"German WW1 vets in WW2?" Topic

I'm trying to find an old thread, but having no luck.

It talked about the Germans running short of NCOs and officers when they expanded the army for the invasion of Russia, and solving this problem by drafting WW1 vets back into the army. Hence, guys in their 40s and 50s leading kids (as in "Cross of Iron").

Am I imagining this? I probably have some details wrong (maybe they were volunteers?) but was this a real thing? Who did the original research that showed this?

Thanks in advance for any help anyone might provide.

Just speculation but maybe older veterans replaced men in rear area positions freeing up the younger ones to go to the front lines?

There were certainly a lot of them on the Atlantic Wall. One German SP gun battery commander of 716. Infanterie-Division described supporting a counter-attack on D-Day by a battalion that was largely made up of WW1 veterans. However, they went to ground shortly after the attack started and his battery soon found themselves alone.

A friend of mine also rounded up lots of WW1 veterans during the capture of Walcheren.

Somewhat of a tangent: When I was a kid (I am 50), my grandfather had a friend who served in the German Army in WWI and the US Navy in WWII! He owned a gravel pit in Iowa when I knew him.

My wife's grandfather served in both wars so I can't see it was necessarily unusual.

He did serve in a home posting in WW2 though, never likely to have served overseas.

Prison camp guards?

My great grandfather also served in both WWI and WWII, on the US side. In WWII however, he was too old for overseas service, instead guarded the shipyards in Philadelphia.

He was an Italian immigrant, and so the story goes, as a reward for serving in 2 World Wars, was granted his citizenship.

Damon.

Many a German general commented on the fact that the troops were much better trained in WWI then in the second war. But then they had 40 years to get ready for the first war.

If they hadn't been called up earlier, I imagine plenty of them ended up in Volksturm units and similar.

One of those WWI vets ended up running the whole thing and then killing himself in a bunker in Berlin at the end. Trying to remember his name…

Erwin Rommel served as young officer in WW1 and played his part in Ww2 eventually.

It wouldn't surprise me, since even 14 year olds were expected to serve in the defense of Germany, at the end of the war.

Some that refused to do their duty were lynched, and left on display, as a message to others.

Also, from about the mid-war period, teenagers, and even women served a heavy flak gun crewmen/crewwomen, to free up more able-bodied personnel for combat on the fronts.

All the scenarios listed above are quite believable, but not what I'm getting at.

So the Germans raised divisions in "waves," so they'd raise, say, 8 new divisions in Sept.-Oct of 1940 (purely making those facts up, except for the "waves"). Apparently someone looked into the records to see who was getting drafted into the army, and for several waves raised between the fall of France and invasion of Russia (IIRC), the NCOs and officers were re-drafted (or volunteer?) WW1 veterans. Has anyone else heard of this research?

As noted a above, many of the participants in WW2 had fought in WW1. Even Winston Churchill had commanded an infantry battalion on the Western Front for a while.

"Apparently someone looked into the records to see who was getting drafted into the army, and for several waves raised between the fall of France and invasion of Russia (IIRC), the NCOs and officers were re-drafted (or volunteer?) WW1 veterans. Has anyone else heard of this research?"

In this specific instance, no. However, an 18 year old in 1918 is only going to be 42 in 1942, and if there is some sort of age criteria for conscription then why woudn't they be drafting older and older cohorts (as well as each new annual batch of 18 year olds).

Is this any different then US troops who fought in both wars. Or for that matter being recalled to fight in Korea after fighting in WWII. Actually I thought that was a plus in Korea since so many of the officers and NCOs were veterans. Actually there were a lot of GIs who managed to do WWII, Korea and Vietnam.

There is something comforting about having an NCO who has seen it all before in your unit.

Of course many career officers and NCOs who were in the army (or LW or KG) in WWI were still there when WWII came around. But the question was specifically about draftees. Of this, I have no knowledge, one way or the other. But it sounds like something they would have done.