heer Stalingrad Infantry Assault

[Chris Boonzaier]

I no longer really collect WW2, but how cool is this?

Remember the film Stalingrad? Or black and white clips of the fighting in the tractor factory in Stalingrad?

A Robert Geib from Duchroth was killed at Kowel in 1944 (if the same guy), but was on his was to Stalingrad when he was awarded his infantry assault badge in August 1942. In September the 389th Division was on the tip of the spear in Stalingrad.... This is IMHO a document that is really "the" eastern Front Infantry Assault doc, slowly destroyed in a "cross of Iron" like battle in Stalingrad... The unit is also pretty well documented in Photos in Stalingrad....

[hucks216]

Nice example.

The advance to Stalingrad commenced on 19th August 1942 so it falls within that time frame although I wonder how many of the 3 assault days were earned before than or if all three are for the 19-22 August time frame? Looks like it is signed by Wilhelm Knetsch who won the Knights Cross in Stalingrad on 8th October 1942.

Do you have extra pieces for this soldier?

[Uffz. Rohleder]

Wow very nice! And thats why i always love such award dokuments!

 

[Chris Boonzaier]

2 hours ago, hucks216 said:

Nice example.

The advance to Stalingrad commenced on 19th August 1942 so it falls within that time frame although I wonder how many of the 3 assault days were earned before than or if all three are for the 19-22 August time frame? Looks like it is signed by Wilhelm Knetsch who won the Knights Cross in Stalingrad on 8th October 1942.

Do you have extra pieces for this soldier?

Hi,

It is a single along with 2 to his Brother (Schutzwall and KVK2).

It is of course possible that some of the days would have been earned earlier. I wonder if he was wounded and evacuated? Most of the regiment seems to have been destroyed in Stalingrad...

http://stalingrad.net/german-hq/sketch-danglemaier/sketch.htm

[hucks216]

He may of been evacuated but there is also the chance that he was wounded in the drive across the Steppe towards Stalingrad (or possibly wounded within the city) and was already safe in a rear hospital long before the Russian counter-offensive closed around 6.Armee - or away from the front on a course or had earned leave at the time his comrades found themselves in trouble.

 

I think I used to have a Soldbuch to a soldier in 389.Infanterie-Division who caught Typhus in October 1942 and this essentially saved his life! Unfortunately I never kept the images of it when I let it go a few years ago.

[Chris Boonzaier]

Hi

Anything possible of course, but I doubt the time was ripe for requesting leave! ;-)

"Ummmm... Stalingrad? Well... i still have some leave saved up... any chance of getting out of here?..."

Without the Militärpass we will never know :-(

I think however that statistically the biggest amount of wounded, and therefore the most likely, would have been a wound and evacuation in late august-September-October, escaping the enclosure.

As always, very hard to guess with a single document :-(

 

[ernie fackler]

On ‎5‎/‎18‎/‎2016 at 11:49, Chris Boonzaier said:

I no longer really collect WW2, but how cool is this?

Remember the film Stalingrad? Or black and white clips of the fighting in the tractor factory in Stalingrad?

A Robert Geib from Duchroth was killed at Kowel in 1944 (if the same guy), but was on his was to Stalingrad when he was awarded his infantry assault badge in August 1942. In September the 389th Division was on the tip of the spear in Stalingrad.... This is IMHO a document that is really "the" eastern Front Infantry Assault doc, slowly destroyed in a "cross of Iron" like battle in Stalingrad... The unit is also pretty well documented in Photos in Stalingrad....

 

Hi,

I am new to the Club.  Is the document for sale? If so, how much?  I'm interested.

Thank you,

Ernie Fackler

South Lyon, MI USA