German 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking Cigarette case – Eastern Front Bring Back – Excellent

German 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking Cigarette Case – Eastern Front Bring Back – Excellent Used Condition.

This is a cigarette case for a soldier on the Eastern Front from 1941 to 1942. he etched in the locations he has been on the back. The case has wear on the bands, as can be seen in the photos, and one of the bands’ elasticity is completely gone. Both bands have repairs with thread as can also be seen in the photos, the button used to open the case has wear. overall it has seen its share of use. Please look at the photos, as I have provided many of them. look at the etching as I believe there is consistency with period writing. the Z for example and the G to name just a few. this case looks period to me and has the traits of use that you will not find on fake cases that are always present in this field of collecting.

I have included below the history of the 5th Panzer Division that in my opinion corroborates the travels of this soldier and tells the story that he can probably no longer tell us in person.

I suggest you make a payment for this item using Paypal friends and family I will drop the price to $450. If you would rather make the payment using G&S you will pay the listed price which covers all of my fees and taxes to the IRS.

paypal.me/MakaMaleko

Pay with Paypal FNF HERE and the price is $550 AND get free shipping anywhere USA! International at cost. For international inquiries, please contact me through this website using the CONTACT page for a shipping quote. Thank you!

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History:

The 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking (German: 5. SS-Panzerdivision Wiking) or SS Division Wiking was an infantry and later an armored division among the thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions of Nazi Germany. During World War II, the division served on the Eastern Front. It surrendered on 9 May 1945 to the American forces in Austria.

The division contained small contingents of foreign volunteers from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Belgium. These contingents were elevated in wartime propaganda and postwar mythology, including from the former German officers of the division, to give the Wiking Division the reputation of a pan-European force. In truth, the division was at all times equipped with a vast majority of German personnel.

Operational history

Invasion of the Soviet Union

Troops of the division in the Soviet Union in 1941.

The division took part in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, advancing through Galicia, today’s Ukraine. In July and August, Wiking participated in the encirclement battles at Uman and Kiev. Later in August, the division fought for the bridgehead across the Dnieper River at Dnepropetrovsk. Finally, the division took part in the heavy fighting for Rostov-on-Don before retreating to the Mius River line in November, to hold for the winter.

In February 1942, the Soviet’s winter offensive had established breakthroughs on either side of the transportation hub of Izium. A Kampfgruppe was formed around the 1st battalion of the Germania regiment and the division’s assault gun battery and sent north to help contain the Soviet thrusts. By the 25th of February, this Kampfgruppe was virtually annihilated in defensive battles near Izium against superior Soviet armored forces. Ultimately the front had been stabilized however, and conditions had been set for the devastating Axis counterattack at the Second Battle of Kharkov a few months later.[8]

During the spring of 1942, the division received reinforcements for the coming offensive, including a battalion of Finnish infantry and a battery of StuG III’s to replace earlier losses. In early June 1942, Wiking received its panzer battalion, making it among the first SS Divisions to be given its own armored contingent. The panzer battalion had just under sixty tanks, and was made up of two companies of Panzer IIIs and one company of Panzer IVs. The battalion was commanded by veteran SS officer Johannes Mühlenkamp.[9]

In the summer of 1942, the unit took part in Army Group South’s offensive Case Blue, with orders to capture Rostov and the Maikop oil fields. After capturing both targets, the division came to a halt in the foothills of the Caucasus on 14 August. In late September 1942, Wiking participated in the operation aimed to capture the city of Grozny, alongside the 13th Panzer Division. After much difficulty, the division captured the Malgobek ridge on 6 October, but the objective of seizing Grozny and opening a road to the Caspian Sea was not achieved. The division took part in the attempt to seize Ordzhonikidze. The Soviet Operation Uranus, the encirclement of the 6th Army at Stalingrad, brought any further advances to a halt and later necessitated a retreat from the Caucasus.

After Operation Winter Storm, the failed attempt to relieve the 6th Army, Erich von Manstein, the commander of Army Group South, proposed another attempt towards Stalingrad. To that end, Wiking entrained on 24 December; however, by the time it arrived at Zimovniki on 30 December, the Wehrmacht was retreating westwards. The Wiking Division was tasked with covering the retreat of Kleist’s First Panzer Army back across the Don. Wiking held Simovniki for seven days, covering the retreat of several large German formations, taking high casualties in the process. The division escaped through the Rostov gap and took up a new defensive position at Stalino on 5 February,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5th_SS_Panzer_Division_Wiking