79 F. SS Pz Gren A und E Btl

[Mitch Kelly]

Dear all,

I have my great uncle's Soldbuch from the end of the war, noting that he served with the above unit (79 F. SS Pz Gren A und E Btl). I know that this was a replacement Soldbuch, since his original one was lost (along with all his possessions) when the hospital he was in at the time was burned down in an air raid. The book, therefore, shows only his then-current unit, and not his service history.

Was 79 F. SS Pz Gren A und E Btl associated with are particular formation, and if so, which one, or was it a composite unit created for administrative purposes in the chaos at the end of the war?

Thanks in advance,

Mitch

[Rob - WSSOB]

Hi - I belive it was associated with the 31st SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division - see http://www.wssob.com/031divfgd.html

[Mitch Kelly]

Rob,

thanks for the info - it would suggest he was "co-opted" to this unit, since I know that he previously served in the Ardennes (where he was wounded, hence the hospitalisation), possibly northern France, and certainly central USSR. Also, he and the other members of his "unit" (the hospital inmates) were led due west by their highest surviving officer present, so as to surrender to the US Army, rather than be trapped in Berlin and fall into Russian hands. In the light of this, is there any way I can trace his "original" unit?

Mitch

[Vos]

Hi,

SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Rgt. 79 was formed on 1/10/1944 in Hungary from Volksdeutschen and used the Stamm, Gerät an Fp. Nrs from the dissolved Waffen-Geb.Jäg.Rgts. der SS 56 (kroat. Nr. 4).

The Waffen-Gebirgsjäger-Rgt. der SS 56 was formed on 10/6/1944 in Croatia out of Bosnians. It served in 23. Wafen-Geb.Div. der SS "Kama"(kroat. Nr. 2).

Well, I'm not sure wheter this will help you, but this is as far as I can come.

The trail you've described would however seem to fit the next SS-divisions: 1, 2, 9, and 12.

Regards,

Johan Vos

[Mitch Kelly]

Thanks for the info. The Soldbuch clearly says "SS Pz. Gren" rather than "SS Gren", which is a bit of a mystery. My great uncle was most assuredly "Reichsdeutsch", hailing from Spandau in Berlin, and had enlisted / been enlisted in October 1943. I agree that the locations he gave, along with the enlistment date, suggest the armoured formations - I rather suspected either 9 or 12. There are some other unit names / titles in the Soldbuch, and a completely different unit descriptor in his Aliens Registration certificate. Some of these are handwritten in rather spidery hands, but when / if I can decipher them, I'll post again.

But, to repeat an earlier question: given basic biographical information (name, DoB, date of enlistment etc), is it possible to track his service history through any other organisation?

Mitch

[Wolf]

was he a Hungarian German or from Upper Silesia for that is what the 79 F. SS Pz Gren A und E Btl mostly contained.Also most of the 79 F. SS Pz Gren A und E Btl ended up in military camps in the Ukraine after the war was he situated their?