276th VolksGrenadier Division - Regt. No. 986 - History

German unit histories, lineages, OoBs, ToEs, commanders, fieldpost numbers, organization, etc.

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Lothar
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Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2007 4:18 am
Location: Neuss, Germany

Post by Lothar »

Hi Martins,

referring to the vacation of your father in Jan, 1945 I think that this was a normal procedure related to the period your father was already in combat (plus promotion to Unteroffizier). Even the division commander, Col. Wagner, was on vacation in mid of Feb., 1945 during the heavy fights of his division at the borderline Luxemburg/Germany.

Date and point of the capture of your father matches the report of the Div.Cdr. Colonel Wagner. HALENBACH is a litlle village that belongs today to the vicinity of ARZFELD. Around Feb 20, 1945 the 276th VGD was attacked from the north by the 11th (US) Armored Division. The attack was successful and hit the remaining soldiers of Gren. Rgt's 986 + 987 severely and forced them to withdraw east to the west bank of the PRUEM river. The little town/village of REIFF, the objective of the 11th AD, was occupied on Feb. 22, 1945. So I think your father surrendered to soldiers of the 11th AD, esp. to the 63rd Armored Infantry Bn.

Some infos you can find in:
http://www.11tharmoreddivision.com/hist ... pter_1.htm (see pages 16 to 22)

Regards

Lothar
adie.platts
New Member
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2021 11:49 am

Re: 276th VolksGrenadier Division - Regt. No. 986 - History

Post by adie.platts »

I too have been researching my Wife's Grandfathers history. He was Austrian born but was living with his Uncle in Hamburg whilst he completed his apprenticeship. He was drafted in Dec 1942 for the Heer Army and it looks like he was with the 276th VGD and was captured by the 63rd Armored Infantry Battallion on the 18th Feb 1945.

He was blown up in a bunker by a Pineapple Grenade some of which was still in his side until the day he died in April 2016. Then he was placed on a stretcher on the front of a Willy's Jeep, patched up at an Aid Station, sent to an American Field Hospital in Weisswampach and then to Cherbourg for a slowboat the New Jersey. He was interned at Camp Upton, I have a copy of his internment details and a POW Camp Photo if anyone is interested.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h4co7pdhjedat ... .jpeg?dl=0

Here is a cached version of the list: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/s ... clnk&gl=uk

When they closed Camp Upton, he was sent to Fort Dupont in Delaware where he stayed until being sent to Chobham POW Camp in England in 1946 (Via Liverpool) to help with the rebuilding of the forestery as per a request from the UK Government. He met and married my wife's grandmother and settled in the Guildford/Godalming area until he passed away.

There are some holes in his history that I have been trying to find, such as the ship he was brought to Liverpool on etc but I beleive I have as complete a picture of his time as I can now. It does look like he was also with the 986th Regiment at the time of Capture and I believe it to have been in the early hours of the morning, this is because he told me they had only just arrived the day before and he had just taken over as sentry when he heard was sounded like a metal bottle bouncing down the side steps of the bunker.

The next thing he knew he was on the front of a jeep.

Information from Alfred's Soldbuch

10 Dec 1942
Kit and clothing issue entry - HQ Company, Grenadier Replacement Battalion 333.
Pay level confirmed grade 16 - 30RM per month

11 Dec 1942
Soldbuch authorised by Captain and Company commander, in Rendsburg - HQ Company, Infantry Replacement Battalion 333.

14 Feb 1943
Security check – Grenadier Training Battalion 333 stationed in Hiörring / Skagen (http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gli ... t333-R.htm)

4 Jun 1943
Security check – unit stamp not legible.

8 Jul 1943
Security check – unit stamp not legible.

15 Aug 1943
Leave authorised to Lustenau – Fp Nr 21448 (Stab II u. 5.-8. Kompanie Grenadier-Regiment 569).

29 Sept 1943
Pay entry for 35RM - unable to identify unit.

1 Nov 1943
Promoted Gefreiter and pay increase – Fp Nr 07107 (Regimentsstab (Regimental Staff) u. Stabskompanie (HeadQuarters Companie) Grenadier-Regiment 580).
Pay level confirmed grade 15 - 35RM per month

18 Nov 1943
Awarded Silver Infantry Assault Badge –Grenadier Regiment 569. Note, this may not have been his own unit, but one he was temporarily attached to. As part of 328. Infanterie-Division.

Dec 1943
Two pay entries, both for 15RM - Fp Nr 39195 (Kfz.-Instandsetzungs-Park 624 - Vehicle Maintenance Unit 624).

24 Apr 1944
Kit and clothing entry – Grenadier Regiment 580.

Jul 1944
Pay entry for 12.50RM - Fp Nr 40523 (Kfz.-Abschleppzug 767 - Vehicle Recovery Unit 767).

11 Jul 1944
Awarded Bronze Drivers Badge – Fp Nr 07107 (Regimentsstab (Regimental Staff) u. Stabskompanie (HeadQuarters Companie) Grenadier-Regiment 580).

Jul 1944 Popeasca

14 Sep 1944
Admitted to Res Laz XI (Reserve Hospital XI), in Wiener Neudorf, Austria, with malaria.

30 Sep 1944
Discharged from hospital as ‘k.v‘. (kriegsverwendungsfähig - fit for combat duty)
Convalescence Leave authorised to Hamburg – Res Laz XI

Oct 1944
Pay entry for 72RM – Res Laz XI

17 Oct 1944
Kit and clothing entry – Grenadier Replacement Battalion 159 (http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gli ... t159-R.htm)

22 Oct 1944
Recovery Leave authorised to Hamburg – suspect by Grenadier Replacement Battalion 159

20 Nov 1944
Issued additional gas equipment; gas mask model 38, protective gas cape and pouch, 2 x gas decontamination salve for skin, bandage (insert page)

22 Nov 1944
Kit and clothing entry – redeployment/transfer (unspecified)

13 Feb 1945
Weapon serial number entry made, unable to identify weapon type but more than likely a k98 rifle.

Undated, but prior to hospitalisation

WKF (Wehrmachts-Kraftfahrer) klasse II and III (Driver Training on vehicles class 2 (trucks over 2.5 tonnes) and 3 (cars and light trucks up to 2.5 tonnes) – Fp Nr 07107 (unable to identify unit).

Note: the same person entered the award entries for Silver Infantry Assault Badge, Bronze Drivers Badge and this driving qualification, but using different pens. Therefore the entries would have been made on different dates.
undated, suspect October 1944 Marshkomp Gren EuA Btl 159 (Transfer Company, Replacement & Training Battalion 159)

After leaving hospital there are two separate entries to show washing soap and shaving soap were issued to Alfred, but these are undated.

Background Information

The Grenadier Regiment 579 was created on October 15, 1942 by renaming the Infantry Regiment 580 and the 306th Infantry Division. The regiment was at that time in the Bresken area at the mouth of the Scheldt and the Belgian-French border near de Panne and was deployed in coastal protection. In the weeks prior to the renaming, the regiment had been prepared for its deployment on the Eastern Front. From December 10, 1942, the regiment then moved east and was unloaded eastward from Forchstadt. The regiment was immediately placed under the 11th Panzer Division and transferred to the Hollidt Army Department. On January 1, 1943, the 1st Battalion was temporarily disbanded. By mid-January 1943 the regiment went back to the Donets. On January 17, 1943, the regiment was again subordinated to the 306th Infantry Division and moved into a defensive position south of Forchstadt on the west bank of the Donets.

On February 9, 1943, the 306th Infantry Division left their positions and the regiment marched in battalions towards Mius. The 306th Infantry Division took over a defense section 35 km wide south of Krasni - Lutschmit. In the Mius position the regiment came to rest for the time being. On July 17, 1943, the regimental section was hit by a major Russian attack. The Red Army was able to force some intrusions into the HKL, which could be sealed off with heavy losses of its own. The old HVAC could be restored by the end of July. The front did not calm down in the weeks that followed. On August 19, 1943, the next major Russian attack began, this time bringing down the German front. By mid-September 1943, the regiment reached the Dnieper bridgehead east of Zaporozhye via Makejewka and Stalino.

On September 25, 1943, the 306th Infantry Division was replaced by the 333rd Infantry Division and then the XXX. Subordinate to the Army Corps and relocated to the area between Kremenchug and Dnejpropetrovsk on the west bank of the Dnieper. Here the division suffered heavy losses and the III. The regiment's battalion disbanded in November 1943. In December 1943 the Red Army succeeded in enclosing strong German forces near Nikopol. The 580 grenadier regiment and parts of the fusilier battalion escaped final containment despite the mud. Then the regiment marched south with the 306th Infantry Division. A resistance line was drawn on Buzuluk for around 14 days. The regiment then had to move to the area south of Vorontsovka. The 306th Infantry Division now stood with Grenadier Regiment 580 on the left, Fusilier Battalion in the middle and Grenadier Regiment 579 at the mouth of the Buzuluk into the Dnieper. At the end of February 1944, the 306th Infantry Division gave up their positions. Two battalions of the fortress infantry regiment 999 (XVII. And XIX. Battalion) were added to the regiment. At Arkhangelskoye the regiment crossed the Ingulez. However, the German troops were threatened with encirclement here too. The regiment went back to the Ingul via the Wissun.

On both the Wissum and the Ingul, the regiment took up defensive positions on the elevated western banks for several days. Kherson was evacuated on March 13, and Nikolayev at the end of March 1943. To the southwest of Novo Petrovskoye, the regiment crossed the bow and then marched south. On April 9, 1944, the regiment reached Dalnik. From here the regiment had to fight its way to Owidiopol. On April 14th the regiment then crossed the Dniester and then marched north. To the south of Tiraspol the Red Army had crossed the Dniester and drew a line of position across the loop in the river loop open to the south. The task of the 306th Infantry Division was to set up a string position in the river bend together with the 15th Infantry Division. Here the regiment came to rest for a while. The two probation battalions were now firmly under the regiment.

The Russian summer offensive began on August 20, 1944. The 306th Infantry Division was crushed on the first day of the attack. The remnants of the regiment were pushed back to a deadlock position hard east of Ermoclia and placed under the 13th Panzer Division. On August 22nd, the remnants of the regiment reached Romanesti, where they were trapped and destroyed. By order of the Army High Command of October 9, 1944, the 306th Infantry Division and the Grenadier Regiment 580 were declared disbanded.


11 Armoured Division US Army, 63rd Armoured Infantry Battalion After Match Report.

A narrow-front sneak attack was launched at 5:45 a.m. on February 18, 1945, led by the 63rd Armored Infantry Battalion. CCR caught the enemy in the midst of a troop shifting disposition. The vigorous infantry-tank assault, without the warning of an Artillery preparation completely surprised and confused the enemy, according to the prisoners of war from the 987th Grenadier Regiment and the 267th Volksgrenadiers, who began to pour in.

The 63rd Armored Infantry Battalion recaptured Grosskampenberg at 8:05 a.m. the same day with base fire support from Lutzkampen. Company C of the 56th Armored Engineer Battalion blasted two paths through the dragon's teeth and a minefield in the rear. This was accomplished by 9:15 a.m. The 63rd Armored Infantry Battalion cleaned out fortifications to advantageous positions with support from tanks and artillery fire. Sustaining the force of attack, the 55th Armored Infantry Battalion, with support by Engineers and tanks, passed straight through to take the first objective, Leidenborn, by 5:00 p.m.

63rd AIB After Match Report

Alfred was captured on this dates:

February 18, 1945 – Attack Towards Berg and Leidenborn:
Battalion moved to assembly area for the attack. Jumped off at 0600, advancing against small arms, automatic weapons, mortar and artillery fire. “A” Company took objective #1 (the high ground East of BERG) at 1300, and “B” and “C” Companies, with a machine gun platoon attached, passed around “A” Company and captured the high ground west of LEIDENBORN. Enemy activity was very limited on the Corps front.

February 19, 1945 – Capture of Leidenborn:
Battalion continued its attack towards REIFF and the high ground East of LEIDENBORN. On the Corps front enemy resistance to the advance varied from light to determined. Some pillboxes were rigorously defended whereas others were abandoned after our troops fired on them. Our advance toward KESFELD caught the enemy by surprise and resulted in 47 POWs being taken. Resistance stiffened as the advance continued to LEIDENBORN but this was overcome and the town captured.

Hope this is of interest, if anyone spots any glaring innacuracies please let me know as I am really not great at this historical research stuff.

Many thanks

Adie
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