Kampfgruppe ARENDS/352.Inf.Div june 1944

[AETIUS 1980]

Hello
I am looking for information on the Kampfgruppe ARENDS attached to the 352.Inf.Div at the end of June 1944. Is it a unit set up from the remains of Gr.Rgt.726 ? (Major dR Friedrich AHRENS, kdr of the I.Btl./726 then Gr.Rgt.726 following the death of Oberst Walter KORFES. He himself died on June 18 1944 at St Clair-sur-l'Elle. He was buried in the Marigny military cemetery as Hauptmann (?) (Block 2/row 38/grave 1842).

Thank you

[Simon Trew 1]

I've looked at pretty much all the US divisional and corps daily G-2 periodic reports from this period and I don't recall seeing a specific reference to this unit. There might be something in intelligence logs, but I've never had the time to acquire and study most of these. The Cantigny 1st Division Foundation McCormick digital archive should certainly be checked, as that contains bundles of G-2 stuff from this period.

The closest I can come to what you might be looking for is a single reference in the Order of Battle Annex to US XIX Corps G-2 periodic report No.23, covering the period 0001 hrs - 2400 hrs 7 July. This, of course, was the day when the US assault over the Vire took place, bringing into battle elements of Kampfgruppe Heintz (275 ID elements + attachments), and pretty soon thereafter bits and pieces from 2nd SS Pz and 17th SS PzGr divs.

The entry states that prisoners from various units were taken in the vicinity of St. Fromond. They included at least one man from 984th GR's 14th (AT) Company (that's part of Kg Heintz), along with one man from the Stabs Company of 726th Grenadier Regiment. The prisoner said that only three platoons remained from the entire [726th] regiment.

That's it, I'm afraid. I don't know if these men were under the command of Ahrens or somebody else.

[Simon Trew 1]

A thought just occurred to me. Very unusually for German infantry divisions that fought in Normandy, primary sources seem to exist for 275th ID's activities during that campaign. I don't have any of these records - I haven't had time to try to find a way of getting them - but the sources in the BA-MA listed below might shed light on any 716 ID units that fought under the command of, or alongside, Kampfgruppe Heintz in June and July 1944. Since Kg Heintz was also tactically subordinated to 17th SS PzGr Div, it might also be worth checking their war diaries (which also survive in unusually large quantities, at least for the divisional level Ia section):

RH 26-275/2: Divisional records, February – June 1944 (including a directive on techniques of hedgerow fighting).
RH 26-275/4: Orders and reports concerning Kampfgruppe Heintz’s activities, 11 June – 6 July 1944.
RH 26-275/5: Divisional Ic records, 22 December 1943 – 1 July 1944.
RH 26-275/6: Political indoctrination, 15 May – 24 July 1944.
RH 26-275/7: Divisional daily routine orders, 14 December 1943 – 11 July 1944.
RH 26-275/8: Special orders for divisional supply, 23 December 1943 – 29 September 1944.
RH 26-275/13: Weapons, equipment and ammunition supplies, up to 11 July 1944.
RH 26-275/14: Divisional field replacement battalion, orders 29 April – 23 July 1944.
RH 26-275/15: Kampfgruppe Heintz experience report, 6 June – 21 July 1944.

RH 37/4870: 984th Grenadier Regiment (Kampfgruppe Heintz), daily reports, July – August 1944.
RH 37/4871: 985th Grenadier Regiment records, January – July 1944.
RH 37/7035: 985th Grenadier Regiment records, December 1943 – July 1944.
RH 37/7037: 983rd Grenadier Regiment, 2nd Battalion daily orders, January – July 1944.

RH 41/884: 275th Artillery Regiment orders, 20-2 July 1944.
RH 41/981: 275th Artillery Regiment, 4th Battalion, supply matters, 29 December 1943 – 24 June 1944.