The filth

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Salerno43
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The filth

Post by Salerno43 »

I have read some excerts from soldiers on meeting Fg - that they were checked for solbuch's, dogtags and also for things like gasmasks - as they were frequently "lost". What else would fg be checking for in the rear area (carefull now) of an engaged front line.
Hoffman Grink

Post by Hoffman Grink »

Spare Socks
That you had not eaten your Eisernportion
That you had a clean, presssed white hanky in your pocket
Captured weapons
Booty
The odd copy of Frauleins Uncovered
Those nice lickle boiled sweets captured offa Tommies.

That you were in the correct sector of operations for your orders.
That you were not carrying any unauthorised materials, weapons or equipment
That you had reasonable excuse to be where you were and orders to travel to your stated destination

And that Smiling Albert was not hiding inthe Panje Wagon!
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Post by Feldjager »

More or less what paul has highlighted - if they were particularly beligerant, they would check that Kragenbinde were worn and clean, that equipment was maintained and in servicible order. Vehicles could also be thoroughly checks for lights and other defects (there is a reporting book specifically for vehicle defects). Subversive material was also another favourite (remember that Allied leaflet you picked up in leiu of loo paper? You're nicked... no, it really happened!).

People who were wanted for offences were also searched for at these checkpoints

Thie main concern was that people knew where they were supposed to be going and that they were not going the wrong way (accidentally or deliberately). Deserters were searched for, though later in the war the Feldjaegerkorps had primary responsibility for this.

On some occasions, there were specific targets which were being searched for, such as enemy weapons which were not officially issued.
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Ted
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Post by Ted »

We had an old German Veteren who used to live near to me, i remember he once told me that he had just got over the river bug & just got away with his life as the Russians were very close behind. as he had bailed from his tank (he was a loader if i remember) he had just what he stood up in. he dutifully went to the nearest collection / stageing point & was interviewed by the "chained dogs" as he called them.... they tore into him something rotten about missing kit etc, never mind he was lucky to be alive.... they even complained that he had 3 rounds of 9mm for his luger.. they said he should have shot it at the russians then topped himself.... !!!

I dont think he was very complementary about the police next as the words he used are not in my vocab ..... :oops: :oops: :oops:
Salerno43
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Post by Salerno43 »

That story was similar to one I read, guys swam a river and were apprehended on the other side for leaving various bits of kit behind - never mind that you were cut off and barely escaped with your life!
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Steve Das Reich
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Post by Steve Das Reich »

Thats the rozzers for you, :lol:

Military Police, are never liked by the rest of the Army, they are seen as working for the officer corps, especially by infantry units, who view them as REMF`s.

I would imagine this is the same the world over, in anyones army.
SS Unterscharfurer Stefan Klein
2Kp. SS Aufklärungs Abt. Das Reich
"Wir gehen voran"
http://www.wars.uk.net/

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pzrwest
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MP's

Post by pzrwest »

Here in Canada the MP's are tete de viande or meat heads!!! lol
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Post by Feldjager »

Ex 251 Pro Coy RMP.

Ahem... 8)
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Scott
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Post by Scott »

ex provost officer RAF police
have been called every name under the sun and some you may not have heard, but have broad shoulders and a big stick
scott
Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein

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Noily
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Post by Noily »

scott wrote:ex provost officer RAF police
have been called every name under the sun and some you may not have heard, but have broad shoulders and a big stick
Bloody snowdrops :wink:
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pzrwest
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Post by pzrwest »

On my nco's course I had 2 guys from the mp's on the course in my section. They should teach mp's how to stand up and walk in snow.... lol everytime I looked back these 2 guy were on their arses guess they did too much ridin in vehicles and forgot how to do it on foot lol
Kolya
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Post by Kolya »

As Napoleon said, though: "Every good army must have a good police force" (or words to that effect).
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Post by Feldjager »

Kolya wrote:As Napoleon said, though: "Every good army must have a good police force" (or words to that effect).
I think it was "You cannot have a good army without a police force within"
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Kolya
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Post by Kolya »

Probably, yeah :o
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Post by Feldjager »

About the Geheime Feld Polizei

At the outbreak of the war the German high command organised a secret police force (the Geheime Feld Polizei of GFP) to serve with the Armed Forces. It was principally designed to carry out security work in the field, as the executive agent of the Abwehr (Intelligence Service - also known as Section Ic) of the Wehrmacht.

The experiences of the German army in the 1870-71 war and particularly in the First World War had made clear the necessity for a Geheime Feldpolizei (GFP or 'Secret Field Police') for the defence of occupied areas from espionage, sabotage, subversion; for early intervention against the undermining of their own troops and for the fight against resistance organisations. It therefore followed that units of Geheime Feldpolizei were required for this type of operation within the armed forces after 1933.

In the beginning the GFP was made up of personnel from the Gestapo and of the Kriminalpolizei (Kripo or Criminal Police). They were commandeered for the duration of the war as officials to the armed forces (known as Wehrmachtbeamten. These officials were members of the armed forces and at the same time also civil servants. They were subject to military discipline.), however they kept the ranks of the police with the addition of der Feldpolizei. Armed forces members, whom appeared suitable by way of special knowledge or abilities for GFP employment, were appointed as auxiliary field police officers, however they retained their military rank. After finishing service with the GFP, they were returned to their unit and were sworn to secrecy, with regards to all operation procedures.

The GFP gained their first experiences during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39 with the Condor Legion. The group consisted of approximately 30 men and carried the designation "S/88/Ic". They co-operated closely with the secret service of Franco's troops (Servicio Informacion Policia Militar). One of the main activities in Spain was the pursuit of Germans, who fought in the international brigades. Arrangements with Franco meant that captured Germans from these brigades were handed over to the GFP.

During the partial mobilization of the armed forces for the occupation of Austria in March 1938, the military district VII (Munich) sent GFP group 570.

During the annexation of the Sudetenland in the autumn of 1938 and final occupation of Czechoslovakia in the spring of 1939, co-operation with the intelligence organisations of other security agencies was developed. While the GFP fulfilled police functions within the operational areas, the security agencies made mass arrests of potential opponents in order to eliminate resistance.

After careful evaluation of the experiences gained in Spain, Austria and Czechoslovakia an order was issued on the 21st of July 1939 by the chief of the Oberkommado der Wehrmacht (German High Command), GeneralOberst Wilheim Keitel - this was Heeresdienstvorschrift 150, "Regulations for the Secret Field Police".

Duties

The GFP field manual defined their principle functions as:

1. The prevention and discovery of espionage and other offences against security in the German Armed Forces as well as of all other military and civilian tendencies and actions within the zone of operations, which may be hostile to the Reich. Special emphasis is placed on the prevention and prosecution of sabotage, demoralising propaganda and rumour-mongering. This includes the control of identity papers, travel permits and supervision of all civilian movement in forward and rear areas;
2. The prevention of civilians from joining in an action against the occupying forces;
3. The execution of all security measures within the forward and rear zones of operation. The GFP also acts as an advisory capacity to all officers dealing with military intelligence and security;
4. The recording of people suitable to act as agents;
5. The execution of all security police tasks not within the field of action of the Feldgendarmerie;
6. The briefing of all military HQ and the issuing of directives on questions affecting military security;
7. All other functions of military intelligence in co-operation with, and according to instructions from, Section Ic.

Heeresdienstvorschrift 150 further defined their duties thus: "the purpose and task of the GFP is the safety and support of the operations of the field army. In addition it also follows that the GFP operate beyond the framework of the actual defence and pay attention to all occurrences, which can damage our own operations. The term "defence" is is therefore in the area of operations to be laid out. The activity of the GFP cannot be specified in detail exhaustively. Furthermore the nature of German defence against the behaviour of hostile espionage, sabotage and propaganda services also depends on the conditions in the area of operations."

The GFP maintained close co-operation with section Ic Abwehroffizier (counter intelligence officer) of the intelligence section of the armed forces.

GFP personnel were provided with identity papers which allowed them to enter any military building, pass through any barrier or into any restricted area without question. They were also empowered to use all military channels of communications as well as any transport, supply or billeting facilities they deemed necessary.

Deployment

Typically, the GFP were deployed in gruppe (groups) - these were made up of 50 men: 1 Heeresbeamte with an equivalent rank of Major or higher, 32 Heeresbeamten with equivalent ranks of Leutnant, Oberleutnant and Hauptmann (2nd Lieutenant, Lieutenant and Captain) and 17 auxiliary personnel (usually seconded Feldgendarmen or civilian policemen). The gruppe could then be broken down further, to the point where only one or two GFP heeresbeamten were policing a large area - in some cases a single GFP could be attached to a Feldgendarmerie unit to assist in anti-partisan operations (as we have based our GFP section on).

n practice the deployment of the GFP was inaccurately defined by the regulations and became very different depending upon the operational area. Their activity in occupied North and Western Europe showed a completely different side than on the Eastern front. In the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway the GFP was, to a large extent, limited to the protection of the armed forces. In Belgium and France the deployment of GFP forces as a police of the military administrations for the fight against resistance, espionage and sabotage as well as, increasingly, the breakdown of their own troops.

By the second half of the war, the GFP were winning the fight against subversion and sabotage in the Wehrmacht. From the middle of 1943 isolated cases had been identified where German soldiers, who in France and Russia, had deserted to the resistance/partisans. In 1944 the cases of desertion started to rise very rapidly; for example, in Army Group Central the GFP, in the spring of 1944 were looking for 3142 armed forces deserters. These masses of soldiers did not all go to the Red Army but roamed on their own, often for months, as militias in rear areas. The competitive and often overlapping nature of the many agencies stationed in the rear permitted many deserters to get off by underhand or devious means and partially falsified papers.
The courts-martial notified the GFP of deserters, and a search within the entire army group was then arranged. At regular intervals, a gazette of wanted soldiers was published, which was circulated to all the security and police agencies in that army group. Individual units and divisions also maintained a record of their own deserters and wanted soldiers.

Uniform
The uniform is the same as that of any army officer, with a few exceptions, these being:

* The collar tabs have an additional piece of blue-grey Russian braid sewn around the top, rear and bottom (in order to denote he is an army official)
* The shoulder boards have an additional layer of green underneath the blue-grey waffenfarbe (called the 'nebenfarbe')
* The band around the cap is also blue-grey instead of green, again this is to denote an army official.
* The GFP cuff title is worn on the left sleeve (it is a matter of debate as to whether these were worn or not) - although similar to the SS style.

Dave
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