Original German WWII ID dogtag - Flak.Schw.Ers.Abt.24 (Battle of Stalingrad)

Description

This dogtag was found in
Stalingrad
.
Battle of Stalingrad
was one of the major battles of the WWII. The goal of Wermacht was to capture the city and block the transport routes of the river Volga and then proceed further deep into the Soviet territory. However the 6th Army, which was tasked with capturing the city failed to wipe out the Soviet forces completely and got stuck in Stalingrad. The Red Army seized this opportunity and encircled the 6th Army in the city, eventually forcing it to surrender.
This victory of the Soviet forces marked the turning point in the war - Wermacht lost
over 300 000 men
in Stalingrad and Manstein's
Army Group South was forced to rapidly retreat
in the following months.
Stabsbatterie.Flak.Schw.Ers.Abt.24
stands for
Stabsbatterie.
Flak-Schwer-Ersatz-Abteilung 24
(
Staff battery of the 24th Reserve (Heavy) Anti-Air Artillery Detachment
(Abteilung))
http://www.ww2.dk/ground/flak/abt/ers24.html
Flak-Ersatz-Abteilung 24
was established on August 26, 1939 in
Iserlohn
.
It was assigned to the
Kommandeur der Flakabteilungen im Luftgau XI
(Command of AAA units of Luftgau XI). Staff of the
Kommandeur der Flakabteilungen im Luftgau XI
formed
Flak-Ersatz-Regiment 5
in 1941.
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/FlakErsatz/FlakErsatzRegiment5.htm