SS TOTENKOPF fighting in the Ilmen marshes + SPANISH BLUE DIV - SoB Pt 9

SOLDIERS OF BARBAROSSA
Text is on page 196
7.10.41 Lieutenant Hans-Joachim Breitenbach (Sixteenth Army, Army Group North)

This is fantastic footage showing the 250th Infantry Division, more commonly known as the volunteer Spanish Blue Divisions.

The German 16th Army, being led by Fieldmarsal Ernst Busch, held the right flank of AGN. The army was made up of 7 infantry divisions and had no panzer groups assigned to it. The area to the south east of Lake Ilmen was mostly swamp which is depicted in the map by the horizontal blue lines. Since the territory was difficult to move through it was an excellent location for Soviet soldiers whose units had been wiped out to hide and therefor became a center of partisan activity.

Moving past on their way towards the Leningrad front was the 250. ID. Having not yet been in combat their experiences to date couldn’t have contrasted more.

At the time the SS Totenkopf Division was operating here also. In this clip we see its commander Lieutenant General Theodor Eicke speaking with General Busch at the Totenkopf field headquarters.

There was a hodgepodge of remnants and full soviet units in this area of operation. October 7 was the day it first snowed along the eastern front. Although the snow quickly melted, the standing water resulted in the start of Rasputitsa, the month-long muddy period.

This rare film footage of the 250 ID, more commonly known as the Spanish Blue Division, fits in well with today’s video.

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But now it has become a bit quieter, even if all kinds of things do frequently come our way. In the first days it was still around 1,000-1,500 shells daily. Almost every square meters here has been plowed up. During the day it’s impossible to be outside. It’s dread to have to lie here and just be shot up like this.

The food, ammunition, and mail only get to the front at night; the food is usually sour, and in any case always cold; often, only the bottoms of the pans are covered, the rest of the food has tipped out as a result of constantly being put down while under fire. And that means going dog-hungry again. We’re all pretty low.

I was at the front for 17 days before I was relieved for a few days. But what that means, to be at the front in this hell for 17 days, nobody can imagine! 17 days without hot food - if any provisions got to the front at all. 17 days of almost no sleep, 17 days of icy cold, lots of rain, damp things, wet feet, no blankets. 17 days unwashed, unshaven, always thirsty - some drank the dirty muddy water that collected in the foxholes - and constantly artillery, aircraft bombs, mortars, tanks, heavy machine guns, sharpshooters: fire from forward, from the left, from the right, from half to the right, below and above! You’ve got to have nerves like barbed wire!

There were lots of fatalities and casualties. What I saw for the first time here as well was nervous breakdowns of all levels of severity right through to imbecility, My platoon leader, an old Master sergeant also suffered such a severe shock to his nerves that he had to be transported by plane back to Germany. The young soldiers who had come as reserves, fresh from home, were so done in that they cried and screamed. I had to bring them back to the artillery individually. They near enough clung to me and didn’t want toleave me, as if it was safer with me. And then you’re supposed to keep your nerves together as well.S