1942 Diary of a Wehrmacht Soldier in Russia

Ive received this nice diary from 1942,written by a young Wehrmacht soldiers.He was,as far as the diary told me,in russia,near smolensk..He had written in that book who wrote him packages or what happened every day..some entrys are very interesting,as there is written that the russians attacks,partisans shoot russian womens on a field and such stuff.....

Some stuff i discovered,but its in german:

In der Nacht von 17. bis 18.3 sind wir von den Russen stark beschossen, das dauerte 3 Std. (Stunden) von 2 bis 5 Uhr.
Dann kommt der Angriff ...
20.4.42 wird Division verladen 106. Nach Frankreich)
Den 26.4.42 bei der 13 I.G. Kompanie I.R. (Infanterie Regiment ) 347. (Mache einen Lehrgang mit .....Lehrgang beginnt am 4.5. dauert bis 31.5.42. Am 9.5. wurde er abgeblasen. Division kommt woanders hin) Neuer Einsatz.....
Am 30.5. bekomme ich die erste Post. 5 Päckchen von Frankreich 3 auf 25756.
Den 31. wieder 9 Päckchen 25756 ....
Am 02.07. und 03.07. Flieger und Panzer Angriff 9 Uhr.
(5Km vor....)
Laut Wehrmachtsbereicht 30000 Gefangene.
Stützpunkt K. Wieder ein neue....16.7.42 Russen von 3 Seiten.
Stellung... Ein Spähtrupp der Russen greifen an.
Am 17.7.42 haben einen Verwundeten
Am 20.8. Russinnen bei der Ernte wurden von Partisanen beschossen.


Seid dem 16.7.42 Sind an der Einkesselung beteiligt Smolensk-....
Am 22.9.42 Starke Feindliche Kräfte nähern sich von Osten 4 B.R. geht vor.
Am 18.10. Angriff der Russen 3 Std. Feuer,....Beziehen neue Befehlsstelle Friedhof.

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That is just awesome.

"5 Päckchen von Frankreich" Girlfriend or Kamarad? I presume he was based in France prior to being sent to the Ostfront. That must have quite a change.

 

Hard to say,he may was First in framce,than moved to russia....

 

I am reading Robert Forczyk's Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front 41-42 and is astounding to read of just then numbers of troops and armor involved. the logistics or lack there of, the numbered killed or wounded , The zeal of both Stalin and Hitler to attack at all cost regardless of preparedness or not, especially on the Russian side in these first two years. Of course the book is the big picture, a single soldier's diary would be priceless. Herr Hecke, you should translate it and put it on Kindle ! actually I have no idea of the real world demand, Just wishful thinking.

Gaines

 

Its not that easy to read everything,but im still working on it..the day he got wounded is marked on the diary too

 

For those who are interested in the experiences of the common German soldier in WWII I would recommend the memoirs of Werner Mork. Some of his stories can be found in German on the German Historical Museum web site.

However, I have had the privilege of translating and publishing a large part of his memoirs to the Internet.

He described himself as a 'traveler' in the German Army, and so he was, serving in North Africa, Sardinia, Ortona, Anzio, Cassino, and finally the Russian Front.

Quite a story....

Take a look: http://www.dansetzer.us/Mork

For those interested in the events and social pressures leading up to the war see: Growing Up in Hitler's Germany

http://www.dansetzer.us/Mork/youth/



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I had a chace to read enough of your translation to want to come back and finish it. Thank you for posting it.

Gaines