Description
HEER SOLDBUCH – STURMGESCHÜTZ ABTEILUNG 303 – FINLAND – FINNISCHE TAPFERKEITSMEDAILLE
Very nice Soldbuch issued to Gefreiter Heinz LASCH. He served in STURMGESCHÜTZ ABTEILUNG 303. The Soldbuch has an excellent uniform photo of him wearing Feldgrau StuG tunic. Issued April 17, 1943 in Chemnitz. He was promoted to Gefreiter on July 1, 1944. Awards entered include the Finnische Tapferkeitsmedaille (FINNISH BRAVERY MEDAL 2ND CLASS – a very scarce entry to find in a Soldbuch), EK2, and SILVER WOUND BADGE.
Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 303 was formed in Neiße on 24 October 1943, among others from the Sturmgeschütz-Batterie 742 that had just returned from Finland. The Abteilung was then moved to Tours , under “Aufstellungsstab West” for further training and obtaining equipment. In January 1944 the Abteilung was moved to the Eastern Front, to Heeresgruppe Nord . The brigade was actually immediately caught up in the retreat of Heeresgruppe Nord, and this retreat took the brigade back to the area south of Lake Peipus , around Ostrov . At the beginning of June 1944, the brigade was then transported to Armee-Abteilung Narwa .From here the brigade, together with the 122nd Infantry Division, was transferred to Finland to support the Finns. The brigade arrived in Finland from 22 June, but lost several StuGs in the port of Helsinki , because the transport ship Marsk Stig capsized in the harbour during unloading. The brigade then fought in the battle of Talin-Ihantala in late June/early July 1944, where a Soviet advance was stopped near Vyborg . Around 8 September the brigade left Finland again and was then assigned to the 3rd Panzer Army with Panzerverband von Lauchert. In November 1944 the brigade was then sent to Heeresgruppe Süd in Hungary.
The brigade was attached to the 6th Army . In January 1945, attached to the 5th SS-Panzer-Division Wiking , the brigade took part in Operation Konrad III, coming within 18 kilometres of besieged Budapest . In March, the brigade took part in Operation Frühlingserwachen as part of Armeegruppe Balck . This was followed by a retreat into Austria. By mid-April, the brigade was part of the 3rd Panzer Corps around the Semmering massif.The Heeres-Sturmartillerie-Brigade 303 capitulated on 8 May 1945 in central Austria.
