The battle for Woensdrecht 1944 - Then & now.

[Peter U]

Hello,

Recently I was able to add this close combat day list to my collection.
Such list would be kept in a soldiers Soldbuch, the listed days counted to award the soldier with a Erdkampf Abzeichen or Nahkampfspange.
Lists like this, combat action on the westernfront, are rather rare; and what makes this list a bit more special for me is that several of the close combat actions were fought not far from where I live.
Today was an excellent day to cycle to the battlefields of Woensdrecht and I have made some pictures of how it looks today.

Gefreiter Wolfgang Singhof was a member of the Fallschirmjäger Ersatz und Ausbildungs Regiment "Hermann Göring", the trainings- and replacement unit of the HG division.
At the end of September his unit was transfered to an ad hoc formed combat formation of Fallschirmjägers (I/Fj Rgt 2 & Fj Rgt 6) under the command of the famous Lt-Col August von der Heydte.
In early October this combat formation was transfered to Woensdrecht (Holland) with the task to hold up the Canadians that were trying to free the banks of the Schelde river.
The Fj's that controlled the high ground defended their positions fiercely, for example on October 26 1944 the Canadians had to use flamethrowing tanks to free the woods of Wouw.
In Woensdrecht itself, the little hamlet Nederheide was the main defensive position held by the Fj's it did cost the Canadians a lot of casualties before they were able to take it.

cheers,
Peter

 

[Peter U]

Nederheide is a small hamlet halfway between the two small vilages Hoogerheide and Woensdrecht; now a small memorial is erected to commemorate the fallen Canadians.
Btw the big church is that of Hoogerheide, the small one is that of Woensdrecht.

 

[Peter U]

Behind the memorial a Sherman tank is placed, according to the plaque next to it, it is a canadian Sherman that was put out of action in the fight for control over the airfield Woensdrecht.

 

[Peter U]

In Ossendrecht a small vilage just South of Woensdrecht a French 155 Schneider canon is placed on a marketsquare.
These old WW1 canons were used on the Atlantikwall defences.
- The church is that of Ossendrecht.

 

[Peter U]

This is an Im Meroriam card of a German soldier that was KIA in the battle for Woensdrecht that is in my collection.
Obergefreiter Johann Ganter was a pilot without an airplane, who was transfered to a Luftwaffe groundcombat formation.

 

[Peter U]

Fideel Tanghe was a Belgian resistance member that was KIA on October 9 1944; his resistance group, together with the Canadians unsuccesfully tried to flanc the Germans occuping the hills in Woensdrecht.

 

[jack944]

Then and Now

Keep the Then and Now stuff coming. I can't get enough. I wish I had the $$ to travel to all the battle places I have read about.

 

[Pisgah]

This is an Im Meroriam card of a German soldier that was KIA in the battle for Woensdrecht that is in my collection.
Obergefreiter Johann Ganter was a pilot without an airplane, he was transfered to a Luftwaffe groundcombat formation.

I knew we had enlisted pilots at that time too but this fellow was more or less the rank equivalent of a corporal.

 

[mrfarb]

Awesome display and story!

 

[Peter U]

I knew we had enlisted pilots at that time too but this fellow was more or less the rank equivalent of a corporal.

Hello Pisgah,

This isn't uncommen in the LW.
An example this is the crew of a German bomber that was shot down between Ghent & Antwerp on May 12 1940:
- Pilot: Obergefreiter Karl Haase
- Observer: Gefreiter Willibald Graubner
- Radio operator: Obergefreiter Werners Kops
- Mg gunner: Unteroffizier Ferdinand Kotrade
So the highest ranked fellow in this bomber had the lowest possition.

Cheers,
Peter

 

[George R.]

Peter, I hope that you show more of these now and then comparisons, I find it fascinating. Thank you for posting them.

 

[Schulterklappen]

Joseph Cooke

Thank you for posting information about the battle for the twin villages. For me, it has a family element.
My uncle, Joseph Cooke, was a new replacement in the Essex Scottish Regiment, of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. He was killed in his first day of battle, Oct. 16, 1944. I believe that he was in a company that was sent to support the Royal Hamilton Infantry on that day. He is now buried in the Canadian War Cemetery at Bergen op Zoom. Attached is a page from the war diary of the Canadian 4th Infantry Brigade for October 16, 1944.

 

[Peter U]

Hello Schulterklappen,

Indeed his company was sent to Woensdrecht to support the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry on the afternoon of October 16 1944, the RHLI had been heavily engaged in fighting for the whole day, the RHLI had lost +/- 90 men that day (KIA/WIA).
During the afternoon the RHLI was weakened so much that Brigade commander Cabeldu decided to sent in a company of the Essex Scottish regiment together with some tanks in support of the RHLI.
The men from the Essex Scottish regiment approached Woensdrecht (Nederheide hamlet) from the Nieuweweg and their presence helped to safe the day for the Canadians.
The Essex Scottish lost that day 5 men in the streetfighting in Woensdrecht (Nederheide): L.Sgt Charrete, Cpl Litvinchuk, Pvt Cooke, Pvt Cousineau, Pvt Howell.

This are two pictures taken in Nieuweweg.
The cyclists show that it is a rather steep street.

 

[Peter U]

Hello Schulterklappen,

Is it perhaps possible that you post a picture of your uncle in this thread?

Cheers,
Peter

 

[Schulterklappen]

Joseph Cooke Picture

Hello Schulterklappen,

Is it perhaps possible that you post a picture of your uncle in this thread?

Cheers,
Peter

Hello Peter,

Thank you for your wonderful post! This is not the best picture; it has been enlarged and copied. Joseph Cooke is on the left, his mother Elizabeth Aitkenhead Cooke in the middle and the youngest child, Ken on the right. Another brother, Andrew, served with the field artillery of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division.

Was Fallschirmjaeger Rgt. 6, the only unit responsible for the defense of the twin villages?

 

[Schulterklappen]

Joseph Cooke Additional Photo

Here is a much better picture.

 

[Schulterklappen]

Freiherr von der Heydte

In 1990, the commander of Fallschirmjaeger Regiment 6, Freiherr von der Heydte was kind enough to send me an autographed photo and his "miltaerischen Werdegang". If you look at his service record, there is no doubt to his skill and bravery as a soldier.

 

[Schulterklappen]

Freiherr von der Heydte Brief Seite 2 & 3

In page two of the letter, he speaks about leaving command of FSJ Rgt. 6 on Oct. 25, 1944. He was to start training for "Operation Stoesser", a parachute drop during the Ardennes offensive.

 

[Peter U]

Thanks for posting the pictures!


"Was Fallschirmjaeger Rgt. 6, the only unit responsible for the defense of the twin villages?"

- No certainly not, Fjr was a regiment of the famous Kampfgruppe Chill, an ad hoc formed combat formation (a mix of Wh & LW troops) that was created by the energetic Lt-Gen Chill in September 1944, Kampfgruppe Chill was used like a kind of firebrigade moving from one hot spot on the frontline to another.
The defensive sector Woensdrecht-Hoogerheide was the responsiblity of the 67th Armeekorps and the officer responsible for the defence was Col. Elmar Warning, a staff officer of the 67AK, he would take the defence of Woensdrecht serious and lead it personally.
It was on October 8 1944 that the kampfgruppe Chill arrived in the sector Woensdrecht-Hoogerheide; FJR6 under the command of von der Heydte would form the backbone of the defence; FJR6 had the highest casualty rate among the German units involved in the battle of Woensdrecht.

This is a list with German units that were involved in the battle for Woensdrecht.
All of these units fought in Woensdrecht and the surrounding villages, the numbers behind it are the number of KIA soldiers they had during the battle for Woensdrecht:
67st Armeekorps (27)
- Kriegsmarine (infantry units) (4)
- 14th MG Bat (4)
- 252th Gemischte Flak Abteilung (2)
- Sturm Batallion Armee Waffenschule 15 Armee (23)
- 255 Sturmgeschutz Kompagnie
70 Infantrie Division (21)
- 170 Artillerie Regiment (1)
- 70 Füsilier Batallion (9)
- 170 Pionier Batallion (2)
- 1018 Grenadier Regiment (10)
- 1019 GR
- 1020 GR (1)
346 ID
- 346 AR
- 346 Panzer Jäger Abteilung (2)
- 346 Feld Ersatz Batallion (3)
- 346 Füs Bat (1)
- 346 Pi Bat (1)
- 857 GR (7)
- 858 GR
711 ID
- 711 AR (3)
- 744 GR (8)
- 719 ID
- 719 Pi Bat
- 1719 AR
- 723 GR
- 743 GR (16)
Kampfgruppe Chill
85 ID
-185 Füs Bat (1)
- 185 AR (3)
- 185 Pi Bat (2)
- 1053 GR (6)
Ersatz und Ausbildungs Regiment "Hermann Göring" (16)
FJR 2 (8)
FJR 6 (94)

There was also the 484th Landesschützen Batallion, a German guardunit with soldiers that were unfit for combat (old age) that inflected heavy casualties to the Essex Scottish regiment in early October '44.

The Canadian losses were much higher I will mention them in a next posting.

 

[Sarge]

Not at all uncommon for the Germans.
I have a friend here in Colorado who was in training to be a Stuka pilot in 1944. The Lw decided it didn't need Stuka pilots and instead of transferring them to train in other aircraft shipped them all to Fallschirmjäger units. He ended up first in FJR1 in Italy and then later was transferred to 5FJD.
Sarge