Defence of Breslau

[88L/71]

In january 1945 the fortress of Breslau was defended by SS-Besselein Abt together with Stu.G Brigade 311. Any hepl about their OOB? Which other units were there? Many thanks

[Doug Nash]

Von Ahlfen and Niehoff's book "So kaempfte Breslau" (How Breslau Fought or The Battle of Breslau), published by Graefe and Unzer Verlag in Munich in the 1960s, gives an exhaustive 8-page OOB that lists all of the units that fought there, so owing to time & space limitations, I'll only list the main ones:
Regiment Mohr (2 battalions from Jg.Ers.u.Ausb.Btl. 49 and Jg.Ers.u.Ausb.Btl. 83, plus support units)
Regimentsgruppe Seybold (Btl. Wuttke, Btl. Roge, I./FSJ Rgt. 26, 3 Btls. of Polizei, plus bits and pieces of other units)
Regiment Besslein (SS-Inf.Gesch.Ers.u.Ausb.Btl. Deutsch Lissa, SS-Pz.Gren.Ers.u.Ausb.Btl. Breslau, SS-Funktions-Unterfuehrerschule Breslau, Heeres-Unteroffizierschule Striegau, Fahr-Ers.u.Ausb.Abt. 28, Veterinaer-Ers.u.Ausb.Abt. 8, plus bits and pieces of other units; Regt. Besslein organized into 4 battalions, plus heavy weapons and supply troops)
Regiment Wehl (Luftwaffe) consisting of 4 - 6 battalions formed from airfield defense troops, mechanics, and ground crew personnel.
Regiment Sauer (portions of Jg.Ers.u.Ausb.Btl. 49 plus other remnants, organized in 3-4 battalions)
Regiment Hanf/Velhagen (3-4 battalions, from Festungs Ers.u.Ausb.Btl. Breslau, Landeschutz-Btl. 599, Standortbtl. II)
609.Inf.Div. (complete with 3 regiments and most of division troops, with the addition of Aufkl.Ers.u.Ausb.Abt. 8, Heeres-Unteroffizierschule Frankenstein, Fahnenjunkerlehrgaenge Gnesen, Pz.Jg.Kp. Hohensalza, plus elements of 269.Inf.Div. that were not able to break out prior to the encirclement)
Artillery: Too numerous to mention (32 batteries in all) but consisting primarily of Festungsbatterien 3048, 3049, 3075, 3076, 3081, and 3082
Panzerjaeger Abteilung Breslau: Bits and pieces of everything imaginable, but primarily consisting of 1 Panzer Kompanie (Pz.Kp. Venske) equipped with 1 Pz.Jg. IV/L70, 2 StuG III, and 6 StuG IV from StuG Brig. 311), 6 Flakpanzer II, 4 SP AT guns, 2. and 3. Pz.Jg. Kompanien equipped with Panzerschreck, 4. Kompanie equipped solely with Panzerfausts
Pionierregiment Breslau
Volkssturm (total of 38 battalions) organized under:
Regiments-Gruppe Hechenleiter, Rgts.-Gp. Wolanke, Rgt.-Gp. Franke, and Rgts.Gp der Hitlerjungend.
Last and certainly least, there was Regiment der Feuerwehrpolizei Breslau
Hope this helps - like I said the list was exhaustive, and I've only hit the highlights.

[Doug Nash]

Forgot to add - the total number of defenders added up roughly to 50,000 men. Of these, 6,000 were KIA and another 23,000 were wounded. That adds up to a casualty rate of 58%, pretty high and an indicator of the ferocity of the defense. This doesn't count, of course, the thousands who died while POWs in the Soviet Gulag. Soviet casualties were estimated to be as high as 30 - 40,000 men, another source lists them as high as 60,000, with 5,000 of those being officers.

[George Harper]

Hello Doug,

I have been trying to decide if I should buy this book for some time now. My chief interest is the Fallschirmtruppe. Can you tell me if this book provides much detail on their part in the defence of Breslau?

Many thanks for any help you may be able to provide.

George Harper.

[Doug Nash]

Good luck finding the book - it's been out of print for years. I got mine from a German on-line bookstore, Antiquitariat Reibetanz. But as far as the FSJ go, here's the complete listing of units:

I./FSJ Rgt. 26 (Kdr - Hauptmann Trotz)
organized with 1. - 5. Kp. per normal KstN.
II./FSJ Rgt. z.b.V. Schacht (Kdr - Hauptmann Skau)
organized as follows:
5. Kp. (Oblt. Bickel) 18 l.M.G., 6 l.G.W., 54 Gewehre;
6. Kp. (Oblt. Hoffmann) armament same as above
8. (Schwere) Kp. (Oblt. Schulzes) 6 s.M.G., 6 l.M.G., 6 s.G.W., 43 Sturmgewehre, + Pionier Zug mit 4 Flammenwerfer
Regimental Troops:
Signal Platoon (Lt. Junghans)
Just a quick scan reveals that these two units are mentioned frequently. Probably worthy of purchase if you can find it.
Hope this helps -

[101stDoc]

Interesting. Do you know if anything has been written substantially on the fighting by some of the civil entities and the like (ie the Gestapo)? I know a few Gestapo members that were wanted in connection with the Sagan Luft III killings (the Great Escape recaptures) were killed in the fighting in this area.

Doc

[Doug Nash]

Sorry, they're not mentioned - wouldn't be surprised if they made good their escape before the city fell, just like their big boss, Gestapo Mueller, made it out of Berlin. The Nazi Party figured prominently in the defense of Breslau though, especially the Gauleiter and his pals.

[Commissar D, the Evil]

Hi Doug, sorry to bother you with this rather trivial quesion, but is there any record of Hetzers being used by the defenders? Just curious.

Best Regards, David

[Doug Nash]

No, they're not mentioned - just the 8 vehicles mentioned in the previous post. Now, it's possible that the 269.Inf.Div., which broke out before the encirclement was complete, had some, but if they did, they took them along. Sorry there's not more information than that. The SP AT guns also shown were mounted on a "Lafett" (motorized carriage) so they weren't Hetzers.

[Commissar D, the Evil]

Thanks Doug, much appreciated! Not a lot of German armor there at all! But an incredibly heroic defense.

Best Regards, David

[101stDoc]

Sorry, they're not mentioned - wouldn't be surprised if they made good their escape before the city fell

Ok. Here's a list of people associated with the Breslau related incidents regarding the Sagan III Escape Retributions:

1) Erwin Wieczorek --- Caught by the RAF investigators in 1948. He was sentenced to death, but the sentence was squashed ultimately. He was involved in the murders of six of the escapers. No clue what happened to him ultimately.

2) Standartenfuhrer Seetzen --- Arrested Hamburg 9/28/45 after being turned in by some of his former comrades. Cyanided while being taken to interrogation and died within two or three minutes.

3) Dr Gunther Absalon --- Unclear what happened to him or how much he was involved with the murders. Has had sightings in the Breslau area as late as 5/46. I've heard three possibilites thus far for him. One is that he was hanged. The second is that he died in a Soviet prison in 5/48. The third is that he died in the Breslau fighting. Who knows...

3) Dr Wilhelm Scharpwinkel --- Gestapo Chief. Caught with faked papers (using them of course) as a officer in No 6 Hospital at Breslau by Soviet agents, who removed him at gunpoint. Soviets refused to cooperate in the investigation though he did later make a statement after a lot of badgering by the other Allies. That was in 9/46. He disappeared shortly thereafter, and was reported dead by the Soviets on 10/17/47. Some believe he was not dead though, and that perhaps the Soviets were...utilizing him. He and Lux were responsible for at least six of the killings along with Lux.

4) Lux --- Gestapo agent and Scharpwinkel's right hand. He was involved in at least 27 killings (over half of the victims) and did most of the killing, even when Scharpwinkel was around. He was reported as being KIA in the Breslau fighting.

5) Obersturmbanfuhrer Max Wielen --- Sentenced to life on 9/3/47. Served a couple years and was released.

6) Richard Haensel --- Acquitted 11/6/48.

7) Kiske --- KIA Breslau.

Pattke --- KIA Breslau. Info I have says he was run over by armored vehicle after being seriously WIA and left on side of a Breslau road.

9) Lang --- KIA Breslau.

10) Kreuzer --- Disappeared.

11) Knappe --- KIA Breslau. Info I have says he was killed by multiple GSWs.

12) Dankert --- Disappeared.

13) Kuhnel --- KIA Breslau.

14) Lauffer --- Suicided.

15) Schroeder --- Served as a material witness during the trials.

16) Prosse --- Died in 1944 due to medical condition.

17) Hampel --- Not tried.

Anyone know what happened to any of these blokes?

Doc

[101stDoc]

GAH! Does anyone know how to do an EIGHT and avoid that smiley face syndrome? Do I need to put a dot in front?

Doc

[Andy Phillpotts]

...as far as the FSJ go, here's the complete listing of units:

I./FSJ Rgt. 26 (Kdr - Hauptmann Trotz)
organized with 1. - 5. Kp. per normal KstN.
II./FSJ Rgt. z.b.V. Schacht (Kdr - Hauptmann Skau)
organized as follows:
5. Kp. (Oblt. Bickel) 18 l.M.G., 6 l.G.W., 54 Gewehre;
6. Kp. (Oblt. Hoffmann) armament same as above
8. (Schwere) Kp. (Oblt. Schulzes) 6 s.M.G., 6 l.M.G., 6 s.G.W., 43 Sturmgewehre, + Pionier Zug mit 4 Flammenwerfer
Regimental Troops:
Signal Platoon (Lt. Junghans)
Just a quick scan reveals that these two units are mentioned frequently. Probably worthy of purchase if you can find it.
Hope this helps -

A very interesting post Doug:

I was wondering about this item in your list-- the 5. Kp. (Oblt. Bickel) has 18 l.M.G., 6 l.G.W., 54 GEWEHRE. Did this list say JUST Gewehre (rifles) or did it specify Sturmgewehre {assault rifles like in the 8. (Schwere Kompanie)}? Or perhaps the rifles they mentioned were Selbstladegewehre (semi-automatic rifles)? It just seemed odd to me that they would find ordinary bolt-action Kar98k rifles worthy of mention, and not mention other small arms like submachineguns (Maschinenpistolen) or Pistolen (pistols), or the more exotic Fallschirmgewehr 42. Also, one would expect that with limited numbers of weapons and personnel available, it would make more sense to issue a weapon like the Sturmgewehr 44 to the men in the rifle companies where the men would be more likely to engage the Soviet troops at ranges under 400 metres, and where the high firepower of the weapon would be most needed. With the exception of the men in the Pionierzug, the men of the 8. Kompanie would be engaging the Soviets with their heavy mortars and heavy machine guns at greater distances, so they might not have as great a need for the StG 44.

Also, did the II./FSJ Rgt. z.b.V. Schacht have a 7. Kompanie?

Finally, does the book mention what the "normal" KStN of I./FSJ Rgt. 26 were and what equipment these companies had? [e.g., KStN 8121 (L), 20 l. MG, 3 8cm kurz Granatwerfer 42 (Mortars), 4 officers and 162 NCOs and men etc.]

Thanks,

Andy

[Doug Nash]

Sorry - that's all it said was "Gewehre". No 7. Kp. was listed. The FSJ Rgt. z.b.V. was a "special" unit in the sense that it was made up ad hoc, so to speak. As far as I/FSJ R 26, apparently von Ahlfen didn't think it deviated from the norm, while the Rgt.z.b.V. deserved special mention because it was equipped differently and had more weapons.

[past]

Hi

Does anyone know about SS Speckman in Festung Breslau. I found in Poland short information about small" battle" near Breslau. It was battle near Peiskerwis (Oder River) . I know that russian destroyed in forest near Oder 11 company from SS Besslein about 100 people , but in this polish article I found information about SS Speckmann ar Speckman???? and strange information about soldiers from Slovakia????????

about paratroopers , I know that in Festung they was in North line. Some paratropers was(I'm not sure) in Sachsenheimer force near chemical factory raid in Brzeg Dolny.



Past