The Butcher's Bill

[Rasker]

Looking thru a genealogy file sent by my second cousin, I saw that her ex-husband's uncle Herbert was born in Germany in 1921 and died at Castiglion, Italy, in 1944.  (My cousin's mother-in-law had married her father-in-law when he was in the service in West Germany).  

I punch his name birth- and death-dates into the German war grave search site at http://www.volksbund.de/graebersuche/content_suche.asp and get:

Zum Gedenken [In Memory Of]

   K0554679
Nachname:    Lenz
Vorname:    Herbert
Dienstgrad:    Obergefreiter  [senior Private]
Geburtsdatum:    01.12.1921
Geburtsort:    
Todes-/Vermisstendatum [died]:    27.05.1944
Todesort:    
   

Herbert Lenz ruht auf der Kriegsgräberstätte in [rests at the military cemetary in] Pomezia (Italien) .
Endgrablage: Block A Grab 43

Pomezia is one of the main German cemetaries in Italy, midway between Rome and Anzio.

Castiglion is on a main road and rail route well north of the front lines on the date in question.  I suspected that Herbert's death was either an accident or as a result of hostile air action.  Sure enough, a search of the online US Army Air Force operations diary shows that the  12th (Tactical) Air Force was at this time plastering supply lines with medium and light bombers and jabos in support of the breakout from the Anzio beachhead.  The bridge at Castiglion Fiorentino was listed twice as being hit, and toward the end of this period targets are said to become scarce.

Thru my cousin's ex I received this copy of the official notification letter received by Herbert's father:



It lists his cause of death as a bomb fragment to the head from an air attack, and his place of initial burial as Arezzo, about 10 km. or less north of Castiglione.  I must assume that German gravesites were consolidated into larger sites like Pomezia after the war.   The letter states that he gave his young life according to his oath of allegiance, for the betterment of his people, and ends with the obligatory salute to the madman. :/

I wonder if any of our German speakers can tell from this letter if Herbert was serving in a road/rail transport unit, or in flak or some other capacity?  In any case, I offer this as a very small piece of history.  Rest in Peace, cousin Herbert.

[lasersailor184]

I'm not picking up what it says he did.  However, he was a good guy with all of his buddies (assuming that's not a generic thing to say).

[DREDIOCK]

Interesting story.

Always facinating to hear from the other side.

I didnt translate it  nor did I read the letter (dont speak german)
Just going by what you wrote.

But if you have the time and the inclination get it translated yourself here   Text translator

And read it for yourself

Hope this helps ya

[AWMac]

Rasker,

That is so kewl. I wish I could find my Relatives in Germany.  It's
been since the early '60's since I've seen my Grandfather Herman Wrede's Sister Anna. They both were born in Breman.  Probably back in 1912~1914 time perion....guessing.

But it is great that you've at least found some of the history within your Family.

[Rasker]

Originally posted by lasersailor184
I'm not picking up what it says he did.  However, he was a good guy with all of his buddies (assuming that's not a generic thing to say).

Ya I picked up on that and also the graveside salute fired by his comrades, and that he did not suffer long, probably standard parts of the form letter.  

Since the signature uses the title "Leutnant u.Battr.Fhr.", I wonder if that doesnt indicate "Battery Leader or Fuhrer", pointing to Herbert as a member of a flak battery defending the bridge at Castiglion.

[lasersailor184]

Well, I don't know if it was a standard form letter, that's why I threw it into question.  The germans were known for meticulous record keeping and other stuff.  I would not put it past them for it to not be a form letter, but maybe fluffed by his buds.

[Redwing]

Thanks for sharing!

Unfortunately there's no specific indication as to what kind of unit your cousin was serving in in the letter.

I believe he might have served in a flak unit though, just as you suspected.
I'm not an expert, so don't take any of this for granted, but it says "Battr.Fhr." below the Lieutenant's signature. This probably is short for "Batterieführer", battery leader, which would make sense for either an artillery or flak unit.
He was killed by a bomb fragment, which kind of makes a flak unit seem more likely, but that's of course doubtful. He could just as well have been with the artillery and gotten killed in a jabo raid against his unit.

Very interesting read, thanks for sharing.
My family keeps a whole bunch of these letters, my grandmother lost all 4 brothers in the war.

[Rasker]

Originally posted by GScholz
And "Obergefreiter" is Corporal, not "senior Private".

I had a sense that that meant corporal, but altavista-babelfish translated as "senior private first class"

I used to have a friend with relatives in Austria near the Hungarian border, all 5 or 6 military-age males were killed in the Wehrmacht.  If you compare the sizes of the Allied and German military cemetaries in Normandy, you can get an idea of the four to five times disparity in German-Aliied casualties there, and also the importance of air dominance in a battle between otherwise evenly matched ground forces.

[Redwing]

yep, very true

towards the end of the war losses were just enormous on the german side. The regular forces were almost extinct, and the old men and 14 year olds they forced to serve just were no match for the advancing allied and russian troops.

and btw, that letter you posted is indeed kind of a form letter, although to my knowledge these were still always handwritten by the officers and not of a "fill-in-blanks" style.

My grandfather was a lieutenant in the artillery and often told me how they were taught to write these letters in officers school. As he said the most important thing was to mention that the killed soldier didn't suffer but was killed immediately and without feeling any pain. That line is also present in your letter.

It's a line that you'll probably find in any such letter, no matter which war, which country and language. Sad.

If you're interested, I could try to translate the letter entirely.

[ra]

...were no match for the advancing allied and russian troops.

Hmm.

[Rasker]

Thanks Redwing, I'd appreciate it if you could render a translation.

[leitwolf]

Here's a translation:

"As the commanding officer of your Son Herbert, I have the burden to send you a saddening message.
Faithful to his oath, he gave his young life for a better future for our Country.

During a plane attack on the 27th of May, 1944, he received a deadly wound to his head by bomb fragments near Castiglion Fiorentino. He died shortly after and didnt have to suffer.
 
Although his unit was formed up just a short time ago, your son was able to gain the appreciation of his superiors by his readiness and professionalism.
He was well respected and popular amongst his comrades. He was always helpful and a good brother-in-arms.
The unit loses one of his best, a good soldier. His memory will always be kept by his comrades and superiours. He was buried on the 'Field of Honour' part of the cemetary of Arezzo on the 29th of May, 1944, where his comrades gave him his Final Escort and shot their salute.
The final resting place of your son is the third grave in the eigth row.
His comrades pledged me to send their honest condolences.
Be also assured of my own heartfelt sorrow and sympathy.
Greetings and Heil Hitler, signed
[Walter Hahn] Lieutenant and battery commander"

It's not the best translation one might come up with, but it's certainly better than what babelfish does

[Rasker]

Thank you much, Leit.  Do you have any idea if a telegram was normally sent beforehand, as was the practice in the United States, or would this have been the first communication of the death?