Heer German POW - Gustav Line

[Leib Garde]

Need help in identifying the following drawing of a German Soldier drawn immediately after his capture.

Is G. Oberlander his rank or his name or some sort of title like Military Governor?

The drawing is original WWII art work from my Uncle Johnny (SSG John Alfred Siegel) who fought through the Italian, Middle East, and African Campaigns during World War II with the 88^th "Blue Devil" Infantry Division as a Medic.

The 88^th launched an attack against the German Gustav Line on May 11, 1944 (part of the Italian Campaign's race toward Rome). With the collapse of the Gustav Line, "the Nazis, fighting desperately for time, began a general withdrawal. German prisoners, stumbling back through the rubble heaps that had been their "impregnable" fortification, were dazed, bewildered -- glad to be alive, amazed at the savagery of the attacks hurled at them so suddenly out of the night? They told PW interrogators that Yank troops -- 88th troops -- who swarmed in on their positions were on top of them within seconds after the artillery lifted. And they said that those men, those bearded, dirty, tired, angry, charging men with the blue cloverleaf insignia "fought like devils."

It was during this campaign that on a retrieval mission of fallen soldiers, SSG John Siegel was suddenly approached by twenty some German soldiers, who upon learning he could speak German, asked if he could help them surrender. He managed to march them to a site where he successfully negotiated their surrender. One of the soldiers gave him his uniform belt buckle, which John saved along with his medals and a few pieces of shrapnel collected from the battlefields.

[Simon Orchard]

it's his name

[Leib Garde]

it's his name

Thank you, I was not sure. I know the German's had many ranks that started with Ober,

ie. Oberf?hrerOberst

Oberstleutnant

Oberleutnant

Obersturmf?hrer

Oberf?hnrich

Oberfeldwebel

Oberscharf?hrer

Obergefreiter

Obersch?tze

so I thought this is just another rank or title that I have not heard of. Thank you for helping me clear this up.

Gott mit uns,

Patrick