Missing in Romania August 1944, 106th ID

[Leo56]

Hi,
Just joined this forum in an attempt to get some information I have been searching for.

1. I'm trying to find some more detailed info re. my father in laws father.
We know he is missing after 18 August in Romania, somewhere between Jasi and Kischinew.
This is what the Red Cross is telling, they do not have any tracks of him after 18 August. Neither is he mentioned in any Soviet records of POW or in Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge.

My question now is if anybody has any more detailed info of where he might have met his faith. Any name of village or other map indications, coordinates.

He was Kraftfahrer in Kranken-Kraftwagen-Zug der 106. Infanteri-Divison
Feldpost no. 44974
Ogfr. August Stegmann born in Hamburg 20.02.1908.
Since he was ambulance driver he was not fighting front soldier, but I presume it was chaos and not any real frontline in the last days.

2. Who had the gruesome task to take care of all dead bodies in the battlefields?
The German soldiers had retreated so it is unlikely they had the chance to do it.
The Soviet soldiers?
The Romanian soldiers?
The German POW?

Any information of above would be of interest.

Thanks in advance.

[GregSingh]

According to maps from Hans Kissel book Die Katastrophe in Rumänien 1944, 106.ID was withdrawing from Rădeni-Bravicea to the area just south of Nisporeni, where together with many more German units was trapped by Soviets on 23/24 of August. From 18th of August it covered around 50km, so we are talking about large area.

[Leo56]

Hi Greg,
Thanks for the info. Yep it is a large area and I doubt that we ever will find out where he was lost.
With the river Prut in the back and surrounded by the Soviets, there was not much hope.

[DirkAH]

Hello!

I don't know how good your German is but the files of the Abwicklungsstab might be of interest to you. The Abwicklungsstab basically assembled information about destroyed formations (usually survivor accounts) and you can find 106. I.D. for August 1944 in T78 R140 H41/13. You can get the files here: https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic ... 8&t=213672 . Once you have a FTP connection got to the directory "Microfilm Rolls/OKH/T-78 R-140 OKH Abwicklungsstab Rudolstadt 1944-45,Ukraine" The 106. I.D. files are K800_00301.JPG to K800_003581.JPG.

[DirkAH]

I skimmed through some of the files. It seems that the medical troops of the 106. I.D. were for the most part captured or killed on the 23th August 1944 at Leuseni when they were surprised by Soviet tanks and infantry around 11am.

[Leo56]

Hi Dirk,
Well, I can understand some German, so I hope I can find out some details. I have manged to establish a FTP connection so I will have a look.
You wrote "The 106. I.D. files are K800_00301.JPG to K800_003581.JPG". But in that dir the last file is K800_01215.JPG. Maybe you meant ...358. I will find out.
Anyway, thank you very much for the information.

[DirkAH]

Hello!

Sorry, i meant K800_00301.JPG to K800_00354. 6069358 is the microfilm numbering on file K800_00354. File K800_0226 might also be of interest to you. It describes the situation on the other side of the Pruth directly opposite to Leuseni on 23th August from the point of view of Hptm. Reese, cdr. of Pz.Jg.Abt. 282 of 282. Inf.Div.

[Leo56]

Hallo Dirk,
Yep, I noticed that there were internal numbering of the microfilm.
I will also check the proposed file from ID 282.
Do you know how they were organized ?
Were the Kranken kraftwagen organized under the sanitätskompani or were they part of any transportation kompanie or smiliar ?
Did every Inf. div have their own Sanitätskompanie or transport kompanie ?

Many questions....

MFG

[DirkAH]

Hello!

In general terms 106. I.D. must have been organized according the "Infanterie-Division 44" pattern which became the standard for almost all infantry divisions since May 1944. An ideal "Infanterie-Division 44" typ division was supposed to have one horse drawn Sanitätskompanie, a second motorized Sanitätskompanie and a Krankenkraftwagenkompanie. As you can see on file K800_00304.jpg the 106. I.D. seemed to have follwed the pattern. San.Kp. 1./106 (1st Sanitätskompanie), San.Kp. 2./106 (2nd Sanitätskompanie) and Kr.Kw.Kp. 106 (Krankenkraftwagenkompanie) lead by Lt. Clarfeld. The Krankenkraftwagenzug that you mentioned in your inital post would have been part of the Krankenkraftwagenkompanie 106. I don't know when the company was formed exactly but in August 1943 106. I.D. still had two seperate Krankenkraftwagenzüge (Kr.Kw.Zg. 1./106 and 2./106) that were merged into the single Krankenkraftwagenkompanie 106 sometimes before March 1944.

[Leo56]

Hi,
Thank you for the clarification.
Maybe that the the files from 370 ID also can give some info. It seams that some survivors from 106 ID joinned 370 ID on the other side of Pruth.
Interesting reading in the files, so I will read them anyway.

MFG