In the OOB for the Aachen battles of 1944, there are a few odd units that show up. Two of these are the 78th and 313 AB (Ausb ? Training ?) battalions. Does anyone have any information on these units ?
thanks,
Mad Dog
78, 313 AB battalions ?
Moderator: John W. Howard
Re: 78, 313 AB battalions ?
Hi MadDog,
You are probably right about the Ausbildung aspect.
As 302 and 305 Westheer Bataillonen were incorporated into 49 Infanterie-Division at the Versprengten Sammelstelle Aachen the division was also strengthened with the Luftwaffenfestungs-Bataillonen you name in your post in the Luftwaffe section.
A look at 49 ID in Tessin's work and on Lexikon-der-Wehrmacht shows that the units you are looking for here may be Grenadier Ersatz und Ausbildungs Bataillon 78 and Gr. Ers. und Ausb. Btl 313.
There is some confusion here though. Tessin puts a questionmark behind 78 whereas the Lexikon states that the bn became part of 49 ID for sure. 313 is not mentioned in the Lexikon and Tessin says that it was not mentioned in the "Aufstellung der Kampfgruppen" of september 44.
Apparently both units were in the area though 313 remains a very big question.
49 ID was destroyed in the battle of Mons and "rebuilt" starting 7 september 1944 in the Aachen area as a Kampfgruppe. If I interpret the information correctly 302 and 305 Westheer Btl were at the disposal of the division starting on 21 october and the LW btl and 78 from 28 oktober. (in this entry Tessin puts no questionmark behind 78!)
Also Fest-MG-Btl 31 and Fest-Inf-Btl 1423 were at the disposal of the division/kampfgruppe from 28 october.
Exact dates at which the various battalions appeared in the area I can't find but I would guess that they weren't deployed before they became part of 49 ID.
Anything else on composition and weapons of the battalions?......sadly: nope!
Hope that helps you along a little further,
Paul
You are probably right about the Ausbildung aspect.
As 302 and 305 Westheer Bataillonen were incorporated into 49 Infanterie-Division at the Versprengten Sammelstelle Aachen the division was also strengthened with the Luftwaffenfestungs-Bataillonen you name in your post in the Luftwaffe section.
A look at 49 ID in Tessin's work and on Lexikon-der-Wehrmacht shows that the units you are looking for here may be Grenadier Ersatz und Ausbildungs Bataillon 78 and Gr. Ers. und Ausb. Btl 313.
There is some confusion here though. Tessin puts a questionmark behind 78 whereas the Lexikon states that the bn became part of 49 ID for sure. 313 is not mentioned in the Lexikon and Tessin says that it was not mentioned in the "Aufstellung der Kampfgruppen" of september 44.
Apparently both units were in the area though 313 remains a very big question.
49 ID was destroyed in the battle of Mons and "rebuilt" starting 7 september 1944 in the Aachen area as a Kampfgruppe. If I interpret the information correctly 302 and 305 Westheer Btl were at the disposal of the division starting on 21 october and the LW btl and 78 from 28 oktober. (in this entry Tessin puts no questionmark behind 78!)
Also Fest-MG-Btl 31 and Fest-Inf-Btl 1423 were at the disposal of the division/kampfgruppe from 28 october.
Exact dates at which the various battalions appeared in the area I can't find but I would guess that they weren't deployed before they became part of 49 ID.
Anything else on composition and weapons of the battalions?......sadly: nope!
Hope that helps you along a little further,
Paul
Re: 78, 313 AB battalions ?
Thanks again Paul. These fiddly little units are certainly hard to track. I was hoping Tessin might mention the # of companies in them.
When you say "at the disposal of the 49th division", do you mean formally incorporated (organic) ?
thanks,
Tom
When you say "at the disposal of the 49th division", do you mean formally incorporated (organic) ?
thanks,
Tom