Need Translation Help Please My 1st Erkennungsmarken
Article about: Hi, pics of my first German ID tag. Wow, I did not think they were so large. These really are a big, very odd to me. I show a pic with a Japanese WW2 dog tag for comparison. Very nice, I lik
Need Translation Help Please My 1st Erkennungsmarken
Hi, pics of my first German ID tag. Wow, I did not think they were so large. These really are a big, very odd to me. I show a pic with a Japanese WW2 dog tag for comparison.
Very nice, I like it. I also have a couple zinc type ID tags on the way. I ran all of them through here already, and they seemed to good ones.
I would like to know exactly what is on this tag. It was stated it is for a replacement soldier in a rocket launcher crew or division, battalion???
Why is there no blood group type on it? Some did not have them and I wonder why.
Is it unusual that the letters are all stamped the same direction?? Most I see have them stamped differently, one would be upside down when looking at it.
Were Rocket launchers a common German weapon??? I do not recall seeing many. I have seen rocket launcher weapons in the Eastern front & Operation Barbarossa.
Re: Need Translation Help Please My 1st Erkennungsmarken
It's worth to mention tah "Ersatz" units were those built up in the rear areas in the garrisons, then sent to the front as replacement for losses. There weren't "ersatz" named units of the front, but the solider usually kept the dog tag he got during training, and probably carried a dog tag of "Ersatz" unit till the end.
Why there's no blood group and why both texts are the same line? It might be a mistake (double?) or they simply didn't have the blood group of this particular soldier. The text (letters etc.) looks good, but I'm not familiar enough with dog tags to tell you how possible/often were such mistakes.
Re: Need Translation Help Please My 1st Erkennungsmarken
Thanks fellows. Great information. I think I read somewhere that the Germans used big smoke generating machines for hiding troop movements etc. Maybe that is what Neb. means in this instance? What do you think? Nebel means smoke or fog in German.
Re: Need Translation Help Please My 1st Erkennungsmarken
Nebelwerfers were 6 barrelled rocket launchers which could fire smoke and also high explosive rockets , they were first used in action in Russia during the early days of Operation Barbarrosa.
The gates of hell were opened and we accepted the invitation to enter" 26/880 Lance Sgt, Edward Dyke. 26th Bn Northumberland Fusiliers , ( 3rd Tyneside Irish )
1st July 1916
Thought shall be the harder , heart the keener,
Courage the greater as our strength faileth.
Here lies our leader ,in the dust of his greatness.
Who leaves him now , be damned forever.
We who are old now shall not leave this Battle,
But lie at his feet , in the dust with our leader
Re: Need Translation Help Please My 1st Erkennungsmarken
Hi Steve,
The tag is, as said, for'Nebel' replacement battalion 7. 'Nebel' was used in the sense of 'Smoke defence' or 'Chemical warfare' earlier in the war before it became realised that this was not a road the war was taking.
The battalion was originally founded in May 1940 as a training battalion in Munster.There were in total 3 batteries, of which your tag appears to be no.1. There were several types of Nebelwerfers used during the war, but 7 appear to have used exclusivley the 15cm-41 model shown below in training and in action in Italy.
I'm not entirely 100% on this bit, but i think they may have fought on the north east part of the Stalingrad sector, with a very few escaping to eventually surrender on the banks of the Danube nearly 2 years later.Sorry for being so vague!!
Regards,Ned.
'I do not think we can hope for any better thing now.
We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker of course, and the end cannot be far.
It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. R. SCOTT.
Last Entry - For God's sake look after our people.'
In memory of Capt. Robert Falcon Scott, Edward Wilson, Henry Bowers, Lawrence Oates and Edgar Evans. South Pole Expedition, 30th March 1912.
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