Help with some wehrpaß entries

**bigmacglenn** · 11-19-2013, 11:45 PM

POST #6
The Stamp reads: Informed of regulations concerning photography in Area of Operations.
Writing below reads: On 6 Nov.40 taught about enemy espionage and maintaining secrecy.
I hope I was able to help out!
cheers, Glenn

**Espenlaub Militaria** · 11-19-2013 11:45 PM

We also buy and trade your items and full collections!

**Wagriff** · 11-19-2013, 11:50 PM

#4 He went to the People's "Jew School"......lol just kidding! I can't read it either!

**ObKrieger** · 11-19-2013, 11:52 PM

Thanks, gentlemen! This has been helpful. I will await comment on the other entries.

**bigmacglenn** · 11-19-2013, 11:55 PM

I believe it's Volks-Gewerbeschule...Trade School.
cheers, Glenn

**Wagriff** · 11-20-2013, 12:00 AM

This guy sure had an incredibly diverse military career! He married in 1931, joined the military, worked at construction and repair and worked as a radio man, was sent to spy and photography school and all in the meanwhile, was also at the Russian Front, got himself an Iron Cross and went to Jew School before the war ended and then he was promoted to Corporal a month after the war ended....This should be made into a movie.

**bigmacglenn** · 11-20-2013, 12:03 AM

He wasn't actually sent to spy/photography school...He was merely given the lecture about Operational Security that every soldier gets...
cheers, Glenn

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**ObKrieger** · 11-20-2013, 12:07 AM

Here's what I have so far.

May 1st – July 15th, 1940: Infantry Reconnaissance Reserve Company 260

On 1 November 1939, the regiment was moved to Ungarisch Hradisch in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (now the Czech Repubic).

From July 15th, 1940 – August 3rd, 1940 he served in the same unit, in the same place.

August 4th, 1940 – December 20th, 1940: Reconnaissance Unit 260, of the 260th Infantry Division

He spent his time with the 260th on occupation duty in France, mainly at Montbeliard, Delle, and Morvillars.

December 21st, 1940 – November 3rd, 1943: 5th Company, Armored Group Reconnaissance Regiment 2

This was a new unit, created on December 10th, 1940. In December 1941 it was renamed ‘Tank Reconnaissance Regiment 2’. This unit was part of a larger overall unit called ‘Panzergruppe 2’, which was basically just a large mass of tanks. Here’s what Friedrich Weixler took part in during this time:

Panzer Group 2 was set up on 16 November 1940. At the beginning of the Eastern campaign (Operation Barbarossa), the group initially broke through the Russian border positions. After the conquest of Brest-Litovsk, the group fought in the Pripyat area (Ukraine) east of Brest. Then followed the battle of Bialystok - Slonim. From 28 July 1941 to 22 August 1941 , the bar was also known as ‘Guderian’s Army’, after the famed unit commander by the name of Heinz Guderian. In December of 1941 the unit was renamed ‘Panzergruppe 2’. The group was then used in the attack on Svisloch and Berezina . The unit then drove on Minsk. After the Battle of Smolensk, the group established positions along the Dnieper River. The group then fought at Roslavl. After that, the army was deployed in the defensive battles at Jelna, Smolensk, and in Kritschero and Gomel . It was followed by the Battle of Kiev and the double battle of Wjasma and Bryansk . In September 1943, the army was moved to the Balkans. Panzergruppe 2 remained there for the remainder of the war. During this time, Friedrich spent time in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Yugoslavia, and likely Greece and Poland.

A more detailed history, taken from Wikipedia:

“1941: The Germans had 4 panzer armies as their spearheads spread across 3 army groups at the start of Operation Barbarossa. Army Group North was given control of 4th Panzer Army, Army Group Center was given control of 3rd Panzer Army and 2nd Panzer Army while Army Group South was given control of 1st Panzer Army. Army Group Center had been assigned to capture Moscow.
Capture of Bialystok and Minsk: As the Germans invaded deep into Russia, Guderian's 2nd Panzer Army formed the southern pincer while Hoth's 3rd Panzer Army formed the Northern pincer engulfing several Russian divisions during the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa. Of particular significance are the battles of Bialystok and Minsk, where substantial amount of Russian prisoners were captured and several Russian weapons captured.

Progress slows down and the capture of Smolensk : In spite of beginning to suffer heavy rates of attrition, the Panzer Armies marched along. The Rasputitza Season (season of no movement in Russian - due to heavy rains and sluggish muddy roads) was terrible and took its toll on German equipment. Progress was often slowed down to a few kilometres a day. Nonetheless, the Germans marched on.
At this point in time, a momentous decision was taken, which some say could have changed the course of the war. The Germans were already behind the timetable of capturing Moscow, before the Winter of 1941 had set in, but were progressing slowly towards its target. After Minsk, the 2nd and 3rd Panzer Armies had succeeded in capturing Smolensk in yet another successful pincer operation that yielded around 300,000 prisoners. Southward Dash to Kiev: As Army Group Center inched towards Moscow, Hitler ordered Guderian to turn Southward towards Kiev. Guderian in his memoirs argues that he was against this operation, because by turning South-West ward towards Kiev, he was moving in a direction towards Germany and not eastward, which was a severe wastage of time and effort. However, he or the high command of the OKW were not able to convince Hitler. In hindsight, it must be said, that probably there was some logic in Hitler ordering this move.

Of the 3 Army Groups - North, Center and South, it was Army Group South that was facing the most stiff resistance. They were making the slowest progress compared to the other two Army Groups. This could be due to several factors, which are beyond the scope of this article. German reconnaissance had seen huge Russian armies gathering in the vicinity of Kiev, which 1st Panzer Army would have found difficult to capture on its own. It is probably for this reason, that Hitler ordered Guderian's 2nd Panzer army to immediately swing south-west and now form the northern pincer at Kiev. At Kiev, Guderian's 2nd Panzer Army and Von Kleist's 1st Panzer Army locked in a pincer around Kiev to trap - 665,000 Russian prisoners, the greatest capture of a single battle in the war.

Considering this fact, Hitler's decision to divert 2nd Panzer army southward may not have been totally incorrect. Another important aspect that had to be considered was Napoleon's disaster adventure of Russia. Napoleon had captured Moscow, but had not destroyed the Red Army. If Army Group Center had marched onwards directly to Moscow, and considering that Army Group South was made up of Romanian, Hungarian, Italian and Croatian Forces, which were not as well equipped and trained as the German Wehrmacht, it would be debatable if Army Group South on its own had enough forces to defeat the Red Army forces in the south. Under such a scenario, if Army Group South did not keep up with Army Group Center, then there was also a potential danger of a breach in the flanks between both Army Groups, and the potential possibility of a threat to Army Group Center's communication and logistics by the Red Army.

Attack Moscow from the Rear: Now, Hitler felt that the time to attack Moscow was right. The Panzer divisions had suffered severe attrition of almost 20-25% in the nonstop action of these several months, and the Panzer divisions were reinforced by what little the German armament industry could make during the months since the beginning of Operation Barbarossa. The OKW now envisioned 3 Panzer armies attacking Moscow from different directions. 4th Panzer Army in the North around Leningrad would attack southward. Hoth's 3rd Panzer Army would attack east ward towards Moscow, while 2nd Panzer Army would turn North west ward and attack Moscow from her rear-flanks.

But unfortunately for the Germans, this did not proceed as expected. Winter had already set in and the tired and hard pressed front line Panzer divisions had reached their limit. The Russians on the other hand had reinforced Moscow with fresh 49th and 50th Siberian armies with better clothing and equipment, and the Panzer divisions working at their endurable limit, could not reach beyond the flanks of Moscow. They were driven back and had to retreat.

1942: 2nd Panzer Army took part in war crimes in September 1942 while conducting anti-guerrilla operations in Russia. These operations killed at least a thousand people, razed entire villages, and deported over 18,500. During these operations, Jews and suspected members of guerrilla bands were murdered by being forced to drag earth-turning implements through minefields.[2]

In August 1943, the army's headquarters was subordinated to Army Group F and transferred to the Balkans for anti-partisan operations. From September to December 1943. III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps was subordinated to the army. Subsequently the army became primarily an infantry formation at this point and would not command another panzer division until February 1945.

The army headquarters with some units was subsequently transferred to Hungary as part of Army Group South in January 1945. 2nd Panzer Army took part in the Battle of the Transdanubian Hills in March 1945 prior to surrendering in Austria at the end of the war.”

From June 22nd, 1941 to November 30th, 1941, Armored Group Reconnaissance Regiment 2 (Friedrich Weixler’s unit in particular) laid over 3,050 kilometers of field phone wire.

For whatever reason, he was transferred to a new unit. He spent four days (4-8 November 1943) in the stammkompanie of Reconnaissance Reserve Unit 3. (A stammkompanie is a sort of reception unit, which is why he was only there for four days.)

November 9th, 1943 – February 22nd, 1944: 2nd Company, Reconnaissance Training Unit 3

This is the main unit he was transferred to. He spent four and a half months here in Germany, training (from experience) fresh reconnaissance troop recruits.

February 24th, 1944 - ?: 5th Company, Armored Reconnaissance Regiment 2

Perhaps due to a lack of manpower on the front line, Friedrich Weixler was transferred back to his old combat unit. This is the last entry on his unit page. He likely remained in this unit until capitulation in Austria in 1945.