St.Kp.Gren.Ers.u.Aus.Batl.46X EKM (Published)

The dog tag or 'Erkennungsmarke' shows normal signs of wear. The Infanterie Ersatz Bataillon 46 was formed in the summer of 1939 and in April 1943 renamed into Grenadier Ersatz und Ausbildungs Bataillon 46. Besides that it supplied men to Infanterie Regiment 46 from the beginning, it also supplied men for the 89.Infanterie-Division since 1944.
This division saw fierce battles against the Americans during the Hürtgenwald campaign.

Gren.Ers.u.Ausb.Btl.46 itself was moved to the Netherlands in September 1944 and was used to form the I.Bataillon Grenadier Regiment 1225 which was part of 190.Infanterie-Division. In 1944 and 1945 it fought in the Venlo area.

A Stammkompanie was a unit that trained the soldiers. Often the soldiers of this kompanie were soldiers who had frontline experience and/or where no longer fully usable on the front due to injuries. Of course this changed later in the war and they also where put into action (in the last months of the war) as there was a shortage of (front)soldiers.

The 'X' behind the number 46 stands for Wehrkreis X. 
This tag is published in the book 'Deutsche Erkennungsmarken' by Jean Höidal (page 70).