Excercises with light infantry gun during officer training at BRESLAU LISSA
Mike
Ukrainians in the Waffen-SS & Wehrmacht
Hi
here is an a verbatim extract from an interview with a former member of the Pioneer Battalion the 14 Galician Div, conducted 21 October 1990.
Please note; I was able to independently corroborate much of the information that I obatined during this interiew, including numbers, dates locations and names. A second veteran (unknown to the first) told me exactly the same story about the explosive charge. However, I could not obtain verification from a German source and therefore did not include it in the final text of my book. Your comments would be welcome:
Training details
[...]Company size was 160 men. All SS instructors. Two Reich Germans in the company. Spoke Ukrainian although an interpreter was sometimes used. Training was hard, and included route marching, mine laying and disabling, construction of bridges with varying capacities up to sixty tons in weight, rifle range, machine gun practice, training with explosives, demolition and use of flamethrowers. Also did some training as a signaller and so was not attached to any particular unit. One particular exercise to learn how to disable tanks by hand was to board the tank while it was still moving with two hand-grenades in each hand. This exercise left one man ruptured. After one inspection by a senior German officer the bridge that had been built was found to be unsuitable and was ordered to be dismantled and reassembled by the following morning, so the Ukrainians had to work all night without any sleep.
[...]
the entire company was punished because of one man. An explosive charge was burried in the ground and the company was made to lie in a circle around it. The charge was then detonated - lifting the men who were lying several inches off the ground. Later the C\O was reprimanded for this action for although the only result was shaken and very dirty soldiers someone could easily have been killed. When a company CO asked for a transfer he was told in front of the Ukrainians that if he was unpopular and got shot in the back by his own troops it was his own fault!
best wishes
Mike Melnyk
here is an a verbatim extract from an interview with a former member of the Pioneer Battalion the 14 Galician Div, conducted 21 October 1990.
Please note; I was able to independently corroborate much of the information that I obatined during this interiew, including numbers, dates locations and names. A second veteran (unknown to the first) told me exactly the same story about the explosive charge. However, I could not obtain verification from a German source and therefore did not include it in the final text of my book. Your comments would be welcome:
Training details
[...]Company size was 160 men. All SS instructors. Two Reich Germans in the company. Spoke Ukrainian although an interpreter was sometimes used. Training was hard, and included route marching, mine laying and disabling, construction of bridges with varying capacities up to sixty tons in weight, rifle range, machine gun practice, training with explosives, demolition and use of flamethrowers. Also did some training as a signaller and so was not attached to any particular unit. One particular exercise to learn how to disable tanks by hand was to board the tank while it was still moving with two hand-grenades in each hand. This exercise left one man ruptured. After one inspection by a senior German officer the bridge that had been built was found to be unsuitable and was ordered to be dismantled and reassembled by the following morning, so the Ukrainians had to work all night without any sleep.
[...]
the entire company was punished because of one man. An explosive charge was burried in the ground and the company was made to lie in a circle around it. The charge was then detonated - lifting the men who were lying several inches off the ground. Later the C\O was reprimanded for this action for although the only result was shaken and very dirty soldiers someone could easily have been killed. When a company CO asked for a transfer he was told in front of the Ukrainians that if he was unpopular and got shot in the back by his own troops it was his own fault!
best wishes
Mike Melnyk
more pics
Good Afternoon,
sorry for the delay. As promised herewith some more pictures of the 14Galician Division from my archive:
Top: POLISH police, parade before FRANK in KRACOW.
Middle: medical examination Drohobych May 1943
Neuhammer April 1944: WAECHTER and Div Kdr FREITAG inspect stables
Mike Melnyk
sorry for the delay. As promised herewith some more pictures of the 14Galician Division from my archive:
Top: POLISH police, parade before FRANK in KRACOW.
Middle: medical examination Drohobych May 1943
Neuhammer April 1944: WAECHTER and Div Kdr FREITAG inspect stables
Mike Melnyk
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Hi
herewith an exrtract from an account of the battle of Brody given during an interview with me in 1992, as experienced by a fomer member of the Feld Ersatz Batln which held a reserve position several km's to rear of the front and was not actually caught in the Brody pocket.
"Arrived at village which was deserted. Inhabitants returned when they heard their own language being spoken. Group of ten allocated to a stable. Served as a dormatory and training place. Rifle and machine gun training was conducted every morning.
On Saturday extra food rations arrived. Sunday exchanged food and drink with the locals. Monday it was raining. On Monday heard artillery fire, officer ran out to see what it was all about and said it was the Wehrmacht practicing. Returned to training. Fire intensified, co ran out again and said there were parisans outside and the Wehrmacht must be firing at them with artillery. Ordered to leave barn and assemble outside.
Looked through binoculars and saw swarms of refugees and soldiers. Saw Red Army tanks approaching, set up machine gun post. River bank full of items abandoned by soldiers and refugees because they could not get it across the river. Helped themselves to wine and cognac. Two German planes appeard, unusual because after the 20 July plot against Hitler had been told that all German planes had been grounded.
On Sunday night told Red Army would be starting it's offensive on the following morning. Russians advanced either side of the Germans. Spoke to officers from UPA who were riding horses and who promised to lead them through the woods to L'viv. Left all weapons and equipment and followed UPA officers. The main road was blackened and the sky was full of Soviet planes who were raiding L'viv. Planes straffed the roads. We walked in the direction of L'viv and saw Ukraianian units from Brody, (identifiable by the Galician Lion on the collar) near L'viv German generals were gathering stragglers and using them in scratch units for defence of L'viv.
Schneller [company commder] argued that being a replacement battalion the men had not received proper training, and this saved the group from being used as cannon fodder. Marched through L'viv. Stopped at ZELENA VODA for a rest in a barn. Bombardment of L'viv was so heavy that those who were sleeping in the roof fell through onto the floor. Some students escaped with weapons (from L'viv area) muddy roads full of lorries. Near SAMBIR I sat down to rest because my feet were killing me. I thought about suicide. I removed my shoes and walked across fields. Met school friend in Sambir, got clothing food and a wash. Stragglers assembled in Sambir, saw a train passing and stop nearby. Climbed into a large steel container used as a field kitchen. Train arrived at Breslau, got back to Zargan and then to Neuhammer."
Mike Melnyk
herewith an exrtract from an account of the battle of Brody given during an interview with me in 1992, as experienced by a fomer member of the Feld Ersatz Batln which held a reserve position several km's to rear of the front and was not actually caught in the Brody pocket.
"Arrived at village which was deserted. Inhabitants returned when they heard their own language being spoken. Group of ten allocated to a stable. Served as a dormatory and training place. Rifle and machine gun training was conducted every morning.
On Saturday extra food rations arrived. Sunday exchanged food and drink with the locals. Monday it was raining. On Monday heard artillery fire, officer ran out to see what it was all about and said it was the Wehrmacht practicing. Returned to training. Fire intensified, co ran out again and said there were parisans outside and the Wehrmacht must be firing at them with artillery. Ordered to leave barn and assemble outside.
Looked through binoculars and saw swarms of refugees and soldiers. Saw Red Army tanks approaching, set up machine gun post. River bank full of items abandoned by soldiers and refugees because they could not get it across the river. Helped themselves to wine and cognac. Two German planes appeard, unusual because after the 20 July plot against Hitler had been told that all German planes had been grounded.
On Sunday night told Red Army would be starting it's offensive on the following morning. Russians advanced either side of the Germans. Spoke to officers from UPA who were riding horses and who promised to lead them through the woods to L'viv. Left all weapons and equipment and followed UPA officers. The main road was blackened and the sky was full of Soviet planes who were raiding L'viv. Planes straffed the roads. We walked in the direction of L'viv and saw Ukraianian units from Brody, (identifiable by the Galician Lion on the collar) near L'viv German generals were gathering stragglers and using them in scratch units for defence of L'viv.
Schneller [company commder] argued that being a replacement battalion the men had not received proper training, and this saved the group from being used as cannon fodder. Marched through L'viv. Stopped at ZELENA VODA for a rest in a barn. Bombardment of L'viv was so heavy that those who were sleeping in the roof fell through onto the floor. Some students escaped with weapons (from L'viv area) muddy roads full of lorries. Near SAMBIR I sat down to rest because my feet were killing me. I thought about suicide. I removed my shoes and walked across fields. Met school friend in Sambir, got clothing food and a wash. Stragglers assembled in Sambir, saw a train passing and stop nearby. Climbed into a large steel container used as a field kitchen. Train arrived at Breslau, got back to Zargan and then to Neuhammer."
Mike Melnyk
top picture
my good friend and former officer Bohdan
bottom picture - 50 years later he returned to Brody (in white leaning on the spade) and dug up the mass graves of the Ukrs killed during the battle and reinterned them. Their number included his brother who was posted as missing in action
Mike Melnyk
my good friend and former officer Bohdan
bottom picture - 50 years later he returned to Brody (in white leaning on the spade) and dug up the mass graves of the Ukrs killed during the battle and reinterned them. Their number included his brother who was posted as missing in action
Mike Melnyk
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