soldats Perdus Pronniers en Indochine 1945-1954" Indo Editions 2005 Bernhard H. Holst ex-Mle 80921

Hello: While I have no pictures to offer it seems appropriate to mention the following distinguished German woman namely Dipl.Ing. Flugkapitaen Melitta Countess Schenk von Stauffenberg who was awarded the Iron Cross II.Class on 22.Jan.1943 as testpilot for the Luftwaffe. She was the sister in law of Oberst i.G. Claus Graf v. Stauffenberg, married to Alexander Graf Schenk v. Stauffenberg who survived the aftermath of his two brothers coup attempt. She was shot down on 8.Apr.1945 by an American fighter plane in southern Germany, managed to land the plane but died a short time later. Bernhard H.Holst

Hello readers: here is some information derived from the regimental history of the 2.Hannoversches Infanterie Regiment Nr.77 of WW I.compiled by Oberleutnant a.D. H. Viereck, 1917-1918 company commander of 3.M.G.Company. The regiment was a component of the 20.I.D. in X.Army Corps. This regiment lost a total of more than 5,200 officers and other ranks in action or missing. One officer of the regiment, Hptm. Hermann Fricke earned the PLM while on detached duty with the flying troops as a recon pilot. - seven officers were awarded the Kreuz der Ritter des Kgl. Hausordens von Hohenzollern, - four non commissioned officers and one Gefreiter received the Kgl. Preussisches Goldenes Militaer Verdienst Kreuz ( royal prussian gold military merit cross) - one hundred fortynine Iron Crosses I.Class and 4,965 II. Class were earned. Both the corps commander, Gen. v.Emmich and the division commander,Gen.Lt. Wellmann were awarded the PLM and also the Oakleaves thereto.Gen. Wellmann shortly before the end of the war. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Dante: Thank you for showing the pictures above. Very nice display and a exquisite item for F.A. Rgt. 10. I am on the lookout for headgear for Jg.Btl.10 and Fus.Rgt. 73 of which I am fortunate to own the tunics. (cannot post pictures). I will soon post some data of Inf.Rgt. 77 derived from the regimental history/ Thanks again, Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Juan. Oberst Buchert was listed in the "Rangliste des Deutschen Heeres 1944/45 " in the section S meaning Offiziere in Sonderverwendungen or officers in special duty posts. Officers listed in this part of the ranklist were those officers who were not deemed suitable to serve with troops and : their promotions were slower than officers serving with troops and these officers rarely saw advancement to General Officers. As you can see Oberst Buchert's assignments were as commandant of cities or troop training grounds. Bernhard H. Holst

Hallo: to just add to Dave's post. The German officer bears a likeness to the later Gen.Lt. H. von Pannwitz, commander of the Cossak formations fighting on the German side in Jugoslavia. The Croatian officer appears to be the Marshall Kravernic (sp.) Bernhard H. Holst

Perhaps this post finds some interest by some readers: After the 1866 inner-german/austrian conflict in which the Kingdom of Hanover found itself on the losing side,and the Hanoverian army was more or less incorporated into the Prussian. Kaiser Wilhelm II in an attempt to "mend fences " decided on several measures to tie the relations closer to gether. The first action in 1899, on the birthdate of Fredrick II the Great ( 24.January) he visited Hannover and in a great ceremony bestowed the old Hanoverian regimental honors on their successor regiments as follows: - Koenigs-Ulanen-Regiment (1.Hannoversches) Nr. 13 the Tschapka bandeau " Peninsula-Waterloo-Garcia Hernandez"; Regiments Chef Seine Majestaet der Kaiser und Koenig . - 2. Hannoversches Ulanen Regiment Nr. 14, Tschapka bandeau as 1.Hann.Nr.13; - Hannoversches Husaren Regiment Nr. 15 bandeau "Peninsula - Waterloo-El Bodon-Barossa"; - Dragoner Regiment (1.Hann.) Nr. 9 , bandeau "Peninsula- Waterllo-Goehrde"; - Dragoner Regiment (2.Hann.) Nr.16 bandeau "Waterloo"; - Fuesilier Regiment (Hann.) Nr.73 bandeau " Peninsula-Waterloo" ; The infantry regiments listed below now all had the "Waterloo" bandeau on their Pickelhaube: -1.Hann.Inf.Rgt. Nr.74, 2.Hann.Nr.77, 4.Hann. Nr.164, 5.Hann.Nr.165,also Inf.Rgt. Nr.78 (Ostfriesisches); Hannoversches Jaeger Bataillon Nr. 10 bandeau " Peninsula-Waterllo-Venta del Pozo"; Hanoversches Pionier Bataillon Nr. 10 bandeau "Peninsula-Waterloo"; Feldartillerie-Regiment (1.Hann.) Nr. 10 bandeau "Peninsula-Waterloo-Goehrde"; The traditions and battle/campaign honors date back to the "The Kings German Legion" formed after Napoleon occupied the Electorate Hanover and many members of the disbanded Hanoverian Army made it to England, the founding dates were established as 1803. Legion units served under the Duke of Wellington in Portugal and Spain. During the War of Liberation 1813/14 hanoverian units were rebuilt on the continent and assisted in the defeat of Napoleon .Hanoverian formations as well as Legion troops fought in the Battle of Waterloo. Another reconciliation act took place in 1901 when Kaiser Wilhelm bestowed the campaign cufftitle "Gibraltar" on three Hanoverian units to commemmorate the three battalions which served during the siege of Gibraltar 1779-1783, namely Bataillon von Reden, de la Motte and von Hardenberg. The three units were: -Fues.Rgt. (Hann.) Nr.73; -Inf.Rgt. (3.Hann.) Nr.79; -Hann.Jg.Btl. 10. I understand the motto of the old Hanoverian Army to have been "Nec Aspera Terrent-Aufwaerts die Herzen" It would lose in translation. Sources: History of the Kings German Legion by Beamish, published in the 1830's Die Geschichte der Hannoverschen Armee by Wilhelm von Wersebe 1928, Rangliste Kgl.Preuss.Armee 1913. Imperial German Officers Helmets and Headdress, Thomas N.G. Stubbs, 2004 Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Veteran. Your version also makes some sense re. "du fait d un tiers" which would indeed imply a third party caused the death. Thanks, Bernhard H. Holst

Hello and thanks, Chris. This sounds plausble and would be expressed most likely as something like this (in my rusty french): "tue d'un fait d'un tir d'artillerie amie..." Witnessed by this writer on some occasions and a very sad occurrence. The expression "d'un fait" is used frequently in cases of accidental deaths incl. where the responsibilty lies. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello: someone on this forum (I believe it was Chris. Boonzair, many thanks) recommended/suggested www.memoiredeshommes.sga.defense.gouv.fr which contains the names of personnel who lost their lives for France in the several more recent conflicts. While it does not lay claim to completeness. I have been somewhat successful in locating the names of several dead belonging to my former unit in the "French phase" of the war in Indochina (as some like to call the 1945 - 1954 conflict in Indochina). I stumbled across several entries which aere somewhat garbled in regards to locations and/or units which I was fortunate enough to decode . However here is one which has me stumped: NGUYEN, Van Uc DoB, Place of birth etc DoD 14-09-1953 at Dong Anh (Tonkin) Genre de mort ( nature of death) : " tue d un fait d un tiers " I have only omitted the accent t'aigue in"tue" otherwise it is as I found it. I have no clue. Any input and guess as to the possible meaning would be much appreciated. I have also noted with much satisfaction that Indochinese members of the French Forces as well as personnel of the French Foreign Legion now have the attribute "Mort Pour la France" while their tombstones then listed "Mort Au Champ D'Honneur". Bernhard H. Holst

Hello , Thanks to Dave Danner for showing Baden and Saxon awards to members of Sturm Btl., I also enjoyed reading the account of Vzfw. O. Krueger, in particular his mention of "gestreckte Ladung " which I believe are known in Anglo-Military terms as Bengalore (Torpedoes). The above mentioned book by Bruce I. Gudmundson lists two Sturm Kompanien with numbers of 13 and 18 which he describes as fitting the overall numbering system applied ( 15 battalions and 2 companies). I have meanwhile found mention of bay. Sturmkompagnie 14 as the unit to which a Unteroffizier d. R. Peter Burkart belonged who received the Bay. Silb. Tapferkeitsmedaille ( Bav. Silver Bravery Medal) with date of deed as 21.Sep.1917 against russian forces. I have not located any recipient of the Gold Bravery medal to a member of Sturm Btl. BTW: Gudmundson also states that personnel for these elite units were not recruited in the conventional way i.e. from certain geographical areas and had no assigned home bases/garrisons. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Dave. Thank you for the additional biographical data on W. Edler v. Graeve and the awards bestowed on other offcers belonging to the Sturm Btl. I shall scrutinise Bruce I. Gudmundson's "Stormtroop Tactics" for information re. additional small units which could be considered "Sturmtruppen". The "Bayerns Goldenes Ehrenbuch" may list recipients of the Goldene or Silberne Tapferkeitsmedaille who served in these elite units. It would be interesting to see a list of Silver Military Karl Friedrich Merit Medal. Bernhard H. Holst

Thank you, Dave Danner for showing the citation for Karl v. Keitz, Sturm Btl. 11 . It may also be of interest that only one officer belonging to these elite units was awarded the PLM, namely Hptm. Wilhelm Edler von Graeve, commander of 2. Sturm Btl. with date of November 8, 1918. W. Hamelman gives a brief description of the citation in his reference book on the PLM but it seems not to be for actions in the "Sturmtruppen" specialties. Of course officers were eligible for the Hohenzoller but I am unaware of any easily researcheable (sp) sources for bestowals to army officers having belonged to Sturmtruppen. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello readers: The Preuss. Goldenes Militaer-Verdienst-Kreuz, also known as the "P.L.M. der Unteroffiziere" was awarded a total of 1,773 times during WW I. About 400 recommandations were pending at the end of the conflict but remained so. The first award dates from late 1916. The ratio of awards to serving other ranks comes to one Cross to 7,200 O.R.. The ratio of Hohenzoller (reserved for officers only) awarded, came to one of 40 potential recipients and for the PLM to one for 480 Recipients of the Goldenes Militaer-Verdienst-Kreuz in the ranks of the Sturmbatailone numbered 27 and were awarded to the following personnel total within Sturmbataillone; - Sturm Btl. 1 -1 recipient; - Nr. 2- 2 recipients; - Jaeger Sturm Btl. 3 -5 recipients; - Nr. 4- 2 recipients; - Nr.5- 11 ( eleven!); - Nr.7 - 1; - Nr.11 - 1; - Nr.12 -1 - Sturmabteilung Marine Korps: 3 , incl. the then Off.Stellv. Bernhard Ramcke , in WW II Gen. d. Fallsch.Tr. and recipient of the Knights Cross to the Iron Cross w/Oakleaves , Swords and Diamonds. While approx. 400 died in action subsequent to the awards, the above seem to have survived that conflict. Sources: F.J. Ophaus "Das Preuss. Goldene Militaer-Verdienst-Kreuz" , 1936, the less valuable Patzwall edition on the same subject. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Paul. A slight correction seems in order: 3rd sentence should read that any question about the nature of the wound (which lead to the death) should be addressed to his unit. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello : Thanks to Bob for bringing up the subject and to Rick and Chip for clarifying it. I was somewhat puzzled by what seemed an odd unit numbering system while reading some Reichsarchiv battle histories . Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Simon. Thank you for showing these articles. The book "Histoire Des Parachutistes Francais" vol. 1 -1975 edition gives the following data on the short history of this battalion: -created 25.Jun.1948 and deployed to Indochina (Cochinchine), -as of end of Jul.1948 until Sep.1949 ops in Annam, (Tourane and Hue area); -Sep.1949 deployment to Tonkin (Hanoi); -Ops in some difficult areas in Tonkin; -Jun. 1950 return to metropolitan France. -Jul.1950 Dissolution of the battalion. Two Unit citations: both Croix de Guerre T.O.E at army level (A l'ordre d'Armee). Therefore it seems unlikely that someone was a member of this unit in 1951. Bernhard H.Holst

Thanks for showing the insignias and the rank badges ( if upside down for the latter) I see the two crests of my former regiments ( Regiment Etranger and 1er Regiment Etranger de Cavalerie/Royal Etranger) A rare bird is the one for the "Compagnie de Discipline " (C.D ) I saw these on "graduates " while with Regiment Etranger (Headquarters Regiment) 1956-1957 . Bernhard H. Holst ex-Matricule 80921