Hi guys, a merry Christmas to you all,
This is the newest addition to my Panzer Lehr/Battle of the bulge Soldbuch collection.
Heinz Rhode, he was mobilized in August ’39 and joined the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] company of Pi Btl 71 as a Gefreiter; his engineer battalion was part of the 50ID, this division will participate in the Polish campaign and fight around Bromberg and in the battle of the Bzura.
After the defeat of the Polish army the 50ID is soon relocated to the west and takes up a position against the Maginotline.
By now Heinz Rhode is an Obergefreiter with the first company of Pi Btl 71, during operation yellow his unit is kept in reserve but when operation red starts they are at the frontline again, their task is to breakthrough the French line in Chemin des Dames (a famous WW1 battlefield), then the Marne needs to becrossed, it is here that he gets a French bullet through his right foot.
The wound keeps him in hospital from June 13 ’40 till August 21 ’40.
On June 30’40 he gets the VWA black, on November 15 ’40 follows also an EKII and on December 1 ’40 a promotion to Unteroffizier.
When he is recovered from his injury he becomes an instructor in a training unit for engineers.
At the end of ’43 or in early ’44 he is promoted to Feldwebel and transferred to the newly created Panzer Lehr Division.
The PanzerLehr Division is one of the most modern units in the German army, fully motorized, also the engineer battalion is equipped with halftrack vehicles and the infamous Flammpanzer also is part of their arsenal.
When the allies land in Normandythe Pz Lehr Div is rushed to the front; the combat is fierce, Heinz Rhode is in June ’44 engaged in five close combat actions, this results in a general assault badge and the prestigious EKI.
After the defeat in France the Pz Lehr Div is reequipped, the resources are very limited now and only the third company is issued armored vehicles.
The Pz Lehr Div will once again play an important part in the next offensive, operation Wacht am Rhein, the assault through the Ardennes forest.
During the first days of the offensive the engineers of the Pz Lehr Div build a bridge across the Our and Irsen rivers in Gemünd (German/Luxembourg border); it is in these first days of the offensive that Heinz Rhode is seriously wounded.
Alas I can’tread the entire wound entry but the shrapnel wound he received from what Ithink is from a projectile fired from a tank, was so serious that his right lower leg had to be amputated.
So he ended the war as an invalid, promoted to Oberfeldwebel and decorated with the wound badge in silver.
Cheers,
Peter
This is the newest addition to my Panzer Lehr/Battle of the bulge Soldbuch collection.
Heinz Rhode, he was mobilized in August ’39 and joined the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] company of Pi Btl 71 as a Gefreiter; his engineer battalion was part of the 50ID, this division will participate in the Polish campaign and fight around Bromberg and in the battle of the Bzura.
After the defeat of the Polish army the 50ID is soon relocated to the west and takes up a position against the Maginotline.
By now Heinz Rhode is an Obergefreiter with the first company of Pi Btl 71, during operation yellow his unit is kept in reserve but when operation red starts they are at the frontline again, their task is to breakthrough the French line in Chemin des Dames (a famous WW1 battlefield), then the Marne needs to becrossed, it is here that he gets a French bullet through his right foot.
The wound keeps him in hospital from June 13 ’40 till August 21 ’40.
On June 30’40 he gets the VWA black, on November 15 ’40 follows also an EKII and on December 1 ’40 a promotion to Unteroffizier.
When he is recovered from his injury he becomes an instructor in a training unit for engineers.
At the end of ’43 or in early ’44 he is promoted to Feldwebel and transferred to the newly created Panzer Lehr Division.
The PanzerLehr Division is one of the most modern units in the German army, fully motorized, also the engineer battalion is equipped with halftrack vehicles and the infamous Flammpanzer also is part of their arsenal.
When the allies land in Normandythe Pz Lehr Div is rushed to the front; the combat is fierce, Heinz Rhode is in June ’44 engaged in five close combat actions, this results in a general assault badge and the prestigious EKI.
After the defeat in France the Pz Lehr Div is reequipped, the resources are very limited now and only the third company is issued armored vehicles.
The Pz Lehr Div will once again play an important part in the next offensive, operation Wacht am Rhein, the assault through the Ardennes forest.
During the first days of the offensive the engineers of the Pz Lehr Div build a bridge across the Our and Irsen rivers in Gemünd (German/Luxembourg border); it is in these first days of the offensive that Heinz Rhode is seriously wounded.
Alas I can’tread the entire wound entry but the shrapnel wound he received from what Ithink is from a projectile fired from a tank, was so serious that his right lower leg had to be amputated.
So he ended the war as an invalid, promoted to Oberfeldwebel and decorated with the wound badge in silver.
Cheers,
Peter
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