Wehrpass - Veteran Artillery soldier, KIA near Leningrad 42

1st edition Wehrpass issued to Arthur Karms, from the town of Aurich, in Northern Germany (near the Dutch-German border). Born in June 1913, Karms was called up for military service in 1934, but the Wehrpass traces his experience from February 1939 onwards. He first served with Artillerie Regiment 58, later being assigned to Infanterie Regiment 632 and fought in the Soviet Union as part of Infanterie Regiment 344. He was trained to use the standard Gewehr 98k rifle, the 15cm sFH 18 heavy artillery gun (a common German howitzer) and the MG34 (which is marked as “L.M.G.”. He underwent artillery training as a “Kannonier 2-8”. 

He fought in Poland from late September 1939 to early October, later serving in the occupation forces there until late May 1940. He redeployed to France in May, serving along the Franco-German border and fighting in the region of Alsace. He stayed in France as part of the occupation forces from late June 1940 to October 1941. His unit redeployed to the Eastern Front in very early November, being sent to Northern Russia. From November 1941 to December 1942 he fought around Leningrad, Oranienbaum and around Lake Ladoga. He was killed on December 3rd 1942, in the Leningrad region. 

He was promoted to the rank of Obergefreiter in June 1941 and was awarded the Ostmedaille campaign medal in late July 1942. Interestingly, his Wehrpass photo shows him in a Luftwaffe uniform (he may have initially served in the Luftwaffe before transferring to the Heer in 1939). The Wehrpass is well filled-in and stamped, containing information on his blood type, uniform size, time spent on leave, anti-espionage training, etc.

***Unfortunately it appears that this Wehrpass was used by a kid to take notes and write in, as there are random words and little drawings on several pages. Some of these doodles are shown here, though there are several other pages that have been written on that aren’t shown. Small tear on the first page, around the photo. Pages 47 and 48 are missing from the booklet, though there aren't typically any entries or stamps placed on these particular pages. ***

Despite this, a decent military ID for a veteran artilleryman who served in 3 separate campaigns / fronts.