A Group to von Gotberg; SS & Police Commander of Central Russia

Document Group to von Gotberg; SS & Police Commander of Central Russia; A very rare Soldbuch to a Waffen-SS Commanding General and KC winner - extremely rare! Iron Cross 1914 (First and Second Class); WWI Wound badge (black grade); WWI War Merit Cross with Swords; Infantry Assault Badge, solid, zinc alloy; Eastmedal (maker #3); his ID disc ("Gen.Kdo.XII.SS.A.K.4" (in zinc); Cuff chevron "Alte Kampfer"; his personal signature stamp, used by him for stamping documents. All worn, in fine to very fine condition.  Von Gottberg was the son of a wealthy estate-owner. He attended the Wilhelm Gymnasium in Königsberg until his Abitur in 1914. He was 18 when he volunteered for the Cuirassier Regiment “Graf Wrangel” in Königsberg on August 2nd, 1914. In 1915 he was assigned to the 1st Guard Regiment in Potsdam. Leutnant von Gottberg was severely wounded on the Western Front in 1917. After the war he left the Army as an Oberleutnant to pursue a civilian career in agriculture. He worked in various positions between 1928 and 1933. In 1933 he was made an SS Hauptsturmfuhrer and Commander of a battalion of SS-VT in Ellwangen an der Jagst, and in 1934 he was made a Sturmbannfuhrer. He had a terrible accident in 1936 which led to the amputation of his left leg below the knee. In 1937, after being promoted to Standartenfuhrer, he served as the Director of the Race and Settlement Department until March 1939, when he was assigned to the Embassy in Prague. After his promotion to Oberfuhrer he was made head of the Requisitions Department in Berlin in April 1941, and on the 20th was bumped up to SS-Brigadefuhrer and General Major of the Police. He then volunteered for the Russian Front in January 1942 and was engaged in Anti-Partisan activity. For his efforts he was awarded the German Cross in Gold for successfully putting an end to Partisan operations in Belarus in the middle section of the Front. As Commander of the Kampfgruppe Gottberg, he was given an honourable mention in the Wehrmacht Report on June 30th, 1944 and was awarded the Knights Cross, after that he served in the role of high SS- and Police Commander of Central Russia based in Minsk, and effective July 11th 1944 he was promoted to Obergruppenfuhrer and General of the Waffen-SS and Police. By the order of the Army High Command from August 1st, 1944. Units and staff were taken from Regional Defense Command VIII to reinforce General Command XII. SS Army Corps. Gottberg took over command as General of the XII. SS-Army Corps on August 7th, 1944, active in the East at first, and then on the Dutch Border. On the 18th October, 1944 he had to give up command because of a case of Thrombosis, for which he spent two months in the hospital. After being released he served as representative Commander of the Reserve Army and shorty before the end of the war was part of Army Group North under General Field Marshall Ernst Busch. He was arrested by Allied forces, and committed suicide in British custody on May 31st, 1945.     The original report for Operation “Nurnberg” from the 22nd to 26th November, 1942: The Enemy Position: In the wooded region north of Postawy were reports of 3 large Partisan camps, each with a retinue of roughly 1000 men. In effect it was a band of roughly 300 to 500 men, in whose protection were numerous jews and gypsies seeking refuge. They had previously conducted raids in the surrounding villages. The camp was probably a main barracks and a surrounding ditch. The other camps we can assume are boarding camps for jews and gypsies. The surroundings of the Majatku-Belmont forest, especially in the villages along the edge of the forest were provided with strong defenses, so much so that any approach towards the area would trigger an alarm. The villages in the wider surrounding area of the forest were mostly friendly to the partisans, or at very least were forced into cooperation. Reports of mines on the roads to Majatku-Belmont are not yet confirmed. The conduct of the Partisans has been very strict. For the most part they are trained Soviet troops dispatched by Moscow. They have radio contact with Moscow. Supplies and ammunition are delivered by air. Their arms are mostly rifles, a few machine guns, and field mortars.   Suggestion: To destroy the reported enemy Partisans in the Majatku-Belmont forest, Kampfgruppe Gottberg will be formed. 1.       The 1.SS-Inf. Brigade (motorised) 2.       14th Police Regiment 3.       Security Group Barkholt including local gendarmes, defense squads, Wehrmacht units, response troops of the regional kommissar. Will be attached.   Order: The 1.SS-Inf. Brigade (motorised) in its capacity as Kampfgruppe Gottberg with SS-J.R 10 to its right and SS-J.R. 8 to its left will attack and destroy the enemy. The enemy is every Partisan, Jew, Gypsy, and anyone suspected of insurgency.   Result:   Date Partisans Jews Gypsies Special Cases Own Losses 22.11 - - - 15 1 dead 23.11 4 8 7 287 2 dead 24.11 14 - - 268 1 wounded 25.11 42 2 - 68 1 dead 26.11 - - - - -   Enemy losses from the 24th cannot be confirmed with certainty, as the enemy may have succeeded in hiding dead and wounded in the forest. Captured: 2 Machine Guns, 10 Rifles, 2 Machine Pistols, 1 Pistol, and 1 Radio. Besides that, a large sum of food, wheat, and cattle were captured and sent to headquarters.