hucks216

That's correct although there would still be tensions in the area. It is the same for the sailors who served on the first ships who went down to the islands to relieve the Task Force after the fighting had finished. I know someone who served on HMS Birmingham at the time and received his SAM without Rosette just before this Christmas. He wasn't in the theater for the fighting but was on the first ships to arrive there after the surrender.

Yep - checking the Lohmann/Hildebrand volume it shows that he was indeed the Kdr of I.Ersatz-MAA from October 1939 to January 1940. Killed on 14th April 1940 during the Norway invasion as Kdr of Marine-Stosstruppabteilung (Kriegschiffe Gruppe 2).

I don't think so. The header mentions that the letter is from the administration department of Fliegerhorst Stendal so I think it is just an admin official.

I Marine-Artillerie-Abteilung was dissolved in August 1939. Although that stamp says that unit name I think the signature belongs to the Kdr of 1. Ersatz-Marine-Artillerie-Abteilung. The Kdr of I MAA from 1938 to the unit desolving was Dothias Wiarda. The signature looks like it is saying Stornack but I can not find that name in the Lohmann/Hildebrand volume.

Looks like he joined the Artillery unit just in time to take part in The Battle Of The Bulge. Lexikon lists the guns it was equipped with for that offensive... Volks-Artillerie-Korps 403

Are there any entries on Page 17?

Another point of interest is that in 1940 216 Infanterie-Division was the main occupation force for the Channel Islands until April 1941 when 319 Infanterie-Division took over that responsibility.

Very nice example to a unit (Art.Rgt 272) that is actually fairly sort after. He was killed during the fighting in the Hürtgen Forest although his specific place of death is not listed in the Volksbund Database whereas it does appear to be listed in the Wehrpass. There is a decent entry in Lexikon for Art.Rgt 272. Just scroll down the linked page to the relevant unit... Art.Rgt 272 Here are the burial details for him... Karl-Heinz Böttcher ruht auf der Kriegsgräberstätte in Schleiden-Gemünd-Kriegsgräberstätte. Endgrablage: Grab 110 There is a very good book on 272 VGD and the fighting in the Hürtgen Forest by Doug Nash... Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp: With the 272nd Volks-Grenadier Division from the Hurtgen Forest to the Heart of the Reich I've just noticed the signature for the Ost Medal on Page 23. It is that of Harald Schultz who won the DKiG in 1944 with Art.Rgt 205 and the RK in April 1945 as the Commander of 24 Infanterie-Division. He finished the war as a Generalmajor and was released from Russian captivity in 1955.

The date and unit match but I don't have an example in my files to compare it with I'm afraid.

The RKT facing the camera is Leopold Hackl with Bellof wearing the cap. The additional photo shows Ludwig Bellof again (from my own collection.) http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-5995-0-62417000-1421674626.jpg http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-5995-0-10773100-1421674631.jpg

I found Volume 1 to be quite handy really in the same way the Charles Hamilton books are. Most entries only have one signature example with the exception of Hitler, Goering, Goebbels etc. There are some NS related examples such as Hitler's secretaries, Ulrich Graf, Emil Maurice, Dr Theo Morell, Wilhelm Kube and Philipp Bouhler to name just a few. Where this book is better than the Hamilton books is that it also contains signatures from General rank officers (Generaloberst, General der XXXX, Generalleutnant etc) from all the services rather than just those holding the rank of Generalfeldmarschall. When it comes to the biographies of each entry there isn't much beyond a few lines to give some basic information such as date of birth & death, promotion and assignment dates. Volume 2 is due out this year which looks to be concentrating more on the Luftwaffe Flak & Fallschirmjaeger personalities.

Another interesting item and not something I have seen before. Here is a completed DRK Ausweis as seen on page 11 of the booklet.

Interesting little item and a definite collectible in it's own right.

Kurt von Schleicher Born: 07 April 1882 Died: 30 June 1934 - murdered during The Night Of The Long Knives. His wife Elisabeth was one of only three females murdered during the purge. WW-1 General Staff Supreme Army Command Sondergruppe R Defence Minister Chancellor December 1932 to January 1933 (23rd Chancellor of Germany) Image: Promotion citation

That is great, thanks for the information.

Can anyone identify this signature of a Generalmajor from 1936 from Waldenburg please? I thought that it might be Georg Kühn but he was in command of 3.Pz.Brigade during 1936.

Hello all, I have recently acquired a Wehrpass to eventual WW-2 era Oberstleutnant Alexander von Webern who was born 19th December 1889 in Breslau and I was wondering if anyone could shed any light on his WW-1 service, presuming he served as an officer during that conflict? In 1935 he served as a Btl-Führer in IR-Glogau and was a Major d.Reserve in 1939 when he served as Btl-Kdr of Inf.Feld.Ers.Btl 18. In 1940 he served as Btl-Kdr of III/IR 417 before going on to serve in Stab 708 Inf.Division and eventually with Landesschützen Btl 559 in Stalag VIIIB. Unfortunately it does not list any of his WW-1 units or campaigns. He was promoted to Major d.Reserve on 1st July 1936 and to Oberstleutnant d.Reserve on 1st January 1944. Awards wise it appears that he won both the EK II & I on 17th September 1914 unless that is a piece of lazy admin work where the admin clerk just used the date of one for both. Any light that can be shed on his WW-1 record would be much appreciated.

Nice image, and he looks to be wearing the EK II ribbon as well.

It is very difficult to be 100% sure either way. At first I had my doubts because I can not find a reference to Volks-Grenadier-Regiment 1148. There was a 563 Volks-Grenadier-Division but from what I can find out the three infantry regiments (1147, 1148 & 1149) were all titled Grenadier Regiment 1147 etc etc, i.e. not Volks-Grenadier-Regiment. The stamps do cast doubts but I have seen worse examples on genuine items (although it is hard to make out any details due to the watermarking/quality of image). Unfortunately I have no examples of the two signatures in my files to compare against and as of yet I still can't figure out why they all have (VD) on the citations especially as the last one comes from the San-Kompanie whereas the others from the Divisional HQ so was it a case of the Wound Badge being the original example and the other two have been added to beef up the group and so someone has copied the (VD) or is it just something 563 VGD did?

At the time of the awards 563 VGD were situated in the Kurland Pocket. The KvK is signed by Ferdinand Brühl while the EK looks to be signed by Werner Neumann. I don't know why there is a '(VD)' near every signature though. It isn't something I have seen before.

Thanks - that is a nice addition for his entry.

General der Panzertruppe Leo Reichsfreiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg Born: 02 Mar 1886 Died: 27 Jan 1974 Kdr 3 Panzerdivision Kdr XXIV Armeekorps (mot.) Kdr XXXX Panzerkorps Stellv. Kdr LXXXVI Armeekorps General der Panzertruppen West Kdr LVIII. Reserve-Panzerkorps General der Panzertruppen West Inspekteur der Panzertruppen des Ersatzheeres RK - 09 Jul 1941

Certainly looks like his signature and on such an early piece of paperwork makes it a very nice item. It looks like he signed it just before leaving that unit on the 23rd October 1916. Feel free to add it to his entry in the Signature Database... Sperrle, Hugo

Here is the soldier's entry in the Volksbund Database. His body has never been recovered.

Nice clear images. The GD soldier has the look of a young Matt Damon about him!