The Volunteer Vol 2

N 2
2015
The Volunteer Magazine is the official club magazine of Ausreenact, World War
Two Re-enactment Club of Australia. We are proudly affiliated to the Austra-
Page 2- 101 US quick history
Page 4- Corowa
Page 5- Sepp’s Travels
Page 6- Book review
Page 7- DIY matchboxes
Page 8- Movie review
Page 11- FJ Jump badges
Page 14- Basic German Documents
Page 16– President’s Report
Bumper
issue
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101st US.... A brief history
The 101st can trace its linage back to November of 1918, when it was
first originally organised as a standard Infantry division. Sadly the division
was demobilised the following month. In the 1920s the division was
again reorganised as a reservist division in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and
remained like this into the early 1940s. The Division was disbanded early
in August 1942, only to be activated once again on the 16th of August
1942 at Camp Claiborne Louisiana.
Its here at Camp Claiborne under the
command of Major General William C
Lee, that the 101st took on the shape of
an Airborne division. Originally the
101st was to consist of two Glider Infantry
Regiments (GIR) and one Parachute
Infantry Regiment (PIR). These
units were 327th GIR, 401st GIR and the 502nd PIR. The 502nd being
Stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia. In the following months they were
joined by two more Parachute Infantry Regiments the 501st PIR and the
506th PIR both from Camp Toccoa Georgia. It was during this time that
the 101st’s CO noted that the division had no real history, but it would
have a “rendezvous with destiny”. Little did he know how true those
words would be.
In October of 1942 the division moved to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Here the whole division was now on one base, where they continued to
consolidate their training. In early march of 1943 the 101st had a change
of command, the division was handed to Brig. Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor.
Around the same time the division lost the 401st GIR, with it now being
transferred to the 82nd Airborne Division.
In September of 1943 the 101st departed the United States for the European
Theatre of Operations. Once in England the Division continued to
train in infantry tactics and conduct training jumps. They were training to
jump into Hitler’s fortress Europa. Men of the 101st Division fought on D
-Day in Normandy as well as in Operation Market Garden in Holland
with great success.
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The Division became well known for their actions in the Ardennes
Forrest in Belgium, in an action that has become known as the Battle
of the Bulge. The men of the 101st were the first allied troops to
enter Berchtesgaden, Hitler’s alpine retreat.
The men of the 101st’s Easy Company were the first troops to enter
Hitler’s eagles nest, his mountain top home.
In August of 1945 the division was moved back to France where it
started to train for a combat jump into Japan, however these plans
were cancelled when Japan surrendered.
The 101st Airborne Division was yet again deactivated on the 30th
November 1945, however this was not the end of the 101st’s story.
The immediate
post war period
marked an intermittent
existence
for the 101st Division,
with several
reactivations and
deactivations at
Camp Breckinridge,
Kentucky
and at Fort Jackson,
South Carolina.
The 101st Division was officially reactivated for the last time on
the 12th September 1956 at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Since then
the Division has served in places like Vietnam, Somalia, Bosnia
and Kosovo to name just few.
I can’t help but wonder if when Major General William C Lee said
that the Division would have a “rendezvous with destiny”, if he
actually knew what the division would go on to achieve.
3

Corowa swim-in 2015
The Corowa Swim-in is regarded as the largest gathering of Military vehicles
in Australia. There you’ll find jeeps galore, lots of ww2 trucks and
a number of bikes. If you have a lazy $50k you can even buy a tank or
for 70k you can get a BMW R75 combo. Ausreenact members were
there again this year to represent the club and to add something special
to the event.
We hope to be there again next year, bigger and better.
Dead Funny
Jokes from wartime Germany…
In Italy, there’s a new dance craze, it’s called the Retreat and
it goes like this: you take one step forward, two steps back,
spin around your axis and hide behind your partner.
Two old acquaintances run into one another in a concentration
camp. “Why are you here?” asks one. “On May 10, I said
that Rudolf Hess was crazy,” the other answers. “And yourself?”“
On May 15, I said Hess wasn’t crazy.”
4

Giessen Winkeltürme
In and around Geissen, in central Germany, you can easily locate quite
a few of these unique air-raid shelters designed by Leo Winkel in 1934.
They were usually constructed around industrial and railway centres,
and Wehrmacht posts. All up, about 98 were built in five similar formats.
Sepp found this particular one on the former Verdun-Kaserne and
decided to sneak in and have a look. Note the numbered seating on the
curved benches, the ladder to upper and lower levels, the signage to
indicate how many could be accommodated on each floor, and parts of
the ventilation system.
5

MEMBERS BOOK REVIEWS
Heroes in Death, the von Blücher brothers in the Fallschirmjager Crete
May 1941. By Adrian Nisbett
Unfortunately this has no ‘Saving Private Ryan’ Hollywood finish.
This book looks at three brothers involved in Operation Mercury:
Wolfgang, Lebrecht and Hans Joachim von Blücher. The von Blücher
brothers were Fallschirmjager jumping into Crete on 20 May 1941. Heroes
in Death recounts the brothers’ lives before the war, their training
as Fallschirmjagers, the action for which Wolfgang was awarded the
Knight’s Cross, how they died in the invasion
of
Crete and the aftermath of their deaths. This
is
the first full and accurate account of a little
known but remarkable story.
The von Blücher family had four sons and
one daughter, Wolfgang (1917), Adolf
(1918), Gertrud (1921), Lebrecht (1922) and
Hans Joachim (1923). The eldest brother
Wolfgang had begun his training in early
1940 in the Heer paratroop detachment which
was integrated into the Luftwaffe.
Wolfgang was involved in the Olso and Narvik assaults where he received
the Iron Cross, first and second class. The next month he took
part in the invasion of Holland and for leadership and courage during
the assault on the Dordrecht bridges he received the Knight’s Cross.
Lebrecht and Hans Joachim joined the Fallschirmjagers in admiration
for their older brother.
Lebrecht jumped onto Crete with the 7 th company of IIFJR1 to the west
of the airfield at Heraklion where elements of the Australian 2/4 were
defending. Within twenty minutes Lebrecht’s company was wiped out,
every man shot down as they tried to release their parachutes or dead
before they hit the ground. Exactly how Lebrecht died would never be
discovered.
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Hans Joachim 1 st company and Wolfgang 2 nd company IFJR1 jumped to
the east of the airfield. Wolfgang’s position came under fire and by the
morning on 21 st May he was surrounded on exposed rocky ground atop a
hill. Hans Joachim was in the group trying to rescue Wolfgang. Hans
Joachim was within 300metres of Wolfgang’s position and watched
helplessly as repeated assaults failed to get through to the besieged
group. Suddenly from the German lines came a horse ridden by Hans
Joachim with canisters of ammunition. Inevitably both horse and rider
were cut down but the ammunition was retrieved by the besieged Fallschirmjagers.
By afternoon on 21 st Wolfgang had run out of ammunition.
At this point Wolfgang was shot and killed trying to retrieve a British
gun and ammunition. Shortly after Wolfgang’s death the remaining Fallschirmjagers
surrendered.
The fourth brother Adolf died in 1944.
DIY German WW2 Matchboxes
by Werner Riedel
Ever wanted some period looking German WW2 matchboxes
or Streichholzschachteln? Like most matchboxes of the WW2 period,
these were constructed from birch ply. Slapping on a reproduction label on
a box of RedHeads just doesn’t cut it in my opinion. For a more authentic
look you can purchase 5 wooden matchboxes from MatchHouse on
Etsy.com for AUD 22.00 shipped to Australia. EBay
sellersurplus_sammy aka Firebasenam sells an assortment of reproduction
matchbox labels at a cost of AUD 3.95 shipped. The labels can be easily
glued onto the matchboxes after they are trimmed to size. The matchboxes
are slightly larger than the period ones - 57mm x 38mm x 16mm as opposed
to 51mm x 35mm x 13mm – but the labels are actually catered for
the more contemporary box dimensions. If you want to go that little bit
further, you can run a purple highlighting pen across the exposed birch ply
to simulate the colouring often associated with period matchboxes. And
there you have it! Viel Vergnügen!
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(Furlough on Oath). DVD 1938
What lifts this otherwise fairly predictable
narrative just a little above the ordinary, is
the diverse range of minor stories which it
very simply crafts, and which thus form
and drive it. These stories of the common
man and woman are played out effectively
against a backdrop of impending
social upheaval; of rationing at home, of
nascent socialism, and the ultimate betrayal
of the military by the left, the profiteers
and the defeatists.
It is 1918, and the fifth year of the Great
War is looming. Despite a period of convalescence,
the young Lt. Prätorius and
his men are destined once more for the
front. But for this trainload of mostly Berliners,
there is no plan for any home
leave, and even with a 6 hour stop-over in
their home city before the next train, they
will be restricted to the station. For all,
this is an intolerable situation.
We are entitled to leave! No. A hero’s
death is all we are entitled to.
Berlin however is a different city to the one they left so many years ago. It is a haven
for deserters. A man could quite easily disappear if he wished. And while Prätorius
trusts his men implicitly, he knows the risks. It would be his head that would be
served up should any of them be given permission to visit family and loved ones, and
not return. No. Again, no!
But of course, cracks once opened quickly become floodgates. First it is Hartmann,
who on more than one occasion had saved the Lieutenant on the battlefield. You must
be back by 6!
On my word of honour! Urlaub auf Ehrenwort!
His is soon followed by the inevitable swarm of requests… please, my pregnant
wife… please, my mother…. my music professor… And so it goes. The handshake.
Urlaub auf Ehrenwort! Yes, I’ll be back half an hour before our train leaves, until all
that is left is a handful of non-Berliners, there to wait it out with the anxious Prätorius.
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It is interesting to note that during these scenes, we hear the first rumblings of revolution
in the new Berlin, as a group of civilians exhort the men to go home: “[The war] is all
rubbish anyway, let them finish the war themselves!”
For the men who have hurriedly, expectantly, departed, to take in the ecstasy that is a
mere handful of hours of freedom, their anticipation is met
Of note among the cast is the inclusion of Fritz Kampers, who plays Gefreiter Hartmann;
the first to be given leave and (almost) the last to return. Kampers was as prodigious a
performer as he was an outstanding one, appearing in such classics as Westfront 1918
and the sublime Kameradschaft. As an actor, he is on another plane entirely to the balefully
pretentious, though sadly ubiquitous, Carl Raddatz, whose thankfully minor role
here may have been his best-ever performance.
with all manner of realities: the delights of family, of culture and aesthetics; the temptations
of the flesh, or of Communism or of the high life. Each man or group to his own.
Finding love or losing it. From bliss and betrayal, they will experience it all in their own
way.
And again those signposts to unrest: “End the War”…”Revolution Will Come”. The posters
on the wall of the bar crowded bar, with its Communists, shirkers and deserters, all
out for a good time.
“Emile, this is how we live everyday! You’d be mighty stupid if you went out again onto
that mess. We need a few more brave men for the Party!
The hours tick by. 6.10, and the train leaves in 20 minutes. None have returned.
But you can probably anticipate the final scenes.
Yes, they all do – all of them - in their own way, in their own nick of time.
That “damned sense of duty” called them back, once more to war.
And of course, in 1938 German when Urlaub in Ehrwort was released, there could be no
taint, no question of anything other than honour and commitment when it came to portraying
the common soldier, stabbed in the back as he was to be by the November Criminals.
The appeasers.
From among the ranks who returned, disenchanted, both the left and the right would recruit
support. But it was the right which would benefit overwhelmingly from their numbers,
their sense of duty and their organisational strength.
There can be no denying that this is a relatively minor piece of National Socialist era cinema.
Yet, thanks to the relatively benign script, which is in no way affected by the overt
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propaganda of so many of its predecessors and contemporaries, it does not suffer at all
as entertainment. Indeed, with war about to come to Germany once more, it would
serve quite nicely as a vehicle for reminding the nation of the values which had served
it so well in the past: honour and faith. However tragically misguided such faith would
ultimately prove to be.
tirely to the balefully pretentious, though sadly ubiquitous, Carl Raddatz, whose thankfully
minor role here may have been his best-ever performance.
See below a poster of the remake from the 1950’s and a couple of stills from the
original film.
10

LUFTWAFFE PARATROOPER QUALIFICATION BADGES
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Göring was appointed Minister of the
Interior and head of the Prussian police force. It was in this capacity that Göring
began training a handful of Berlin policemen in parachuting. Impressed with the
Soviet display he had witnessed in 1931, Göring’s intent was to create a special
police task force that could catch criminals off guard by dropping in on them
from the air.
On 1 June 1935, Göring was promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe,
not wanting to lose control of his paratroopers he transferred the paratroopers to
the Luftwaffe. In March 1936 a parachute school was set up at an airfield in Borstel
near Stendal approximately 100 km west of Berlin.
Formal jump training began on 4 May 1936 with
some 600 paratroopers passing all the physical and
psychological requirements, and having completed
their 6 qualifying jumps.
To recognise the specific achievements of paratrooper
training, the Luftwaffe paratrooper badge
was instituted on 5 November 1936. The paratrooper
badge is a qualification badge rather than a combat
ward.
The paratrooper badge consists of a laurel and oak
leaf wreath, crossed with a gilded diving eagle
clutching a swastika in its talons. The badge is made up of 10 sets of laurel
leaves on the left side and 9 sets of oak leaves on the right. A vertical pin was
soldered directly to the reverse. The wreath was to be nickel silver and artificially
oxidised to an antique silver colour. The eagle was gilded brass. As the
war continued; after 1942; materials for the construction became scarce and
variations including the use of aluminium and zinc were used in the manufacture.
Some badges had the makers mark stamped in the back of eagle. A number of
manufacturers were used to make the badge, with the classic manufactures being
Assman & Söhne whose eagle had a ‘mother goose’ face while C.E Juncker had
the ‘angry eagle’ face. An example of a C.E Juncker is attached with case. Each
manufacturer had slight variations in badge appearance, size, weight and award
case.
Nearly every qualification badge was also in a cloth version, as a logical solution
to wearing a snag-prone, bulky metal badge, the cloth badge was sewn flush onto
the uniform.
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Accompanying the presentation of the paratrooper badge was the formal
award document or Verleihungsurkunde. The document was a formal recognition
of the completion of training and included the recipient’s name
and rank.
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A very common signature found on paratrooper badge documents and all
documents is Gustav Kastner-Kirdorf between 1938 and 1942 and his signature
is shown in the example attached. The year 1940 would see a massive
expansion of the paratrooper forces, and this is reflected in the control
number at the bottom left. Approximately 2000 Luftwaffe paratroopers
would be trained in the 3 years between 1936 and end of 1939, but that
number would jump to almost 14,000 by the end of 1940.
References:
Wehrmacht awards for members displays the full range of manufactures
badges:
http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=257
The German Luftwaffe & Heer Paratrooper Badges of World War II 1936
to 1945 by Thomas Durante.
13

Spot the Difference
When our President was last at Valhalla (the Parthenon-like building on the
Rhein, not the really, REALLY big place up in the clouds) He tried to do a
match-up with an image of the Big Fella in the same spot.
He's (AH) looking at a bust of Bruckner, one of his favourite composers
(after Wagner of course). The interior hasn't changed much at all, though
they have moved old Anton to another spot and added a bust of Sophie
Scholl, among others. Our President lined it up based on the busts of the
others around the walls, and the marble patterns of the walls. Yep. Same
spot alright.
Basic German Travel Documents
Amongst the plethora of documents used by the German forces there were a few that
every soldier came across routinely. Other than the vital Soldbuch, the most common
he might see were travel papers. These varied as the war progressed with some
documents being later combined. The below list is based on pre 1943.
For a German soldier to travel home from the front on precious leave, the following
documents were required...
Cont next page....
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Kreigsurlaubschein
= Leave pass
This authorised leave from duty and came in two variants...
1) With a vertical & central green stripe, this indicated that the cost of any travel was to be
paid by the Wehrmacht. This pass had to be accompanied by a Kleiner Wehrmachtfahrschein
with either a red or blue stripe.
2) With no stripe, this indicated that any travel was to be at the soldiers cost. The corresponding
Kleiner Wehrmachtfahrschein also had no stripe.
Kleiner Wehrmachtfahrschein
= Travel pass
This pass was in two parts (outbound & return) and was issued in three variants...
1) With a diagonal blue stripe, from the bottom left to top right. This indicated that the
travel was at the Wehrmacht expense and valid for a trip of more than 200km. This often
authorised the use of faster trains.
2) With a diagonal red stripe, from the bottom left to top right. This indicated that the travel
was at the Wehrmacht expense and valid for a trip less than 200km.
3) With no stripe, This gave permission to travel but at the soldiers own expense therefore a
ticket was required.
Entlausungsschein (E-Schein)
= De-lousing certificate
This certificate was needed by every soldier returning from the front to validate that he was
free of lice and nasties. Stamped & authorised by the medical
officer.
Not all troop movement is associated with leave, so if the soldier was away from his unit for
any other reason , then alongside the above he would also have to ensure he had further
documents...or face the consequences.
MarschBefehl
= Movement (Marching) orders
These orders were issued to notify and authorise any official movement of the soldier from
post to post for duty changes. this may have been a transfer to another posting or to attend a
training school. This document authorised absence from a unit, and therefore avoided being
stopped as a deserter.
Sonderausweis D
= Special Mission papers
Special MIssion Document D, D for Dienstreisen (Mission) was issued for purposes of official
military travel. This was for special trips, perhaps to collect vehicles or equipment etc.
This document authorised absence from a unit and therefore avoided being stopped as a deserter.
15

Prasident’s Report
Kameraden,
Welcome to another edition of The Volunteer, compiled by Erich from members’ submissions.
Welcome too to new members Tom and Paul.
Our calendar of events has proven to be a valuable planning tool, even as some dates are
amended, and other items are added to it along the way.
Of equal success has been the paybook system, organised by Ritter and overseen by Jana!
Thank you to all members for embracing this initiative by remembering to bring the booklets
to each event.
Well done to those members who represented us Corowa, and to those who plan on driving
to South Australia in May. I realise that the logistics of such events are quite challenging,
and attendance can be equally difficult due to cost, time and distance, but again, thank
you for your efforts.
Planning for IronFest is well underway and in the coming weeks we will endeavour to
organise a meeting to do what we can to finalise our action sequences and display. If you
are unable to attend this meeting, please make sure you at least keep up to date by checking
your mail. This is terribly important because the webring is THE prime means of
group communication.
Armidale registration details have been posted and I encourage you to attend if at all possible.
Few things build character like sub-zero nights in the bush.
My best wishes to you all for safe travels to and from all our events.
Cheers,
Volker
16

For Sale !
This section will be open to members to sell any original or reproduction WW2
items. We do not accept responsibilities for items not paid or not delivered.
Current Items:
German M36 Greatcoat, early Sturm. Fits size 42/44. Great quality, correct
length = $180
German Schirmmutze Size 60, White piping for Infantry = $100 ( on
hold )
Original Luftwaffe Wachmantel size 40 =$450
2015 Calendar of Events
April Training event 04/04/15 Ironfest 18-19/04/15
May Adelaide 01-03/05/15 Military Extravaganza NSW
June D-Day Western event 13-
14/06/15
July
Model show Clarendon
05/07/15
August Barbarossa Winter event 01-
02/08/15 Tarago, NSW
AGM 18/07/15
Armidale winter event
September Linwood House Battle of Prague/Western
Front 12-13/09/15, Tarago,
NSW
October
Battle of Berlin, Tarago,
NSW
November Family bbq 01/11/15 Battle of Ardennes, Tarago,
NSW
December
Stalingrad, Tarago, NSW
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The volunteer is a club magazine put together by club members for
club members. You are welcome to make suggestions and provide contributions,
please write to us at waffen_su@yahoo.com.au.
This issue could not have been published without the assistance of
Sepp Volker, Gustav Becker, Werner Riedel, and Klaus Hoffmann.