Transfer of Sturmgeschütz-Batterie from Wiking to LAH 1942

[seaburn]

Has anyone got some background information on this unit, personnel or history of same. What location were they at before the transfer and were they physically sent en masse (or just the Officers) to Sennelager or did they go directly to the LSSAH at the Ssambek line in February 42?

[seaburn]

I got my answer on this elsewhere - in case anyone is interested, it was the former 11. Batterie/SS-Art.Rgt. 5, (SS-Ostuf. Hermann Lange) and was sent to the LSSAH in April 1942.

[Pena V]

The unit was 1./SS-Sturmgeschutz-Abteilung 5. Osf Hermann Lange was the CO and was KIA January 18, 1942 and succeeded by Hsf Karl Böhmer who in turn was KIA February 28, 1942. The unit left Wiking led by Hsf Emil Wiesemann of LSSAH on March 28, 1942 and joined LSSAH in April 1942.

Regards,

Pena V

[seaburn]

The unit was 1./SS-Sturmgeschutz-Abteilung 5. Osf Hermann Lange was the CO and was KIA January 18, 1942 and succeeded by Hsf Karl Böhmer who in turn was KIA February 28, 1942. The unit left Wiking led by Hsf Emil Wiesemann of LSSAH on March 28, 1942 and joined LSSAH in April 1942.

Regards,

Pena V

That totally explains why I couldn't find Lange on my LSSAH listing! That's a great help Pena V. Thank you so much !

[EugE]

The unit was 1./SS-Sturmgeschutz-Abteilung 5. Osf Hermann Lange was the CO and was KIA January 18, 1942 and succeeded by Hsf Karl Böhmer who in turn was KIA February 28, 1942. The unit left Wiking led by Hsf Emil Wiesemann of LSSAH on March 28, 1942 and joined LSSAH in April 1942.

Regards,

Pena V

Are you sure? No one, except LSSAH, SS-Unit has SS-Sturmgeschutz-Abteilung in that time, but according to you they were 5 pcs. The first mention about Stug. battery for Wiking appeared in Summer or Autumn 1942. I will check the archive.

[Blanusa]

Hello,

With an order issued on 20 September 1941, it was called for a Sturmgeschütz-Batterie to be established for Wiking with effect on 25 September. This order also placed SS-Ostuf Hermann Lange as Batterie-Führer, with another four named officers to serve as Batterie-Offiziere.

The order calling for the reorganization of this Sturmgeschütz-Batterie was issued on 28 March 1942, stating that with the reorganization, the unit was no longer to serve with Wiking, but would be transferred to LSSAH. Another order was seprately to be issued transferring SS-Hstuf Emil Wiesemann to Wiking and charging him with the command of this unit.

Below is an attachment with the relevant parts from the order for the topic of this thread.


Best regards
Blanusa

[EugE]

"At the beginning of January 1942, a brand new assault-gun battery arrived from Germany. It had been formed by the veteran former battery officer of the 11./Artillery-Regiment SS-Division "Wiking", SS-Oberststurmfuhrer Hermann Lange, and sent to the division... Immediately upon their arrival, the elements were thrown piecemeal into the blazing front. And it blazed in so many locations along the thinly held front! ...The combat -inexperienced assault-gun battery was immediately committed to repel a dangerous Soviet tank assault. However, it went into action without the infantry support of the I./SS-Infanterie-Regiment "Germania". In bitter fighting against far superior enemy tank forces, the battalion fell victim to the crushing weight numbers. SS-Obersturmfuhrer Lange was killed in the fighting. His successor, SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Boehmer who came from SS-Panzerjaeger-Abteilung "Wiking", was also killed in the fighting. As a result of these detachments, the weakened Kampfgruppe Diekmann stood alone in the heart of the fighting. In the process, it was decimated... In April 1942, all of its (assault gun battery) personnel and equipment was transferred to the SS-Division Leibstandarte-SS "Adolf Hitler", which was in the Taganrog area at that time..."

Source: Peter Strassner, European Volunteers. The 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking"

This from Leibstandarte by Lehmanns book -

[Blanusa]

Hello,

Excerpt from a proposal for the awarding of the Deutches Kreuz in Gold to Emil Wiesemann. It states that on 15 April 1942, Wiesemann, discharged from the hospital, took over the 2./SS-Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung of the Leibstandarte, and from the day of the unloading he was once again at the head of his battery in the fight against Bolshevism.


Best regards
Blanusa

[EugE]

I have found from where your scan - T 175 R 107. Here the order on forming of the StuG. battery for Wiking. Pay attention to dates!

[Blanusa]

Hello,

I did pay attention to dates. And since you already have access to this roll, you might want to look up another document which is also present there. See attached for date and title of said document.


Best regards
Blanusa

[seaburn]

Thank you to all who have posted this great information.

[Pena V]

I have been away for a while. I can see that I made at least one mistake by calling the unit 1./SS-Sturmgeschutz-Abteilung 5 when the actual name was Sturmgeschutz-Batterie. This mistake is caused by my lazyness because in my files I only have the heading 1./SS-Sturmgeschutz-Abteilung 5 for the Sturmgeschutz-Batterie also.
There was a new Sturmgeschutz-Batterie established for Wiking starting September 1, 1942 commanded by Kurt Foerster and on April 15, 1943 Paul Massell was named for the CO of the new SS-Sturmgeschutz-Abteilung 5. I know hardly anything about this unit only that it was moved away from Wiking and renamed SS-StuG-Abteilung 54 on November 23, 1943. Anyone?

Pena V

[Blanusa]

Hello,

What information I could find about SS-Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 5 you can find here. I have not researched it further. If you have any information as to who Borbeck is, please share it.


Best regards
Blanusa

[Gulo]

If we're talking about StuG ... As we know, the first version had a very short barrel. Panzer IV too. Why? The long barrel was really so expensive? Was the short barrel more convenient when ramming trees or walls? Of course, I read the explanation that the short barrels were against infantry and bunkers. But why make a vehicle with such narrow specialization? If he had a long barrel, he could probably destroy the infantry and bunkers as well, and also other tanks.

[EugE]

On scan showed that the place of forming the StuG.B. "W" has been determined as Berlin-Lichterfelde, Kaserne der LSSAH.
The delivery of the following 7 StuG's was in April 1943.