Help on the "koruck"

[Svejk]

Hello to all participants.

Please, tell me the detailed compositions of 'Koruck' for:
4th Field Army(4. AOK) and 3rd Tank Army(3. Pz.Armee), for the period October 1941 - January 1943. I saw the trains on the 'lexikon', but not very detailed, and for some periods there is simply no composition .. .
In my beginner's opinion, I need Koruck: 559, 580, 582, 590.

Some rolls will be downloaded from Jeff's cloud - many thanks to him for publishing.


Regards,
Svejk

[Svejk]

Hello again.

I have great respect for all members of the community and just want to ask.
Don't people study these rear parts(Koruck)?
Haven't anyone met schematic pictures(Kriegsgliederung) for the composition of these rear parts?

Perhaps I lack the knowledge of English and military language in order to make up my question
Excuse me for that.


Regards,
Svejk

[Max Payload]

In case you haven’t already seen it, this link may be of use.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=14241

[Svejk]

In case you haven’t already seen it, this link may be of use.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=14241

Thank you for the link, but there are only names.


Regards,
Svejk

[Jan-Hendrik]

Much to read....

Jan-Hendrik

[Svejk]

Much to read....

Jan-Hendrik

Thanks. It is very interesting

Regards,
Svejk

[tigre]

Hello to all ; just to share this article about rearguard activities...................

Juchnow.

After the Battle of Smolensk at the end of July 1941 and despite the protests of Field Marshal von Bock and Colonel General Guderian, whom von Bock had personally sent to the Führer's headquarters, Hitler halted the advance on Moscow to first force a decision in the southern sector and thus seize Ukraine as a base for future campaigns.

To achieve this, large numbers of troops from Army Group Center were withdrawn, so that there were no forces for future offensive operations in the central sector and the troops had to entrench themselves. Only at the end of September, after successful encirclement battles in the south, could preparations be made for a new offensive to the east. The attack routes mainly followed the main roads (Rollbahnen), with the 4th Army under Field Marshal von Kluge operating from the Roslavl base along the Spass-Demensk-Juchnow-Medyn-Maloyaroslavets-Moscow road.

The small town of Juchnow, located on the Roslavl-Maloyaroslavets Rollbahn, was captured by the 10th Panzer Division on October 5, 1941. Field Marshal von Kluge moved his General Headquarters to a forest camp southeast of the town and later to Malojaroslavets.

On October 26, 1941, Korück 559, Generalleutnant von Unruh (*), also moved his headquarters to Juchnow. He reported on October 15, 1941: “Willing and friendly population. Everyone wants order. “No looting was reported.” The situation in the small town at the beginning of November was as follows: before the war, the town had 5,000 inhabitants, but in November 1941 only 2,000 remained. There were no large food reserves, so meat could not be distributed to the population.

Meanwhile, the Schlächterei (butchery) Kompanie 605 moved to Juchnow on 15 October. However, around 10,000 quintals of rye and 1,000 quintals of wheat were stored in the church in Juchnow, which were secured to feed the prisoners. The potato crop was harvested by 2/3. There were six grain mills in operation, five of which were on the river, producing up to 1.5 tonnes a day, so each family was allowed to grind 50kg of rye. The former managers were deployed. Families that were still “significant” were supposed to pay for the food, while 80 poor families were to receive it for free.

(*) Walter Rudolf Moritz von Unruh (1877-1956), awarded the Pour le Mérite during the First World War. General in the Second World War, in 1940/41 commander in Brest-Litowsk, appointed Korück of the 4th Army in September. In February 1942 also commander of Roslavl. On April 30, 1942, Hitler gave him the special task of searching all administrations for people who were still suitable for military service as officers (nicknamed then: “General Heldenklau” – thief of heroes).

Source: Ernst Gerber: Im Dienst des Roten Kreuzes. Tagebuch. Teil 2. Juchnow.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more..................

Juchnow.

The Wehrmacht put into operation a bakery that served to supply the prisoners. The Army High Command provided horses for agriculture. The dairy was repaired and put into operation once the milk supply arrived. At a meeting with the Oberstarosten (*) of the Juchnow district on November 15, 1941, attended by 100 representatives, the delivery of milk and its transportation to the Juchnow dairy, as well as the supply of fuel (there was no coal there), increasing logging in forests and encouraging farmers to build kilns to produce charcoal everywhere.

Unauthorized livestock requests, some of the threats farmers complained about, were to be stopped by special commandos from each division and also served to protect farmers against partisans. At another Starosten meeting on December 4, 1941, all transportation of livestock, grain and potatoes was prohibited. As a result of the attacks and the arrogance of the troops, the looting of the inhabitants with the destruction of the colonies, etc., the initial trust of the rural population in the German Wehrmacht had been significantly reduced.

The Juchnow district comprised 90,000 hectares, divided into 160 collective farms (**) and state farms; The Soviets had transported everything inland into the country except 80 tractors, 12 combines and 20 flax-growing machines. The cattle were small. The flax mill stopped operating after the electrical system was dismantled. The found stocks of flax and hemp straw could not be processed, as well as 100 tons of linseed and 250 quintals of red clover seeds. A starch factory located 1 km from the western exit of Juchnow was no longer in use by the Russians for the production of potato starch, but could be put back into operation because the machines were only slightly damaged.

There were still plenty of wood supplies stored at a forestry company near the city. A German forestry engineer was hired and many of the personnel needed for management were already working. To the west of the city there was a sawmill that was obsolete but was now being operated again by a company of sappers. Basically sled skates were built for wheeled vehicles.

Technical Battalion (mot.) 8 repaired and expanded the electricity and water supply in Juchnow, the power plant was put into operation, the local network was improved and pumping systems were built to supply water to the wells.

(*) Starosta (no longer used today), town mayor, orator, elder. After a security check by the SD or the secret field police (Geheime Feldpolizei), in each village a Starosta was appointed, in several villages there was an Oberstarosten (community mayor); a district (rayon) has a head of administration (russian). There was no Russian administration at the oblast (administrative district) level; This was carried out by employees of the military administration in Army Group Center or by the 4th Army.

(**) Kolkhoz: abbreviation for kollektivnyj khozjajstvo (agricultural production cooperative), sowkhoz: abbreviation for sovietskij khozjajsttwo (state property). Hitler had made the irreparable political mistake of leaving the collective and state farms intact and subordinating farmers to the German administration in order to get more out of the land, without taking into account the wishes of Russian farmers who hoped to recover private lands and who they could win for the German side. Therefore, the agricultural leader of the Roslavl district reported on October 16, 1941: “The willingness to work and the pace of work of the Russian farmer are the last degree before the zero point... Therefore, the Russian does not "has no particular interest in continuing to harvest, because is prohibited from having stored up a more abundant winter supply than he is entitled to."

Source: Ernst Gerber: Im Dienst des Roten Kreuzes. Tagebuch. Teil 2. Juchnow.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more..................

Juchnow.

The number of Soviet prisoners of war, especially after the double battle of Vjazma and Bryansk, was enormous. On October 10, the 137th Infantry Division was subordinated to the Korück 559 to collect, transport and guard prisoners of war, collect loot and food, protect railways, roads and bridges and pacify the rear of the 4th Army. In the Juchnow area they had to take all the prisoners to the Armee-Gefangenen-Sammelstelle 2 (Army Prisoner Assembly Point) (commander: Hauptmann Reeber).

What was it like at this camp? An inspection by the Kriegsgefangenen-Bezirkskommandanten (Prisoner of War District Commander), Oberst Marschall, on November 5, 1941 revealed the following condition: “Good winter accommodation. However, this requires winter supplies and food. Nothing has happened here yet... The construction of earthen huts is notable because they are built without the use of nails. Each one is equipped with 3 brick ovens. The camp is on a sandy hill. Two wells supply water... A sauna-type bath is being built. The leader shows organizational capacity and initiative. A few days ago, the entire installation received special recognition from the commander in chief, Field Marshal Kluge.”

As of October 25, an incredible 300,000 Soviet prisoners of war had passed through the hands of the 137th Infantry Division! Since there was only room for 10,000 prisoners at the Juchnow site, they had to be taken on several marches on foot to Smolensk (Dulag* 126) and Roslavl (Dulag 130). Until October 17, 90,518 prisoners arrived in Roslavl. Given these figures, it is surprising that there were still sufficient food supplies available to them.

In the Korück 559 activity report it says: “The transfer on foot and in columns was carried out with a minimum escort and without incident. The Roslavl camp was able to cope with the mass displacement despite all the difficulties. The food of the great masses was assured with horse meat and potatoes.” On 17 October there were still 5,500 prisoners registered in Juchnow and 19,500 on the march towards Roslavl; Another 150,000 announced! At this time, most of the prisoners from the Vyazma pocket were still on the march towards Smolensk.

The guard in Juchnow was carried out by the staff and the 1. Company of the Wach-Bataillons 591, as well as the staff and the 1. Company of the Field Gendarmerie Detachment (Gendarmerie Abt.) 697. The possibility of creating a Dulag in the city was considered. On the Rollbahn to Roslavl, in Spas-Demenskoye, a hospital for prisoners of war was set up. Fearing the formation of partisans, the order was issued to arrest all people in the cities between the ages of 17 and 65 who were suitable for military service and take them to prison camps and open fire at night against all civilians on roads and terrain in the area; In the villages, the starost were to report and hand over any strangers. Anyone found with a weapon in their hand was considered irregular. For additional security reasons, convalescent battalions were deployed to save forces for combat operations.

(*) Dulag: Abbreviation for transit camp.

Source: Ernst Gerber: Im Dienst des Roten Kreuzes. Tagebuch. Teil 2. Juchnow.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more..................

Juchnow.

Relay stations equipped to ensure the supply of food to prisoner transports were set up on the road from Juchnow to Roslavl. When they left Juchnow, they had to take food for two days, which was cooked at the relay stations. However: “When the division took over, most of the prisoners had not eaten for several days, due to confinement. Since, in the midst of the intermittent mass influx, even with the greatest efforts of the accompanying staff and the participation of the population, there was little that could be offered to them, and the freezing days made things even more complicated, many prisoners were unable to do versus marching due to exhaustion. Due to the length of the stretches, many people had to stay behind in the cities, totally unfit to march.”

Therefore, Generalleutnant v. Unruh again issued the following order on October 30, 1941: “The food for the prisoners is not enough. Therefore, I hold the commanders of the dulags, the army's prisoner collection points, and the leaders of all units used to guard and transport prisoners personally responsible for ensuring that everything possible is done to feed the prisoners. This includes the timely provision... of the food to which... prisoners are entitled. If these rations are really given to the prisoners, then the ration is sufficient...

The commanders reported every three days on the supplies available so that resupply and compensation could be carried out in time, so it cannot be said that the Wehrmacht deliberately and systematically starved the prisoners entrusted to it.

The population had to be informed through appropriate propaganda that the blame for food difficulties lay solely with the destruction of supplies and resources by their own countrymen. In principle, the marches should be carried out in small transports to avoid overcrowding in the fields. The interior was cleared of stragglers by raiding parties, but this was not accomplished sufficiently due to a considerable lack of personnel. With an average of 40 to 50 people, an area of 150 square kilometers was simply impossible to control.

Therefore, on 22 October 1941, the Army High Command allowed the formation of auxiliary guard teams from liberated prisoners of war and suitable local residents, after security checks by the SD (Sicherheitsdienst) and the Secret Field Police, where only one in three had to be armed. With the liberated Ukrainians, an auxiliary police was formed, subordinate to the high command of the SS and the police, and the so-called order service (abbreviated as OD) was created among the local population, as an organ of the SD.

Source: Ernst Gerber: Im Dienst des Roten Kreuzes. Tagebuch. Teil 2. Juchnow.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more..................

Juchnow.

For the operations against Moscow, the Kriegslazarettabteilung 521 (War Hospital Detachment) with three war hospitals was also subordinated to the 4. Army, which was made available for the installation of hospitals later. A collection point for the sick was set up in Juchnow. In October, “the war hospital in Juchnow was set up amid great spatial difficulties and had a maximum occupancy of 700 beds, mainly surgical beds. “A group of Swiss surgeons was deployed here in November, which worked well in all aspects and was a help that should not be underestimated.”

The medical supplies were delivered by the 1st Platoon of the Armeesanitätspark 698 (Army Medical Park), which was trucked to Juchnow and reported ready for distribution on 12 October 1941; the other platoons were located later in Maloyaroslavets and Kaluga. Since October 16, a “chemical research center” was also operational in Juchnow. The bacteriological field laboratory was located in the city hospital. A delousing facility was put into operation.

The Swiss began their work in this small town. Dr. Nicole (*), head of the team, called it a “godforsaken Russian nest.” On November 2, 1941 he wrote from Juchnow: “We have been operating here for 5 days in a terrible Russian village that is now only in ruins, with candles, without water, in a constant battle against lice and bedbugs. Compared to the mud and dirt of the east, the campaign in France and the Balkans is said to have been pleasant... What the poor wounded have to endure here, in this hole of ruins, is indescribable.

We are trying to make it easier for them and I think we are doing a decent job." On November 16, 1941 he says: "But now the sun shines so warmly on the frozen lake. The picturesque church of this town shines in gold. In the oblique rays... the endless Russian forest, in which our town is completely enclosed, is seen black. It is very beautiful here, now that the earth and mud have turned to tinkling ice, and where the red brick ruins of the last houses gleam in the sun.

(*) Dr. Robert Nicole (1903-1991), studied in Basel, Paris, higher studies e.g. surgery in Basel and the United States; 1940 head of the medical mission to Finland; in Juchnow, team leader. After the war, the Head of the Department of Surgery at the Basel Children's Hospital, associate professor at the University of Basel.

Source: Ernst Gerber: Im Dienst des Roten Kreuzes. Tagebuch. Teil 2. Juchnow.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more..................

Juchnow.

But war is near. Today the Russians are running in the air again and the constant buzzing in the sky shows that something is happening ahead. But you hardly pay attention to them anymore, you just watch with interest when larger Stuka squadrons pass by.

The main sign of war is the ambulances that constantly arrive at the building, even on Sundays. But we have a break in the operating room until four o'clock because it's getting dark and there's still no electricity. Only then does our group begin. Until then, sterilization will be done in the Primus kitchen we brought with us; Then you can start with 2 or 3 tables. If things continue like this, nothing will probably happen to our chicken, which is roasting in the oven of our little casino...

Yesterday we found a whole chicken, we had to add a Mark and a packet of tobacco to it, and it was also given to us by a Russian family whose son we took from the German ambulance to be treated and operated on. It will be a great celebration, even if we have to share the pulet among 14 Swiss people. Because here we are 14; 5 doctors, 4 nurses, a guard and 4 drivers, plus three of our cars with a small guest car.

As the head of this group, I went with them to the front, to this godforsaken former "spa" in the center of Russia, where rich Muscovites, if there were any, went to spend the weekend. We are in contact with the other Swiss people through a courier who returns every 8 days. Since it takes at least a day to complete the trip, our mail doesn't arrive until three days later. But we are patient, although with infinite nostalgia we await news and greetings from Switzerland. Yesterday I had a cup of coffee with milk for the first time, real milk and real coffee beans. Although there is already a certain amount of this here, it is only for the wounded.

We are happy to give this up in favor of the sick. But if lard and canned meat are replaced with something like milk or even pulp, then of course we have nothing against it. Our supplies from Switzerland have already been exhausted, except for a few soup cubes. Because we cook Maggi Rösti soup between meals every day. For the latter we use lard, which we don't like to eat spread on bread as much as our German friends do.

Here we have learned a new art: 'organizing'. You enter a house that doesn't have much left except the four walls. We're supposed to live here. The predecessors took everything with them, even the last fire grate or the last lock on the door. Two days later the interior is finished. It all comes from piles of rubble in and around the town. There we found chair legs, table tops, nails, cans, vases. This is how we set up our 'clubhouse'. It looks like the cabin of an alpine club, with a storm lantern, 10 chairs, two beautiful tables where we will engrave our names and 4 wooden walls full of bugs. That's why we have to forget about it, a day when we don't have an 'evening', that is, where we don't play cards or eat chicken together. The most important object in our casino is a large Russian samovar that lay in a buried cellar. It is the center of social life here in the city.

Source: Ernst Gerber: Im Dienst des Roten Kreuzes. Tagebuch. Teil 2. Juchnow.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more..................

Juchnow.

What should I say about the work? Bandaging, casting, piercing, removing a rib, occasionally sewing up a spleen or opening an acute abdomen: none of this is particularly new. You can imagine how we improvised. They will also imagine that you can make an intestine without an autoclave or sterilizer, without an apron or gloves, just with 100 grams of Zephirol. But this is not always the case, these are the exceptions on the days when our heater has exploded again or the autoclave, because we also have it in the other hospital, does not work. The fact that we have plenty of tape and bandages, but fewer clean shirts, that of course everyone sleeps on straw, we in sleeping bags... but we are at war.

One of Juchnow's doctors was Dr. Ernst Forster. He reports: "The hospital we were assigned to helped us with medicines, light bulbs and incandescent lamps. Somehow they had gotten all of this and after 2 or 3 days it worked. The heating worked. The problem was the window glass, which of course no longer existed, most of them were broken. Then they were covered with cardboard covers and boards and we protected ourselves from the cold.

I was an attending physician at the time and Dr. Nicole was helping. We were not allowed to treat Russians, especially the military, nor the civilian population; but we still treat these people, for accidents, injuries from hand grenades, etc. People had already realized that we were Swiss, not German! But the German wounded also appreciated us very much. We talked to them more than our German colleagues and we were definitely popular.

We had a good relationship with certain German military doctors, but in reality there were only two or three. Every week we had to go to the German hospital to eat, then we delegated this to one of us, otherwise we didn't have many contacts. We do not operate together. But it happened here and there that German doctors passing through ended up with us for one night. One of the drivers had a Russian friend from the area for a while. She worked for us as a maid and in the afternoons she returned home. Another of our Swiss drivers was originally a tsarist officer who, of course, spoke Russian very well and also negotiated with the Russians who transported patients, brought food and managed. Through him we were able to get a casino. A small wooden house where from time to time we would meet in the afternoons and have small parties. There was champagne to drink.

Source: Ernst Gerber: Im Dienst des Roten Kreuzes. Tagebuch. Teil 2. Juchnow.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more..................

Juchnow.

In Juchnow there were always shots fired at night; It was probably the patrols that guarded the place and shot at the partisans. On the road to Juchnow I saw people hanged, but not how they were hanged; They were hanging from telephone poles, probably the work of the SS.

We were once bombed by the Russians in Juchnow; Then everything exploded, we looked, three bombs had just fallen and the anti-aircraft guns were firing. Then a German sergeant came and we had to disappear again; he said, sapperlot *, not because of the bombs, but because of the anti-aircraft fragments! Vladimir von Steiger had contact with the civilian population and one day he discovered that all the civilians were leaving Juchnow. He then asked what was happening and ended up saying that the town would be bombed the next day. The Russians apparently knew this; They had probably been warned. We checked our rifles: we had received German rifles and carbines against the partisans. We thought that if they bombed, the partisans would also come. Then we sat down; At 12 o'clock someone went out and came back saying: Everyone go to sleep, there is thick fog. But the bombing occurred 14 days later, when we were already back in Smolensk.

Once I had nervous fever (associated with stress) and I wanted to go out and go to the movies. But for this I had to go to Smolensk. One of our drivers was from Selve, actually an aviator. He was driving as a messenger and on the way he said: Now I want to show you something! He left the road and entered an area, quite far from the main road, and there he showed me destroyed German armored vehicles. The Germans had hidden them so that those advancing would not see them. There were also many destroyed tanks on the route, but they were all Russian. We passed through Roslavl, that was before the big explosion. We parked the car there and visited our compatriots for an hour or two, and when we returned everything was frozen, including the water in the engine. Then a fire was lit under the car. Then I went to the cinema in Smolensk, saw Dr. Baumann in his hospital and after two days we returned to Juchnow, which was 300 kilometers away.

* Archaic interjection that means more or less geez, damn it......

Source: Ernst Gerber: Im Dienst des Roten Kreuzes. Tagebuch. Teil 2. Juchnow.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more..................

Juchnow.

On December 5, 1941, Field Marshal von Bock reported at 4:00 p.m. to the OKH in East Prussia: ““The force is exhausted!” The advance was over: the army group had lost more than 300,000 men since October 2; The front lines had long, unprotected flanks that could not be defended. Colonel General Guderian ordered without consulting von Bock to stop the attack and withdraw his troops.

Guderian: “Our attack on Moscow failed. All the sacrifices and all the efforts of the brave troops were in vain. We had suffered a terrible defeat, which had disastrous consequences in the coming weeks due to the rigidity of the Supreme Command, because the OKW and OKH men in distant East Prussia, despite all reports, had no idea of the true situation of his troops in the Winter War...".

The Red Army's main attack began in the early hours of the next day with new reserves. Fear and horror spread among the German soldiers; They were not prepared for these masses of Russian units. In temperatures of -34 degrees, the fur-clad regiments advanced with fanatical cries of "Urräh", kilometer-wide chains advancing in several rows through the ice and snow and the starving German soldiers, frozen, in a 90% riddled with lice and dirty, without enough winter clothing. Frozen bread and malnutrition weakened them and they had nothing to counteract them. The clothing was only rags, many soldiers no longer had underwear and the footwear was inadequate. Many were injured and froze to death; There were hardly any injuries who did not suffer from frostbite due to the increasing cold of up to -45°C. As a result of the lice infestation, numerous cases of typhus occurred. The transfer of the wounded and sick caused great concern.

“The winter battle for Kaluga at the end of December presented the entire medical service of the units involved with problems that had never occurred before. There was no longer an orderly evacuation chain. In the city there were war hospitals, army field hospitals, and patient transport detachments without any means of transportation; An attempt was made to transport the wounded by air, but due to the constantly changing tactical situation, this proved practically irrelevant.

Parts of the medical services were withdrawing in columns, while the fighting troops were still south of the Oka. "Thanks to the tireless help of the railway staff, who were still operational, it could finally be transported from Kaluga with improvised medical wagons to a point where the wounded could be transferred on sleds."

Source: Ernst Gerber: Im Dienst des Roten Kreuzes. Tagebuch. Teil 2. Juchnow.

Cheers. Raúl M .