Soldbuch army Wallmeister Walloberwachtmeister Westwall and Stab General Besell Gustav Line Italy 1944

(D22424)

Georg Ruf, Sergeant Defensive Line Engineer (Walloberfeldwebel, Wallmeister) army fortress pioneer units

Soldbuch, 28.8.39. Issued by the paymaster of Festungs-Pionierstab 11. Cover loose.

Entitled to: Long Service Medal „Dienstauszeichnung 4.Klasse“ (1937), Westwall medal (24.2.40) and War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords (20.4.43).

Carpenter born 1913 in Bad Niedernau Tübingen living in Bühl. He served: Sep.39-1941 with Festungs-Pionierstab 11 active at the Westwall in the Upper Rhine area in Germany; 1942-1943 with Festungsdienststelle Karlsruhe; Oct.42 he passed medical examination in Strassburg for tropical service; Mar.-Apr.43 in hospital in Strassburg for digestive complaints; 1944 with Festungs-Pionierstab 4 active at the Westwall in the Upper Rhine area in Germany; from Sep.44 onwards with Stab General Bessell (of Generalmajor Hans Bessell), a special task force active in Italy for the rapid construction of a fortified line south of Rome, which was later called Gustav Line. In the strict sense of the word, this could not be a line, but rather a system of fortified landmarks, echeloned in depth, at the narrowest point of the Italian peninsula. The line followed the course of the rivers Garigliano, Liri and Rapido, continued via Venato and the Maiella Mountains and reached the Adriatic coast at Tossacesia, a few kilometers north of the Sangro. In the weeks that followed, Kesselring had this system of positions developed at full speed by Engineer General Bessel under command of the temporary unit Stab General Bessell; Jan.-Mar.45 at the Lehrstab B Festungs-Pionierschule; 1945 with Festungs-Pionier-Abschnitt-Gruppe I/4 active at the Westwall in the Upper Rhine area in Germany. Interesting entries on page 21 stating he passed the Wallmeister examination at the Lehrstab B Festungs-Pionierschule.

Field post number 23406: Festungs-Pionier-Stab 11

Pistols issued in 1939 and 1944.