Hello who can help me find a German unit. We are looking for a German unit that served in Eibergen/Netherlands. Who were in possession of a stug. Could it be that it belonged to a Luftwaffe unit or to a Heer unit. I cannot find any imformation in battle reports around March 31 / April 1. picture of the stug in Eibergen . Picture is from te collection B Smeenk
Maybe this Sherman is demobilized by this STUG. You mention Battle reports, do you mean the Wardiaries, or the "The Story of the Guards Armoured Division" This article was in the Dutch Newspaper two weeks ago. Do you have the units in and arround Eibergen at that time ? Allies and German units ? makes the search a bit easier.
Hi Roy - it might have been the 346. Anti-tank Bn, organic to the 346. ID, I referred to in the Rhine Crossing thread, it had a mixed composition of Stugs and Marders - See: RHINE CROSSING 1945: The Rees bridgehead (30 Corps in operation 'Turnscrew') The unit was active at Emmerich and retreated northward across the Dutch border; there were also sightings of SP-guns near Netterden (at Azewijn) - see: RHINE CROSSING 1945: The Rees bridgehead (30 Corps in operation 'Turnscrew') and RHINE CROSSING 1945: The Rees bridgehead (30 Corps in operation 'Turnscrew') The 346. I.D. retreated westward, across the IJssel river, but it could be that some the tanks were separated from the division by the British/Canadian thrust toward the Twente Canal and therefore turned up in Eibergen. Another nearby SP unit was the 741. Pz-Jäger-Battalion which operated with II. FJ Korps - but this unit was equipped with Hetzers. See: RHINE CROSSING 1945: The Rees bridgehead (30 Corps in operation 'Turnscrew')
Hello, the article stands in the Tubantia. But i have seen more pictures of the stug. Before its stand in de papers. I mean indeed the wardiaries of the Guards. But. I did find a unit that was in Eibergen. While looking for the units, I ran into Oswald Jahn. He would have died at 25 march in Eibergen. He served at the stm.pz.jg.e.u.a.abt.10. But I can find information about this unit and where they added to/ strenght/ vehicles I have a few names from the units. 2206-1 L.Flg.Rgt.63 31351 Rek. Kp./Flg.Ers.Btl.XII 2055-Kf.Ers.Kp.71 Bl. A Fallsch.Jg.Rgt 1./Res.Flak.Schw.Abt.310-17 A Wehrm.Vepfl.Abt. Eindhoven Abt.5/261 636-Inf.Nachr.E.Kp462 G. stm.pz.jg.e.u.a.abt.10
He must have been killed in an air attack, si nce Eibergen on March 25th was still far behind the frontline.
Difficult to find some information about this area, but have a look at this thread at Forum der Wehrmacht, They mentioned that Fallschirmjäger-Sturmgeschützbrigade 12 was equiped with 12 StuG III und 6 StuH 42 (date 15 March 1945). The unit was active in the area Winterswijk - Aalten - Bad Bentheim, same as the Guards. So i would suggest to look a bit deeper into the Fallschirm-Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 12, and hope that you will find some more information.
Unfortunately, the units will not bring us much further: The information probably comes from the dog tags, but on them only the unit to which the soldier in question was drafted is noted: L.Flg.Rgt.63 was Flieger-Regiment 63, disbanded 2.9.44 Rek. Kp./Flg.Ers.Btl.XII was stationed in Fürth/Bavaria Inf.Nachr.E.Kp462 belonged to Reserve-Grenadier-Regiment 462, disbanded January 1944 Abt.5/261 was RAD, Gruppe 270 (R IV) Weisweil As for the assault gun, I agree with Stolpi: it could have belonged to FS-StuG Brigade 12, which was tactically subordinate to the 7th Fallschrim Division. However, at that time there were a lot of splinter units on the way behind the Twenthe Canal, so it could also have been a remnant of another unit. some pictures, if not known so far: Nordost Niederlande: Enschede - Hengelo [Schlacht und Befreiung Achterhoek (1. April 1945), Enschede (1. April 1945), Hengelo (3. April 1945)] EIN britisches Militär mit einer deutschen Offizierskappe dekoriert; ein Anderes trägt ein Porträt von Hitler Datum: 3. april 1945 Ort: Enschede, Hengelo, Overijssel, Twente Schlüsselwörter: Liberrijding, Fronten, zweiter Weltkrieg Stockfotografie - Alamy
Apparently NEEDE (2km NW EIBERGEN) was the section border between 8th and 6th Parachute Division. But war diaries are not preserved and what alleged paratroopers were thrown to the front were scraps scraped together from all sorts of units. One has to rely on lucky hits. 8th Parachute Division During the subsequent fighting of the division in the line Bocholt - Isselburg, the connection to the 6th Parachute Division fighting on the right was lost around 29 March 1945. Therefore, the division always had to fight with open flanks during the further dismounted movements via Aalten, Greonlo in the direction of Enschede. At the end of March 1945, the division reached the Neede - Altstätte line. After delaying battles in the area around Enschede, the division defended between Oldenzaal and Bentheim for several days at the beginning of April 1945, and on April 6, 1945, it returned to the east side of the Ems between Rheine and Lingen. 6th Parachute Division On 25 March, strong US units also crossed the Rhine near Emmerich, forcing the 6th Parachute Division to retreat to the northeast. In the course of the ensuing delaying battles, the link to the left to the 8th Parachute Division broke off during the battles around Anholt and Isselburg on 28 March. Until the end of March 1945, the division evaded under heavy enemy pressure to the Doetinchem - Treborg - Varsseveld - Aalten railway line. After abandoning this position, the division retreated to behind the Twente Canal between Zutphen and Hengelo in early April 1945. In this position of nearly 40 km width, parts of paratrooper replacement units and the Parachute Regiment 37 were added to the division. see therefore: Introduction.. and a question! War Diary: 5th Battalion COLDSTREAM GUARDS, Jan - Oct 1945 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, GAD, Tank Casualties, 1945 The soldiers killed in Eibergen: 2622729 L/SJT F. WHITTLE, 1st Bn GRENADIER GUARDS 2624967 GUARDSMAN F. H. PAGE, 1st Bn GRENADIER GUARDS 2625809 GUARDSMAN J. K. ALVEY, 1st Bn GRENADIER GUARDS Maybe someone from the forum will find more details
On the 29th the defense line of the II. FJ Korps, which had been stretched to the limit, finally snatched. The unremitting pressure of 30 Corps had driven an irreparable wedge between the 6.FJ Division, which was responsible for the defense of Dinxperlo, and the 8.FJ Division, deployed further to the southeast, around Werth. Over the following days the advance of British 30 Corps tore a gaping hole, not only between the two FJ Divisions of the II.FJ Korps, but also between the 1.Fallschirm Armee and the 25.Armee of Heeresgruppe H, holding the line to the west, in Holland. General Blaskowitz of Heeresgruppe H with a view of the imminent collapse of the left wing of his command, had already sounded the alarm the previous day, 28 March. On that date he simultaneously sent a situation report to OBWest and to OKW , thus bypassing his immediate superior. In order to preserve the integrity of the German front, Blaskowitz suggested to retreat his entire command to North West Germany, anchoring on a new defensive line that ran from the River Weser to the North Sea coast somewhere in northern Holland. This meant that the Heeresgruppe had to give up the positions in Holland, held by 25. Armee. Otherwise, he argued, the Allies might easily cut off and isolate the 25. Armee in the western part of Holland, where it was of little value to the defense of the Reich. Predictable, the immediate and rigid reply of the OKW was that under no circumstances ground may be given. Instead the OKW ordered a counterattack. An attack by II. FJ Korps from the north, in conjunction with an attack by the XLVII. Panzer Korps from the Ruhr Industrial area in the south, was to close the gap created by the Allied advance across the Rhine. A few days later Blaskowitz, already mistrusted by OKW, as a result of this insubordination and defeatist behavior, was demoted to commander of Festung Holland, effectively only retaining command of the 25. Armee in Holland and the occupation forces in that area. To all, but the German High command, it was obvious that the situation could no longer be saved. Not even with desperate measures, like the creation on April 1st of a new conglomerate force under command of the paratrooper General Kurt Student, which carried the grotesque name of 'Armeegruppe Student'. It was to General Student that the OKW entrusted the execution of the projected counterattack, rather than to the 'untrustworthy' General Blaskowitz. That the counterattack never substantialized is hardly surprising. While the II. FJ Korps, with 7. and 8. FJ Divisions with the rest of 1. Fallschirm Armee fell back to the NE, towards the interior of Germany, the detached 6. FJ Division was driven back to the N and NW into Holland. The FJ Division eventually was subordinated to the LXXXVIII. Armee Korps of 25. Armee and shared its fate with that of the 25.Armee, bottled up in the western part of Holland, just as Blaskowitz had predicted. See: RHINE CROSSING 1945: The Rees bridgehead (30 Corps in operation 'Turnscrew')
Stolpi, you are better versed in the matter: Do you have any evidence of any tank destroyers or similar in the region? The 116th PzDiv, for example, had various other units tactically subordinate to it. When the German right flank collapsed at the end of March, a relatively large number of dispersed units were pushed northwest towards the Netherlands. And the Guards recorded SP guns in their reports, at least at the airport near Enschede.
Hi Itdan - I do not have a clue, but I think that Bedee's option - the Fallschirmjäger-Sturmgeschützbrigade 12 (a 2nd FJ Korps unit) - is very feasible. For the 116.Pz Div - which also is a possibility, although the unit was directed toward the southeast to oppose the US 9th Army in the area of Dorsten/Kirchhellen - I will have a look at Guderian's History of the 116.Pz Div shortly.
I Checked Guderians book already, 116 Pz Div turned right in direction of Dorsten (Chapter XI Ruhrkessel). To stop the US 9th. Lichtenvoorde, Bocholt, Dorsten and later in vicinity of Soest.
Then the circle of suspects becomes VERY manageable indeed: The FS-StuG Brigade 12 has been documented as having withdrawn via Bocholt - WInterswijk - Bentheim. So it is not at all unlikely that the route led via Eibergen and Enschede. Of course, there is always the possibility of a stray StuG from another unit: But in such matters I prefer Occam's razor and would therefore also settle on the FS-StuG Brigade 12.
In the Diary (Kriegstagebuch) of the II Fallschirmkorps: Korpsartz is mentioned that 7. Fallschirmjager Division moved from Wesel-Rees-Winterswijk-Groenlo-Eibergen-Enschede. Fallschirm-Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 12 was under tactical command of 7 Fj Division. In reality under full command of II FJ Korps. 29 March 1945 II FJ Korps. 6 FJ Division gefechtstand Lichtenvoorde 7 FJ Division gefechtstand Kotten (E of Winterswijk) 8 FJ Division gefechtstand Corle (W of Winterswijk) 15 PZ Grenadier Division (Legden near Ahaus) As this is a Medical Wardiary from Korps level, they only mention divisions. But in the WD is mentioned that they setup a medical facility in Eibergen on 30 March and left Eibergen on 04 April 1945. But looking at the timings in the diary, the complete II Korps was on the run.
With 7 FJD as the only formation with a mechanised unit and considering the diverging retreat routes, one really has to use far-reaching hypotheses to assume anything other than FS StuG Brigade 12 in Eibergen.
