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Wehrpaß Lds Btl 484

Peter U

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Staff member
Hello guys,

Together with the 719ID Soldbuch I bought this Wehrpaß, it also belonged to a member of the famous Kampfgruppe Chill.
This is the story of Karl Schmidt from Wüppertal:
Karl Schmidt was born on December 7 1900, when he was 17½ years old he enlisted in the army.
He joined the “Rekruten Kompanie” of “Lehr Infanterie Regiment 8”, a basic training unit that was based in Berlin-Pankow.
There are no details listed of his service in WW1, in January 1920 he was promoted to Gefreiter and on December 31 1920 he was discharged because of the army reduction (a part of the Versailles peace treaty), his last unit was Reserve Infantrie Regiment 18, this regiment was part of the 1st Reserve Division, this unit fought in the final stages of WW1 on the Hermannstellung.
Between the wars he worked in the office of his local health insurance.
The old corporal is called back to service in April 1940; he is assigned to “Bahnschutz-Wachkompanie 11/VI”, a railroad guard unit based in Dusseldorf, the name of the unit says it all: it is unit of soldier that are to old to serve in field units of the army that has the task of guarding railroad installations in “Wehrkreis VI” (army district 6).
At the end of June 1940 the name of the unit is changed in to: “Landesschutzen Batallion 484 (B)”, an eight company strong battalion that belongs to the occupation force in Belgium & Northern France, it is their task to guard the railroad installations.
Karl Schmidt belongs to the 7th company; he follows a class in railroad guarding and an NCO trainings program in the former Belgian army barracks in Maria ter Heide.
At the end of 1943 he is promoted to Hauptfeldwebel and he thus becomes the company’s “Spieß” (CQMS).
So far his service has been very exciting or interesting but in early September 1944 this will change.
When general Chill on September 4 1944 reorganizes the German defensive force along the Albert canal in Belgium he adds the +/-250 railroad guards of Lds Btl 484, that are based North of Antwerp, to his 85th ID.
The surprising thing is that these elderly soldiers fight like young lions!
Between September 29 1944 and October 1 1944 they hold their part of the frontline in Brecht, against heavy attacks of the famous Canadian regiment “Black Watch” and the “Calgary Highlanders”; B Company of the Black Watch even gets surrounded and has to be liberated by Regiment “de Maissonneuve”.
On October 5 1944 Lds Btl 484 unsuccessfully counterattacks the Canadian forces, the “Essex Scottish” regiment that has recently occupied Putte and Stabroek. (This is where I live)
The Essex Scottish regiment lost 10 soldiers (KIA) that day, I have no details about the German losses.
What remains of Lds btl 484 is assigned to the 719ID.
In February 1945 Landesschutzen Batallion 484 (B) gets dissolved, Karl Schmidt is assigned to the staff of General Kommando LXXXV AK.
On May 20 1945 he is released from service by the 3th US armored division.

So you see, you do not always have to look at Waffen SS or Fallschirmjäger units to find stories of fierce combat ;-)

Cheers,
Peter
 

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A rather impressive and long combat days list for a railroad guard NCO.
 

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Great stuff Peter! He looks like a tough old dude and would be my age, so it's refreshing to hear old guys could get it done as infantry :thumbsup: Thanks for posting and keep them coming.
 
Its amazing the stories you can put together from these documents! Very cool, thanks for posting it, and furthering our education!
 
That is really neat! Rather apporpriate that you have this since it is so close to home.
 
Lightning has hit twice!
Two weeks ago I was able to add another Wehrpaß of this small unit to my collection.

Fritz Lenord was a shopkeeper from Grünberg and already 40 years old when he was called up to serve in the army.
On June 27 ’43 he started his basic training in the barrack camp of Elsenborn, he we trained with Czech weapons like the Gewehr (t) 24 and the SMG (t) 26, typical weapons for Landesschützen soldiers.
After 6 weeks of basic training and a week in a depot unit he was assigned to the 8th company of Lds Btl 484B a unit that guarded railroad installation in Belgium and Northern France.
Guarding the railroad installations was an important task for the German occupiers, the railroads were regularly attacked by demolish teams of the armed resistance (the Partisans).
On April 1 1944 he was promoted to Obersoldat; and he also at sometime earned the SA Sportabzeichen.
After the liberation of Antwerp the men of Lds Btl are assigned to Kampfgruppe Chill and then the war really starts for them…
 

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