Über Moskau ins Kurland

Georg Bleher, Knight's Cross recipient, tells the story. Georg Bleher was born in 1919, and in this book he recalls the most formative period of his life. Bleher was drafted into the German Wehrmacht in the summer of 1940. After basic training and time as an occupation trooper in Belgium, he spent four years in the war against Russia from 1941 to 1945. As a group leader, Bleher experienced the German advance in 1941, the battle for the Soviet capital and the following defensive battles in the central section of the Eastern Front. He soon proved himself as an experienced scout and shock troop leader and was appointed company squad leader as a non-commissioned officer. After his command for officer training, Bleher returned to the northern section of the Eastern Front in the summer of 1944 as a lieutenant in the 205th Infantry Division. As battalion adjutant, he experienced the collapse in the east and proved himself several times in the enormous material battles in the Kurlandkessel. For his personal commitment, Georg Bleher was awarded the German Cross in Gold and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He experienced the end of the war in a military hospital in southern Germany. Two bitter years as a French prisoner of war followed. 115 previously unpublished photos and illustrations. 212 pages.