Looking for Specific Heer units:

German Heer 1935-1945.

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Tengland
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Looking for Specific Heer units:

Post by Tengland »

To all,
Looking for any information on specific Heer units formed primarily from wounded or "disabled" Soldats toward the end of the war.
As soldats healed up many were shipped back to their unit or to a new one, but was there any units formed from wounded personnel or "disabled" soldiers? to help fill the gaps in the fronts both on the Western Front and Ost Front?

Danke
Tengland :[]
„Der Kampf für die Wahrheit und das Valor des Soldat muß weitergehen.“
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Tengland
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Re: Looking for Specific Heer units:

Post by Tengland »

Addition to Original Post:

My question has brought no responce but as I continue to read more and search I know "disabled Soldats" were used. Reason for asking is simple. As the war grew to an end and Berlin was within reach, I know the Whermacht was throwing everyone and everything at the Soviets. So, what about the Soldats who had been hurt on the line. EX: Missing part of an arm, ect. Were they too thrown into the front line to help stop the Red Army or Allies?

Reason#2: I am disabled and I was into WWII re-enacting and have thought about getting into again. I have enough land to host unit training and such, but have thought about people like me with disablilites who would like to do this at their own speed and I thought a unit made up of late war "disabled Soldats" would be very intresting. For with each ones disablitly they could use it to show how the German Soldat a man of courage and valor fought to end no matter his condition.

Tom
„Der Kampf für die Wahrheit und das Valor des Soldat muß weitergehen.“
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fridgeman
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Re: Looking for Specific Heer units:

Post by fridgeman »

I know that in the end of the encirclement battle of Stalingrad in 1943 for example, german field hospitals and wounded collecting points were searched for
soldiers capable of walking and shooting a gun. They formed new battalions out of these wounded to reinforce the divisions. It was no usual procedure during the
war, but especially at the end of the war on the eastern front it happened often. There were not only badly wounded soldiers forced to fight again,
but also wounded soldiers who left the field hospitals by choice to get back to their batallion.
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der alte Landser
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Re: Looking for Specific Heer units:

Post by der alte Landser »

Soldiers who were severely wounded and subsequently were listed as disabled (Kriegsbehinderte) were usually discharged unless there was a compelling reason to keep them in service. Soldiers who were seriously wounded or who became very ill and could not return to full duty, could be listed as "fit for duty in the homeland" (Heimatdiensttauglich). Technically, only soldiers who were fit for full duty (Frontdiensttauglich) were capable of combat service.

Many combat soldiers who were wounded severely and then returned to partial duty went to the Training and Replacement battalions of their parent units. There they served as instructors and trainers for new soldiers. Other returning soldiers were posted to the training establishment as staff members at training areas such as Grafenwöhr, Hohenfels, and other locations. Still others might be posted to higher staffs where they were not subject to direct combat, but still had military functions to perform. As big as the German army was, there wasn't really one answer to how this worked.

Of course, there were also thousands upon thousands of German soldiers who received very severe wounds, but then returned to full combat service.
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