wehrmacht soldier story

[stösser]

This is from a Wehrmacht vet that I knowin the family. These guys are getting old, so don't get pissy if a few of his facts are hazy.

WEHRMACHT STORY


Can you tell me about yourself and how you joined the Wehrmacht?

(last name deleted for privacy)

My name is Ted G****, I was drafted in the army in 1938 along with my classmates. I lived in Mainz, Germany and got my notice in the mail to report. I was eager and wanted to see what it was like to be a soldier. Remember, I was a teenager then and was naive about war. Those examining doctors were really mean to us. They had you stand there with no clothes on while they yelled at you and roughed you up. I remember being treated like a cow in the recruiting center. The training was hard, and the sergeants often swore and hit us for minor infractions, you could say that discipline was absolute.

What unit were you in?

I started out in the 170th field artillery for the invasion of Poland. We were fully motorized unlike some of the horse drawn units. We had the tracked autos and some tractors. The war was suppose to be over after Poland. Our commanders said we would be sent home and discharged. Nobody wanted another war. Especially after your first time in battle.Did you know we didn't have any winter clothing? My mother mailed me some scarves and gloves to wear that she made. The snow was so high thatwe couldn't move any of our guns around.

Did you get any furloughs then?

Yes, I was wounded in the chest and sent home for a while. I felt guilty being home when no one else is.When I wore my tunic you couldn't tell I was wounded so I would get glares from all the mothers whose sons were still out there. After all, I was the only young man walking around talking to their daughters. I should have worn a placard around my neck to stop all the questioning from the women and old men.

What were the polizei like?

They were terrible, most of them were former policemen and they made good soldiers. They weren't gestapo at all but very cruel to us. I would avoid them at all costs. My battle ribbons were on my uniform so when I went home on leave so they would not even bother with me . They were relentless on the poor souls who were lower ranking. If they wanted to see your papers, you better start sh**ing your pants.They liked to loiter around the train stations to see who was departing and who was arriving. It was better to be from a smaller town then but I was from Mainz so there was no way to get around them.

What music did you listen to then?

All of us listened to dance music when we could get it on the radio. A lot of the music was about home and girlfriends. At home we played American music but that stopped when you came in the Army. We didn't like the march music as much since it reminded us that we were all still in the army. They played marches often to inspire the troops.

How was the supply system and what did you wear?

We carried everything on our belts. It was early in the war so most everything was still in supply. All of us kept our bayonets and grenades in our jackboots. We looked like clowns running with all that stuff shoved in our boots. Talking about that, we wore our boots out quickly. I was lucky that my dad was in the food business and mailed me food. The supply
sergeant would issue me new boots for food. Most of the soldiers didn't have it as lucky. We had lots of black bread to eat with our soup, which was our main meal usually. We liked it best when we captured canned foods and cigarettes. I used the 98 in training but it was taken away afterwards. You didn't get a rifle back until you were close to the front. All of us kept getting our uniforms torn up, especially in the elbows and knees from the living on the ground. The ones they would give us as replacements you could tell were from dead men. They had bullet holes and sometimes blood. I didn't want one but what else was there to use? I didn't like the helmets either as it would rain and water would pour down both sides of your face. Don't even bother to wipe it off. We were told to keep our gasmasks in our cans, but everyone threw them out eventually. I kept socks, a shirt and cleaning kit in mine.

Did you see the Russians then?

No, I saw those bastards later on. I'm fortunate that I ended up on in France or I would have been killed in a bad way like so many others there.. The Russian peasants wore what they came in the army with. Mostly farmer's clothes and old rifles. I saw a few of their soldiers with uniforms on. They walked over and gave up since they weren't for Stalin in the beginning of it all. My unit spent more time in Greece and Yugoslavia than in Russia. We overran a complete working radio station in Yugoslavia. Some of the records I mailed to my parents and I am still listening to them now. A lot of my comrades died there and the local people there didn't like us and were dangerous. The fighting could be close in and I had to use my bayonet and fists a few times. My sergeant
would say if you stick your bayonet half way in then you were doing good.


When did you go to France and what unit were you in?

Later in the war but I forget when, you get that way when your'e in your eighties. I was put in a panzergrenadier division. They needed more infantry by then. I sure missed having a ride on an auto, even if it was dangerous at the time. My company always marched on foot everywhere. My feet were in really bad shape during this time. Those jackboots keep
sliding up and down my heels. I remember walking in the woods all night and getting little sleep.

Did you see the Americans or British?

I only saw Americans, we were so badly outnumbered. They had all the artillery and airplanes. We couldn't act until they were really close because of this. They had so many men and tanks too. I was a fast runner and that saved my skin whenever we'd pull back. I crawled on the ground often and stayed in the forest for cover. Their artillery barrages were the worst, a lot of my comrades died from them.

Where did you fight the Americans at?

It was in northern and eastern France, I can't remember where as we used the countryside and stayed out of towns. The Americans I saw were young guys that didn't seem to have any combat experience. Everything they wore and their equipment was new like it was just issued.They would stumble in on us and we would open up. They were more interested in running away than shooting back so that made it easy. They were just scared kids that needed more training. The Americans would often try to bomb or artillery their way in through us and would usually attack only in large numbers when the odds were stacked in their favor.We had to do more ambushes and delaying actions since we didn't have much left in France that wasn't already destroyed by then.

Where did you end the war?

In France surrendering to some Americans. I had lice then and still have scars from them now. By this time I was down to 90 lbs and I'm six feet tall. We had been in action for some time and there was only two privates and myself left alive out of the whole company. We were cut off and didn't have ammunition or anything else left to fight with. I told both of
them to take off all their helmets and gear, break their rifles, then follow me out with their coats open. A group of Americans came over the hill walking in line on the road in front of their trucks that were full of their gear and packs. They only had their rifles in their hands. We must have been a filthy looking bunch as a they stood back twenty feet back and a
couple of them threw us cigarettes and biscuits to eat. I'm sure they thought we had a disease. I was worried about what they were going to do with us. Most of them obviously wanted to kill us but they were stopped by what seemed to be the person in charge. They took us to a fenced in area where some other Wehrmacht soldiers were already being held. We were each given penicillin shots and thrown in. We all knew that the war was lost by 1944, but our country was to be invaded and given to the Russians.

Did any Germans shoot prisoners?

No , of course not.It was forbidden to shoot any prisoners but the SS tended to be more fanatical so they might have done it, those SS guys were tough and determined. It was well known that if you were SS or a Falshirmjaeger that you'd be shot if captured. We often saw theevidence unfortunately. Taking Americans prisoner was usually easy, they gave up in small numbers and were moved to our rear areas like sheep. They didn't even try to escape.


How do you feel now after the war?

I am proud that I was a soldier and fought for my country. I used to go to the German classes in the high schools around here to help them learn the language. They all wanted to know how I could fight for Hitler so I quit doing it. Not too many people even liked the guy back then in Germany.