German War Veteran Story-Comments?

[kaki3152]

Found this on the Web:
"I've been happy here," says retired Herscher farmer and fertilizer plant manager Joe Senzig. "I wouldn't want to go back."
The "back" Senzig refers to is the Saarland River Valley of southwest Germany, a formerly disputed bit of land hard against the French border and not far from the ancient Senzig family homeland of Luxembourg.
Saarland was still his home on Sept. 1, 1939, when Hitler's Panzer divisions attacked Poland, plunging the world into war for the second time in the century.
Eighteen days later, Poland lay defeated, and Senzig was drafted into the army along with his younger brother, Herman.
The next months would see the youthful Saarlander struggle to stay alive in the cramped cockpit of a Bf 109 fighter, escorting Luftwaffe bombers on strikes deep inside England.
But a near lethal brush with a British Spitfire over Norway ended his flying career and launched him on an equally perilous path.
First transferred to an anti- aircraft artillery unit where he briefly reunited with his brother, Senzig finally completed his military metamorphosis with a transfer to the Wermacht's Panzer command where he served as tank commander -- first of a Panther medium tank, then later of the dreaded, 63-ton King Tiger tank.
In the wake of the costly loss at Stalingrad, German Panzer units, including Senzig's, struggled to retreat across eastern Europe, hotly pursued by hordes of Soviet soldiers.
Finally, encircled by Soviet armored units at Budapest, 13 tanks, including the one Senzig commanded, attempted a daring midnight breakout toward Czechoslovakia and the American 3rd Army. Surrender to the Americans, rather than the Soviets, was the goal. Senzig's Tiger tank would emerge as one of only four tanks to complete the desperate, 15-mile run for survival. The burning wreckage of the nine tanks which failed the escape run lighted the roadway like bonfires at a Nuremberg rally.
Senzig survived the war, including a Soviet sniper's bullet which grazed his head. The scar yet remains. He will turn 87 next Monday.

[Revi16]

Let me see if I have this correct,

Drafted into the Army, flew Bf-109's, shot down, assigned to Flak Unit, then Panzer Commander of Panther & King Tigers, then to add insult to injury some crazy Russian sniper tries to kill Superman by grazing his head?

With men like this how did the Germans lose??

Regards,
Mike

[Kapper]

Interesting,

It is possible, but a lot of ?????

To my understanding Bf109 escorting bomber missions deep into England ceased in late 1940. After that, it was night raids or hit and run tactics. If you look into the careers of the Luftwaffe experten recruited in 1939-1940 most didn't reach the front until 1941- 1942. Those who got to the front during the Battle of Britain had previous military service tranfering to the luftwaffe or from another Arm of the Luftwaffe or already had a degree of pilot training. To be drafted after the Polish Campaign and get to the Battle of Britain then would mean that this Gentleman in question would have needed to have had either previous military service or significant pilot training already and was actually transferred into the Luftwaffe almost immediately.

The Bf109 did not have the range from Norway therefore safe to assume that his flights to England were not from Norway. So to end up in Norway after flying over Britain in a Bf109 meant the Gentleman needed to have been transferred to one of the Channel coast Units Erganzungsgruppesn such as Erg./JG 2, Erg./JG 26 or Erg./JG 51 after the Battle of Britain that eventually formed part of JG 5 in Norway in 1942 via JG 1 in 1941.

If this indeed happened, it is possible that due to the extent of injuries he was no longer fit for flying but still fit for military service thus transferred to the flak Arm of the Luftwaffe. Later in the war the Luftwaffe had panzer units such as the Hermann Goering Panzer division so it is possible that the Gentleman was able to transfer to this unit or a similar unit. It is also possible that the recruiting standards for the Panzer arm dropped as the war progressed with a lack of suitable candidates.

As I said it is possible but lots of ?????

All guesswork but possible, any record of a J. Senzig being wounded or Injured over Norway?

Regards,

Craig...

[kaki3152]

Well, i tried to some digging through various reference works and came up with?
First, i looked at my references for JG-5 since he claims to have been wounded by a Spitfire over Norway, Could not find anyone with the name Senzig. I'll do some more checking around. If he was drafted in 1939, it 's just possible that he served in the BoB.

On the tank front, his pretty vivid descripton of the breakout by King Tigers appears to be the breakout by Schwere Panzer Abteilung 503, which did fight in Hungary, and attempted to surrender to the US Army in Czechoslovakia.

His account is just possible,but I'd like to get more details. Since he lives in Illinois, I just might try to get his address and write him.

I'm not too surprised about him transferring from the Luftwaffe to the Wehrmacht, as I have read of this happening in certain cases.

[kaki3152]

Attachment 1209

[drgondog]

my first reaction is 'let it rest'.. if he did what he said my hat's off to him - if not, I really don't care

regards,

bill

[Uncle Sam]

A very interesting story. It is fully possible that a German soldier could be transferred around all over the place. After all, what about Rommel, Keppler, etc?

K