Flak regiment identification

[uwalker]

Hello,

I'm new to feldgrau. I joined in order to do some research on a relative, who was a Zugführer in the Luftwaffe Flak. I am not a military person and am having problems interpreting the identification information that I have on some of his documents. I am also looking for any information about the history of his regiment(s). The last action he took part in was at Traben-Trarbach on the Moselle (spring 1945). He was wounded and taken prisoner in the American zone. After surgery at a hospital in Darmstadt-Eberstadt (I don't have the name of the hospital), he was sent to Babenhausen and was later discharged.

On the Area Control Form P4, he lists the following:
Wehrnummer: Ludwigsburg 17/9/1/+1
No. of Identity Disk: 4./ FLAKRGT. 25 151
Unit: 9./FLAKRGT. 16 (MOT)

Can someone tell me what the data mean in these entries? Except for the regiment numbers, I'm not sure how to interpret them.

It seems that he was part of two regiments (25 and 16). There is some information on Flak Regiment 25 on the internet, but I can't find anything on Flak Regiment 16. I would appreciate any information about these regiments and their history as well as any information on the flak's role in the fighting on the Moselle in the Traben-Trarbach area.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. I'm very impressed with the collective knowledge you've assembled on this website!

[achim]

Hello uwalker,

your relative served first in the 4th battery of Flakregiment 25. There he received his first identity disk (dogtag). In this battery he was soldier No. 151 in the personallist.

Here are some informations about Flakregiment 16: http://www.ww2.dk/ground/flak/flargt16.html.
And here are some informations about Flakregiment 25: http://www.ww2.dk/ground/flak/flargt25.html.

Hope this helps a little bit.

Kind regards
Achim

[uwalker]

Hello Achim,

Yes, this does help. I'm glad to know what the numbers mean! I know that the motorized Flak served in many different places and that the composition of the regiments was constantly changing, so it becomes difficult to track exactly what he did during his war service. The history of Regiment 16 doesn't tally with his final action at Traben-Trarbach, but I think those last days were quite chaotic. I have his Wehrmacht number, so I'm hoping to be able to get his war record in Germany and perhaps get some information from the Red Cross as well.

My biggest difficulty just now is making sense of the military terminology, abbreviations, etc., used in relation to the organization of the Wehrmacht. I wonder if there is a "Wehrmacht for Dummies" out there that explains all this to the layperson.

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post.

Ulli

[achim]

Hello Ulli,

if you understand German, you can also have a look at the following side:
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/inh ... chnis1.htm

Or maybe you can ask in the forum from "Lexikon der Wehrmacht":http://www.forum-der-wehrmacht.de/and try to get more informations.

Kind regards
Achim

[uwalker]

Hello Achim,

Thanks for recommending these websites. I do read German and will check them out.

Do you happen to know if anyone at feldgrau is specifically interested in the Flak service of the Luftwaffe? My relative was a Zugführer, and I was wondering what his duties would have been.

Thanks again for your help.

Ulli

[achim]

Hello Ulli.

i´m sorry, but i don´t know who has very special interests in Flakservice.

Kind regards
Achim

[AHK]

There is a bible of the Flak service in WW II in German; but cannot recall the title now. This gave a massive amount of information. Does anyone know the title of the book?
Thanks,
AHK