Photos from German invasion of Belgium/France 1940 (Location IDs welcome)

Hello Friends, this is my first proper post besides the introduction post to introduce myself,
so please bear with me, I'm new here...

The background: I have inherited a couple of photo albums that used to belong to German
private Hans Schäfer, born in Freudenstadt near Schwarzwald,
Germany July 23rd 1910, died January 25th 1945 in Wadowice (German: Wadowitz/Frauenstadt),
Poland (just a little over 3 months before the German surrender).
I know this because in one of the albums I found the condolence letter from his army unit
to his wife. I am not directly related to him, but his wife was my Grandfathers sister.
That is how the photos ended up with me.

These are my initial quick scans.
better high-res scans will follow of some of the more interesting photos.

I have written comments under the individual pictures, including the text on the back, if any.
If anyone can ID any of the locations (long shot, I know) It would be much appreciated.

Many of the other photos not included here are of nature/landscapes and of him building wooden houses,
dressed in traditional journeyman clothing.

Later I'll post some of the other photos, a few from Berlin 1936 (year of Berlin Olympic games)
and some camp/training photos, most likely from 1939 or just before the war started proper.

IMG_6838 by Hafnia posted Nov 23, 2021 at 5:02 PM

IMG_6840 by Hafnia posted Nov 23, 2021 at 5:05 PM

IMG_6841 by Hafnia posted Nov 23, 2021 at 5:05 PM

IMG_6842 by Hafnia posted Nov 23, 2021 at 5:05 PM

IMG_6843 by Hafnia posted Nov 23, 2021 at 5:05 PM

IMG_6847 by Hafnia posted Nov 23, 2021 at 5:05 PM

IMG_6846 by Hafnia posted Nov 23, 2021 at 5:06 PM

IMG_6848 by Hafnia posted Nov 23, 2021 at 5:06 PM

IMG_6849 by Hafnia posted Nov 23, 2021 at 5:06 PM

IMG_6857 by Hafnia posted Nov 23, 2021 at 5:06 PM

IMG_6858 by Hafnia posted Nov 23, 2021 at 5:07 PM

IMG_6863 by Hafnia posted Nov 23, 2021 at 5:07 PM

IMG_6865 by Hafnia posted Nov 23, 2021 at 5:07 PM

IMG_6866 by Hafnia posted Nov 23, 2021 at 5:07 PM

 

As a relative, you can make an inquiry at the WASt/PA. They can give you information about his military career:
Bundesarchiv Internet - Personal Documents of Military Provenance until 1945

With this data it would be possible to trace the stations in France and Belgium.
Unfortunately, the place and date of death do not give any clues, because what happened in the last months of the war on the Eastern Front makes Stalingrad look like a child's birthday: 50% more German soldiers died in this period than in the previous five years total.

If there is documentation of his service in France, I can help you with further research.

regards
Olli

 

This information came from the German War Graves Commission (VDK):
According to our information, Hans Schäfer died at the Kalwaria-Wadowitz road.
He has not yet been transferred to a military cemetery established by the Volksbund.

According to the information available to us, his grave is currently still located at the following place: Kalwaria Zebrzydowska - Poland (about 14km east of Wadowice).

And because we Germans like to have it as correct as possible: The exact place of birth is Rodt (Loßburg) and belongs to the municipality of Freudenstadt.

If he is not on an official military cemetery, it is to be feared that he still lies in a collective grave - which probably has not been found yet.
In the greater Krakow area there were heavy battles with extreme casualties.

That's all I can do for you right now

Olli

 

I was able to find out something through a contact in Poland:
The area where your relative died was defended by the 544th Volksgrenadier Division (544th VGD) and the 78th Volks-Sturm (not Volkssturm) Division (78th VSD) during the period in question.
However, these were no longer regular divisions, but only the typical hodgepodge of all units available at the time, with an average strength of barely 50% (if that).
Likewise, there are practically no documents of these units. The following description is based on the evaluation of Soviet and Polish documents, interviews with witnesses and research in local archives:

early Jan., 1945 - frontline west of Dbica
Jan 16 - start of the retreat
Jan. 16/17 - short resistance near Wola Rzedzinska, east od Tarnow
Jan. 19/20 - probbaly delaying action in Bochnia
Jan. 20/21 - retreat through Myslenice towards Wadowice (St.Rgt.195 secured the Raba river line)
Jan. 22/23 - probably 1 regiment cooperating with 78.VSD at combat in Sulkowice
Jan. 24 - delaying action near Barwald (1 Rgt.), west of Kalwaria.
Jan. 24/26 - covering the Wadowice area from the southeast (Skawa river valley), some counterattacks near Swinna Poreba (using Sturmgeschütze - mentioned as "tanks" by the local people),

 

The last snippets:

IMG_6842
The blown bridge on the Maas/Meuse will be the one at Montherme. Unfortunately, this does not allow conclusions about a specific unit, because several divisions crossed there.
Montherme

(If I am allowed to speculate, I would assume the 260th ID: It was corps reserve and consisted mainly of older reservists - but that's really just a shot in the dark!)

IMG_6866
The two tanks are Renault R-35 light cavalry tanks, successor of the WWI vintage FT-17
But neither tactical number nor the ace of hearts allow any conclusions about a specific unit or location of the shot. The things were littered everywhere in the landscape.
I can only say that it is vehicle no. 30, 2nd Platoon of the 1st or 3rd Company.

IMG_6883
A rarity
Canon de 194 mle GPF sur affût chenilles Saint-Chamond
developed at the end of WWI, 36 left in 1940
Surprisingly, there is a second picture of the cannon shown above,
but also for this no indication of the location:


well, this is all I could squeeze out of the available information...

regards
Olli