I have always liked WWII history a lot; the Russo-German war being a favorite subject.
Like other countries that were invaded by Germany, the Soviet suffering was appalling; where this part of the war had its’ own special kind of brutality.
The stories of all ranks in that war are of endless interest for me. I liked reading General v. Manstein’s book, “Lost Victories”. Recently on a trip to Sydney I got a must-read for anyone that likes the topic, “Manstein, Hitler’s Greatest General” by Mungo Melvin. It is a full biography on Manstein. It is very good. And, shocking for v. Manstein’s omissions of any number of bad things you can think of from that period.
A few months ago I was reading about the 1941-era of the war and just happened across a variety of battles that happened around Staraya, Russia. I even took the time to look at Google Earth of the area. There is a small war museum there that looks like it would be worth a visit.
My wife’s grandfather was an ethnic German in Latvia. Their family lived well in the pre-war years. The photo-album has some wonderful photos from those days. The grandfather (Konrad) and his wife were a stunning couple. After the partition of Poland (which included the Soviets getting the Baltic states), their family was moved to Danzig. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, their family moved back to Latvia.
Konrad ended up with some kind of administration job in government. In 1943 he was called up for military service as a signal tech with a German Army interpreter unit.
Recently someone in the family wrote off to Germany where there is a government service that tracks these things.
In incredible detail.
Konrad made it to corporal. After training he was assigned as a signal tech with the 2nd Company, 4th Grenadier Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. The Division’s unit logo is a Lion. If any of you follow that sort of thing like the table of organization of Heer units, you instantly recognize that is one of the Infantry Companies at the top of the organizational food chain.
A quick summary of Konrad’s Army travels while he was with the Division are as follows:
June – Nov. 1943 – Staraya
Dec, 1943 – March 1944 – Newel
Apr – July –1944 –Ostrow
More specifically for Konrad, hospital admissions records show this:
08.04.1944 – South of Gorusha, 12km south of Pleskau, wounded, artillery shell shrapnel, injury to left thigh. Decision: remain with unit.
14.06.1944 – Nemojewo East of Ostrow, wounded, artillery shell shrapnel, injury to left arm. Decision: remain with unit.
Sometime after this, Konrad sent a photo back to his wife. The photo was one that he kept on him of her looking very pretty in the garden. The words on the back stated he wishes he was with her.
This is the remainder of the hospital records:
25.07.1944 – Berjotzki West of Ostrow, wounded, artillery shell shrapnel, injury to neck. Decision: transferred to field hospital.
Deceased:
27.07.1944, 17:55 – Field hospital Walk, Lettland; died as a result of injury. Shrapnel to neck. Spinal cord injury.
Location of grave:
District Cemetery, Walk. We have no information about the present condition of the grave.
2 comments:
have you read Victor Suvorovs book Icebreaker ?
Eric; 2 must reads to put crucial aspects of WW2 in perspective:
'1940 - MYTH AND REALITY' by Clive Ponting. A very illuminating insight into the British political scenario leading up to the war and analysis of RAF and Luftwaffe air capabilities in particular.
'D-DAY; THE BATTLE FOR NORMANDY' by Antony Beevor. A hugely comprehensive analysis of pre-planning for the invasion and the horrific slaughter involving the Allies, Germans and French people. Factual highlighting of the shortcomings of many military leaders and aerial bombing in particular. Little wonder that many high ranking military Officers have historically been largely despised.
These are both essential read works for any student of politic-military history and the savage brutality exposed should stir emotions within anybody.
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