WW2 Death Card of Afrika Korps Member Alois Ludwig.

Discussion in 'Axis Units' started by Jeremiah, Jul 26, 2022.

  1. Jeremiah

    Jeremiah Well-Known Member

    Alois was the rank of Obergefreiter. Throughout his military service he was awarded the War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords. Alois was with a supply company serving in North Africa specifically near Marsa Matruk when on September 1st 1942 he was killed by a low flying aircraft. I’m assuming it was a Strafing Run. He is buried in the military cemetery in El Alamein. Any additional info on him is greatly appreciated. From my collection
    5FF8800D-5D9D-440A-88A8-2A373D5A3544.jpeg
     
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  2. Gary Tankard

    Gary Tankard Well-Known Member

  3. Tullybrone

    Tullybrone Senior Member

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  4. Andreas

    Andreas Working on two books

    Yes it is.

    If he was in Supply Coy 33 he was with 15. Panzerdivision, but the company may well have been on detached service then or maybe picking something up in Mersa Matruh. The main supply point for 15.PD seems to have been el Daba, further east.

    All the best

    Andreas
     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2022
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  5. Jeremiah

    Jeremiah Well-Known Member

    Do you think that he was maybe killed during the Battle of Alam el Halfa? The dates would add up. “The night of 31 August – 1 September brought no respite for the Axis forces, as the Albacore and Wellington bombers returned to the attack, concentrating on the Axis supply lines.”.

    He was killed on September 1st, and also worked with the supply company. And this battle took place south of El Alamein. And wasn’t super far from Mersa Matruh. And he was also buried in El Alamein. I guess the only thing is, if he was killed during this battle which was closer to El Alamein, I don’t know why they’d list him as being killed near Mersa Matruh.
     
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  6. Andreas

    Andreas Working on two books

    I believe El Alamein would be a re-burial when the German dead were concentrated there after the war. The contemporary files agree on Mersa Matruh, which was the most forward port for the Axis. I haven't got it's port director war diary, but that for Bardia a bit further east notes a low-flying attack the same day at 12.30 hours. So no reason to doubt this I would think and highly unlikely he was at Alam Halfa.

    El Alamein, German war cemetery

    All the best

    Andreas
     
  7. Jeremiah

    Jeremiah Well-Known Member

    So do you think it was more of a spontaneous air attack that he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time or was there a specific battle he was a part of?
     
  8. Andreas

    Andreas Working on two books

    No, just pure bad luck. Caught in a daytime strafe of the harbour or the road is my guess. It should be possible to identify the culprits with some research.

    All the best

    Andreas
     
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