Ostuf Pehrsson, Battr.Führ. 3./ SS-A.R. 11 ???

[Piet Duits]

Hi all,

I am working on the casualtylist for both Nordland and Nederland, using at least 4 sources (T311 R105 HGr. Nord, T312 R1629 Narwa, T312 R1635 Narwa and T312 R971, AOK 18), and am experiencing some difficulties.

Let's start with the Ustuf Pehrsson, leicht verwundet on 17.1.1944 as the Batterieoffizier of the 3. Batterie / A.R. Nordland.
On 30.10.1944, already promoted to Ostuf, he was schwer verwundet, acting as the Batterieführer of the 3. Batterie/ A.R. Nordland.

Now this is odd. Had Hans-Gösta Pehrsson a relative also serving in the division? It's rather strange to be both an Panzeraufklärer and an Artillerie-officer at the same time!!
I can't find any other Pehrsson in the Personalveränderungsblätter, so it must be him. Or isn't he?

Piet

[Marc Rikmenspoel]

The documents must include some mix-ups. Hans-Gösta Pehrsson was wounded around January 17, 1944, and didn't return to service for a couple of months. So, in this case, the document meant to indicate 3./SS-PAA 11.

I don't believe Pehrsson was wounded on October 30, 1944. So, it is likely another officer, perhaps from 3./SS-AR 11, was wounded on this occasion (which was the height of the Second Battle of Kurland).

Those are my best guesses.

[Piet Duits]

Marc,

Yes, that's what I thought too. But... as far as I can judge, this is an reoccuring error. And that's not logical.
This doesn't mean it's wrong, as I have seen some other things I couldn't explain as well.
For example, I have the Sturmbannführer Dr. Felix Rinner severally wounded between 15.1.-20.2.1944, acting as the Ordonnanzoffizier/ SS-Panz.Gren.Div. 23 "Norge".
A full SS-major (St.Gr. "B") on a Leutenant-Stelle (St.Gr. "Z")?
More than odd.
Either he must have done something completely wrong, and was demoted to the Ord.Offz.-role, or the casualty report was send in with mistakes.
(I have both the report from the Armee-Abteilung Narwa and the report from the Heeresgruppe Nord, showing the same data).

[Marc Rikmenspoel]

Rinner was a medical doctor, from what I can see in John Moore's Führerliste. So listing him as an orderly officer must be incorrect. I can imagibne from my own job how some of this may happen. A certain quota must be reached, so somone is listed in a different position, or some report from higher up makes a humorous mistake, so when a report is generated at a lower level, the mistake is repeated as an inside joke. ("If higher HQ calls Rinner our OO, we'll list him as our OO in our report!")

[PK]

Hi!

About the various wounds that Hans-Gösta Pehrsson sustained during his service within the SS-Pz-Aufkl-Abt 11:

As I understand Pehrsson based on his service within the SS-Pz-Aufkl-Abt 11 he claims to have been wounded five or six times, but besides the first one he always remained with the Division. The wounds known to me, which he sustained while in the Division was:

1. Shot in the arm, 17.1.44. Evacuated to a hospital in Dorpat. According to the list of officers losses within the Division, he then served in the SS-A.R 11, which must be a typo. It is clear that he served within the SS-Pz-AA11 (As did Wilhelm Kaiser, who also is listed as serving in the A.R.) (Letter from Karl-Olof Holm, 3./AA11, information from Pehrsson in interrogation with the Swedish Police, and the casualitiereport)

2. Probebly late april 1944. Erik Wallin writes in his book "Twillight of the gods" about when swedish SS-Untersturmführer Heino Meyer was wounded, and reported as dead to the Company on the 22nd of April 1944. According to Wallin, "another Swedish SS-officer wrote a letter to his parents before he himself was hit by shrapnel". This can only be Pehrsson. The only swedish officers within the SS-Pz-AA11 was: Pehrsson, Meyer, Eklöf, Ahlgren and Baecklund. Eklöf arrived in the company on the 25.5.44, Ahlgren around the same time and Baecklund around August 1944. Thus, this can only have been Pehrsson, and he probebly remained with the unit while recovering. (Ragnarök, p. 62)

3. 8.3.45. Pehrssons bunker in Altdamm took a direct hit. Several dead, Pehrsson wounded. Was transported over the brigde to Stettin by Franz Bereznyak (who told the story about the incident). Returned a few days later to the company. (Letter from Franz Bereznyak)

4. On the night between the 1./2.5.45, during the breakout in Berlin. Pehrssons half-track was hit by enemy fire and he escaped wounded. (Information from Pehrsson in interrogation with the Swedish police and various other documents from Pehrsson)

This leaves us with one or two wounds which remain unknown. I would not have been suprised if one of these occured on the 30.10.44, but I do not believe it to be a "schwer verwundet " and definitly not within the SS-A.R. 11, rather I believe we are talking about typos concerning both the seriousness of the wound and the unit.

Best regards
PK

[Shadwell_army]

There was a Gunnar PEHRSON in 3kp I/SS-Pz-Gren Rgt 24 Danmark during the battles in Hungary 45. He survived the war.

rgds
Mads