Wound badge documents.

[J Temple-West]

I'm posting these douments for Joe.

Over to you, J.C.

[J Temple-West]

+1.

[J Temple-West]

+2.

[joe campbell]

i present these for your consideration and perusal.

my compliments to the moderator for his assistance in posting them.

thanks, john!!

all three are for a single wound, one black, one silver, one gold.

the gold also has what i think is his release from the wehrmacht.

each holds some interest to me.

BLACK:

- very late war(23 april 45 and 24 april 45)

- i think not issued to a soldier, but perhaps

someone in civil defense??? any thought are appreciated.

SILVER:

- a beautifully done script

- perhaps still reflective of an optimism

in the summer of "42"????

GOLD:

- for a single wound; must have been a bad one

- months between date of wound and his release

from medical care

- most interesting is that it is a wound received,

if i am correct, near Stalingrad, and for that

matter, rather late on in the "campaign".

(i am assuming this Woronesch is the

german for Voronesh outside of stalingrad)

i would be most appreciative of any thoughts

or info anyone can provide.

many thanks!

joe

[Chris B.]

Hi Joe. That first black woundbadge award is pretty poignant. You can just picture that Oberstabsarzt sitting in some bunker somewhere thinking, " This country is sliding into oblivion and I'm filling out these senseless forms for these poor souls . Five and a half years of this, when will it end?" Cheers, Chris B.

[joe campbell]

chris-

i agree.

i can understand the silver and the gold,

but 24 april, 1945????

joe

[Guest Rick Research]

Hauptgefreiter Paul Steinhoff's April 1945 BWB document indicates he was a member of a naval unit with Feldpost number M46670. Someone with the WW2 Feldpost books should be able to identify that for you. The stamp appears to be from an army Landessch?tzen Bataillon, and it was signed by army medical major "Scribble" at Kellinghusen near Kiel, so being flung back by the British. Probably a composite remnants group with naval personnel tossed in as infantry.

Unteroffizier Hoffmann's 16 month delay in receiving his SWB, and the fact that it was issued at the Wetzlar Wehrbezirkskommando suggests he was discharged as a cripple. Oberst ( in the (S) list, seniority 1 September 1941 #34) Brass ("Bra?") was WBK commander before the war as well, as an Oberstleutnant (E) 1.8.38 #37

Brass had served in Infantry Regiment 88 before and into WW1--

Leutnant 17.9.06 Hh (vorpatentiert seniority 1907 suggests born circa 1885/6 )

Oberleutnant 28.11.14 (seniority unknown, in wartime List gap 1915-17)

Hauptmann 18.4.16 B2b

and aD in that rank, so brought back as a Major (E) in the early/mid 1930s. I don't find him in the wartime Prussian HHOX or Waldeck award rolls, but being XVIII. Armeekorps, Brass probably had something from Hesse-Darmstadt.

Kalff's Discharge Certificate should bear the REASON for his release from the service, but that line is obscured by the top of his GWB document as photographed. Afraid I can't read the signature of the medical colonel who signed his, either-- some things are universal to doctors!

[Simon Orchard]

The marine FP number shows a Marine Lehr btl. iirc. i'll get the proper name for it when i have access to my books.

WB docs filled out in rear areas and some time after the fact can often be found with more ornate writing.

The gold one is very interesting, I hardly want to think of the story behind it. I guess he was lucky to have come out of it with his life as both his regiment and division (the 377 ID) were destroyed at Voronesh.

Edited August 25, 2005 by Simon Orchard

[joe campbell]

rick and simon-

Astounding!

thank you for your rounding out the

story.

joe

[Simon Orchard]

M46670 belonged to 5 Marine-Lehr-Abteilung which was then used to form Marine Sch?tzen Regiment Kopenhagen in March of '45.

[Laurence Strong]

I hope you don't mind jumping in here's one to a Pz unit in a Ski Bttn!!!

[Laurence Strong]

And the photo of the signee Maj Karl Neubert (RKT 4.10.44). Not only were they a Pz Komp in a Ski Bttn, but they used 22 T34's issued to them on 01.45.

[Guest Rick Research]

Must have been hard keeping the giant skis on those tanks!

Now that is probably The WEIRDEST unit I've ever heard of!

[Simon Orchard]

I remember that one Laurence

The 1 Skij?ger Division is one of those fascinating units the Heer seemed to have quite a few of. A lot more interesting than one of those boring W-SS panzer divisions

BTW, Thomas Huss has a small grouping for sale at the moment to the same batallion.

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