Looking for: Panzer-Lehregiment and Afr. Schutzen Reg.

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NicolasEll
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Looking for: Panzer-Lehregiment and Afr. Schutzen Reg.

Post by NicolasEll »

Dear all,

I am looking for Veterans of and any info on the Panzer-Lehregiment (Wünsdorf: 1939-40, France 1940...), later Afr. Schtz. Regiment 963 (Heuberg, Paros-Greece 1943-44), this is to find information on my grandfather who was in these units and later missing in action in the Ballaton offensive in March 1945. He also participated in the Spanish Civil war (is there any specific source on German ground troups in Spain?).

Thanks,

Nicolas
I am looking for any information on the Panzer-Lehrregiment (Wünsdorf, France), and the Afr. Schtz. Regiment 963 (Heuberg, Paros-Greece) in which my grandfather, Leutnant Ludwig Preller served. Thanks.
Paddy Keating

Post by Paddy Keating »

What did your grandfather do to end up in the 999. Afrika Leichte Division? He was clearly an experienced, time-served professional soldier who had served in Spain and the 1939-1940 War before getting into whatever trouble saw him ending up in a Himmelsfahrt-Kommando.

PK
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NicolasEll
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Post by NicolasEll »

Paddy Keating wrote:What did your grandfather do to end up in the 999. Afrika Leichte Division? He was clearly an experienced, time-served professional soldier who had served in Spain and the 1939-1940 War before getting into whatever trouble saw him ending up in a Himmelsfahrt-Kommando.

PK
I must admit I know very little about my grandfather but I do have an "Adjudants-heft" from him from when he was involved in the setting up of the Afrika-Schützen-Regiment (mot) 963 in january 1943 (Truppenübungsschule Heuberg). He was Leutnant at the Staff of the Bataillon, which indeed was composed of "criminals" (so called for some I suppose, both "political" and "common"). I do not know if he got court martialed; my understanding is rather that to put together these units the Wehrmacht had to rely on (NS?)-loyal officers... what do you think? (I do not have a preferred version, I just would like to know more!)

Whatever the case, due to the situation in Africa, the 963 regiment was desolved before being sent there and the units were than stationed in Greek islands (sounds more like a Riviera rest than a punishment?). There my grandfather spent a year and a half in Paros; longing for the "decisive action" (and the Endzieg! according to a lettre of June 1944)...

Bei Himmelfahrt-Kommando I suppose you refer to the 999. Leichte Division's status of penal unit? Below an info I found on another forum:

If it were a penal unit; i.e., purely punishment purposes, I do not believe he would have received an award. I believe Dal was correct in his assessment of the 999 Afrika Leichte Division, the last division to arrive in Afrika in late March 1943, when he stated this unit "made up mainly of rank and file German soldiers who had been court martialled and had been given a chance to redeem themselves by service to this special division. It was not a penal unit, and the officers and NCOs were drawn from normal training schools and replacement drafts."

Dal McGuirk, Rommel's Army in Africa, page 48. :
I am looking for any information on the Panzer-Lehrregiment (Wünsdorf, France), and the Afr. Schtz. Regiment 963 (Heuberg, Paros-Greece) in which my grandfather, Leutnant Ludwig Preller served. Thanks.
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Re: Looking for: Panzer-Lehregiment and Afr. Schutzen Reg.

Post by NicolasEll »

Hi all,

Here is the info I got from Waast, any help as to the whereabouts and movements of these units (especially after Greece, after Oct. 1944) would be very appreciated!

Vielen Dank
Nicolas


Ludwig Preller, geboren am 22 August 1916 in Fürth, Bayern

Dienseintritt: 04.11.1937
Ekennungsmarke: -130 – 8./Panz.Lehr-Rgt.
Dienstgrad: Leutnant
Hemeitanschrift: Ehefrau Irmgard Preller, Fürth, Tannenstr. 6

Truppenteile:
04.11.1937 14. Kompanie/Infanterie-Regiment 63
lt. Meldung v. 19.09.1940 8. Lehrkompanie/ Panez-Lehr-Regiment
lt. Meldung v. 07.06.1941 4. Kompanie/Infanterie-Regiment (motorisiert 900)
16.12.1941 Genesenden-Kompanie/Panzer-Jäger-Ersatz-Abteilung 3
15.03.1942 Restkommando II./Panzer-Lehr-Regiment
03.09.1942 1. Kompanie/Panzer Grenadier-Ersatz-Bataillon 8
25.09.1942 Stamm-Kompanie/Panzer Grenadier-Ersatz-Bataillon 8
Abgang: 14.11.1942 zur Verfügungs-Kompanie 233
26.11.1942 Stamm-Kompanie/Panzer Grenadier-Ersatz-Bataillon 8
lt. Meldung v. 05.05.1943 Stab III./Afrika-Schützen-Regiment 963
27.07.1943 20. Kompanie/Festungs-Infanterie-Bataillon 999
lt. Meldung v. 02.10.1944 Stab V./ Festungs-Infanterie-Bataillon 999
20.11.1944 Stab/Feld-Ersatz-Bataillon 356
Zugang: v. Führer-Reserve-Heeresgruppe C
Abgang 11.12.1944 zum Grenadier-Regiment 870

Lazarettaufenthalte:
16.10.1941 in Malizkaja schwer verwundet;
an Haupt-Verband-Platz abgegeben,
17.10.1941 in Kriegslazarett 906 aufgenomme: Pistolenschuss-
Verletzung am linken Schulterblatt,
29.10.1941 verlegt ins Reserve-Lazarett Rastenburg,
08.11.1941 verlegt ins Reserve-Lazarett Wernigerode,
02.12.1941 dienstfähig- zur Truppe entlassen.

Eine Vermissten- bzw. Gefangenen- oder Todesmeldung liegt nicht vor.
I am looking for any information on the Panzer-Lehrregiment (Wünsdorf, France), and the Afr. Schtz. Regiment 963 (Heuberg, Paros-Greece) in which my grandfather, Leutnant Ludwig Preller served. Thanks.
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Re: Looking for: Panzer-Lehregiment and Afr. Schutzen Reg.

Post by NicolasEll »

Hi all,

I have started to put together some of the info found on my grandfather on this blog:
http://enanosin.wordpress.com/2013/06/2 ... g-preller/
any additional infos on the units and locations mentioned is more than welcome!
Thank you
Nicolas
I am looking for any information on the Panzer-Lehrregiment (Wünsdorf, France), and the Afr. Schtz. Regiment 963 (Heuberg, Paros-Greece) in which my grandfather, Leutnant Ludwig Preller served. Thanks.
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Re: Looking for: Panzer-Lehregiment and Afr. Schutzen Reg.

Post by NicolasEll »

Hi all,

Here is more information and questions I have about my grandfather's time in the III./Afrika Schützen Regiment 963 and subsequent time in Greece in the V./Festungs Infanterie Bataillon 999, including the names of some other soldiers in these units.

My grandfather Ludwig Preller was in the staff (Stab) of the III./Afr.Schtz. Reg. 963. I would say that translates as something like 3rd battalion of the 963rd Africa-fusiliers regiment.

A leutnant in 1943, he was the ‘Bataillons-adjudant’ under Hauptmann Fritz Schliephack (who led the unit until it was disolved in June 1943, before its members were sent to Greece). There the Stab was transferred into the newly created V./ Festungs-Infanterie-Bataillon 999.

I am trying to find out more about this unit and its continuations and also possibly to track family members of some of the men who were part of it.

In his role as ‘Bataillons-adjudant’ my grandfather kept a notebook of the organisation of the battallion and an inventory of its equipment. This notebook survived the war (my grandfather must have brought it back home before he went missing in action in Hungary in 1945).

In it there is the following list of names for the staff (I post just the beginning of the list, picture of full list can be found at: https://enanosin.files.wordpress.com/20 ... i_9631.jpg)

Planstelle Dgrd. Name

(role, rank, name)

Btl. Adj. Lt. Preller
Ord. Offz. Lt. Henschel
Btl. Arzt St. Arzt Dr. Knape
Hilfsarzt U’Arzt Dr. Wilde
Zahlmeister OZm. Ellinger
Führer d. Melder Uffz. Selig
Gefechtsschreiber Obgefr. Dippmann
1. Melder auf Rad Gefr. Kowalski
2. ” ” ” ” Schumann
3. ” ” ” ” Dziatsko
4. ” ” ” O’Schtz. Katscher
5. ” ” ” Schtz. Zimmermann
6. ” ” ” ” Blümel
7. ” ” ” ” Müller A.
1. Kraftwagenf. f. Pkw Schtz. Bobrowski
2. ” ” ” ” Schweißhelm
I am looking for any information on the Panzer-Lehrregiment (Wünsdorf, France), and the Afr. Schtz. Regiment 963 (Heuberg, Paros-Greece) in which my grandfather, Leutnant Ludwig Preller served. Thanks.
Alanmccoubrey
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Re: Looking for: Panzer-Lehregiment and Afr. Schutzen Reg.

Post by Alanmccoubrey »

Schützen is better translated as Rifles, the German had Fusilier units and they went by Fusilier not Schützen .
Alan
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Re: Looking for: Panzer-Lehregiment and Afr. Schutzen Reg.

Post by NicolasEll »

Thanks Alan for the clarification on the translation of Schutzen, you are right.
I am looking for any information on the Panzer-Lehrregiment (Wünsdorf, France), and the Afr. Schtz. Regiment 963 (Heuberg, Paros-Greece) in which my grandfather, Leutnant Ludwig Preller served. Thanks.
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NicolasEll
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Re: Looking for: Panzer-Lehregiment and Afr. Schutzen Reg.

Post by NicolasEll »

An exiting development! I found someone whose great-grandfather was in exactly the same unit as my grandfathter after posting this partial list from the Staff or III. Bataillon of Afrika Schutzen Regiment 963!
Doing a google search of WWII pictures of the island of Lemnos I found the following photos posted by Bohdan Bobrowski on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bodzio/se ... 8473818495
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bodzio/3823321941/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bodzio/38 ... otostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bodzio/38 ... otostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bodzio/38 ... otostream/

As you can see from the list of members of staff published above there is a Schützen Bobrowski who appears precisely as a driver (1. Kraftwagenf. f. Pkw Schtz. Bobrowski : 'First Driver for Personnel carrier/automobile')... after connecting with Bohdan it is clear that Jan Bobrowski is that same person! A fascinating - of difficult story - too: Jan was Polish from Gdansk and forced into the Wehrmacht, as considered by the N.S. regime as of German descent! In Lemnos he was forced by his commanding officer (a Hauptmann it seems though we couldn't establish the identity) to teach him how to drive the Ford truck when drunk... a fatal accident resulted, the officer died, Jan survived. Jan Bobrowski was then involved in the difficult retreat through Yugoslavia end of 1944 (whereas my grandfather L, Preller was sent back to Germany before Hungary) and taken prisoner by Tito's partisans, survived the war and the harsh conditions of a Soviet POW-camp, to return to communist Poland and lived until the mid-1970s.
This discovery opens up new leads on possible other members of the unit!
I am looking for any information on the Panzer-Lehrregiment (Wünsdorf, France), and the Afr. Schtz. Regiment 963 (Heuberg, Paros-Greece) in which my grandfather, Leutnant Ludwig Preller served. Thanks.
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