Feldgrau.net

I am researching the Rennes Military Hospital which contained the Allied wounded POWs from D-Day. I have found several Landschutz Battalions stationed in the area and would like to figure out which one guarded the hospital on Rue Jean Mace'. The hospital fell under the jusidiction of FrontStalag 221 or 221W.

I have found the following units in the Rennes area.
LS Battalion 454
LS Battalion 753
LS Battalion 658

The reports from the POWs indicate that the guards were Austrian and Polish. Any idea which of the LS Battalions they were from? Also any details on the said unit would be great.

Dale
LTC USA (retired)

LS Battalion 454 - raised in Bonn
LS Battalion 753 - raised in Bad Kreuznach
LS Battalion 658 - raised in Hamburg

PM also sent which might help.

Hmm. None of those sound like the right units since they are all from central Germany. I am using another post in this forum as the basis of the units in the Rennes area.

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=24402&p=175874&hil ... es#p175874

I didn't get your PM.

Hello,

OK. Had a further look into this.

Landesschützen Battalion 753 do figure in the Rennes equation. They were certainly in the area in early part 1944 and do appear to have guarded Frontstalag at Laval.

However, troops from 753 were taken to form a Security group and subsequently members of this Security group were placed into a Landesschützen-Ersatz-Bataillon 13. During its existence Landesschützen-Ersatz-Bataillon 13 evolved and was renamed into the following:
Landesschützen-Ersatz- und Ausbildungs-Bataillon 13
Landesschützen-Ersatz-Bataillon I./13
Landesschützen-Ausbildungs-Bataillon I./13
Landesschützen-Ersatz- und Ausbildungs-Bataillon II./13
Landesschützen-Ersatz-Bataillon II./13
Landesschützen-Ausbildungs-Bataillon II./13

However I have found that this unit was indeed in the Rennes area in 1944 and did specifically provide manpower to guard Frontstalag 221. I should add that Landesschützen-Ersatz-Bataillon 13 was raised on 23rd February 1940 in Sulzbach, Wehrkreis XIII.

Hope this helps!
Kind Regards,
Simon.

Sulzbach is in south Germany so I am trying to noodle out how POWs report that they were guarded by old Austrian and Polish guards. Do the LS Battalions draw personnel from areas other than their Wehrkreis?

I don't see the LS 13 in that other post regarding troops in the Britanny area. Are these guys falling under a different reporting structure than the Kommandtur?

sirjahn wrote:Sulzbach is in south Germany so I am trying to noodle out how POWs report that they were guarded by old Austrian and Polish guards. Do the LS Battalions draw personnel from areas other than their Wehrkreis?

I don't see the LS 13 in that other post regarding troops in the Britanny area. Are these guys falling under a different reporting structure than the Kommandtur?

By 1944 anything is possible. These Landesschützen Battalions did initially draw manpower from their local area, and their local Divisonal unit, but they were also fed piecemeal into any gaps elsewhere. It's quite feasible for an Austrian or two to end up with them.

Indeed the troops guarding the Frontrtalag would come under a Kriegsgefangen-Bezirks-Kommandant.

The POW reports seem to indicate that the guards were either Austrian or Polish and that the Polish got the worst guard duties like walking the perimeter. The only names I have are for two doctors that were there and maybe one NCO.
MAJ Gerhardt(?) Enzinger Oberstabartz
CPT Lummp Stabartz
SSG Curick (also called Cwuck)

I am trying to find out more detail on the guards to flesh out the hospital history for my Father story I am writing. He was an 82nd AB trooper wounded and captured on D-Day and kept at Rennes Military Hospital until he escaped during the bombardment of Rennes on 1 August 44.

sirjahn wrote:The POW reports seem to indicate that the guards were either Austrian or Polish and that the Polish got the worst guard duties like walking the perimeter. The only names I have are for two doctors that were there and maybe one NCO.
MAJ Gerhardt(?) Enzinger Oberstabartz
CPT Lummp Stabartz
SSG Curick (also called Cwuck)

I am trying to find out more detail on the guards to flesh out the hospital history for my Father story I am writing. He was an 82nd AB trooper wounded and captured on D-Day and kept at Rennes Military Hospital until he escaped during the bombardment of Rennes on 1 August 44.

Yes I've seen your similar request on Triggertime. Have you obtained any records from the International Committee of the Red Cross? They will have made a report on the hospital at Rennes at some point. Although it will not include mention of supporting guard units it will include more names of medical staff that were there.

I look forward to reading the book when it is finished.

Best of Luck!
Simon.

I have sent away to the ICRC about 7 months ago now and when I sent a follow up email they said the response would take a year. I guess they have a one armed 78 year old working on the requests. J/K. I had requested info on my Dad and if the would any info on Rennes Military Hospital. Was there another way or form to ask the question?

My wife keeps calling this a book too but I hadn't thought of it that way, just a docudrama of my Dad's course from D-Day through liberation.

I have gotten another couple of sources and the Oberstabsartz's name could be Entziger and the Stabsartz's name could be Lump or Lumpp.

I have gotten a response from my Bundesarchiv researcher and it appears that the LS Battalion 971 got incorporated into Sicherungs Regiment 195 as Battalion IV. LS 971 which was from Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren including parts of old Poland. Another candidate is LS 907 was from Lienz in Austria which became Landesschützen-Ersatz- und Ausbildungs-Bataillon I./18 which may have provided replacements to the Sicherungs Regiment..

I am still waiting any additional information on the structure of the battalion (companies, weapons, vehicles) and what German Medical units supported/ran the Hospital. I wonder if the Sicherungs Regiment has a medical staff that would have done this work.

I got a reply from the ICRC and they have no record of my father. Bummer. They suggested getting a hold of the French Red Cross in Paris. I did that and it has been 5 months and no response.

There is a decided lack of information on the web regarding German medical units in France during the period. I have found a reference to Kriegslazarettabteilung 612 (1.-4. Kriegslazarett 612) (KStN 1304, 1352) and Sonderlazarett 948 that was under the Armee Sanitätstruppen. No location given. Anyone have anything on the 612 or 948?

still no information on the POW guards. I went to NARA and found the Admissions and Dispositions record from the POW hospital in Rennes. My Father's name was recorded on the date he reported. Cool. I have transcribed the entired A&D into a spreadsheet and am verifying as many of the Allied POW entries as I can.

Got my information back regarding the Kriegslazarett 612 and one element 4./612 was stationed down the street from the POW hospital in the Hotel Dieu where it treated German wounded only. So still looking for anything on the German staff of the POW hospital. Nothing on the Landschutzenbattalion worth mentioning from the Bundesarchiv research.

I now have a clear signature for the Stabsarzt at the POW Hospital and it appears to be the last name is Lumpf. I have done some searching and can't find much on anyone named Lumpf.

Also on the Oberstabsarzt I have found a War Crimes investigation on a suspicious death and they reported finding him in Frankfurt in 1947. So being a doctor I would think he would have an office and a phone. Does anyone know of a Frankfurt phone directory in that time period?

There is probably a copy of the phone book in the U.S. EUCOM Intelligence Center Frankfurt/M. records at NARA.

But you would be far better off in terms of time and cost if you e-mail the Stadtarchiv in Frankfurt/M. and ask them if they have any information on the doctor and explain why you want the information. They will have information on every MD who practiced in the city in 1947 - addresses, licenses, etc. You could also contact the physicians' professional associations for information, including his last known address. Armed with that and his first name, you could then search for any family or relatives using the German telephone directories.

L.