I thought I’d share with you my latest purchase, a relic helmet found on the positions of the 7 Kompanie, SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 23 ‘Norge’ , part of the Nordland division, in Narwa. This regiment saw heavy combat around the Narwa bridgehead and later the Tannenberg Positions, with the 2nd Btl taking awful casualties, some companies being reduced to a handful of men.

Battle damage is present on the front of the helmet, with either a bullet or piece of shrapnel travelling horizontally from the front-right to front-left (based on what I perceive to be the trajectory), across the wearer’s forehead. Additionally, a piece of shrapnel/bullet has come from the wearer’s front and through the rear skirt of the helmet. A crack on the wearer’s left is also present.

Due to a new found interest in the Narwa battles and the later battles of the Nordland unit after reading Tieke’s Tragedy of the Faithful, and Poller et al’s book on the SSAA11, this helmet is both a great item to own, but also a sombre reminder of the vicious fighting that took place on the Narwa isthmus from early 1944 until late Summer.

Kindest regards and many thanks
Harvey