Description
WEHRPASS – KARL MAX GUSTAV DALITZ – 266. INFANTERIE-DIVISION – POLAND, FRANCE – EKI AWARD FOR NORMANDY
Complete Wehrpass issued to Karl Max Gustav Dalitz, a career NCO with confirmed multi-campaign combat service and a strong, above-average award group including Iron Cross 1st Class, Iron Cross 2nd Class, and General Assault Badge (Sturmabzeichen). The Wehrpass documents later-war service with Artillerie-Regiment 266 (266. Infanterie-Division) and is enhanced by a clear, signed portrait photograph of the soldier in uniform.
PERSONAL DETAILS:
Karl Max Gustav Dalitz was born 9 February 1913 in Grieben (Frankfurt/Oder district). He is recorded as a German national of Evangelical faith, married, and employed as a Musterweber (textile specialist/weaver). The Wehrpass is fully completed in period hand with matching signature and a well-preserved uniform photograph affixed inside.
EARLY SERVICE / PRE-WAR:
- Entered active service on 3 November 1935
- Progressive advancement through the ranks:
- Gefreiter (1936)
- Obergefreiter (1937)
- Unteroffizier (1937)
- Feldwebel (1940)
- Oberfeldwebel (1941)
UNIT SERVICE:
- Specific unit assignments prior to 20 April 1943 are not recorded in the Wehrpass
- From April 1943 onward, clearly documented service with:
- Leichte Artillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung 18
- Artillerie-Regiment 266 (1944 entries)
No further transfers are recorded after this point.
DIVISIONAL CONTEXT & ATLANTIC WALL / NORMANDY SERVICE:
- Artillerie-Regiment 266 was part of the 266. Infanterie-Division
- After earlier campaigns, the division was deployed to France, serving as an occupation and coastal defense formation in Brittany (Lannion sector)
The Wehrpass records Dalitz on:
- “Abwehr a.d. franz. Atlantikküste” – July 1943. Further entries show him still with the unit in 1944
Following the Allied landings on 6 June 1944, the division was committed to combat:
- Fought in the heavy battles around St. Malo in July 1944
- The division was largely destroyed in these engagements
- Remaining elements withdrew into Brittany fortress positions
- The division was formally dissolved on 29 September 1944
Key point:
With Dalitz continuously listed in Artillerie-Regiment 266 and no later transfers:
- He was almost certainly present with the division during the Normandy / Brittany fighting
- His service directly ties him to Atlantic Wall defense and the aftermath of D-Day operations
AWARDS (AS RECORDED):
- Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse – 15.11.1939
- Awarded for service in the Poland Campaign
- Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz – 27.6.1940
- Confirms combat wounding during the Western Campaign (France 1940)
- Allgemeines Sturmabzeichen (General Assault Badge)
- Indicates repeated frontline combat participation
- Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse
- Based on timing and unit history, this award aligns with later-war combat service
- Given his documented presence with 266. Infanterie-Division in France (1943–1944), this strongly supports attribution to Normandy / Brittany fighting period
- Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938 (Sudetenland Medal)
COMBAT / WAR SERVICE:
- Confirmed multi-campaign combat soldier:
- Poland (1939) – EKII
- France (1940) – Wounded
- Atlantic Wall (1943) – Coastal defense
- Normandy / Brittany (1944) – Divisional destruction phase
- Later recognition through:
- EK I
- General Assault Badge
Demonstrates sustained frontline combat across the war.
MEDICAL / LATE WAR ENTRIES:
- January 1944 medical entry noting:
- Rot-Grün-Blindheit (color blindness)
- Follow-up evaluation in March 1944
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