Oasis Company?

[schjertzer]

Rommel aparantly used a number of so-called Oasis Companies - frequently they were used to bolster Italian defenses!! What were these Oasis Companies??

[Kingfish]

This site describes the attack on Bardia in Dec '41:

http://www.lonesentry.com/bardia_intel/index.html

Scroll about 2/3 of the way down and you'll see the Axis OOB, which includes the German 10th Oasis company.

[schjertzer]

Thanks Kingfish!! But maybe I was not sufficiently clear in my question!

The oasis companies - what were they? Aparently not belonging to any Heeres division - or??

Were they Germans ?? Or colonial??

Were there anything like an "Oasis Battallion"?? or any higher formation - or were they simply independent companies? And if so, why did they not belong to any higher formation??

Were they sent from Germany named Oasis Companies??

[Brad Hunter]

I don't have my sources handy atm, but IIRC, there were 5 Oasis Companies, intended to be used for oasis protection, an equipped with special water purification equipment. They were all disbanded in late '41/early '42, and absorbed into the other DAK units.

[Leo Niehorster]

0n 10.04.1941, a batch of Oasen companies were raised using men that had lived, or worked, in Africa. (Tessin lists the numbers 2, 6, 10, 12, 13, the numbers indicating the raising Wehrkreis, and that possibly 13 were raised, numbering 1 – 13.) Also on 10.04.41, the Bataillonstab z.b.V. 300 was raised. It was a small staff consisting of about 10 officers to provide control for the Oasis companies. It was dissolved in 1942.

The Oasen companies occupied and guarded not only isolated oasis, but also wells, road junctions, etc., and were specially trained and equipped for water collection and treatment operations. Each infantry regiment in North Africa was supposed to have received one company in 1941. Five not so assigned were found directly under the DAK.

Cheers
Leo

[schjertzer]

Brad - thanks a lot! And Leo, as always you are a bottomless well of knowledge - thanks! Sorry for being ignorant, but when you refer to Tessin - what is the title of the book you are refering to??

Cheers
Brian

[Brad Hunter]

Brad - thanks a lot! And Leo, as always you are a bottomless well of knowledge - thanks! Sorry for being ignorant, but when you refer to Tessin - what is the title of the book you are refering to??

Cheers
Brian

"Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939 – 1945," by Georg Tessin. It's a set of 20 volumes listing short descriptions of all Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS forces, battalion sized and higher, created during WWII, using Feldpost numbers. There is errata (see Dr. Niehorter's site), and I believe the set is avaliable at http://www.militaria-biblio.de/

Brad

[Oasis]

Some more notices on Oasis co.:

15 may'41: 2. Co Oasis is south of Medauuar (West Tobruk line) with half 5. Leichte Mot. Division.
31 may'41: Egypt frontier: 6. Co Oasis in Qalala (4 pieces 105mm) and Halfaya strongp.; 2. Co Oasis at q.207 and Qabr el Qaha; 13. Co Oasis at q.202 (2 pcs 88mm and 4 pcs 20mm) and at Got Adhidiba; 10. Co Oasis at Sidi Omar

After 12 jul '41: German troops replaced by Savona division (IT) except 3 Oasis Co: 2. (at Alem Abu Dihak), 10. (Libyan Omar), 13. (Got Adhidiba).

17 nov'41: with DAK - zbV Afrika: one Co 300. Oasis Btn.
31 dec'41: in Sollum Bassa is sieged 10. Co Oasis.
12 jan'42: Sollum is defended from South Africans by 70 germans remainings from: 10. and 12. Co Oasis, HQ 300 Btl.stb zbV from DAK (Hauptmann Ennecerus).

[David W]

What sort of weapons & manpowerwould the Oasen Kompanie have?
Would it have been the same as a Schuetzen Kompanie?
Were they motorised?

[Brad Hunter]

300. Oasis Battalion:

[David W]

Sorry Brad, can't quite read it, or make it any bigger. Can you interperate please?

[Leo Niehorster]

12 light machine guns
3 light mortars
6 antitank rifles

Cheers
Leo

[David W]

Thanks Leo.