1The call-up
8 February 1941At 19, a telecommunications apprentice begins his life as a soldier.
An authentic war diary1941 to 1945
Hans Peter Koehler was neither an officer nor a hero from the history books, but an ordinary soldier in a specialist signals unit. His diary reveals a soldier's everyday life: unvarnished, immediate and moving.
40 original photographs
Documents & drawings
A firsthand eyewitness account
“For anyone who wants to understand what war was really like.”A personal historical record
The book is available in German only. These website texts and excerpts are English translations.
An ordinary soldierAn eyewitness: neither an officer nor a celebrated hero.
Carrier-frequency signals detachmentKeeping communications working in the harshest conditions.
The Russian winterCold, hunger and constant danger.
Return in 1945Escape, captivity and homecoming.
About this book
Hans Peter Koehler was called up in 1941 at the age of 19. He served in Signals Battalion 660, 4th Carrier-Frequency Platoon, Detachment 11. Near Krasnoje, close to Smolensk, his small unit set up Repeater Station 29 to maintain telephone links between the front and Germany.
He survived the merciless winter of 1941/42. Retreat followed as the Red Army advanced. After a dangerous escape, he became a British prisoner of war and returned home in the summer of 1945.
The chapters at a glance
2On the transport
November 1941The train takes him further east, as far as Minsk.
3In Krasnoje
Winter 1941/42Daily life, equipment and survival at Repeater Station 29.
4The escape
1943–1945Retreat, attacks and a narrow escape aboard an armoured vehicle.
5In captivity
1945Waiting, hunger and uncertainty as a British prisoner of war.
6Release
31 July 1945After four and a half years, the journey home to a new life begins.