Gren.Ers.u.Ausb.Btl.211 EKM

The dog tag or 'Erkennungsmarke' shows signs of wear. It belonged to a soldier who served in the 'Grenadier Ersatz und Ausbildungs Bataillon 211'. This bataillon was formed in August 1939 in Hannover as Infanterie Ersatz Bataillon 211 and was part of the 71.Infanterie-Division. In November 1942 it was renamed into Grenadier Ersatz Bataillon and it was extended in also Grenadier Reserve Bataillon 211. What makes this tag a bit of a mystery is that often with a unit like this there was an Ersatz and an Ausbildungs bataillon. Often these where combined into 1 bataillon (Grenadier Ersatz und Ausbildungs Bataillon), but we can't find anything about this with this unit. We think the owner of this tag ended up with the Grenadier Ersatz Bataillon 211. At the beginning of 1945 they where stationed in Harsum, Germany. By the end of March 1945 the bataillon was mobilized during the 'Goten-Bewegung' and became part of the Grenadier Ersatz Regiment 551 and fought on the western front.
The 'AB' on both parts of the tag stands for the soldiers bloodtype.