Nachschub

15:12 Apr 18 

I went with a very generic-sounding "supply units" since my client confirmed that the text was referring to people, not actual supplies. At least this version, as opposed to something resembling "replenishment," no longer leaves me scratching my head. I really appreciate everyone's input.

22:08 Apr 13 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drobytsky_Yar
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massaker_von_Drobyzkyj_Jar
Please note in particular the wording, "...to save bullets..." in the English text.
Extremely troubling...

19:41 Apr 13 

Then, I think I found the guy we are looking for.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Weiss-Bollandt
But only because he has a B in his name and it makes sense with the dates that you can see for Ukraine.
Also, I found this about the Polizeibattailon mentioned in my link:
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Polizei-Ba...
Supply batallion could make sense...

19:36 Apr 13 

Need to follow up on that one. I found some valuable information that confirm Björn's finding.
https://www.fritz-bauer-institut.de/fileadmin/editorial/publ...
On page 14, it says, "Nachdem die Wehrmacht beispielsweise am
25. Oktober 1941 Charkiw eingenommen hatte, herrschte dort schon
wenige Tage später Hunger, weil die Deutschen die wenigen Lebensmittelvorräte in der Stadt für sich beanspruchten. Das Oberkommando der 6. Armee drängte alsbald darauf, die Juden der Stadt durch den
SD »behandeln« zu lassen. Nachdem dieser Mitte Dezember eingetroffen war, sperrte die Wehrmacht die 12.000 jüdischen Einwohner
bei klirrender Kälte in ungeheizten Baracken außerhalb der Stadt
ein, bevor sie von Angehörigen des Sk 4a und des Polizeibataillons
314 erschossen und in Gaswagen erstickt wurden."
It "seems" as if all major parties involved in such actions were already there, so no need for any (timely) troop movement. Also, in Björn's link, you can read that the person concerned had the rank of a "Wachtmeister", not a soldier. Wachtmeister is part of the police, not the military.

09:28 Apr 12 

Thank you, everyone, for this very fruitful discussion. Some very interesting points. I think I'll get back to my client with the possibilities brought up here and see what he thinks. I'll report back in a few days.

00:10 Apr 12 

I can see what Susan's getting at, and it coincides with what I was thinking.

22:08 Apr 11 

I should add the following:
https://www.muenchner-volkstheater.de/sites/default/files/do...

See pp. 37-38 (that is, pp. 16-17 of the PDF). There, it says that they intended to execute the Jewish population after [penning them up for] several weeks or a few months [in a restricted area, I guess], but the guy in Charkow had them all put into camps without something to eat, so they died of hunger or from the cold even before the "Spezialkommandos" arrived.

This could make the interpretation more likely that Nachschub refers to soldiers who aren't part of a logistics unit. However, it could also mean that because no supplies had to be spent on keeping the prisoners alive until execution, there was more food etc. left for everyone else. Please keep in mind that the supply lines into eastern Europe and beyond were stretched thin, even that early into the invasion.

Still, maybe this helps.

20:42 Apr 11 

Completely agree, Björn. And the biggest idiot of 'em all was not even German... That should tell you something. I'm done here as well. You can read it however you want, I'm afraid. Two options possible, make the best out of it, Tatyana! :)

20:34 Apr 11 

Also, look at the surrounding context. He writes "...nicht sein zugewiesenes Barackenlager erreicht u. ist schon unterwegs zugrunde gegangen..."

If their plan was to put them into concentration camps, more or less, and they were already on their way, how does that make the job of those "follow-up troops" easier? That makes no sense to me.

What does make sense is that, as harsh as it may sound, you don't need supplies for dead people or those who'd guard them so one less (logistical) thing to worry about.

Now I should do something else and wish you all a great evening; I know someone has to translate this disgusting stuff and I don't envy the asker here, so I'm happy someone else is doing it and wish them the best of luck

20:22 Apr 11 

Maybe it's because I have some sort of migraine right now, but your explanation is quite difficult to follow, because I'm not sure what you're actually trying to say?

In her comment on Arne's answer, Birgit said "definitely whatever division delivers supplies/resources"; this is how Johanna understood it as well (as did I).

Maybe the remark she posted when it came to Adrian's answer wasn't that clear, but she was not talking about "the supplies themselves such as bullets." I don't know where you got that from?

And if you're talking about the same thing Adrian does ("possibly the histroically [sic] not-so-innocent Wehrmacht following up the work of the Gestapo..."), then I disagree and I have no idea how you arrive at that conclusion based on the snippet we were given. Nachschubtruppe typically refers to some logistics or supply unit, not to those fighting on the front lines.

The entire letter is available at the following link (not the asker's text, so fine to post):
https://briefsammlung.de/feldpost-zweiter-weltkrieg/brief.ht...

Reading it won't help much, though, because this paragraph is basically the only one referring to Nachschub.

18:06 Apr 11 

First of all, when they say "der Nachschub hat leichtere Arbeit" they really can only be referring to "Nachschubs*truppen*", not to the supplies themselves such as bullets. Adrian translated this rather nicely in his comment by rewording it as "the follow-up troops will have an easier time of it". This is what I believe is meant. Andrew's "A lot of bullets have therefore been saved, and the reinforcements task has been made much easier." also means basically the same thing (though I personally find "the reinforcements task" a bit awkward, but basically accurate). We certainly would not say that "the bullets" (or whatever other supplies) "will have an easier time of it". However I would not use Adrian's proposed suggestion of "follow-on forces" because this is not a general term but a specific NATO term used in the context of FOFA.

As for "Services of Supply", that's also a highly specific term referring to a division of the US army that only existed between 1942-44 according to Arne's link. That's why it doesn't sound natural, because it's an (obsolete) proper name and not the general term ("supply services," as Andrew notes). But I don't believe that's what they mean here anyway.

16:56 Apr 11 

Aha, I see. But it is a specific term, not my wording. I tried to come up with an equivalent for Tatyana for my version since she seems to be American.

16:53 Apr 11 

It's your " services of supply" which doesn't sound natural; even if this worked here, every English native would say " supply services" instead.

16:14 Apr 11 

15:41 Apr 11 

Also think this is in reference to resource management. They had to ship ammunition and other resources from presumably Germany to Ukraine... the troops could likely requisition food etc, but ammo, weapons or machinery were a different issue...
Heck, just googled it... Nachschub is a division of the army... will post a reference and for the life of me, no idea how those guys used to be called in English... logistics is too modern a word...

15:30 Apr 11 

Hmm... Ambiguous. But four other people (including an Austrian) cannot be wrong, I guess. I still think it has to do with the type of division I inserted, not military specialists that "clean" up (mop up) anything or somebody afterwards. For that to be true, the text must have more information. But that's just my opinion. And unfortunately, we cannot ask this dude anymore. He wouldn't tell us anyway, I am dead sure. ;)

15:14 Apr 11 

@Arne Kreuger,
This is the Russian translation:
Экономятся пули и у пополнения будет легкая работа

Bullets are saved and replenishment will be an easy task.

I didn't understand how not using bullets to kill Jews would make restocking or replenishing them any easier. Hence my question.

12:39 Apr 11 

@Phil
Not sure what you mean by "doesn't sound natural." I mean, I have highlighted a German and an American text... And again, this has nothing to do with Nachschub (replenishment of bullets, whatever it may be) in my opinion. It has to do with the people behind this service. Because it says "hat leichtere Arbeit." It does not say the replenishment is easy/easier. It says has (hat). That is a striking difference. I think we should wait for a "natural" German to confirm this.

12:18 Apr 11 

@Andrew
We think differently. You think like Justin, that it is essentially just a replenishment. I think "hat leichtere Arbeit" refers to an organization/people. Do you understand? Nachschub is meant to be this Nachschubtruppe, or SOS in American English.

12:08 Apr 11 

11:53 Apr 11 

Yes, but then it would be like, "...der Nachschub ist leichter." If it says "hat" it probably refers to a person... But that is just my wild speculation. Your version could be right still. Let's wait what Tatyana says.

11:44 Apr 11 

It looks like the meaning is just “replenishment is facilitated” or “the supply chain has a lighter burden,” no? As in, since those Jews died on their own before getting to their assigned barracks, the German military doesn’t have to exhaust their supply of bullets by killing them themselves. If I’m not missing anything.

11:34 Apr 11 

What does it say in Russian? Please explain in English.

11:30 Apr 11 

Maybe it means German military personnel that arrives later?