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Soldbuch / Soldbook Panzer-aufklärer, Normandy 331.id For Sale
Up for sale is the Soldbuch to Gefreiter Georg Koch.
The Soldbuch was started in December 1939. Koch was trained as an armored reconnaissance soldier. After training with the Kavallerie-Schule of Potsdam-Krampnitz, he joined the Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung Werder. In October 1940, this Abteilung was renamed to Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 88 and absorbed into the newly formed 18. Panzer-Division. In June 1941, this division was sent to the central sector of the Eastern Front to fight with the 2. Panzergruppe in the battles for Smolensk, Bryansk and Tula. During the assault on Tula, Koch was wounded by infantry bullets in his left arm, late September 1941. For these few months as a Panzer-Aufklärer on the Eastern Front, he was awarded the Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz and the Panzerkampfabzeichen in Bronze. Recovering from his wound, he was initially sent to the backward Landesschützen-Bataillon 631, guarding POW's in the area of Rothenburg, until he ended up in a front unit again: the Grenadier-Regiment 558, part of the 331. Infanterie-Division. This division was being reestablished in March 1944, and sent to the area of Calais in France for coastal guard duties. Shortly after, Koch was transferred to the divisional reconnaissance unit, the Füsilier-Bataillon 331. Following the Allied invasion on D-Day, the 331.ID was sent to fight the Americans in Normandy during August 1944, and ended up in the Falaise pocket. Koch managed to escape with the remnants of the division to Holland and ended up in a reserve unit, the Grenadier-Ersatz-Bataillon 88, until he was captured by the Western allies. His POW number and stamps for Doonfoot Camp (UK) are entered in the Soldbuch.
Pages are loose, but the Soldbuch is a 100% complete with all pages present. It has a very nice photo of Koch showing his Aufklärer shoulderboards, with the number '4' for the 4. Kompanie of Füsilier-Bataillon 331, his Normandy unit.
