Feldgrau Author: Stephan Hamilton

[Frederick L Clemens]

I guess you are using that Heinrici manuscript from the Foreign Military Studies. Are you aware of Heinrici's Nachlass at BAMA? If not, I can put you in touch with the person who donated it. Email me at [email protected]

[Richard Hargreaves]

Good luck with the Heinrici Nachlass at BA-MA. His handwriting is hideous, his diaries are small notebooks and everything's in pencil which has faded a bit over the years. Hats off to the chap who transcribed some of them a few years ago and published the 1941 extracts. It's a first-rate source, but I had to give up as I couldn't read the originals

On the plus side, Weich's memoirs are very easy to read; his handwriting is incredibly neat (or perhaps the memoirs are transcribed) and as a whole, they're quite a good source.

[Richard Hargreaves]

I'm also in the process of purschasing the entire set of microfilms from Heeresgruppe Weichsel, which provides a wealth of information.

Hi Doug,

Jan-Hendrik has a complete set of HGrWeichsel files from BA-MA which he put on to DVD. I can't remember what he was asking for them, but I'm toying with biting the bullet myself.

A couple of other "must haves" for the Oder front are Das letzte Aufgebot des Teufels: Dramatischer Einsatz des Volkssturmbataillons 7/10 Franken edited by a Hanns Baron Freytag von Loringhoven, crammed with first-hand accounts of the fighting for Frankfurt am Oder in 1945.

The other is Werner Stang (ed) Brandenburg im Jahr 1945, and in particular Wolfgag Buwert, 'Festung Frankfurt (Oder) eine Stadt am Kriegsende', pp.38-83. It's based on BA-MA files, personal diaries, contemporary newspapers and memoirs. Really is a first-rate article. Let me know if you're interested in it.

[Frederick L Clemens]

Good luck with the Heinrici Nachlass at BA-MA. His handwriting is hideous, his diaries are small notebooks and everything's in pencil which has faded a bit over the years. Hats off to the chap who transcribed some of them a few years ago and published the 1941 extracts. It's a first-rate source, but I had to give up as I couldn't read the originals ....

That's useful to know. BTW, has anyone had access to the Guderian Nachlass at BAMA? They stalled me for three days last year, giving me unimportant crap but never let me close to the Guderian papers. At one point, they said they were not yet catalogued or something like that. What a joke! At least two authors have used them as source material.

[Richard Hargreaves]

I bet that was the scary middle aged woman who didn't speak any English. My spoken German is atrocious. Our conversations were 'interesting and challenging' to use a good Royal Navy euphemism.

Have you tried getting in touch with Dermot Bradley if he's still around? I was going to suggest Kenneth Macksey too, but I just learned he died three years ago. I would hope the Guderian papers are well worth looking through.

[Frederick L Clemens]

I bet that was the scary middle aged woman who didn't speak any English. My spoken German is atrocious. Our conversations were 'interesting and challenging' to use a good Royal Navy euphemism.

Have you tried getting in touch with Dermot Bradley if he's still around? I was going to suggest Kenneth Macksey too, but I just learned he died three years ago. I would hope the Guderian papers are well worth looking through.

I didn't see the older woman much, just the two college girls - one that was pudgy and one that liked to show off her underwear (actually, both did but I didn't care to see the pudgy one's). Language wasn't an issue. I speak German well enough that Germans think I am Dutch or Swiss.

I'd love to communicate with Dermot Bradley but have not found any direct contact info.

[Richard Hargreaves]

Oops we seem to have strayed from the battle of the Oder and Berlin to pudgy German Mädchen who show their underwear...

Anyhow, back on track.

A couple more books, both a bit dry but very detailed and therefore useful:

Thrams, Hermann, Küstrin 1945: Tagebuch einer Festung
Zilm, Franz-Rudolf, Die Festung und Garnison Stettin

And one book which is more general but highly recommended

Zeidler, Manfred, Kriegsende im Osten, which looks at Soviet soldiers' motivation, occupational policy etc. Not easy to track down, but good if you can.

[Frederick L Clemens]

A couple more books, both a bit dry but very detailed and therefore useful:

Thrams, Hermann, Küstrin 1945: Tagebuch einer Festung
Zilm, Franz-Rudolf, Die Festung und Garnison Stettin

Another sidetrack - at the bookstore the other day, I overheard a father in the history section enthusiastically telling his teenaged daughter that a particular author made history read like a novel. I turned around to see which author he was talking about. It was....Stephen Ambrose.

So bring on the dry, I say.

[Doug Nash]

Well, of course it was Stephen Ambrose! But he did help propell the WW2 memorial project into national prominence, so he did accomplish some good things, though his books got sloppy towards the end.
Hey, can I get a copy of the Heinrici manuscript from you? I saw a copy of it published in Wehrmacht im Kampf from the 1950's advertised on Weitze's website a couple of years ago but I couldn't spring the cool $100 for it --- a bit pricey, but I wished I'd bought it now!
Cheers,
Doug

[Doug Nash]

My Bad - it was not Heinrici in Wehrmacht im Kampf - it was the one by Wenck (volume 43). (Heinrici didn't write one for that!)
Cheers,
Doug

[Stephan H.]

Doug - no problem on the Heinrici memoir but you'll have to wait a bit, as my only German copy went missing, and I had to request another from Special Collections. As soon as I get it, I'll make you a copy. Most people are unaware of its existence.

I'll will tell that there is much deconfliction that has to be done with all the source material of this period. No one has the complete story. In my research I found some glaring issues with Tissier's version of event in several of his books, as well as conflicting accounts by Wenck, Steiner, and Busse. AGV war diary is only useful to a point b/c Heinrici lost control of the 9.Armee once it was cut off, and he never had full control over the 12.Armee. In addition, Steiner's III SS Panzer Korps became AG Steiner and had only nominal oversight by AGV. So what this means is that after 20-21 April, AGV War Diary really is focused on the 3.Panzer Armee effectively. Each of the individual commanders were all pursuing their own objectives only nominally tied to any overall operational goal.

Richard is spot on with his German book sources. He has sent some samples of the material and it is all very rich, and pertinent. I've had to start building up my "war chest" in order to start acquiring some of those noted books

It also appears that quite a few of us have a nitch interest in the Feb-May period of fighting along AGV! Who would have thunk it! That period of time was so chaotic, unpredictable, and frankly undocumented that there is much still to be written.

Frederick - So how did this thread go from a serious discussion to fraulein's underpants?!

I guess we all need diversions after much research and writing!

Stephan

[Frederick L Clemens]

Believe me, I would prefer to have been looking at Guderian's papers as well as other things rather than underpants, but that's all the BAMA people were willing to show me.

[Commissar D, the Evil]

So, does the book deal extensively with Gen. Mummert and Pz. Division Muncheberg?

Bestens,
~D, the EviL

[Stephan H.]

So, does the book deal extensively with Gen. Mummert and Pz. Division Muncheberg?

It covers the unit's operations along the Oder Front, in Berlin, and during their breakout. They were a critical component of the LVI Pz Korps and Berlin's defense. Most of the material for this is derived from a wide variety of published sources, though I did access some BA-MA records on the unit's initial organization (which was to contain a component of the LSSAH Guard Battalion from BerlIn) and I obtained additional interesting information from several unpublished accounts about ops in the city. Like almost all units that ended up in Berlin, unit cohesion was quickly lost. In the case of Muncheberg for example, their armor elements were "packeted" out with their remaining Tiger Is (about 6 if I remember correctly) sent to a number of different sectors, along with their Panthers.

Stephan

[Commissar D, the Evil]

Thank you for your gracious reply Stephan. I'd buy the book for its perspective on Muncheberg alone:

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=3034

My Best Wishes for your book's success!

Bestens,
David