hucks216

Very nice grouping and a bonus with the photos. I would assume that the EK II was awarded for the fighting at the Halfaya Pass.

Nice late war example. Judging by the entry on Page 1 he was captured by the Americans, most probably when the regiment was destroyed at the River Moselle in March 1945 against Patton's 3rd Army.

Nice variant. Signed by Oberst Friedrich-August Runge who won the DKiG in April 1944.

That looks like it could be signed by Friedrich Karl Barner who won the DKiG in October 1943 before being killed in action a month later.

I have Hauptmann Harald Schulz listed as the Kdr of Pz.Jäger-Abt 7 for that period. He won the DKiG in October 1943.

Does his record show any other assignments within the division, such as Stab/Pz.Artillerie.Rgt, Pz.Jäger or Pz.Pioniere as he may well of got the Assault Badge if serving within those sub-units? If it was an Infantry Assault Badge than I would expect the entry to be more specific and actually mention the 'Infanterie' part, as can be seen here with the award of the IAB and PAB to a member of SS-Pz.Rgt 3 (he won the IAB during earlier SS service prior to transferring to the Panzer Regiment.)

I can see why you are gutted about the Soldbuch as judging by the awards page it would of been a great - and rare - example. But still a nice find and with the signature of Major Hans-Georg Lueder (the first commander of s.Pz.Abt 501) in the driving instructors license. Looks like he may well of been captured in Africa in May 1943, in which case he may well of torn out a lot of the SB pages anyway..

That is the signature of Wilhelm Burgdorf. His signature tends to be seen on prelim RK citations. Burgdorf

I can't say that I have seen one of those before either. I have had a flick through the Young & Meinz books on German documents and didn't see it in there although considering the sheer amount of different ID passes in the books I could of missed it.

I'd agree with Andreas. If it says Sturmabzeichen I would assume it to be the General Assault Badge.

It certainly looks like it says Treptow but I don't have any example in my files to compare with.

I would agree with Mervyn in that this should come under the Red Cross sphere for awarding if it goes ahead but with a new medal what does and what doesn't constitute Humanitarian Aid? Would there be a dividing line between such actions as going to an Ebola stricken area and deploying to the West Indies for 6 months every year (as RN warships do) to help rebuild local communities that are devastated by Hurricanes? And if so why? Would there be retrospective awards for the Boxing Day Tsunami or the rescue crews who went to New Zealand and Japan after the earthquakes there? I just can't help thinking Cameron has come up with this to try and have his name/tenure as PM associated with a new medal.

I wonder if it is possible to trace further details for the trainer/owner and the horse?

Nice clear photo. I wonder what became of them in the years ahead?

I wonder how many of those companies in the adverts are still in existence today?

I like the early KIA Wehrpass, just 15 days into the 1940 Western Campaign. It also has the signature of future DKiG winner Walter Hackbarth at he bottom of Page 32. Good to see that the items have managed to stay together.

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.