Bio of Generalmajor Adelbert Schulz (1903-1944)

 

Portrait of Generalmajor Adelbert Schulz in January 1944 by Walter Frentz.

Adelbert Schulz (20 December 1903 – 28 January 1944) received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 29 September 1940 as Hauptmann and Kommandeur I.Abteilung / Panzer-Regiment 25 / 7.Panzer-Division. Hauptmann Schulz led a company, and later a full battalion, of Panzers over a total of 17 armoured attacks during the Western campaign, where he showed himself to be a fine commander of armour. Over the course of the campaign he particularly distinguished himself on 14 May 1940 during the heavy fighting in the Dinant bridgehead, and later on 23 May 1940 where he helped resolve a critical combat situation near Hersin.

Adelbert Schulz received the Eichenlaub #47 for his Ritterkreuz on 31 December 1941 as Hauptmann and Kommandeur I.Abteilung / Panzer-Regiment 25 / 7.Panzer-Division. The medal was awarded for distinguishing himself near Klin during the winter of 1941/1942. Despite having only a handful of operational tanks, being outnumbered 8-1 and having to contend with -40 Celsius weather, he nevertheless was able to successfully cover the retreat of friendly German forces. These included a full field hospital with over 4000 wounded men.

Adelbert Schulz received the Schwerter #33 for his Ritterkreuz on 6 August 1943 as Oberstleutnant and Kommandeur Panzer-Regiment 25 / 7.Panzer-Division. On 11 July 1943 previously, during the attack of the 7. Panzer-Division in the southern sector of the battle of Kursk, Schulz was able to conduct a successful armoured breakthrough south of Scheino. Smashing through Soviet fieldworks, and in spite of enemy probes on all sides, he launched an armoured pursuit with his Kampfgruppe and was able to catch a foot-bound Soviet group in the process of withdrawing. Schulz's men were able to capture almost 600 prisoners, 83 cannons and over 100 heavy machine guns and mortars. In addition to this notable success, Schulz and his regiment were also able to destroy a total of 76 enemy tanks over the course of 11 days of battle in the attempted attack towards Kursk.

Adelbert Schulz received the Brillanten #9 for his Ritterkreuz on 14 December 1943 as Generalmajor and Kommandeur 7. Panzer-Division. The medal was awarded for the distinguished command of his Panzer-Regiment during the fluid battles around Kiev and Zhitomir in October/November 1943.

 

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/posts/1925981594253921/?__cft__[0]=AZUzHYDRIVjSLXPVBlS_IlY2YNXfbkaYYu60vttfZHgSz6jnQPVWmQ6GGIIemvHm7ATExZQMYdg1kq1xwqgYN4woL8CECbr52-3rz8dgo8lNrl5H4Lv7F_YbcvC4Y6sXZQ9Dzr6L8LT108GUPsRvCObL&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/216/Schulz-Adelbert.htm

Bio of Generalleutnant Ernst-Günther Baade (1897-1945)

Ernst-Günther Baade (20 August 1897 – 8 May 1945) volunteered for military service in 1914 and fought during World War I. During World War II, in March 1942 Baade was assigned to the active reserve of officers (Führerreserve). He subsequently transferred to the 15th Panzer Division in North Africa and took command of the 115th Rifle Regiment on 15 April 1942, at that time committed to action in Libya and Cyrenaica.

Baade became a legend in the Afrika Korps. In May 1942 he took part in the Battle of Bir Hakeim. Baade was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his actions during the battle. He was wounded on 28 July 1942 at El-Alamein, and evacuated to Germany.

During the evacuation of German forces from Sicily to the Italian mainland in early August 1943, Baade was placed in charge of the force defending the Straits of Messina. Baade commanded the 90th Infantry Division in the Battle of Monte Cassino. He was known for his occasionally eccentric behavior, his very small staff, and his frequent front-line inspection visits, all of which made him popular with his troops. He was awarded a Tank Destruction Badge for the single-handed destruction of an enemy tank with an infantry weapon.

Baade was wounded on 24 April 1945, when his staff car was strafed by a British fighter aircraft near Neverstaven in Holstein. He died of gangrene in a hospital at Bad Segeberg on 8 May 1945.

Awards
Wound Badge in Black (1 July 1918)
Wehrmacht Long Service Award 2nd Class (2 October 1936)
German Cross in Gold on 2 November 1941 as Oberstleutnant in the I./Reiter-Regiment 22
Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (25 November 1916) & 1st Class (24 December 1917)
Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (18 September 1939) & 1st Class (5 June 1940)
Knight's Cross on 27 June 1942 as Oberst and commander of Schützen-Regiment 115
Oak Leaves on 22 February 1944 as Oberst and leader of the 90. Panzergrenadier-Division
Swords on 16 November 1944 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 90. Panzergrenadier-Division

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst-G%C3%BCnther_Baade
http://ritterkreuztraeger.blogspot.com/2021/09/bio-of-generalleutnant-ernst-gunther.html

German Coastal Artillery in Norway

German coastal artillery in Norway. Photo by Bildberichterstatter Gundlach.

In the beginning of the Norwegian campaign, there were 6 Marineartillerie-Abteilungen: MAA Horten, MAA Kristiansand, MAA Stavanger, MAA Bergen, MAA Drontheim, and MAA Narvik. These units were to man captured Norwegian Coastal Fortresses. In June 1940, the MAA’s got number designations, the first ones for just 1 month, before they got permanent numbers.

The German MAA’s were divided into companies, each company manned a battery. Each MAA usually consisted of 6 companies, but this could range from 2 – 12 coys. The commander of a MAA was usually Korvettenkapitän, but could also be Fregattenkapitän or Kapitänleutnant.

Army artillery units designed for coastal defense appeared in Norway in 1941. They established several Heeresküstenartillerie-regimenter (HKAR), Heeresküstenartillerie-Abteilungen (HKAA) and 160 Heeresküsten-Batterien (HKB). At the end of the war, there were 221 batteries divided into 29 units & 10 regiments. The Germans had serious problems in commanding and controlling this effectively. The mix-up between army and naval artillery also caused serious problems when it came to effective command.

The Heeresküstenartillerie had standard army OOB, but had guns of varying quality.They were also equipped with tanks, mostly French captured ones, like the Somua. The coastal defense had a big need of men. In 1930, the whole Kriegsmarine counted 15000 men. In Norway, the total number of Army / Naval Coast defense personnel was about 65000 (1945). Artillery Schools were established several places, amongst them Rauöy in the Oslo-fjord, and Stavern.

Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/posts/1906782666173814/?__cft__[0]=AZUuO_vSByS790n9KaQIsAbuwn8LeoffMWol5IX4nTf8sMPB_b34YSFLfnbFNMHPXLxRg0lkaLFjrhIf2gtox2fDPXMGqWLcR0qR6L5drmcG2BYeiqK9p9N8otNjwmO1Rf-6ZdxwqD1wJhtPEqRwEXJ0&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
https://www.feldgrau.com/ww2-german-norway-coastal-defence/

U.S. 57 mm M1 Gun

 

A U.S. 57 mm M1 gun firing from Champs-Vauverts gate in Saint-Malo intramuros, in Bretagne in August 1944. It seems to be a reconstructed scene for the movie needs of John Ford who followed Patton's army. The 57mm Gun M1, which was produced in the United States from 1942 to 1945, was the American version of the British 6 Pounder anti-tank gun. Because of production differences between the two countries, there were differences between the M1 and the 6 Pounder. The M1 had a slightly longer barrel than the 6 Pounder.  The longer barrel gave the M1 an increased muzzle velocity of 2793ft/s (853m/s). The 57mm M1 anti-tank gun fired two different types of armor piercing round – the AP and the APC – as well as a high explosive round. It was successfully mounted on self propelled carriages, which were used by the British in North Africa. The strong recoil from the M1 made it unpopular with gunners. The M1 anti-tank gun continued to be used after production ceased in 1945. After World War II ended, the US gave M1s to other countries as a form of military aid.  The guns remained in service in these countries for decades. Central American republics were using M1s at least until the 1980s.

Source :
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:57mm_Gun_M1_-_Saint-Malon_Bretagne.jpg
https://www.tanks.net/anti-tank-weapons/united-states-57mm-gun-m1.html

Bio of Hanskarl von Hasselbach, Hitler's Surgeon

Portrait of Hanskarl von Hasselbach (doctor accompanying the Führer), 1942/43. Source: Walter Frentz Collection.

Hanskarl von Hasselbach, actually Hans Karl von Hasselbach, (born November 2, 1903 in Berlin; † December 21, 1981 in Pullach im Isar Valley) was a German surgeon and attending physician to Adolf Hitler. Hasselbach, son of the Prussian Rittmeister Karl von Hasselbach, finished his school career in Hirschberg (Silesia) in 1921 with the Abitur. He then studied medicine at the Universities of Breslau, Munich, Freiburg and Rostock. He was approved in 1927 and was awarded a doctorate in Freiburg with the dissertation "About neck fibroids". med. PhD.

He then became an assistant under the chief physician Georg Magnus at Bergmannsheil Hospital in Bochum and, after his appointment to the Charité in November 1933, also moved to Berlin. In addition to Hasselbach, Magnus Karl Brandt's assistant also came to Berlin, as did Magnus from Jena, known Werner Haase. In 1934 Brandt became Hitler's first accompanying surgeon, and Haase soon after became Brandt's deputy in this function. After Haase temporarily resigned from this post due to health reasons, Hasselbach became another deputy surgeon accompanying Hitler through Brandt's mediation in 1936. Hasselbach had already joined the NSDAP (membership number 2,794,377) and SA before the handover of power to the National Socialists in 1932. He switched from the SA to the SS in 1933/34 (SS No. 264.054). Due to his extensive medical work for Hitler and his environment, he was only able to qualify for his habilitation in 1938 with the work "Die Endangitis obliterans" at the University of Munich. He was released from teaching at the Charité.

With the beginning of the German-Soviet War, his place of work was the Führer headquarters in Wolfsschanze in East Prussia. As an SS doctor he was appointed associate professor on April 20, 1943, and in June 1943 he achieved the rank of SS-Sturmbannführer of the Waffen-SS within the SS. In the course of Brandt's dismissal as Hitler's attending physician, Hasselbach also lost his deputy post in October 1944. He was then used in a field hospital on the Western Front.

After the end of the war, Hasselbach was interned by the United States and was interrogated as a witness during the Nuremberg trials. The American authorities found him honest and credible. After his release from Allied internment, he headed the surgery department of the Sarepta hospitals of the Von Bodelschwinghschen Anstalten Bethel as chief physician from 1949 to 1970.

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=631162261485935&set=gm.1906226999562714

Walter Dornberger and Albin Sawatzki

Dr.ing. h.c. Walter Dornberger (right), Major General in the Heereswaffenamt, with Albin Sawatzki, Director of the Production Planning Dept. in the "Mittelwerk", at the missile test site in Blizna, Poland, June 1944. Source: Walter Frentz Collection.

Albin Sawatzki (born October 6, 1909 in Danzig; † May 1, 1945 in Warburg) was a German engineer and was responsible for the series production of the A4 surface-to-surface missile in the underground Mittelwerk during the final phase of the National Socialist German Empire. Sawatzki, a member of the NSDAP since May 1933, was initially operations manager at Henschel & Sohn in Kassel, where he was responsible for tank production. He was responsible for the manufacture of the VI Tiger armored vehicle. In July 1943, Sawatzki was appointed to the A4 Special Committee, which dealt with issues relating to the testing and production of the A4, by Armaments Minister Albert Speer as head of the Series Production Working Committee. Initially he was based in the Peenemünde Army Research Center and, after the bombing of the Peenemünde Army Research Center, in Nordhausen from the beginning of September 1943. From February 1944, Sawatzki finally became a member of the management of Mittelwerk GmbH as director of the planning department. Sawatzki's working committee prepared the mass production of the rocket, including the establishment of underground factories. The most famous production facility, the Mittelwerk in the tunnel system in Kohnstein, was in operation for over a year. There, prisoners from the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp had to drive the tunnels under catastrophic conditions and later, in some cases, also produce rockets. In 1944, Sawatzki also became Technical Director at Henschel. Because of his “services to German armaments”, Sawatzki received a grant of 30,000 RM from Adolf Hitler. Shortly before the end of the war, Sawatzki evaded the evacuation of 450 rocket specialists to the Alpine fortress in Oberammergau, which began on April 6, 1945, and did not implement the destruction of the tunnel in Kohnstein ordered by the SS. On April 11, 1945, the US Army marched into Nordhausen and Niedersachswerfen and discovered the underground tunnels in Kohnstein, in which, in addition to the prisoners of the concentration camp, more than 10,000 people from the area had found refuge. On April 13, 1945, Sawatzki was mistreated by former prisoners and on April 14, 1945, he was interrogated by the US Army. He died under unknown circumstances on May 1, 1945 in Warburg, Westphalia.

Major-General Dr. Walter Robert Dornberger (born September 6, 1895 in Gießen; † June 27, 1980 in Obersasbach) was a German Army artillery officer whose career spanned World War I and World War II. He was a leader of Nazi Germany's V-2 rocket program and other projects at the Peenemünde Army Research Center. Dornberger was born in Gießen and enlisted in 1914. In October 1918, as an artillery lieutenant Dornberger was captured by United States Marines and spent two years in a French prisoner of war camp, mostly in solitary confinement because of repeated escape attempts. In the late 1920s, Dornberger completed an engineering course with distinction at the Berlin Technical Institute, and in the Spring of 1930, Dornberger graduated after five years with an MS degree in mechanical engineering from the Technische Hochschule Charlottenburg in Berlin. In 1935, Dornberger received an honorary doctorate, which Col. Karl Emil Becker arranged as Dean of the new Faculty of Military Technology at the TH Berlin.

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/posts/1906251222893625/?__cft__[0]=AZWdSEgaczYdYmzXi1tPr_TCkhjNwKu5WbpDtgW9kyfHWRj_DhlySyiW-S2XvwNEAI_fWPG-EWt2F9_M2HRZ2W1IZavClye0Z_SIHpcVUS9BH-qUvCu7gHqzVcz6_pQZQBwblt3fc5E1S9za8-_QtmZn012I9hAdOZHhhIHBb78lbJ458nB5HpCV0Jwnjm0wM08&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

Bio of Hauptmann Wilhelm Kaiser (1914-1993)

Full name: Wilhelm Kaiser
Nickname: unknown
Date of Birth: 30 November 1914 at Pockau, Sachsen (German Empire)
Date of Death: 24 September 1993 at Niedernhausen, Hesse (Germany)
NSDAP Number: unknown
SS Number: unknown
Academic Title: unknown
Family Member: unknown
Physical Feature: unknown

Beförderungen (Promotion):
01.01.1938 Leutnant
01.06.1940 Oberleutnant
01.04.1942 Hauptmann (advanced from 01.10.1942)

Karriere (Career):
01.10.1935 (01.11.1935?) entered the Luftwaffe
01.04.1938 assigned to Fliegergruppe 50 in summer 1938 and then to II./St.G. 163 (later III./St.G. 2) on 01.11.38
10.05.1940 in 9./St.G. 2 WIA - Ju 87 B lost ivo Vroenhoven, crashed near Roosteren
00.10.1940 with 2./St.G. 2. - Adj. of III./St.G. 2
21(22?).05.1941 in 2./St.G. 2, shot down over Canea Bay/Crete, but rescued from the sea and returned to unit
00.00.1941 WIA
00.07.1941 appointed Staka in III./St.G.2
00.08.1941 appointed Adjutant III./St.G. 2
00.07.1942 transfered to Stukaschule 2 Graz and a few months later began general staff training
00.09.1943 assigned to Stab/General der Schlachtflieger as a weapons and bombs specialist
01.07.1943 appointed Ia op 2/1. Fliegerdivision and temporary Ia / Luftflotte 6
02.08.1944 appointed acting Ia / II. Fliegerkorps
15.10.1944 appointed Ic/II. Jagdkorps
 
Orden und Ehrenzeichen (Medals and Decorations):
00.00.1938 Flugzeugführerabzeichen
10.05.1940 Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz. His Ju 87 B lost ivo Vroenhoven, crashed near Roosteren
00.00.194_ Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse
00.00.194_ Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse
00.05.1941 Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber. Shot down over Canea Bay/Crete, but rescued from the sea and returned to unit
20.10.1941 Ehrenpokal fur besondere Leistung im Luftkreig
19.01.1942 Deutsches Kreuz in Gold
04.02.1942 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, as Oberleutnant and Adjutant III.Gruppe / Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 "Immelmann". Awarded after flying 130 ground attack sorties
00.00.1942 Frontflugspange für Kampfflieger in Gold
00.00.1942 Medaille "Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42" (Ostmedaille)

_______________________________________________________________

* Flew a total of 180 sorties.

Source :
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/23656/Kaiser-Wilhelm-Stuka-Geschwader-2-Immelmann.htm