The first one is written during the heavy fighting for the southern and central Stalingrad by a Russian solider in the 1047 Rifle Regiment. Rudi Wagner (29th Motorized Infantry Division) veteran of the Stalingrad battle. During the Stalingrad battle, Mr. Wagner was an Unteroffizier in the 29th Motorized Infantry Division. He was part of the command staff of the 13th (Infantry Gun) Company, Infantry Regiment 71 (Motorized) and fought in the southern approaches and in the city of Stalingrad. He was wounded on September 23, 1942, and did not return to the battle and was posted on the Germany’s Western front until the end of the war. During my interview, I asked about 150 questions related to his experience in the Stalingrad battle. These are parts of that interview I feel are significant to the no engine T-34 threads of this last week. “I remember that week well because my best friend Otto (Kummert) was killed (September 3rd, 1942) after some Russian rocket attacks. Otto was a motorcycle messenger for the staff and sometimes we both deliver supplies to the platoons. Both of us had been together on the advance to Moscow and had to retreat…we were not ready in winter 41 (1941) but 1942 was going to be different.” Otto is man in the center. (Summer 1942) “We travel along a long flat dirt road for a while and came across Otto and his motorcycle parked on the side of the road near an abandoned Russian tank. We stop for a while and talked to him. He said that he was returning from his mission when he got caught-up in one the rocket attacks. He said that a few of the rounds landed near him and that he and the motorcycle had landed in a ditch on their sides. After the attack, he started the motorcycle again and was driving back to our position. He said everything was good, then the motorcycle stop running. He stopped along the side of the road and could see that he had been leaking fuel along the road and there was a small hole in the fuel tank. He waited along the road for hoping for someone would pass by and help. After the 30 minutes, he started to push the motorcycle by hand and ending up near the Russian tank on the side of the road.” “We parked the command car off the side of the road and away from the tank; we were scared we might come under air attack if some planes had seen the Russian tank. To the left and right in the distance we also could see three or four more tanks of the same type. Someone got some soap and was trying to patch Otto’s motorcycle tank and I took this picture of Otto in the tank.” Otto in the T-34, Stalingrad (September 2, 1942) “Otto’s motorcycle was repaired with the soap and some tape in a short time we were ready to go. We drove to one of the other tanks we could see and looked at it. It seemed to be more compete that the first one but it did not have an engine either. By late afternoon, we were in a new position and could see much smoke coming from the city (Stalingrad).” Nearing southern Stalingrad. (September 2, 1942) “During September, I saw six or seven Russian tanks with no engines and three that had no paint. They all looked like they where new from a factory. In addition, I saw some Elephant heads that were destroyed. (He said that this was slang for bunkers with tank turrets, because they looked like big game hunters trophies hanging on a wall.)” (September 3, 1942) Otto’s grave at Stalingrad. (September 3, 1942) "I talk to man who buried Otto and he said Otto had two bullet wounds and the motorcycle had bullet holes but they were on the bottom of the motorcycle. The man said there had been some small pockets of 3 to 5 Russian holding out in the area after the German frontlines had more forward. The pockets had been crushed by the time we got there. The man said Otto must have been shot first, fell over and the holes on the bottom of the motorcycle must have came after he was on the ground and the Russian kept shooting at him. I agreed!” “The man had some of Otto’s personal things, I took them and later I told the Commander I would write his wife a letter. The next day I got all of his personal things from the support wagon, including his camera, wrote a letter to his wife, and mailed it.” “I was wounded on the 23rd and was back home in less than a week. I develop my pictures from our cameras, made two sets, wrote Otto’s wife a second letter, and included the pictures.” Rudi’s picture of the Kuporosnoye District of Stalingrad (September 1942)
http://www.fireonthevolga.com/Documents.html
The second letter was written by a commander of a Pioneer (Engineer) unit to the wife of a solider killed-in-action in his unit.
http://www.fireonthevolga.com/Wehrpasses.html
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In addition, here is part of an interview that I did in the 1980’s that might help too. This was first posted in October 2004 in reply to a discussion about Engine-less Russian tanks at the Stalingrad battle.
(September 2, 1942)
“On his motorcycle, Otto had taken a message and some supplies forward to one of the IG (Infantry Gun) platoons. About two hours had past and he did not return. During those two hours, two or three enemy rocket attacks took place. All of the attacks landed in our frontline sector and between our positions. Later that afternoon our command post moved to a forward position towards Stalingrad but Otto had not returned.”
“We all played on the tank for a few minutes. I had never been this close to a Russian tank before. I was surprised that the tank had a fresh coat of paint like a car show but it was also missing equipment. It was missing the cupola (armor mount) for the front machinegun and had a rope holding the machinegun in place. Inside there were wooden boxes for seats, we open the hoods to engine compartment, and there was no engine. We were all confused after that and did not know what to say.”
“That is the day Otto was killed. Otto had gone forward with a message and did not return. At noon one of our forward units radio that they had a dead motorcyclist with paperwork from our unit. Later that afternoon our unit move forward again. We found his grave, place some wild flowers on it, and took some pictures.
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