8 January 1943 Part 8

8 January 1943 Reception organisation for rebuilding formations

Top secret command matter. Headquarters LXXXIV Army Corps, Ia 58/43, 8 January 1943. Copy 5 of 6. To the 716th, 709th, 165th and 319th divisions. Subject: refitting and preparing larger formations. References: Seventh Army Ia 5809/42 of 4 January 1943; Commander-in-Chief West basic order No. 17, Ia 4618/42 of 28 December 1942. A copy of the second reference is forwarded.

Corps additions. 1. The reception organisation is responsible for receiving, accommodating, distributing and feeding replacement transports arriving from Germany; beginning training before the division's units arrive; assisting training until all replacement and refitting transports have arrived; and immediately forming emergency units from the replacement transports.

2. Corps Headquarters will create a reception organisation for one grenadier regiment and one artillery battalion. The personnel and equipment contribution table follows in the original. Its columns specify officers, NCOs, other ranks, paymasters, accounting clerks, cooks, field kitchens, cars with drivers, lorries with drivers, horse-drawn columns, supplying formation and remarks. The 319th Division supplies the regimental staff, third battalion and artillery battalion staff; the 716th supplies the first battalion and first battery; the 709th supplies the second battalion and second battery; the 165th supplies the 13th and 14th companies and third battery, plus specified transport. Corps supplies the marked command transport and column.

The regimental reception organisation must include a field officer or senior captain as commander; battalion parties must include a captain or senior lieutenant as commander. The officer allocated to the artillery staff commands its reception party. All personnel detailed must be good instructors.

3. Personnel are to be listed, officers by name, and completion of readiness reported to Corps Headquarters by 20 January.

4. Individual officers, NCOs and men may also be required for the mobile battalion, engineer battalion and signals battalion. These troops must therefore not be used for the contributions under paragraph 2.

5. Assembly locations will be ordered in good time.

6. All personnel are to wear field-service dress. They must take food for the first day and ration cards for five days, feeding themselves until unit kitchens are operating. Pay for the next ten-day period is to be advanced. A ration-strength statement must accompany them.

7. Personnel are to reach their assembly locations by individual rail journeys; field kitchens and vehicles follow by rail transport.

8. Arrival must be reported by telephone to the reception detachment commander and Corps Headquarters.

9. As soon as assembly locations are known, telephone connections down to battalion level are to be requested from the responsible field signals headquarters. For Corps Headquarters, Chief of the General Staff.

Original source image | Source PDF page 22 | Entry dated 8 January 1943

T-314 Roll 1604, T314_R1604_English_Translation.docx. 8 January 1943 | Source PDF pages 22–23. Selected island-related text; document or report date governs placement.