Great Militaria - Top
Display your banner here
Results 1 to 9 of 9

Wehrpaß, Heer

Article about: Hello folks. Have had this one for quite some time, but would be interested to know the finer details of who this gent was and where he served. On my own, I've been able to discern that he s

  1. #1

    Default Wehrpaß, Heer

    Hello folks.

    Have had this one for quite some time, but would be interested to know the finer details of who this gent was and where he served. On my own, I've been able to discern that he served in the First World War from 1916, and that at some point during his service he was awarded the EKII. It's also to my understanding that he served for the entire duration of World War 2, with the latest entry I can find being June 1945.
    Translating the rest of it has been problematic. Not because of my German, which I've been trying to learn for the past year, but because of the style of handwriting commonly used in these documents.
    I've photographed every page that has been filled out. Any not included are entirely blank. Also included is a piece of paper glued to the back of the final page, under the back cover.

    Would be very, very appreciative of any help with this one.

    Thank you in advance, and best regards!

    B.B.
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture Wehrpaß, Heer   Wehrpaß, Heer  

    Wehrpaß, Heer   Wehrpaß, Heer  

    Wehrpaß, Heer   Wehrpaß, Heer  

    Wehrpaß, Heer   Wehrpaß, Heer  

    Wehrpaß, Heer   Wehrpaß, Heer  

    Wehrpaß, Heer   Wehrpaß, Heer  

    Wehrpaß, Heer   Wehrpaß, Heer  

    Wehrpaß, Heer   Wehrpaß, Heer  


  2. # ADS
    Circuit advertisement Wehrpaß, Heer
    Join Date
    Always
    Location
    Advertising world
    Age
    2010
    P
    Many
     

  3. #2

    Default

    Quote by BrodieBartfast View Post
    It's also to my understanding that he served for the entire duration of World War 2, with the latest entry I can find being June 1945.
    No; his active service in the Third Reich-/WW2 period amounted to some seven months (from 26 August 1939 to 29 March 1940).

  4. #3

    Default

    I'll have to eat humble pie with this one, then. What would explain the later entries?

    B.B.

  5. #4

    Default

    Quote by BrodieBartfast View Post
    I'll have to eat humble pie with this one, then. What would explain the later entries?
    He had a draft board examination while on reserve status in 1943; the June 1945 entry (after VE Day) is for an x-ray screening.

    I'll give you a summary of the document's contents tomorrow.

  6. #5

    Default

    Very kind of you, and thank you very much in advance. Goodness knows if I hadn't joined this forum, I'd still be floundering with the translation.

    Regards, B.B.

  7. #6

    Default

    Alright, here is what the document tells us:


    Otto Karl August Granzow was born on 22 September 1895 in the town of Mirow in the Neustrelitz district of Mecklenburg.

    His parents were the laborer Wilhelm Granzow and his wife Maria, neé Mohnke. Wilhelm died in 1934, his wife followed him in 1940.

    A natural-born German citizen of Protestant faith, Otto had a basic Volksschule education and became a cellar master by trade. He was a married man, although we don't know the name of his wife.

    At 20 years of age, Otto was called up for military service in the Great War. Reporting for duty in Roßstadt on 3 March 1916, he took up service with the II. Maschinengewehr-Kompanie, XIV. Armeekorps [II. Machine Gun Company, XIV. Army Corps]. He ended the war while with the I. Maschinengewehr-Kompanie, Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment 109 [I. Machine Gun Company, Reserve Infantry Regiment 109].*

    Exclusively serving on the Eastern Front, he remained a Schütze [basic-level Private] for more than two and a half years. Finally promoted to Gefreiter [Private First Class] on 17 December 1918, he was demobilized and discharged four days later on 21 December 1918 and returned to Mirow and civilian life.

    At some point during the war, he had been decorated with the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse [Iron Cross 2nd Class] and, as a combat veteran of WWI, would later be awarded the 1914/18 Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer [Honor Cross for Combatants] instituted in 1934.

    Once again subject to obligatory military service after conscription had been re-introduced in 1935, Otto reported to the Wehrmeldeamt [Draft Board] Berlin-Spandau on 14 February 1938. (The WMA was subordinate to Wehrbezirkskommando [Recruiting District Headquarters] Berlin X.)
    Found to be fit for military service in his draft board medical examination, he was taken into the tertiary reserves, getting assigned to the Landwehr I, which consisted of men from 35 to 45 years of age who had previous military experience.
    After having received the standard security lecture on espionage, counter-espionage, treason, secrecy and military monitoring given by an Army Major, Otto went home that day with his freshly-issued Wehrpaß, showing his Wehrnummer [personal military number] "Berlin X 95/1441/23/5".

    During the build-up to World War II, Otto was once again called to arms on 26 August 1939, reporting for duty with the 12. Batterie, Artillerie-Regiment 218 [12th Battery, Artillery Regiment 218] (part of the 218th Infantry Division, newly raised that very day) and was listed under the roster number 46.
    The next day, he underwent the usual additional medical exam for newly called-up personnel undertaken by his battalion medical officer, who confirmed his being fully fit for active military service.

    The stations of his subsequent service during the Polish Campaign and the "Phoney War" were:

    • 2 Sept. 1939 - 5 Sept. 1939: Fighting in the Tuchola Forest
    • 5 Sept. 1939 - 12 Sept. 1939: Fighting pursuit along both sides of the Vistula in the direction of Warsaw
    • 17 Sept. 1939 - 13 Oct. 1939: Rear-area duty
    • 14 Oct. 1939 - 15 Oct. 1939: Outpost area fighting between the Moselle and the Rhine
    • 16 Oct. 1939 - 18 Oct. 1939: Offensive skirmishes between the Saar and Hornberg
    • 19 Oct. 1939 - 7 Nov. 1939: Outpost area fighting between the Moselle and the Rhine
    • 10 Nov. 1939 - 13 Nov. 1939: Rear-area duty
    • 18 Nov. 1939 - 18 March 1940: Stationary warfare between the Moselle and the Saar



    On 19 March 1940, Otto was transferred to the 1. Batterie, II. Artillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung 168 [1st Battery, II. Artillery Replacement Detachment 168] and listed under the roster number 1020/4.

    Ten days later, on 29 March 1940, he was discharged at Küstrin**), still with the rank of Gefreiter, and could go home to Berlin-Spandau, where he now lived in the Seeburgerstraße 14.

    On 11 June 1941, he was finally handed out his discharge payment of 50 Reichsmarks and another 10 Reichsmarks for laundry/underwear he had not received.

    During his service in the old army and the Wehrmacht, Otto had qualified with the Gewehr 98 / Karabiner 98 Mauser rifle and the heavy machine gun and was trained as a driver of horse-drawn vehicles, both working from horseback [as a Fahrer vom Sattel] and from the driver's box [as a Fahrer vom Bock].

    Due to the ever-growing manpower demands in the war and the resulting changes to military fitness categories and classification procedures, it was standard practice to undertake further medical examinations of personnel on reserve status and those who had previously been found to be temporarily unfit for service. Otto, too, underwent another draft board examination on 26 July 1943. Even though he was rated "kv" ["kriegsverwendungsfähig", i.e. fully fit for active wartime service], Otto remained in the Landwehr I and would not be called up again.

    Otto Granzow survived the war, as we can tell from the final entry in his Wehrpaß, which is post-VE Day: Interestingly, this document was used to note an X-ray examination on 19 June 1945.



    *) I am not 100% certain on the regimental number; it's not well legible in the scan of page 24.

    **) The exact reason for his discharge is not given. It was undertaken due to some order by the Wehrkreiskommando III, Abteilung Ib [Military Area Headquarters III, Department Ib] of 15 November 1939, file ref. II 13 no. 01518/39.
    Last edited by HPL2008; 05-12-2017 at 04:55 PM.

  8. #7

    Default

    Wow, absolutely above and beyond what I was expecting from this one. Not really sure how to thank you for taking the time to do it!
    Will be printing this response off and storing it with the document. To know who this man was is one thing, to have the story of his military career is another thing entirely. I really do wish there was another way to express my thanks!

    B.B.

  9. #8

    Default

    You're welcome.

    (By the way, I like your user name. I presume you're in the fjord business? )

  10. #9

    Default

    Thank you. You do tend to find they give a continent a nice baroque feel.

Similar Threads

  1. My New Wehrpaß

    In Soldbuch, Wehrpaß, Ausweis, etc
    06-17-2023, 03:36 AM
  2. SS Wehrpaß

    In Soldbuch, Wehrpaß, Ausweis, etc
    10-06-2015, 12:37 AM
  3. Need Help! SS Wehrpaß Help

    In Soldbuch, Wehrpaß, Ausweis, etc
    02-27-2014, 10:48 PM
  4. 12-08-2013, 07:50 PM
  5. Soldier's I>D> Heer Wehrpaß

    In Soldbuch, Wehrpaß, Ausweis, etc
    02-10-2011, 01:03 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Griffin Militaria - Down
Display your banner here