May 1945

[Fritz]

 

Last film material from the Oder Front,  March/April 1945

 

[Kenny Andrew]

Interesting to see that the artillery are actually Kriegsmarine with some of them still wearing their minesweeper badges, although I'm sure their minesweepers would be long gone.    

[Fritz]

In the final stages of the war, superfluous naval and Lufwaffe personnel were used as ground troops, there was no other job for them, but personnel for ground defence was urgently needed. Some were under the command of the Waffen-SS. As there were often not enough uniforms to go round, they kept their original uniforms, weapons were a problem, and stocks of captured weapons from France, Russia, etc.  as well as outdated Austrian and Czech Mannlicher rifles and carbines were used, however, ammunition stocks were often limited.
I was told by Günter W., (1926-2018), formerley serving on board the Linienschiff "Schleswig-Holstein", that he and his comrades (average age: 19) were formed into a Marine Panzer-Abwehrabteilung und the command of Kapitänleutnant von Bülow, and they were given Danish uniforms, and then sent to defend the outer ring of Berlin (Kampfgruppe Steiner). They were badly mauled near Eberswalde and with heavy losses withdrawn westwards, the remainder ended in British captivity near Lüneburg in May 1945.