12th Infantry Division & Dialects

[Andy H]

Just skim reading through P.Adair's book "Hitlers Greatest Defeat" and I came upon this... "Most soldiers came from Mecklenberg & Pomerania, and orders were given in a dialect that the men could understand"

Was the dialect of Mecklenburg & Pomerania so unusual in anyway that anyone issuing instructions in a another dialect would have truoble making themselves understood and vica versa. Was this a common practice amongst other units that orders were given in a particular dialect?

Andy from the Shire

[Kurasier]

The dialect of these people is a little bit difficult to understand. But the only difficulties I see is if a officer, who comes from Meckleinburg+ Pommernia gives orders, because someone who speaks dialect can normaly understand someone, who speaks "Hochdeutsch" (don't know the english word for this).

Christoph