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Wound Badge Recipients
Wilhelm Haffner |
| Wilhelm was born in Jagstfeld Germany on December 29, 1906 and entered the
military at the age of 35 on March 6, 1942. Even at his age he was listed as
“fit for combat”, and was assigned to 1./Pi.Ers.Btl. 35. Wilhelm remained here
until May 11, 1942, when he was assigned to the 260th Infantry Division.
The 260th Infantry Division was attached to Army Group central on the Russian
Front, and was a front line combat unit that arrived in Russia immediately after
the invasion began. The 260th was almost continuously engaged from July 1941
until the end of the Soviet winter of 1941-42. The division was to remain under
the command of Army Group Central for the rest of its existence. It fought in
the defensive battles of 1942, in the Rzhev withdrawal the next year, in the
battles around Smolensk, and at Gomel. In July 1944, the 260th was surrounded
and destroyed near Minsk.
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Upon leaving Ers.Btl. 35, Wilhelm was assigned to 2./Inf.Rgt. 470 (attached
to the 260th Infantry Division). According to his Wehrpass, he was “Inserted
into the Eastern Front”. At that time, Wilhelm’s division was attached to the
XII Corp, 4th Army, in Spass-Demensk. Wilhelm remained with the 470th Inf. Rgt.
Until July 20, 1942, at which time he transferred to 5. Fahr.Kol. 260th Div.
Listed in his Wehrpass are the following dates and locations.
March 7, 1943 – Action at Ressa-Ugra.
March 8, 1943-March 31, 1943 –
Insertion in the line at Spass-Demensk-Dorogobuschestw. Welish.Demensk.
April 1, 1943 - Further action in the East.
Throughout January to August of 1943 the 260th remained with XII Corp, 4th
Army, just north of Spass-Demensk and Mogilew. A major Russian assault split the
line on the seam of the 260th and its left-hand neighbor, the 268th Infantry
Division. This, together with a breakthrough on the southern side of the
Spass-Demensk salient, forced the withdrawal from the area. Continued Russian
offensives against Army Group Center’s front forced full-scale retreats to the
Desna (reached in mid-September). In this withdrawal, the 260th continued to be
part of XII corps, 4th Army and fell back towards Roslavi on the northern side
of the Roslavi-Spass-Demensk highway. The Desna line was held only briefly
before the Germans were compelled to fall back towards the Dneiper.
The 260th now came under control of 41st Panzer corps, 9th Army, and occupied
new positions on the Pronya River north of Propoisk (southeast of Mogilev). This
line was held until late December 1943, when a fresh Russian offensive aimed at
Mogilev forced the abandonment of these positions. Even so, the Soviet offensive
ran into stiff German resistance and stalled, falling short of its intended
objectives. The division was under the control of the XXIII corps, 4th Army
during this strugle. When their section of the front returned to positional
warfare, the 260th occupied its new positions to the southeast of Mogilev as
part of the XII corps, 4th Army.
On January 13, 1944, Wilhelm was again transferred within the 260th and was
reassigned to the 2./ Gren. Rgt. 480, XII Corps, 4th Army. It was with this Rgt.
on February 2, 1944, that Wilhelm was grievously wounded. The Russians had been
pounding the central front for a year and at great cost had pushed the Germans
off their defensive positions. Against the 4th Army front alone, there had been
8 major thrusts, with the last attempt having been warded off in April 1944. The
Russians failed to force a break through in the direction of Orsha and Mogilev
despite repeated frontal and flanking attacks. It was here, during one of these
attacks, that Wilhelm was wounded. For his wounds and actions, Wilhelm received
the Silver wound badge and the Iron Cross 2nd Class.
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Beyond these decorations and his military career, we respectfully share with
you a more intimate aspect of his life. In the next page you will find letters
written from the hospital by Wilhelm, his unit and doctor. Please follow the
link below to explore that page
This page created by David Tiffin and Sebastian Bianchi