Wehrpass - Artillery Observer, MIA Stalingrad 1943

2nd edition Wehrpass issued to Adam Lipp, born in August 1914 in the city of Mainz. He was trained as a locksmith (Schlosser) and was inducted into the Wehrmacht in June 1937, completing his training with 15. Kompanie Infanterie Regiment 34 in Heilbronn. He held a driver's license (Führerschein kl. 3) and likely spent some of his military service as a driver, seeing as his military training states that he was a Kraftfahrer. His initial rank was Schütze, later becoming an Ober Kannonier and rising to Obergefreiter. 

He briefly served with Infanterie Regiment 87 in the summer of 1939, before transferring to 2. Batterie Beobachtungs Abteilung 36, an artillery observation unit. He served with this unit continually from August 1939 to his death / capture in January 1943. His service record states that he participated in the border battles in Bessrabia during the launch of Operation Barbarossa, his unit then fought its way towards Kiev, participating in the massive battle of encirclement that occurred at Kiev in September 1941. The unit fought its way to the Don river, before taking up defensive positions. They fought in the 2nd Battle of Kharkov (May-June 1942), before being sent to the 6th Army for Fall Blau, the Summer Offensive of 1942. They fought their way South, to the Kalmyck steppes, before joining the battle for Stalingrad in mid-August 1942. They remained in Stalingrad until the unit was destroyed in February 1942. 

Research indicates that as the situation deteriorated in Stalingrad, the surviving members of this artillery observation unit became frontline infantrymen on January 1st 1943, joining elements of 44. Infanterie Division. Obergefreiter Lipp went MIA on January 17th, just before the remnants of his unit retreated to the "Tractor Factory" area to make a last stand. Lipp would have been among the last 40-50 men of his unit when he was killed or captured. There is a decent amount of information on the 2. Batterie Beobachtungs Abteilung 36 that is available for research.

This Wehrpass is a "duplicate" (clearly stamped Zweitschrift on the front cover) that was made in Mainz, in June 1944. It was meant to record the service record of Obergefreiter Lipp. Very nice that the Wehrpass contains a written entry that clearly states that he went missing in Stalingrad on Jan 17, as well as a stamp that states that he was a member of the (in)famous 6. Armee (Neuausfertigung, da Angehöriger der ehem. 6. Armee). 

*The Wehrpass is in very good condition, though there is a little staining on the reverse cover. All stamps and entries have been photographed.