Historic POW capture record--German Armistice Commission

[siege1863]

This “Basic Personnel Record” for prisoners of war was found on ebay. I knew by the date it was a very early record of capture of a German in North Africa, but only after further research of the individual did I realize the historical significance.

Obergefreiter (corporal) Hans Wulf was assigned to the German Armistice Commission based in Fedala, Morocco, and was likely a driver for or an orderly to the officers and military diplomats headquartered there. He and eight others were captured the first day of “Operation Torch” and brought aboard USS ANCON (AP 66) where they were processed the next day. I was very fortunate to find on line a copy of a document detailing the capture and processing of these men, along with a list of their names, ranks, and titles!

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This information comes from the publication “History of United States Naval Operations in World War II: Operations in North African Waters.”

“A unit of the 30th Infantry that landed before daylight made straight for the Hotel Miramar, headquarters of the German Armistice Commission. According to one story, the Germans were about to make their getaway in cars, and all but one of the four officers, as well as six enlisted men, were captured in the hotel courtyard...They were sent aboard the transport ANCON and brought to the United States: the first German prisoners to be taken by United States forces on land.”

Also available on line is a photo of the men being escorted upon their capture...

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GAC prisoner doc-2.jpg (42.21 KiB) Viewed 2319 times

GAC prisoner doc-3.jpg (69.74 KiB) Viewed 2319 times

GAC prisoner doc-4.jpg (19.11 KiB) Viewed 2319 times

[siege1863]

Here is the cover letter to the aforementioned document. Of particular interest is note “2." regarding “the possibility of international incident.” The newspaper article below explains. The story is dated the day before the cover letter.

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German Diplomats.jpg (73.35 KiB) Viewed 2311 times

Here is a photo of the USS ANCON as she looked at the time of the North Africa landings. Most available images show her after conversion to a communications ship.

ANCON.jpg (10.8 KiB) Viewed 2312 times