Baupunkt 14 in Festung Hoek van Holland

[hannibal2]

Hey Peter! I just realized I made a typographical error in my last reply: The three Panzer-Scharten are of course listed on the map as being in Type 631 bunkers, not in 625s, as I falsely wrote. I think you yourself made a little mistake when you called the 4th company the "1th". But really, what difference does this make to the basic issue?
Gert

[hannibal2]

Peter, sorry I completely forgot to answer your questions. To the best of my knowledge, the family my father stayed with was in the town of HvH, but I could be wrong. Also, I don't recall him ever saying anything about whether he was near the beach or on the landfront. What you say about the Pak 40 near Naaldwijk makes a lot of sense and could perhaps be the answer. Is Naaldwijk the name of a neighborhood within the town of HvH, or is it a separate community?
Please forget what I said about your little mistake. I fear reading without reading glasses often leads to some curious perceptions.
Gert

[hannibal2]

Hi folks!

Here's a photo I recently found on Pinterest which I personally see as uniquely relevant to the current discussion of the subject. It shows a gun crew in action during a routine practice drill somewhere along the Atlantikwall, location unknown. The man on the right, an Unteroffizier (sergeant), is the Geschutzfuhrer, the NCO in charge of the gun. He is doing there exactly what my father did while he himself was an Unteroffizier commanding a Pak 40 somewhere around Baupunkt 14 in Festung Hoek van Holland. That's the reason why I like this photo. I hope you do too.

Cheers, Gert

[Peter de Krom]

Hi Gert,

Thanks for all the extra information and keeping fate in finding the answers to this mysterie

Maybe the fact that you're father was a Unteroffizier also meant that he did not sleep with his men in the bunker, but had the privilege to live in a house. The closest houses to the 625's in Bp. 14 were about 500 meters away, but i believe these were completely occupied by German officers. After the summer of '43 the 'old town' of Hoek van Holland was almost completely destroyed by the Germans. The main town of Hoek van Holland was about 2 km. further away. Probably a to long distance for you're father to get to his bunker fast enough.

Okay, but let's try Widerstandsnest 45 of the Aussere Landfront. Again, let's see if we can spot you're father on pictures
This Wn. was situaties far away from the town Hoek van Holland near the town Naaldwijk. The 625 is situated here: https://goo.gl/maps/EPiC1gPmV4m

Here are some pictures of the men working on the Pak 40 in this widerstandsnest.

[JKernwerk]

The 625 looks nice Peter!
JK

[AW]

nice picture... looks like the "longe version" with the Hülsengrube?

greetz
Alex

[Peter de Krom]

Hi Alex,

Correct. This is a very standard 625, really done by the book.

Cheers, Peter

[hannibal2]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the new photos! I hate saying it, but none of the men shown bears any resemblance to my father. The man on the right in the top picture is an Unteroffizier or Feldwebel, recognizable by the silver piping around the bottom of his collar, ostensibly the Geschutzfuhrer. Though one can only see him from the back, I'm pretty sure he' s not my father. This being the case, that would eliminate the possibility of Wn 45 being the bunker my Dad's Pak 40 was housed in, wouldn't you agree? Also, the fact that Wn 45 was situated far away from the town of HvH would support that conclusion. While not on duty, my father often went into the town to do some shopping. In 1943 he sent me as a Christmas present a pair of those traditional Dutch tie-on ice skates which he bought in a shop there.

So we are at a dead end again. Where do we go from here? Any ideas?

Cheers, Gert

P.S. Do you happen to have any photos of Alkmaar during the German occupation? My English wife's mother was born and raised in Alkmaar. Her maiden name was Rol, an aunt of the well-known racing cyclist Jan Rol (1956 Dutch Olympic Team member). In 1975 my wife and I visited the family there and had a great time, Genever and all.

[AW]

Hello,
Peter what about WN 09/30/33/53?
Gert dont be sad... we will find a way

ebay

[AW]

if this are privat houses (red circle) are those the only ones that are close enough ... in my opinion
and then only for the northern one.
or have I overlooked houses in the south?

BRV

greetz
Alex

[hannibal2]

Alex, To judge by their uniforms (collar tabs), the men on your photo are not men of the Heer but of the Kriegsmarine, i.e. a Marine-Artillerie-Abteilung, most likely belonging to Marine-Kustenbatterie Vineta of MAA 205 which was located at Baupunkt 14b. Take a look at the video on YouTube under subject "Batterie Vineta" which gives a good view of the site and the surrounding area in Hoek van Holland.
Gert

[AW]

Gert,
it was only a little "Ständchen" (serenade) to cheer you up...
Vineta I visit a few times.

[Peter de Krom]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the new photos! I hate saying it, but none of the men shown bears any resemblance to my father. The man on the right in the top picture is an Unteroffizier or Feldwebel, recognizable by the silver piping around the bottom of his collar, ostensibly the Geschutzfuhrer. Though one can only see him from the back, I'm pretty sure he' s not my father. This being the case, that would eliminate the possibility of Wn 45 being the bunker my Dad's Pak 40 was housed in, wouldn't you agree? Also, the fact that Wn 45 was situated far away from the town of HvH would support that conclusion. While not on duty, my father often went into the town to do some shopping. In 1943 he sent me as a Christmas present a pair of those traditional Dutch tie-on ice skates which he bought in a shop there.

So we are at a dead end again. Where do we go from here? Any ideas?

Cheers, Gert

P.S. Do you happen to have any photos of Alkmaar during the German occupation? My English wife's mother was born and raised in Alkmaar. Her maiden name was Rol, an aunt of the well-known racing cyclist Jan Rol (1956 Dutch Olympic Team member). In 1975 my wife and I visited the family there and had a great time, Genever and all.

Hi Gert,

It would have been a wonderful coincidence . In Wn. 45 were 2 Unteroffizieren stationed (and the stationed men could have changed) so it's still uncertain, but indeed, seeing your dad mentioning Hoek van Holland and buying Ice Skates, one of the 625's (1405 or 1406) of Bp. 14 is still the most likely place for you're father to have worked. The house he stayed in was most likely in the centre of Hoek van Holland. In the old town, also shown by Alex were no more civilians around that time. The houses that were not destroyed were (to the best of my knowledge) in use by the Germans. Mainly by high officers. What keeps it interesting/strange though is the distance to the bunkers. In case of an attack he had little time to reach his men.

What could make all the difference is if we know in which kompanie your father was. The 2. 723 or 4. 723. We can conclude there is no information or copies from the soldbuch to help us out?

Alex, Wn. 9 Wn. 53 and Wn. 30 are also still possibilities. 7,5 cm Pak guns are mentioned here. Only it is uncertain if these were Pak 97/38 or Pak 40's around march '44 (when there were 4 Pak 40'). Wn 53 was in 's-Gravenzande and had houses nearby.

Gert, i'm afraid I have no information about Alkmaar whatsoever... There is a historic organisation though he maybe can help you out: https://www.hvalkmaar.nl

Great story about the ice skates by the way (especially this time a year)...! Do you still have them?

Cheers, Peter

[hannibal2]

Hi Peter!

It couldn't be the 2.Kompanie, only the 4. because 2.Kp. wasn't stationed in HvH but in s' Gravenzande. If you look at the document attached to my post of 15 Nov, you'll notice that the companies of GR 723 are listed consecutively going from North to South. That arrangement places two companies in the area of Baupunkt 14 in HvH, namely the 3. and the 4.

I don't have the Soldbuch. But even if I had it, it would not provide such information as the specific unit and/or its actual location.

Cheers, Gert

P.S. I don't have the skates anymore. They went the way many things went during the war. They together with all our other worldly possessions were destroyed in April 1945 when, like in the case of thousands of other homes in eastern Germany at the time, men of the Red Army advancing on Berlin set fire to the house we used to live in and burnt it down.

[Peter de Krom]

Hi Gert,

Sorry for bringing up the Kompanie's again. It is because eventually 's-Gravenzande was also part of the 'Festung Hoek van Holland'. Many soldiers who would be stationed on the land- and coastfront would have still considered them selves doing service in Hoek van Holland, because it all became part of one big system. I notice this a lot when collecting private pictures of soldiers. But yes, my guess would also still be Bp. 14 looking at you're fathers notions of his wartime.

And what a sad story to hear about you're old house. Can I ask, how old were you during the war?

Cheers, Peter