Generalfeldmarschall Ewald von Kleist (1881-1954)

Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist was born in Braunfels on 8 August 1881 to the noble family Kleist, an old Pomeranian family with a long history of military service. There had been two previous Prussian field marshals in the family! His father was Geheime Studienrat Christof Hugo von Kleist, a high ranking civil servant.

At the age of 18, Kleist joined the Prussian field artillery regiment, "General Feldzeugmeister" No. 3 on 9 March 1900 as a fahnenjunker. He was commissioned as a leutnant on 18 August 1901. On March 22, 1914, he was promoted to Captain and joined the Leib-Husaren-Regiment No. 1.

During the First World War, Kleist served on the Eastern Front and commanded a cavalry squadron at the Battle of Tannenberg. From 1915 to 1918 he served as a staff officer of the Guards Cavalry Division on the Western Front.

After the First World War ended, Kleist joined the Freikorps and participated in the Latvian and Estonian Wars of Independence as a member of the Iron Division. In June 1919, he led an attack group during the Battle of Cēsis.

Kleist joined the Reichswehr in 1920. From 1924 to 1928 he was assigned as a tactics instructor at the Hannover Cavalry School. In 1928 he served as the chief of staff of the 2nd Cavalry Division in Breslau, then from 1929 to 1931 he held the same position in the 3rd Division in Berlin. Kleist was promoted to Colonel in 1931 and was given command of the 9th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment in Potsdam. At the beginning of 1932, he was given command of the 2nd Cavalry Division. In October 1932, he was promoted to Major General.

Kleist was a monarchist, and did not heavily involve himself in the politics of the Weimar Republic. After the Nazis seized power the Reichswehr was united with the newly formed Wehrmacht. On December 1, 1933, he was promoted to lieutenant general. In October 1934 he was given command of the "Breslau Army", which was later reorganized into the VIII. Army Corps. In 1935 he was given command of the newly formed military district VIII responsible for Silesia while simultaneously serving as the commanding general of the VIII. Army Corps. On August 1, 1936, he was promoted to General of the Cavalry.

In February 1938 Kleist was involved in the Blomberg–Fritsch affair and forced to retire from service when Hitler purged the army of staff who were unsympathetic to the Nazi regime. To secure his retirement, he acquired a property near Breslau.

At the outbreak of the Second World War Kleist was recalled to active duty and led the XXII Motorised Corps in the Invasion of Poland, during which his corps broke through the southern wing of the Polish army.

In May 1940 Panzer Group Kleist was formed, the first operational formation of several Panzer corps in the Wehrmacht. Panzer Group Kleist, consisting of XIV Corps, XLI Panzer Corps, and XIX Panzer Corps under Heinz Guderian, played a pivotal role in the Invasion of Belgium, France and the Low Countries. On 10 May, it spearheaded the German breakthrough in the Ardennes, as it advanced through southern Belgium, Kleist and Guderian clashed over where the main point of effort should fall. Kleist, Guderian's immediate superior, pressed for the main point to come at Flize, further west than Sedan. Kleist argued that the blow would avoid a double river crossing at the Meuse (at Sedan) and Ardennes canal (to the west of Sedan). Moreover, the blow would strike at the dividing line between the French Ninth Army and the French Second Army. Guderian saw things differently, and pointed out that a thrust along the lines of Kleist's plan would put the flank of the advance within range of the fortress artillery at Charleville-Mézières, some 25 kilometres (16 mi) northwest of Sedan. The shift of operations further north would also disperse concentration (or Schwerpunkt) and disrupt the intense planning of the German tactical units, who had been in training for the Sedan attack and an advance north-west, for months. He also felt that a regrouping period in front of Sedan would delay the assault for 24 hours and allow the French to bring up reinforcements. Kleist agreed that such a delay was unacceptable, so he agreed to Guderian's plan. Panzer Group Kleist overwhelmed the French defenses at Sedan, advanced west and reached the sea, forming a huge pocket containing several Belgian, British, and French armies.

Kleist was promoted to Generaloberst on 19 July 1940 and received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. In April 1941 Panzer Group Kleist was renamed to 1st Panzer Group and spearheaded the invasion of Yugoslavia. Deployed against central Yugoslavia (Serbia), units of the 1st Panzer Group were the first to enter Belgrade.

In June 1941 with the launching of Operation Barbarossa, Kleist led the 1st Panzer Group as part of Army Group South - tasked with the capture of Moldavia and Ukraine - and saw success in the initial phase of the invasion, advancing deep into Ukraine. The 1st Panzer Group broke through the Stalin Line, then defeated the five mechanized corps of the Soviet 5th Army and 6th Army in the Battle of Brody (23 to 30 June 1941). In July 1941 during the Battle of Uman, the 1st Panzer Group broke through the Soviet Southern Front's lines, leading to the encirclement and annihilation of the Soviet 6th and 12th armies to the southeast of Uman city (in present-day Cherkasy Oblast). During the First Battle of Kiev of August–September 1941, 1st Panzer Group's northward turn from central Ukraine in conjunction with 2nd Panzer Group's southward advance from Smolensk led to the encirclement and destruction of the entire Soviet Southwestern Front east of Kiev, inflicting over 600,000 losses on the Red Army. However, the campaign had been costly, by then the German forces had just half the tanks they had had three months earlier.

After operations at Kiev concluded, Kleist's 1st Panzer Army advanced east to capture the important industrial Donbass region. On 26 September 1941 the Battle of the Sea of Azov began as the Southern Front launched an attack on the northern shores of the Sea of Azov against the German 11th Army advancing into the Crimea. On 1 October the 1st Panzer Army swept south and encircled the two attacking Soviet 9th and 18th armies at Melitopol (Zaporizhia Oblast), by 11 October both Soviet armies had been destroyed and the 1st Panzer Army had taken the Donbass. The 1st Panzer Army then attacked east along the shore of the Sea of Azov toward Rostov near the mouth of the Don river, the last barrier before the Caucasus.

On 17 November 1941 the German forces forced their way across the Mius River and launched an offensive against the Southern Front at Rostov. On 19 November 1941 the 1st Panzer Army reached Rostov and the following day, they seized bridges over the river Don. Three days after reaching Rostov the 1st Panzer Army had captured the city. However, on 27 November the Southern Front, as part of the Rostov Strategic Offensive Operation, counter-attacked the 1st Panzer Army's over-extended spearhead from the north, forcing them to pull out of Rostov. By 2 December 1941, the Soviet forces had retaken Rostov and forced the 1st Panzer Army to withdraw back to the Mius River, near Taganrog. This marked the first major German withdrawal of the war. On February 18, 1942, Kleist was awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross.

During the Second Battle of Kharkov on 17 May 1942 as part of Operation Fredericus, Kleist's 1st Panzer Army attacked the Barvenkovo bridgehead from the south, advancing up to ten kilometres in the first day of the attack. On 19 May, the German 6th Army led by General Friedrich Paulus launched an offensive north of the bridgehead, encircling the Soviet 6th Army and 57th Army. After six days of encirclement, both armies were destroyed. By 28 May Kleist and Paulus' armies had captured 240,000 prisoners and destroyed or captured over 1250 Soviet tanks and 2000 artillery pieces.

The summer of 1942 saw Army Group South subdivided into Army Group A and B. Army Group A, which included Kleist's 1st Panzer Army, had the task of leading the Axis thrust into the Caucasus in the execution of Case Blue, the German offensive which aimed to capture the important oilfields of Grozny and Baku. The 1st Panzer Army was to spearhead the attack. Army Group A advanced deep into Southern Russia, capturing Rostov, Maykop, Krasnodar and the Kuban region. However, heavy Soviet resistance and the long distances from Axis sources of supply eventually reduced the Axis offensive to local advances only and prevented the Army Group A from capturing their ultimate objectives.

On 22 November 1942, Kleist replaced Field Marshal Wilhelm List as commander of Army Group A near the end of Case Blue. Hitler ordered him to hold position and to resume the offensive should the Axis forces take Stalingrad. This possibility ended after the Soviets launched counter-offensives Operation Uranus (November 1942), which encircled the German 6th Army in Stalingrad, and Operation Little Saturn (December 1942 to February 1943). Little Saturn aimed to cut off Army Group A in the Caucasus, however, the limited scope of the Soviet offensive gave Kleist enough time to withdraw his Army Group A in the direction of the Kuban, abandoning the Caucasus.

On 1 February 1943 Kleist was promoted to Field Marshal. In July 1943 the Red Army launched a massive offensive along the Dnieper river. By December 1943 the Soviets had conquered the west bank of the Dnieper, and Kleist's Army Group A was forced to retreat to southwest Ukraine. In December 1943 the Soviets launched the Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive against Erich von Manstein's re-constituted Army Group South, intending to capture all of the Ukrainian and Moldovian territories occupied by the Axis forces. As part of the initial phase of the offensive, the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front to the south launched the Nikopol–Krivoi Rog Offensive against Kleist's Army Group A. Proceeding slowly at first, the front eventually destroyed the salient projecting around Kryvyi Rih and Nikopol, costing the Germans the important mining operations there as well as nearly encircling the reformed German 6th Army. By the end of March 1944 the Soviets had recovered most of right-bank Ukraine and the Germans were defeated with 20 divisions either destroyed, disbanded or requiring major rebuilding, while another 60 divisions were reduced to 50% of their establishment strength. Kleist had disagreed with Hitler over the withdrawal of Army Group A during the offensive. He had demanded permission to pull back his forces to more defensible positions, however, Hitler ordered his armies to stand where they were. Hitler blamed his generals for the overall strategic success of Soviet armies and on 30 March 1944, Kleist was dismissed and replaced by Ferdinand Schörner.

After the 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler failed (1944), the Gestapo implicated and arrested Kleist due to the involvement of his cousin Ewald von Kleist-Schmenzin in the Oster conspiracy. Kleist avoided trial and was later released.

Kleist was arrested in late April 1945 in Bavaria by United States' troops, and handed over to the British Army. In September 1946 he was extradited to Yugoslavia, where after a trial he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for war crimes.

In 1948 he was extradited to the Soviet Union, where he was charged with war crimes. After a trial he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

On 13 November 1954 Kleist died of heart failure in Vladimir Central Prison. He was the most senior ranking soldier among the German prisoners of war in the Soviet Union to die in Russian captivity.

Source: 
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/ 
https://en.wikipedia.org/ 
https://www.tracesofwar.com/ 
https://grokipedia.com/ 
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300 
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html 
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027052912fw_/http://geocities.com/orion47.geo/index2.html 
https://forum.axishistory.com/ 
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/ 
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/ 
https://www.geni.com/ 
https://books.google.com/ 
Paul Ludwig Ewald Von Kleist (book, Wikipedia articles) 
Feldmarali: Feldmaraali Nacisticke Nemacke, Evald Fon KlaJst (book) 
Tysklands Militære Personel I 1 Verdenskrig (book)

Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein (1887-1973)

Erich von Manstein was born Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Lewinski on 24 November 1887 in Berlin, the tenth child of Prussian artillery general Eduard von Lewinski and his wife Helene von Sperling. His family had deep roots in the Prussian nobility, with his father descending from a line that included Polish and Kashubian ancestry, bearing the Brochwicz coat of arms. Due to his biological aunt and uncle, Hedwig and Georg von Manstein, being childless, he was adopted at birth and took their surname, growing up in a household steeped in military tradition. His adoptive grandfather, Albrecht Gustav von Manstein, had commanded a corps during the Franco-Prussian War, while his maternal grandfather, Oskar von Sperling, served as chief of staff in the First Army. Notably, his uncle was Paul von Hindenburg, who later became a field marshal and President of Germany. With sixteen relatives on each parental side serving as officers, many achieving general rank, Manstein's early environment was profoundly shaped by the Prussian military ethos. He attended the Imperial Lyzeum in Strasbourg from 1894 to 1899, followed by the cadet corps in Plön and Groß-Lichterfelde, where he excelled in academics and leadership. Commissioned as an ensign in the Third Foot Guards Regiment in March 1906, he was promoted to lieutenant in January 1907 and began training at the Prussian War Academy in October 1913, completing only the first year before the outbreak of World War I.

World War I saw Manstein serving on both the Western and Eastern Fronts, beginning as a lieutenant in the 2nd Guard Reserve Infantry Regiment during the invasion of Belgium, where he participated in the capture of Namur in August 1914. Transferred to East Prussia in September, he fought in the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes under Hindenburg's Eighth Army and later with the Ninth Army advancing toward Warsaw. On 16 November 1914, during a retreat, he sustained severe wounds from a bullet that struck his left shoulder, knee, and sciatic nerve, requiring six months of recovery in hospitals in Beuthen and Wiesbaden. Returning to duty in June 1915 as an assistant general staff officer with the 10th Army under Max von Gallwitz, he was promoted to captain and gained extensive experience in offensives across Poland, Lithuania, Montenegro, and Albania. By early 1916, he was stationed near Verdun, later serving as a staff supply officer under Fritz von Below at the Somme, witnessing the harsh winter withdrawals to the Hindenburg Line in 1916-1917. In October 1917, he became chief of staff for the 4th Cavalry Division in Riga, and following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918, he transferred to the 213th Infantry Division near Reims, ending the war as a captain without full general staff training, having earned decorations for bravery including the Iron Cross First and Second Class.

The interwar period marked a time of personal and professional development for Manstein. In 1920, he married Jutta Sibylle von Loesch, the daughter of a Silesian landowner, after a brief courtship of three days; the couple had three children—a daughter Gisela born in 1921, and sons Gero born in 1922, who would later die as a lieutenant on the Eastern Front in 1942, and Rüdiger born in 1929. Remaining in the military after the war, he volunteered for a staff position in Breslau until 1919 and contributed to restructuring the Imperial Army into the Reichswehr, which was capped at 100,000 men under the Treaty of Versailles; he was among the 4,000 officers retained. Serving as company commander in the 5th Prussian Infantry Regiment from 1921, he held staff roles in Wehrkreiskommando II and IV, teaching military history and tactics until 1927. Promoted to major on 1 February 1927, he joined the General Staff at the Ministry of the Reichswehr in Berlin, working on mobilization plans and visiting foreign militaries. Advanced to lieutenant colonel, he commanded a light infantry battalion in the 4th Infantry Regiment until 1934. Following the Nazi rise to power in 1933 and the initiation of rearmament in defiance of Versailles, he became chief of staff for the 3rd Division under Erwin von Witzleben in February 1934. By 1 July 1935, he led the Operations Branch of the Army General Staff at the OKH, influencing plans like Fall Rot for defense against France and advocating for Sturmgeschütze assault guns, which became vital in World War II. Promoted to Generalleutnant on 4 February 1938, he commanded the 18th Infantry Division in Liegnitz but was passed over for Chief of the Army General Staff in favor of Franz Halder, breeding resentment. On 20 April 1939, he delivered a speech at Hitler's 50th birthday, praising the leader while warning of potential encirclement by hostile powers.

At the onset of World War II, Manstein was appointed Chief of Staff to Gerd von Rundstedt's Army Group South on 18 August 1939 for the invasion of Poland, known as Fall Weiß. He devised a plan concentrating armored forces in the 10th Army for a breakthrough and encirclement west of the Vistula, supported by flanking armies, leading to major victories such as the encirclements at Radom from 8 to 14 September and the Battle of the Bzura from 8 to 19 September, resulting in the defeat of nine Polish divisions and Poland's surrender by 6 October. Although he attended a conference on 22 August where Hitler outlined the destruction of Poland as a nation, Manstein later claimed ignorance of extermination policies, despite receiving reports on Einsatzgruppen activities. For the Western campaign, Fall Gelb in May 1940, as Rundstedt's chief of staff for Army Group A, he proposed the innovative Sichelschnitt plan, channeling forces through the Ardennes to sever Allied troops in Belgium; refined with input from Heinz Guderian, it was initially rejected by Halder but adopted by Hitler on 17 February after a document leak. Manstein's XXXVIII Army Corps under Günther von Kluge's 4th Army achieved a breakthrough at Amiens and was the first to cross the Seine, earning him promotion to general and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 19 July 1940. He also pushed for Operation Sea Lion, the planned invasion of Britain, which was abandoned after the Luftwaffe's defeat in the Battle of Britain by October 1940.

Manstein's role expanded during Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union starting in June 1941, where he commanded the LVI Panzer Corps as part of Erich Hoepner's Fourth Panzer Army in Army Group North. His forces advanced rapidly to the Daugava River in just 100 hours, repelling counterattacks and encircling Soviet units near Luga, though a July offensive isolated his 8th Panzer Division, stalling momentum. In September 1941, following the death of Eugen Ritter von Schobert, he assumed command of the 11th Army for the conquest of Crimea, securing the Perekop Isthmus by November, capturing Simferopol on 1 November, and overrunning most of the peninsula except Sevastopol by 16 November, with around 300,000 Soviets evacuated. Initial assaults on Sevastopol faltered, leading to a siege; the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula in May 1942, bolstered by air support, culminated in Kerch's capture on 16 May and 170,000 prisoners taken. Promoted to field marshal on 1 July 1942 after a massive June artillery barrage and amphibious assault across Severnaya Bay allowed entry into Sevastopol on 1 July, his operations involved cooperation with Romanian forces under Ion Antonescu. However, in Crimea, he provided logistical support to Einsatzgruppe D, facilitating massacres of Jews and others, ignoring appeals to intervene, which later formed the basis of war crimes charges. Transferred to Leningrad in August 1942, he planned Operation Nordlicht to sever supply lines across Lake Ladoga but instead countered the Soviet Sinyavin Offensive from September to October, holding positions without assaulting the city itself.

In December 1942, amid the Battle of Stalingrad, Manstein took command of the newly formed Army Group Don to lead Operation Winter Storm, a relief effort starting on 12 December with three Panzer divisions advancing 48 kilometers by 20 December before being halted by blizzards and Soviet resistance. The tragic loss of his son Gero on 29 October 1942 added personal grief. He repeatedly urged Hitler to permit a breakout of the encircled Sixth Army on 18 December and later to authorize surrender on 24 January 1943, but these pleas were rejected, leading to the army's capitulation on 31 January with over 200,000 fatalities; historians attribute the disaster partly to his unheeded advice and Hermann Göring's failed air supply promises. Facing Soviet offensives like Operation Saturn threatening Rostov, his forces held key positions. By February 1943, redesignated as Army Group South, he executed the "backhand blow" counteroffensive at Kharkov from 20 February, reclaiming territory, annihilating three Soviet armies, and retaking Kharkov on 14 March after fierce urban combat, for which he received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross. He was awarded the Swords on 30 March 1944. During the Battle of Kursk in July-August 1943, his southern pincer made initial gains but was stopped; Hitler terminated the operation on 13 July due to the Allied landing in Sicily, despite Manstein's protests that reserves could secure victory. Ordered to retreat to the Dnieper in September 1943, he implemented scorched-earth policies, later cited in trials. Soviet advances recaptured Kharkov and Kiev by November, and in January 1944, he advocated further withdrawals, but Hitler refused. Without approval, he orchestrated a breakout from the Korsun Pocket in February and, encircled in Kamenets-Podolsky in March, persuaded Hitler to allow escape, though this led to his relief from command on 30 March 1944.

Following Germany's surrender, Manstein was captured by British forces on 26 August 1945. He testified at the Nuremberg Trials in August 1946, contributing to a document absolving the Wehrmacht of Holocaust responsibility, denying knowledge of Einsatzgruppen or the Commissar Order despite contradictory evidence. Tried in Hamburg from August to December 1949, he was convicted on nine of seventeen charges, including mistreatment of prisoners of war, civilian executions, enforcing the Commissar Order, and scorched-earth tactics, receiving an 18-year sentence reduced to 12 in February 1950. Due to health concerns, including eye problems, and advocacy from figures like Winston Churchill and Konrad Adenauer amid Cold War rearmament needs, he served less than four years and was released on 7 May 1953. In the mid-1950s, he advised the West German government on reconstructing the armed forces, addressing the Bundestag on 20 June 1953 to advocate for a professional army with 18-24 months of service and a robust reserve system. His memoirs, Verlorene Siege published in 1955 and translated as Lost Victories, critiqued Hitler's strategic meddling while emphasizing military operations, largely omitting political and ethical dimensions; a second volume, Aus einem Soldatenleben in 1958, covered his life from 1887 to 1939. After residing in Essen and Bonn, he settled near Munich, where his wife passed away in 1966. Congratulated by the Bundeswehr on his 80th birthday, Manstein died of a stroke on 9 June 1973 at age 85 near Munich, buried with full military honors in Dorfmark, Bad Fallingbostel. His legacy encompasses prestigious awards like the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, reverence as a strategic mastermind, and ongoing debates over his involvement in war crimes and potential perjury.

Source:
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/
https://en.wikipedia.org/
https://www.tracesofwar.com/
https://grokipedia.com/
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027052912fw_/http://geocities.com/orion47.geo/index2.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/
https://www.geni.com/
https://books.google.com/
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-l-m/
Additional books: Lost Victories by Erich von Manstein (1958); Erich von Manstein: Hitler's Master Strategist by Benoit Lemay (2010); Manstein: Hitler's Greatest General by Mungo Melvin (2010).

Generalleutnant Wend von Wietersheim (1900-1975)

Wend von Wietersheim was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II, born on 18 April 1900 in Neuland, Silesia, within the German Empire, now part of Poland. He rose to the rank of Generalleutnant and commanded several key armored formations, notably the 11th Panzer Division, during major campaigns on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. A recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, one of the highest military honors in Nazi Germany, Wietersheim demonstrated tactical acumen in defensive and counteroffensive operations against superior forces. His military career spanned from World War I through the end of World War II, after which he lived quietly in West Germany until his death on 19 September 1975 in Bad Honnef-Aegidienberg at the age of 75. Coming from a noble family with a tradition of service, his father was the chamberlain Walter Eduard Gustav von Wietersheim, who lived from 1863 to 1919, and he had siblings including Mark and Alfred Ferdinand Anton Gustav Eugen Gabriel von Wietersheim. He married Rosi Dorothee Charlotte Paula Alexandra Margaret Anna von Cölln, and they had two sons, Gero born in 1930 and Armin Hans-Georg Kurt Mark born in 1931.

Wietersheim's early military service began during World War I when, as a young Fahnenjunker, he joined the 4th Hussars Regiment "von Schill" Number 4 on 26 September 1918, shortly before the war's end. He earned the Iron Cross Second Class on 5 April 1919 for his actions in that conflict. Following the armistice, he was transferred to the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic, where he continued in cavalry units, being demobilized briefly on 15 May 1920 before reactivation. His interwar career involved steady promotions and assignments in various cavalry and motorized formations, reflecting the German military's transition from traditional horse-mounted troops to mechanized warfare. On 1 October 1923, he was assigned to the 2nd Squadron of Reiter-Regiment 12 in Grossenhain, and by 17 June 1925, he moved to the 4th Squadron of Reiter-Regiment 7 in Lüben. He advanced to Oberleutnant on 1 February 1930 and took command roles, such as chief of the 3rd Squadron of Reiter-Regiment 4 in Potsdam starting 1 January 1934. His promotion to Hauptmann came on 1 September 1935, and he shifted toward motorized units, serving as chief of the 1st Company in Kraftfahrkampf-Abteilung 3 in Wünsdorf from 15 August 1934.

By the late 1930s, Wietersheim fully transitioned to the Panzer forces, becoming adjutant of the 3rd Panzer Division in Berlin on 12 October 1937. With the outbreak of World War II, he participated in the invasion of Poland in September 1939 as part of this division, earning the Clasp to the Iron Cross Second Class on 1 October 1939. Promoted to Major on 1 August 1939, he then commanded the Motorcycle Battalion 1 of the 1st Panzer Division during the Battle of France in 1940, where his unit played a role in the rapid advances through the Low Countries and into France. For his leadership there, he received the Iron Cross First Class on 20 May 1940 and the Panzer Badge in Silver later that year. As the war expanded to the Eastern Front with Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, Wietersheim, now an Oberstleutnant from 1 January 1941, took command of Schützen-Regiment 113 within the 1st Panzer Division on 20 July 1941. This regiment operated under Panzer Group 4, later Army Group North, engaging in fierce battles around Leningrad and the northern sector.

One of Wietersheim's most notable actions occurred during heavy defensive fighting west of Kalinin on the night of 19 to 20 October 1941, where his weakened battalion faced superior Soviet attacks that penetrated the German lines in several places. Recognizing the threat to a vital railway bridge over the Volga River, he personally assembled reserve forces and led a counterattack that sealed the breaches and restored the defensive position, preventing a potential Soviet breakthrough. This feat earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 10 February 1942. Earlier, on 24 December 1941, he had been awarded the German Cross in Gold for his command of the Motorcycle Battalion. Promoted to Oberst on 1 January 1942, he continued leading what became Panzergrenadier-Regiment 113, and at the end of November 1942 in the Toropez area, he seized an opportunity to launch a counterattack with his Kampfgruppe against numerically superior Soviet forces, repelling them and averting a major breakthrough. This action led to the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross on 12 January 1943.

In 1943, Wietersheim assumed higher command, becoming Generalmajor on 1 September 1943 and taking over the 11th Panzer Division on 4 March 1943, leading it through intense Eastern Front battles in Ukraine and related sectors. His division's performance southeast of Kirovograd in late 1943 and early 1944, involving sustained defensive and counteroffensive operations against Soviet advances, showcased his tactical skill in armored warfare, maintaining cohesion under pressure and stabilizing German lines. For this outstanding leadership on the southern Eastern Front, he received the Swords to his Knight's Cross on 26 March 1944, becoming one of only 159 recipients of this prestigious award. The division was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 24 December 1943 for its distinguished combat alongside the 13th Panzer Division. Promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 August 1944, Wietersheim shifted the 11th Panzer Division to southern France in mid-1944, where it faced the Allied Operation Dragoon landings near Toulon and Nice in August. Tasked with protecting the German retreat up the Rhône Valley, his unit excelled in both attack and defense, earning another Wehrmachtbericht mention on 4 September 1944.

As the war neared its end, Wietersheim's division fought in the Battle of Lorraine and advance battles at the Western Wall in the Saar region, again praised in the Wehrmachtbericht on 24 December 1944 for magnificent fighting alongside the 25th Panzer-Grenadier Division. From 10 April to 19 April 1945, he briefly commanded the XXXXI Panzer Corps before returning to reserve status. He surrendered to U.S. forces of the 90th Infantry Division in Czechoslovakia near the Bavarian border in May 1945, marking the end of his active military service. Postwar, Wietersheim faced no major trials and lived in West Germany, passing away in 1975. His career was marked by a progression from cavalry to elite Panzer command, with additional decorations including the Wound Badge in Black, the Eastern Front Medal, and various service awards reflecting long-term dedication. Despite the controversies of serving in the Wehrmacht, his record highlights operational effectiveness rather than political involvement, as he was not affiliated with the NSDAP or SS.


Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wend_von_Wietersheim
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/W/WietersheimWv.htm
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/20818/Wietersheim-von-Wend-Hans-Georg-Herbert-Egmond-C.htm
https://www.geni.com/people/Wend-von-Wietersheim/6000000015233255164
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=160872
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-t-z/#&gid=1&pid=47
https://books.google.com/books/about/United_States_Army_in_World_War_II.html?id=1_duQav2AQAC
Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-0-6.
Mitcham, Samuel W. (2006). The Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of World War II and Their Commanders. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3353-3.
Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II. Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives. Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z. Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.

Generalleutnant Georg-Wilhelm Postel (1896-1953)

Georg Wilhelm Postel (25 April 1896 - 20 September 1953) was a German general of the infantry who served in the Imperial German Army during World War I, the Reichswehr in the interwar period, and the Wehrmacht during World War II, achieving the rank of Generalleutnant. He is best known for his command roles on the Eastern Front, where he led infantry regiments and divisions in intense defensive and offensive operations against Soviet forces, earning the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, one of the highest military decorations of Nazi Germany. Postel commanded the 320th Infantry Division through several key battles in Ukraine and Russia, and later briefly led the XXX Army Corps in Romania before his capture by the Red Army in 1944. Convicted as a war criminal by Soviet authorities in 1949, he died in captivity from tuberculosis. His military career spanned over three decades, marked by steady promotions, tactical acumen in crisis situations, and personal involvement in frontline actions that often resulted in wounds.

Born on 25 April 1896 in Zittau, Saxony, in the German Empire, Postel was the son of Georg Gustav Paul Eugen Postel, a retired Oberstleutnant and managing director, and his wife Sophie, nee Schroeder, who passed away on 3 April 1914. His father remarried on 5 February 1919 to Waleska Agnes Grimm, a teacher in Berlin, and died on 21 November 1943 from stomach cancer in Wiesbaden. Little is known about Postel's early education, but he entered military service at the age of 18, enlisting as a Fahnenjunker in the Saxon Army on 20 August 1914, shortly after the outbreak of World War I. He initially joined the 3rd Company of the Pomeranian Infantry Regiment Graf Schwerin Number 14 before transferring to the 10th Royal Saxon Infantry Regiment Number 134. Promoted to Leutnant on 3 April 1915 (with the patent dated 29 May 1915), he participated in trench warfare on the Western Front, attending specialized courses such as a gas protection course from 12 to 15 July 1915 and a field pioneer service course from 9 to 23 January 1916. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Royal Saxon Military Saint Heinrich's Order on 21 July 1915 and the Knight's Cross Second Class with Swords of the Royal Saxon Albrecht's Order on 30 August 1916. Serving in roles like battalion adjutant from 4 September 1916 and court officer from 7 September 1916, he also attended an Army Gas School course from 11 to 16 June 1917. By May 1918, he was an ordnance officer at the regimental staff and later detailed to the staff of the 46th Reserve Infantry Brigade. During the war, he earned both classes of the Iron Cross and the Wound Badge in Black.

Following the armistice, Postel remained in the military during the turbulent postwar period, serving as an ordnance and court officer in the staff of Border Jager Detachment 2 from early March 1919. He transitioned to the provisional Reichswehr and, by April 1920, was a platoon leader in the 1st Company of Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 24. As the Reichswehr was reduced to 100,000 men, he was assigned to the 10th Saxon Infantry Regiment, where he served as a company officer for several years. His personal life during this time included the birth of his son Joachim on 21 June 1921 in Bautzen and daughter Renate on 13 May 1922. His seniority as Leutnant was backdated to 1 September 1915 on 1 July 1922. By spring 1923, he was in the 5th Company in Bautzen, attending a physical training course from 16 January to 13 June 1924 and a machine gun course from 8 July to 6 August 1924. He trained as a driving and equipment instructor from 29 September to 23 October 1924 and was promoted to Oberleutnant on 31 July 1925 (backdated to 1 April 1925). His daughter Gisela was born on 21 July 1926. On 1 October 1926, he transferred to the staff of the 4th Division in Dresden for two-year leader assistant training, participating in exercise trips including one to the Riesengebirge from 5 to 12 February 1928. Returning to the 8th Machine Gun Company of the 11th Saxon Infantry Regiment in Leipzig on 1 October 1928, he attended an air raid protection course from 10 to 24 May 1930 and was promoted to Hauptmann on 1 November 1930, becoming chief of that company. He attended a heavy infantry weapons shooting course from 6 to 20 October 1931 and resided at Heerstrasse 7 in Leipzig-Mockern in 1932. Postel left active service on 28 March 1933, with his activities until 1 April 1934 unknown, possibly involving service in the Soviet Union. He was reinstated as Hauptmann on 1 April 1934, assigned to the 11th Saxon Infantry Regiment as chief of the 17th Machine Gun Company in the Training Battalion in Dobeln. With the military expansion, his unit became Infantry Regiment Leipzig on 1 October 1934, and he led the 4th Machine Gun Company. His first marriage ended in divorce on 10 October 1934, and he married Dr. phil. Irmgard Liebster, nee Rabe, a school principal in Leipzig, on 21 September 1935. On 15 October 1935, his unit was renamed Infantry Regiment 101 in Dobeln. Promoted to Major on 1 December 1935 (backdated to 5 May 1935), he was detailed as an instructor at the War School in Munich on 1 April 1936, officially transferring on 6 October 1936. His daughter Heidi was born on 5 June 1937 in Munich, and he was promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 January 1939, residing at Kadettenstrasse 1 in Munich.

At the start of World War II in September 1939, Postel was appointed commander of the II Battalion of Infantry Regiment 109 in the 35th Infantry Division, holding positions on the Western Front. On 11 January 1940, he transferred to command the II Battalion of Infantry Regiment 433, and on 30 April 1940, just before the invasion of France, he took over the I Battalion of Infantry Regiment 364, leading it during the campaign starting in early May 1940. After Oberst Kurt Heyser was wounded, Postel briefly served as deputy commander of Infantry Regiment 47 in the 22nd Infantry Division. On 5 July 1940, he was tasked with leading Infantry Regiment 364, officially becoming its commander on 26 September 1940. He was awarded the War Merit Cross Second Class with Swords on 6 October 1940. In the summer of 1941, during Operation Barbarossa, he commanded the regiment as part of the 161st Infantry Division in the advance into central Russia. He received the Clasp to the Iron Cross Second Class on 10 July 1941 and First Class on 17 August 1941. Tragically, his son Leutnant Joachim Postel was severely wounded on 5 September 1941 near Aladynski while serving in the 6th Company of Schutzen-Regiment 101 and died that day from his injuries at Sanitäts-Kompanie 2/88, buried in the soldiers' cemetery in Bobowja. Postel was promoted to Oberst on 1 December 1941 (backdated to 1 November 1940). During the harsh winter defensive battles in the Rzhev sector from 1941 to 1942, his regiment played a crucial role in holding Soviet offensives, earning him the German Cross in Gold on 28 February 1942 (noted as Georg Postei in some records), the Infantry Assault Badge on 7 March 1942, and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 9 August 1942 for actions including commanding units to close a Soviet penetration south of Wosszino on 4-5 February 1942. He also received the Eastern Medal and the Silver Wound Badge on 23 August 1942. Relinquishing command of Infantry Regiment 364 on 24 August 1942, he was placed in the OKH leader reserve.

On 26 November 1942, Postel was tasked with leading the 320th Infantry Division, stationed on the Channel Coast in France, and was promoted to Generalmajor effective 1 January 1943, officially appointed division commander. Transferred to the southern Eastern Front in January 1943, his division faced overwhelming Soviet assaults between the Don and Donets rivers in mid-January, defending isolated positions and repulsing attacks while withdrawing through a nine-day breakthrough battle, destroying several Soviet battlegroups, including a reinforced rifle regiment on 10 February 1943, and reaching German lines on 13 February 1943. Postel led from the front, suffering severe wounds during reconnaissance, and was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 14 February 1943 for this exemplary leadership. He received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross on 28 March 1943 as the 215th recipient. Evaluations from superiors like General Erhard Raus, General der Panzertruppen Werner Kempf, and Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein praised his tactical excellence and commitment in crisis situations. Due to illness, he relinquished command on 26 May 1943, with Oberst Kurt Ropke as deputy, but returned on 20 August 1943 to resume command, succeeding Ropke. Promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 September 1943, he led the division in the battles for Kharkov in the fall of 1943 and the winter retreat to the Dnieper River in 1943-1944, including operations near Belgorod in summer 1943 and Kremenchug in winter. The division distinguished itself at Cherkassy in early 1944, earning another Wehrmachtbericht mention on 19 January 1944. Postel was awarded the Swords to the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves on 26 March 1944 as the 57th recipient for these campaigns. Superiors such as General der Panzertruppe Nikolaus von Vormann, General der Infanterie Otto Wohler, and Generaloberst Ferdinand Schorner commended his initiative, bravery, and troop leadership, recommending him for higher command.

Transferred to the OKH leader reserve on 10 July 1944, Postel assumed command of the XXX Army Corps in Romania on 16 July 1944. Following Romania's defection to the Allies and the collapse of German lines, he led the corps, along with the 306th and 15th Infantry Divisions and the 13th Panzer Division, in sacrificial battles against superior Soviet forces. He was severely wounded on 31 August 1944 at the Pruth River in Bessarabia, suffering a lung puncture and right arm fracture, and was captured by the Red Army on 30 August 1944. The Wehrmachtbericht additions on 31 August 1944 noted his heroic efforts. Evaluations from General der Artillerie Maximilian Fretter-Pico and Generaloberst Johannes Friessner highlighted his value as a leader. In Soviet captivity, Postel joined the Bund deutscher Offiziere and the Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland, signing the "Appeal to People and Wehrmacht" in early December 1944. He was held in various camps, including NKWD Camp Number 160 in Suzdal, Number 74 in Oranki, Number 48 in Cerny, Leznevo, Number 62 in Kiev, Number 149 in Kharkov, special hospital Number 5351 in Nowotscherkask, and Prison Number 1 in Kharkov. On 4 June 1949, he was sentenced to 25 years of forced labor by the Military Court of the Kharkov Military District as a war criminal. Postel died of lung tuberculosis on 20 September 1953 in the hospital of Prison Camp Schachty 8108 in the Soviet Union and was buried in the local cemetery (Row 3, Grave 14). His name is commemorated at the German War Cemetery in Krasnodar-Apscheronsk, though his remains were not transferred.

Throughout his career, Postel received numerous decorations beyond his Knight's Cross upgrades, including the Clasp to the Iron Cross Second Class (10 July 1941), First Class (17 August 1941), German Cross in Gold (28 February 1942), Wound Badge in Silver, Infantry Assault Badge in Silver, Eastern Front Medal, and various Wehrmacht Long Service Awards (4th to 1st Class for 4 to 25 years). He was also awarded the Honor Cross for Front Fighters and the War Merit Cross Second Class with Swords. Postel's leadership was consistently rated highly in evaluations, emphasizing his tactical skill, personal bravery, and ability to maintain unit morale under extreme conditions, though his postwar fate reflected the broader reckoning faced by many Wehrmacht officers in Soviet captivity.

Source :
Thomas, Franz. Die Eichenlaubtrager 1939-1945 Band 2: L-Z. Osnabruck, Germany: Biblio-Verlag, 1998.
Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit. Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941-1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II. Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, 2001.
Scherzer, Veit. Die Ritterkreuztrager 1939-1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbundeter Streitkrifte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives. Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, 2007.
Websites:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg-Wilhelm_Postel
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/16028/Postel-Georg-Wilhelm.htm
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=29879&start=2160
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/P/PostelGW-R.htm
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=profile&id=693
https://ww2gravestone.com/people/postel-georg-wilhelm
https://alchetron.com/Georg-Wilhelm-Postel 
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-n-r/

General der Fallschirmtruppe Richard Heidrich (1896-1947), German Paratrooper Commander in the Battle of Monte Cassino

Hermann Richard Heidrich was a German paratroop general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Born on 27 July 1896 in Lawalde in the Kingdom of Saxony in the German Empire he volunteered for military service shortly after the outbreak of World War I. He entered the Army on 18 August 1914 as a war volunteer with Reserve Infantry Regiment 101. He was promoted to Gefreiter on 17 November 1914 then to Unteroffizier on 18 May 1915 and to Fähnrich on 14 July 1915 before becoming a Leutnant on 20 August 1915 with a patent dated 17 December 1915 later adjusted to 1 September 1915. He transferred to the Royal Saxon 3rd Infantry Regiment König Ludwig III von Bayern Nr. 102 from 11 April 1915 to 30 September 1916 and then served as a platoon and company leader in the Royal Saxon 16th Infantry Regiment Nr. 182 until 15 May 1920. During the war he earned both classes of the Iron Cross and the Wound Badge in Black. After the armistice he fought with the Freikorps in the Baltic region before being accepted into the Reichswehr in 1920 where he continued service in various infantry posts.

In the interwar years Heidrich held a series of assignments in the 10th Saxon Infantry Regiment including platoon leader roles from 1 October 1920 onward. He attended an assistant course at Wehrkreis IV staff in Dresden from 27 August 1924 to 30 September 1925 then served on the staff of the 4th Division. He was promoted to Oberleutnant on 31 July 1925 with a rank date of 1 April 1925. Further postings included platoon leader again in the 10th Infantry Regiment detachment to the II Naval Artillery Battalion and company chief duties. He became a Hauptmann on 1 February 1931 and served as tactics instructor at the Infantry School in Dresden from 1 September 1934 before becoming an instructor at the War Schools in Potsdam and Munich. Promoted to Major on 18 January 1936 with a rank date of 1 April 1935 he took command of the Parachute Infantry Company on 12 October 1937 and then the Parachute Infantry Battalion on 4 June 1938. On 1 January 1939 the entire parachute infantry battalion transferred from the Army to the Luftwaffe becoming the II Battalion of Fallschirmjäger Regiment 1. Heidrich transferred with it as an Oberstleutnant with a rank date of 1 April 1937 and briefly commanded the battalion before moving to the staff of the 7th Flieger Division as operations officer. He left the Luftwaffe temporarily to lead Infantry Regiment 514 of the 294th Infantry Division during the Battle of France in 1940 where he was promoted to Oberst on 4 July 1940 with a rank date of 1 April 1940.

General Kurt Student persuaded Heidrich to return to the Luftwaffe in June 1940 and he formed and commanded Fallschirmjäger Regiment 3 within the 7th Flieger Division. He led the regiment with distinction during the Battle of Crete in May 1941 where his troops dropped southwest of Canea suffered heavy scattering and casualties yet fought through Prison Valley and advanced on the town after relief by mountain troops. For his leadership he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 June 1941 as Oberst and commander of Fallschirmjäger Regiment 3 along with the 1939 Clasps to both classes of the Iron Cross on 25 May 1941 and later the Crete cuff title. The regiment continued operations on the Eastern Front near Leningrad in late 1941 before withdrawal for refitting in France. Heidrich was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 13 April 1942 as Oberst commanding the regiment. In August 1942 he was delegated leadership of the 7th Flieger Division and promoted to Generalmajor on 4 August 1942 with a rank date of 1 August 1942. He took full command of the 7th Flieger Division from 1 November 1942 and led it back to the Eastern Front in the central sector around Smolensk Rzhev and Orel.

On 1 May 1943 the 7th Flieger Division was redesignated the 1st Fallschirmjäger Division while refitting in southern France and Heidrich was promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 July 1943. He assumed command of the division on the same date. The division was rushed to Sicily on 12 July 1943 to counter the Allied invasion during Operation Husky and engaged in intense fighting around the Primosole Bridge. After evacuation to the Italian mainland the division under Heidrich conducted its toughest campaigns during the three Battles of Monte Cassino in 1944 where it held mountain defenses against repeated Allied assaults inflicting heavy casualties on American British Commonwealth Polish and French forces. Elements also fought at Anzio-Nettuno and along the Adriatic coast before transferring to the Gothic Line. He received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross on 5 February 1944 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 1st Fallschirmjäger Division and the Swords on 25 March 1944 as the 55th recipient in the same capacity. He was mentioned four times in the Wehrmachtbericht on 9 June 1941 24 December 1943 25 March 1944 and 29 June 1944. On 31 October 1944 he was promoted to General der Fallschirmtruppe with a rank date of 1 October 1944 and on 16 November 1944 he relinquished command of the division to take over the I Fallschirmkorps in Italy succeeding General Alfred Schlemm.

As commanding general of the I Fallschirmkorps Heidrich oversaw the corps withdrawal up the length of Italy during the final Allied offensive in spring 1945 initially holding positions opposite the British Eighth Army near Imola before retreating northeastward through Ferrara Rovigo Padova and Venice toward the Italo-Yugoslav frontier. He was seriously wounded on 23 January 1945 and taken to a field hospital yet continued directing operations issuing his final order on 1 May 1945 at the corps command post. He gave up command on that date and was transferred to a hospital in Germany. Captured by British forces on 3 May 1945 at St. Christoforo in Italy after earlier contact with American troops he was held as a prisoner of war until his release in the summer of 1945. Weakened by years of continuous combat and never fully recovering from his wounds Heidrich died on 22 December 1947 at the age of 51 in a care hospital in Hamburg-Bergedorf in the Allied-occupied zone of Germany. Among his other decorations were the Iron Cross of 1914 both classes the Saxon Albert Order Knights Cross 2nd Class with Swords the Civil Order of Saxony Knights Cross 2nd Class with Swords the Honour Cross of the World War 1914-1918 with Swords the Sudetenland Medal with Prague Castle Bar the Army Parachutist Badge later exchanged for the Luftwaffe version on 12 December 1943 the Wound Badge of 1939 in Silver and repeated mentions for bravery and leadership throughout his career. He served continuously from 1914 until the end of World War II rising from war volunteer to one of the most highly decorated commanders of the German Fallschirmjäger forces.


Source:
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/  
https://en.wikipedia.org/  
https://www.tracesofwar.com/  
https://grokipedia.com/  
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300  
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html  
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027052912fw_/http://geocities.com/orion47.geo/index2.html  
https://forum.axishistory.com/  
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/  
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/  
https://www.geni.com/  
https://books.google.com/  
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-n-r/
https://www.oocities.org/~orion47/WEHRMACHT/LUFTWAFFE/General/HEIDRICH_RICHARD.html  
Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945.  
Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1.  
Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941–1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II.

Oberst Werner Streib (1911-1986): Father of the Nachtjagd

Werner Streib was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II and a general officer in the post-war Bundeswehr. A leading night fighter ace, he was credited with 68 enemy aircraft shot down in roughly 150 combat missions, including one daytime victory and 67 nocturnal victories, all claimed over the Western Front in Defence of the Reich operations against RAF Bomber Command. He was the first Luftwaffe pilot to achieve a confirmed night victory, introduced innovative tactics that shaped the Nachtjagd, and rose to command Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 before serving as Inspector of Night Fighters. For his achievements he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, becoming one of the highest-decorated night fighter pilots of the war. After 1945 he worked in commerce before rejoining the military in 1956 and retiring as Brigadegeneral in 1966.

Streib was born on 13 June 1911 in Pforzheim, at that time in the Grand Duchy of Baden within the German Empire. He was the son of merchant Reinhold Streib and Sofie Pauline Beller. After completing his Abitur he worked for three years in banking and finance. In 1934 he enlisted in the Reichswehr as a Fahnenjunker with Infanterie-Regiment 14 of the 5th Infantry Division based in Konstanz. On 1 October 1935, as an Oberfähnrich, he transferred to the newly formed Luftwaffe and was commissioned Leutnant on 1 April 1936. He initially served as an aerial observer in a reconnaissance unit before qualifying as a pilot. In 1938 he was posted to II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 132 Richthofen, later redesignated I. Gruppe of Zerstörergeschwader 1, where he flew the Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter.

At the outbreak of war in September 1939 Streib was serving with the airport operational company of I./ZG 1. During the invasion of Poland he flew daytime missions but recorded no victories. On the first day of the Battle of France, 10 May 1940, he claimed his first aerial victory by shooting down an RAF Bristol Blenheim bomber while flying a Bf 110. For this success he received the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 17 May 1940 and the Iron Cross 1st Class on 20 June 1940. On 6 June 1940 he was appointed Staffelkapitän of 2. Staffel of ZG 1. When that unit was redesignated 2. Staffel of the newly formed Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 on 26 June 1940, Streib became one of the first operational night fighter pilots.

The creation of the Nachtjagd force under Generalmajor Josef Kammhuber began in mid-1940. On the night of 19/20 July 1940 Streib achieved the Luftwaffe's first confirmed nocturnal victory, shooting down an RAF Armstrong Whitworth Whitley at 02:15 near Saerbeck. Two nights later he claimed another Whitley. On the night of 30/31 August 1940 he downed a Vickers Wellington and a Handley Page Hampden. Further successes followed on 30 September/1 October 1940 with two Wellingtons and another Hampden, bringing his total to eight victories, seven of them at night. On 6 October 1940, as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of 2./NJG 1, he became the first night fighter pilot to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and only the second member of the Nachtjagd to be so honoured. The following day he was promoted Hauptmann and appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I./NJG 1.

Throughout the autumn and winter of 1940-1941 Streib continued to score steadily within the Kammhuber Line, a radar-guided ground-controlled interception system consisting of Himmelbett sectors. On the night of 14/15 October 1940 he claimed a Hampden near Calbe. In March 1941 he downed a Hampden southwest of Venlo and a Wellington near Helenaveen. April brought two more Hampdens and a Wellington. By July 1941 his score stood at 16. He received the Luftwaffe Honour Goblet on 13 September 1940 and was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on several occasions in 1941 and 1942. On 26 February 1942 he was awarded the German Cross in Gold.

In 1942 Streib claimed pairs of Wellingtons on multiple nights, including 26/27 March, 10/11 April, and 30/31 May, as well as Whitleys and further Wellingtons. His last victory of the year came on 20/21 December against a Wellington southeast of 's-Hertogenbosch. On the night of 9/10 January 1943 he reached his 40th nocturnal victory with a Lancaster west of Venlo. Four nights later he claimed two more Lancasters. On 2/3 February 1943 two additional four-engined bombers brought his total to 45. On 26 February 1943, as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of I./NJG 1, he received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross as the 197th recipient. He was presented the award personally by Adolf Hitler in Berlin on 11 May 1943. Additional claims in March and April 1943, including a Wellington from No. 166 Squadron RAF and three Halifax bombers during the Essen raid, continued his success.

Streib participated in the operational testing of the Heinkel He 219 Uhu night fighter. On 25 March 1943 he flew the prototype in mock combat against a Ju 188 at Rechlin, demonstrating the He 219's superior speed and manoeuvrability. On the night of 11/12 June 1943, flying the pre-production He 219 A-0/R2 G9+FB with radar operator Unteroffizier Helmut Fischer, Streib was vectored against a large RAF raid on Düsseldorf. In a single patrol he shot down five four-engined bombers: three Halifaxes and two Lancasters between 01:05 and 02:22 in the Roermond-Rheinberg-Nijmegen area. This ace-in-a-day performance raised his nocturnal total to 55. On landing at Venlo the aircraft crashed due to cockpit icing, retracted flaps, and excessive speed; both crew members escaped with only minor injuries.

On the night of 12/13 June 1943 Streib claimed a Lancaster south of Doetinchem. Further victories followed, including a Stirling on 22 June and a Halifax on 24/25 June. On 1 July 1943 he was promoted Oberstleutnant and appointed Geschwaderkommodore of NJG 1, succeeding Wolfgang Falck. On 25/26 July 1943 he claimed four bombers in one night, reaching his 60th nocturnal victory. By early 1944 his score stood at 65 or 66 nocturnal victories depending on confirmation sources. On 11 March 1944 he received the Swords to the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves as the 54th recipient of the award. Shortly afterwards he was withdrawn from operational flying and appointed Inspector of Night Fighters on the staff of General der Jagdflieger Adolf Galland, where he remained until the end of the war in the rank of Oberst. He contributed significantly to the evolution of tactics from the Kammhuber Line to the more flexible Zahme Sau methods.

At the end of the war Streib was taken into Western Allied captivity and released in 1946. He initially worked as managing director of a wholesale grocery company. On 16 March 1956 he joined the newly formed Bundeswehr with the rank of Oberst. He commanded Flugzeugführerschule A in Landsberg am Lech for three years, responsible for basic pilot training on the North American T-6 Texan. After six months at NATO headquarters in Paris he served as Flight Leader South and, from 1 January 1961, as commander of Fliegerdivision Süd in Karlsruhe. From October 1962 he commanded Training Brigade 2 in Fürstenfeldbruck, followed by a posting to the Luftwaffe leadership staff in Köln-Wahn from October 1963. He retired on 31 March 1966 as Brigadegeneral and Inspector of Flying Forces.

Werner Streib died on 15 June 1986 in Munich, two days after his 75th birthday. He was buried at the Ostfriedhof in Munich. Throughout his career he was known for his pioneering role in night fighting and his leadership in one of the most technically demanding branches of the Luftwaffe. His 68 confirmed victories, combined with his tactical innovations and high command positions, placed him among the most influential figures in the history of German night air defence.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Streib,
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/,
https://www.tracesofwar.com/,
https://grokipedia.com/,
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300,
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html,
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027052912fw_/http://geocities.com/orion47.geo/index2.html,
https://forum.axishistory.com/,
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/,
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/,
https://www.geni.com/,
https://books.google.com/,
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-s/#&gid=1&pid=129
https://www.ww2.dk/lwoffz.html,
https://aircrewremembered.com/KrackerDatabase/?q=units
Aders, Gebhard. History of the German Night Fighter Force, 1917-1945.
Obermaier, Ernst. Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939-1945.
Boiten, Theo. Nachtjagd Combat Archive - Biographies.
Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945.
Scherzer, Veit. Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939-1945.
Mathews, Andrew Johannes & Foreman, John. Luftwaffe Aces - Biographies and Victory Claims - Volume 4.

Generalmajor Franz Griesbach (1892-1984)

Franz Friedrich Johann Griesbach was a German officer and general during the Second World War who rose from the rank of reserve lieutenant to generalmajor while serving primarily with the 170th Infantry Division on the Eastern Front. A veteran of the First World War and a civilian elementary school teacher for two decades between the wars, he became one of the few regimental commanders to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. His leadership in critical defensive and offensive actions in the Crimea and the Leningrad sector earned him these high decorations, and he briefly commanded his division before being severely wounded and later taken prisoner by Soviet forces.

Born on 21 December 1892 in Brück in der Mark, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, Griesbach entered the Imperial German Army on 1 April 1914 as a one-year volunteer with Infantry Regiment 27, known as Prinz Louis Ferdinand von Preußen, 2nd Magdeburgisches. He served throughout the First World War on the Western Front, rising steadily through the enlisted ranks to become a vice sergeant by May 1916 and receiving his commission as lieutenant of the reserves on 23 August 1916. During the conflict he was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class on 22 December 1914 and the First Class on 23 August 1917, along with the Wound Badge in black on 5 May 1918 and in silver on 25 June 1918. After the armistice he left active service and pursued a teaching career, passing his final teacher examination in 1920. He taught at elementary schools in Saxony and later in the Magdeburg area, including at a Volksschule in Putlitz, Westprignitz, while maintaining his connection to the military through reserve officer training.

In the interwar period Griesbach completed his formal teacher training at the Präparandenanstalt in Genthin from 1907 to 1910 and the Lehrerseminar from 1910 to 1913 before his military call-up. He remained on the reserve list and participated in periodic exercises. Recalled to active duty at the outbreak of the Second World War, he was initially assigned as company chief of the 6th Company, Infantry Regiment 12, in Halberstadt on 1 March 1939. He advanced rapidly in supplementary and replacement units, serving as commander of Infantry Replacement Battalion 467 in 1940 and later as a staff officer undergoing further training at Königsbrück. By late 1940 he had been promoted to major of the supplementary officers on 20 October 1940 and transferred to the active list as a regular major effective 1 December 1941. In September 1941 he took command of the 1st Battalion of Infantry Regiment 391 within the 170th Infantry Division, a formation with which he would remain for the duration of his frontline service.

Griesbach first distinguished himself in the Crimea during the winter campaign of 1941-1942. On 15 January 1942, at 0600 hours, Infantry Regiment 391 launched a hasty attack with his 1st Battalion in the lead. Despite fierce Soviet resistance the battalion fought past Hill 200 and captured Hill 175. The following day, advancing through difficult ravine-covered terrain, Griesbach demonstrated exceptional bravery and tactical skill. His leadership enabled the regiment, which was operating at little more than battalion strength, to seize Hill 251.4. When Hill 175 temporarily fell back into enemy hands he independently ordered a counterattack that secured it again, an action vital for the division's continued operations. These efforts contributed directly to the fall of Feodosia on 18 January 1942. For his role in this successful offensive Griesbach was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 March 1942 while still a major and battalion commander.

He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 1 April 1942 and shortly afterward assumed command of Infantry Regiment 399, later redesignated Grenadier Regiment 399, still within the 170th Infantry Division. In early 1943 the division faced a deep Soviet penetration south of Lake Ladoga near Krasny Bor that reached a depth of approximately two kilometres. Acting on his own initiative, Colonel Griesbach, now promoted to that rank effective 1 January 1943 with seniority from 1 December 1942, launched a counterattack using the battle-weary troops of his 3rd Battalion. He personally led from the front at the spearhead of the foremost company, overrunning resistance nests one after another, directing shock troops, and guiding artillery observers onto key targets while coming under enemy blocking fire himself. After five and a half hours of intense fighting more than half the penetrated area had been recaptured. Griesbach then shifted to the sector of his 1st Battalion on the Soviet right flank and launched a surprise assault without artillery preparation. The two German battalions squeezed the enemy into an ever-narrowing pocket, inflicting devastating losses. Approximately 2,000 Soviet soldiers were killed, 338 taken prisoner, and large quantities of equipment, including five tanks, 24 artillery pieces, and 149 mortars and machine guns, were destroyed or captured. The victory was highlighted in the Wehrmacht communiqué of 25 March 1943. In recognition of this feat Griesbach received the 242nd Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross on 17 May 1943.

Further promotion to colonel followed, and Griesbach continued to lead his regiment in the Leningrad sector. In January 1944 his battle group destroyed 69 Soviet tanks near the village of Pelellja on 17 January. Two days later the battle group recaptured the heights near Duderhof that had fallen to the enemy. On 23 January he led another successful counterthrust at Gatschina. These actions prevented a major Soviet breakthrough south of Leningrad. For his repeated demonstrations of aggressive leadership and tactical success under extreme pressure Griesbach was awarded the 53rd Swords to the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves on 6 March 1944 while still commanding his regiment.

On 15 February 1944 he was given temporary command of the 170th Infantry Division itself, serving as its leader for only one day before being succeeded by Generalleutnant Siegfried Haß on 16 February. Severe wounds sustained in the fighting near Leningrad shortly afterward forced his evacuation to Reserve Hospital Görden, where he remained until April 1945. He was then transferred to the Führer Reserve of the Army High Command. In April 1945 Soviet forces captured him, and he spent more than four years in prisoner-of-war camps before his release on 21 October 1949. During his wartime service he had also earned the 1939 Clasp to the Iron Cross Second Class on 22 October 1941 and First Class on 20 November 1941, the Infantry Assault Badge in silver on 19 December 1941, the 1939 Wound Badge in gold on 4 February 1942, the Order of the Crown of Romania with swords, the Winter Battle in the East Medal, the Crimea Shield, the Romanian Commemorative Medal for the Crusade Against Communism, the Honour Cross of the World War 1914-1918 with swords, and the War Merit Cross Second Class with swords.

After returning to West Germany Griesbach lived quietly in retirement. He had married Martha Matthes in 1921; she died in 1940, and the couple had two sons. In 1942 he married Gertrud Murmann. No further details of his postwar civilian life or any additional family members are recorded. Franz Friedrich Johann Griesbach died on 24 September 1984 in Lage, North Rhine-Westphalia, at the age of 91. His career exemplified the path of many reserve officers who transitioned from civilian professions to high command in the Wehrmacht, achieving extraordinary decorations through personal courage and decisive leadership on the Eastern Front.


Source:
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/
https://en.wikipedia.org/
https://www.tracesofwar.com/
https://grokipedia.com/
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027052912fw_/http://geocities.com/orion47.geo/index2.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/
https://www.geni.com/
https://books.google.com/
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-g-h/

Major Wilhelm Batz (1916-1988): Luftwaffe Fighter Ace with 237 Kills

Wilhelm Batz (21 May 1916 – 11 September 1988) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace during World War II credited with 237 aerial victories in 445 combat missions. Of these 234 were achieved over the Eastern Front including at least 46 Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft and three against Western Allied aircraft including one four-engine bomber over the Ploiești oil fields. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords one of the highest decorations for bravery awarded by Nazi Germany. After the war he served in the Bundesluftwaffe the air force of West Germany reaching the rank of Oberstleutnant before retiring in 1972.

Batz was born on 21 May 1916 in Bamberg in the Kingdom of Bavaria part of the German Empire as the son of a civil servant Beamter. Little is recorded about his mother or any siblings. Growing up in the interwar period he idolized Manfred von Richthofen the Red Baron as the archetype of a fighter pilot. After completing his Abitur he volunteered for the newly formed Luftwaffe on 1 November 1935. He underwent basic training at Neubiberg followed by flight training beginning 1 February 1936 at Kaufbeuren Airfield. For much of the pre-war and early war period he served as a flight instructor with Fliegerausbildungs-Regiment 23 at Kaufbeuren later at Jüterbog-Damm and Reinsdorf logging over 5000 flying hours. Despite repeated requests for combat duty he was retained in training roles. He attended officers training at Luftkriegsschule 2 in Berlin-Gatow and was promoted to Leutnant on 1 November 1940. He continued as an instructor until 31 October 1942 then briefly trained at Jagdfliegerschule in Bad Aibling before joining 2. Staffel Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost at Saint-Jean-d'Angély France on 20 December 1942.

His operational career began on 1 February 1943 with a transfer to II. Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 52 on the Eastern Front initially serving briefly as adjutant to Johannes Steinhoff. Flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109 he claimed his first victory a Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 on 11 March 1943 near Rostov-on-Don followed by a Douglas A-20 Havoc bomber two days later during a relocation flight to the Kuban bridgehead. Promoted to Oberleutnant on 1 April 1943 he was appointed Staffelkapitän of 5. Staffel II. Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 52 on 26 May succeeding Josef Zwernemann. He received the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 24 April 1943 and the Iron Cross 1st Class on 3 July 1943. By the end of October 1943 he had 36 victories rising to 50 by November and exactly 75 by 7 December including three ace-in-a-day tallies on 1 2 and 5 December. On 7 December while strafing Soviet vessels near Eltigen his Bf 109 was hit by flak forcing a landing; he sustained shoulder wounds and was sent on convalescent leave receiving the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 13 December 1943 and the German Cross in Gold on 28 January 1944.

Returning to combat in February 1944 he claimed three victories on 10 February reaching 88 by the end of the month. On 22 March 1944 near Sovietskyi he achieved his 100th victory a Yak-9 and a Bell P-39 Airacobra becoming the 67th Luftwaffe pilot to reach triple figures. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 26 March 1944 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän for his 75th victory with his score at around 101 shortly after. Promoted to Hauptmann on 1 April 1944 he assumed command of III. Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 52 on 19 April succeeding Günther Rall during the Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive. He claimed six victories on 8 April five on 10 April reaching 120 by 13 April before being lightly wounded by bomb splinters at Cape Chersonesus. On 2 May he scored another ace-in-a-day with three P-39 Airacobras one Yak-1 and one Il-2. His most spectacular performance occurred on 31 May 1944 over Romania in seven missions when he claimed 15 Soviet aircraft six Il-2 Sturmoviks five P-39s and four Lavochkin La-5s raising his total to 155. After the unit relocated to defend the Ploiești oil fields he claimed two P-51 Mustangs on 23 June a Consolidated B-24 Liberator on 24 June and reached approximately 170 by early June. On 17 August near Sandomierz during the Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive he achieved another ace-in-a-day with six victories to reach his 200th confirmed kill. He was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves on 20 July 1944 for around 188 victories the 526th such award presented personally by Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair in Rastenburg on 25 August 1944 after which he attended Erich Hartmann's wedding during home leave. By the end of October 1944 his total stood at 226 placing him second in III. Gruppe behind Hartmann.

On 1 February 1945 he transferred to command II. Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 52 at Veszprém Hungary succeeding Gerhard Barkhorn. He continued claiming victories including eight between 13 and 19 March 1945 over Hungary several corroborated by matching Soviet loss reports. He was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords on 21 April 1945 the 145th recipient as Major and Gruppenkommandeur though original documentation was lost in the war's final weeks the award was confirmed postwar by the Gemeinschaft der Jagdflieger. In the collapsing final phase of the Eastern Front he led his Gruppe to Zeltweg Air Base in Austria by 4 May then to American lines at Unterbiberg near Munich on 8 May to surrender and avoid Soviet captivity. He was briefly a prisoner of war and released in June 1945. He was wounded three times overall and shot down four times including once in summer 1943 over Soviet territory where he was captured for two days before escaping during transport and returning to German lines.

After the war Batz married Aenne whose maiden name and exact wedding date are unknown; she died in 1999. They had one son Lothar born in 1950 who died in 1971. In 1956 he joined the newly formed Bundesluftwaffe as a Major. Following training including in the United States he commanded a training squadron at Flugzeugführerschule S from 1958 then Ausbildungsgruppe A at Diepholz from 1959 to 1961. Promoted to Oberstleutnant in 1964 he served as Kommodore of Lufttransportgeschwader 63 from 1 October 1961 to 31 January 1964 then as a staff officer in Lufttransport-Kommando Köln-Wahn involved in planning for the Transall C-160 until his retirement on 30 September 1972. He died on 11 September 1988 in Mauschendorf Bavaria at age 72 and is buried in the family grave at Quettingen cemetery in Leverkusen-Opladen alongside his wife and son.



Source:
Ahrens Hans-Werner. Die Rettungsflieger der Luftwaffe 1956–1971: Konzeption — Aufbau — Einsatz. Norderstedt: Carola Hartmann Miles-Verlag 2019. ISBN 978-3-945861-93-6.  
Ahrens Hans-Werner. Die Transportflieger der Luftwaffe 1956 bis 1971. Konzeption – Aufbau – Einsatz. Norderstedt: Carola Hartmann Miles-Verlag 2019. ISBN 978-3-9458-6185-1.  
Barbas Bernd. Die Geschichte der II. Gruppe des Jagdgeschwaders 52. Eutin: Selbstverlag 2005. ISBN 978-3-923457-71-7.  
Barbas Bernd. Die Geschichte der III. Gruppe des Jagdgeschwaders 52. Eutin: Struve-Druck 2010. ISBN 978-3-923457-94-6.  
Fellgiebel Walther-Peer. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945. Friedberg: Podzun-Pallas 2000. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.  
Horvath Daniel Horvath Gabor. Verified Victories: Top JG 52 Aces Over Hungary 1944–45. Warwick: Helion & Company 2022. ISBN 978-1-915070-87-6.  
Kurowski Franz. Luftwaffe Aces. Winnipeg: J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing 1996. ISBN 978-0-921991-31-1.  
Mathews Andrew Johannes Foreman John. Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 1 A–F. Walton on Thames: Red Kite 2014. ISBN 978-1-906592-18-9.  
Obermaier Ernst. Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939–1945. Mainz: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann 1989. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7.  
Scherzer Veit. Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945. Jena: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag 2007. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.  
Spick Mike. Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books 1996. ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1.  
Weal John. Jagdgeschwader 52: The Experten. Oxford: Osprey Publishing 2004. ISBN 978-1-84176-786-4.  
Zabecki David T. ed. The German War Machine in World War II. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio 2019. ISBN 978-1-4408-6918-1.  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Batz  
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/B/BatzW-R.htm  
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/28243/Batz-Wilhelm-Willi.htm  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aerial_victories_claimed_by_Wilhelm_Batz
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-a-b/#&gid=1&pid=24

Wilhelm Keitel, Giuseppe Bastianini and Dino Alfieri

From left to right: Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel (Chef der Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), Giuseppe Bastianini (Undersecretary at the Italian Foreign Ministry), and Dino Alfieri (Italian ambassador to Berlin). The picture was taken by Walter Frentz in Schloss Klesheim in Salzburg, 8-9 April 1943.

Source :
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-a-b/#&gid=1&pid=23

Giuseppe Bastianini (1899-1961): Italian Politician and Diplomat

Giuseppe Bastianini was born on 8 March 1899 in Perugia, in the Kingdom of Italy. He served in the First World War as a second lieutenant of the Arditi assault units and became a Freemason. He joined the fascist movement at a very young age, rising quickly to become secretary of the Perugia fascio and deputy secretary of the National Fascist Party from 1921 to 1923. During this period he also became a member of the Fascist Grand Council, a position he held until 1927. In his 1923 book Revolution, published by Giorgio Berlutti in Rome, he described the role of the action squads in creating the revolutionary situation that would allow fascism to seize power, writing that the squads, tempered by betrayals and ambushes, had changed from punitive expeditions into agile assault battalions whose task was no longer merely to punish but to strike at the government and parliament in order to legalize the revolution and hand Italy over to those who understood its victorious potential.

Bastianini played a direct part in the preparations for the March on Rome. From August 1922 he helped organize the insurrection. On 29 September in Rome he was among the small group of fascist leaders informed by Benito Mussolini of the planned action. On 24 October in Naples, during the San Carlo congress, he attended the restricted meeting at the Hotel Vesuvio where Mussolini, the quadrumviri, and the three party deputy secretaries approved the final plan. From Naples he returned to Perugia, which had been chosen as the seat of the general command of the march, and on the night of 27-28 October he and other local leaders ordered the occupation of the Umbrian capital. On 28 and 29 October he issued two proclamations to the citizens of Perugia and Umbria: the first urged recognition of the army’s authority, and the second, after King Victor Emmanuel III had invited Mussolini to form a government, announced the fascist victory.

After the seizure of power, Bastianini was appointed head of the Fasci Italiani all’Estero, the organization coordinating fascist activities among Italians living abroad. Under his leadership the movement expanded rapidly, and by 1925 he could report to the Grand Council the existence of groups in forty countries. He urged expatriates to spread authentic fascist ideas wherever they lived, but his activities soon clashed with professional diplomats who resented the politicization of their work. Bastianini openly called for a complete reform of the diplomatic service, insisting that only convinced fascists could be true Italians and that all diplomats must therefore belong to the party. Mussolini eventually adopted a compromise: he dismissed non-fascist diplomats but curtailed the Fasci all’Estero’s powers, restoring authority to the consuls and limiting the organization to ideological instruction, sport, and charity. Bastianini resigned his post in late 1926.

In the same year he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for Umbria and served as undersecretary at the Ministry of National Economy from 1926 to 1927. He was one of the 250 signatories of the Manifesto of Fascist Intellectuals drawn up by Giovanni Gentile in 1925. In 1927 he entered the diplomatic service, first as consul general in the Tangier International Zone, then as Italian envoy to Lisbon from August 1928 to November 1929, and later on missions in Athens. In 1932 he was appointed ambassador to Warsaw, a post he held until 1936. His experience in Poland, a country admired by many Italians for its Catholic traditions, helped persuade Mussolini to delay Italy’s entry into the Second World War. In October 1939 he succeeded Dino Grandi as ambassador to the United Kingdom, where he remained until June 1940. He worked unsuccessfully to keep Italy out of the conflict. Upon his return he volunteered for service on the Greco-Albanian front during the winter campaign and was decorated for military valor. From March 1939 he had also sat as a national councillor in the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations.

On 7 June 1941, following the Axis conquest of Yugoslavia, Bastianini was appointed governor of the newly created Governorate of Dalmatia. His administration pursued a vigorous policy of Italianization. He made Italian mandatory alongside Croatian and Serbo-Croatian in schools, changed Croatian place names and street names to Italian forms, and brought teachers from Italy. He offered scholarships for study in Italy to both Italian and non-Italian Dalmatian students, of whom 52 Italians and 211 Croats and Serbs took advantage. Serbs and Croats considered untrustworthy were expelled or imprisoned. On 11 October 1941 he established the Extraordinary Tribunal of Dalmatia, which within weeks conducted summary trials without proper investigation and imposed forty-eight death sentences, thirty-five of which were carried out immediately. In June 1942 he ordered the creation of the Melada concentration camp, where thousands of civilians seized during anti-partisan operations were interned; about a thousand prisoners died there, three hundred shot as hostages.

Bastianini’s governorship provoked sharply contrasting judgments. Renzo De Felice described him as a capable and realistic administrator, free of gratuitous violence and ready, when possible, to assist local populations and Jews. Yugoslav authorities, however, accused him of war crimes and demanded his extradition after the war. The governorate’s territory allowed several thousand Jews to find refuge in the Italian zone and thus escape deportation by Germans and Ustaše; roughly four thousand were concentrated in the Rab (Arbe) camp, where conditions for Jews were markedly better than for Slav internees. In his later memoirs Bastianini claimed that his protection of Jewish refugees earned him the ironic nickname “honorary Jew” from German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, though no independent historical source corroborates the episode. He clashed repeatedly with Italian military commanders, especially Generals Quirino Armellini and Mario Roatta, over troop dispositions in Split and the respective powers of civilian and military authorities. He eventually secured Armellini’s removal. Bastianini was replaced as governor by Francesco Giunta in February 1943 after a government reshuffle in Rome.

In February 1943 he was recalled to Rome and appointed undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, effectively replacing Galeazzo Ciano while Mussolini nominally retained the portfolio. Because of the Duce’s ill health and heavy workload, Bastianini acted as de facto foreign minister. He proposed two strategies to avert the Allied invasion of Italy: persuading Hitler to negotiate a separate peace with the Soviet Union so German troops could be redeployed to the Mediterranean, or convincing Hitler to allow Italy to withdraw from the war and declare neutrality. Neither idea had any prospect of success. He also attempted to forge a Balkan bloc of minor Axis partners—Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria—under Italian leadership to counterbalance German dominance. At the Feltre meeting on 19 July 1943 he joined Dino Alfieri and General Vittorio Ambrosio in pressing Mussolini to seek an exit from the conflict. When Mussolini refused even to raise the issue with Hitler, Bastianini’s credibility with the Duce suffered further damage. On 24-25 July 1943 he attended the fateful meeting of the Grand Council of Fascism. Although not an enthusiastic conspirator, he declared that Mussolini had ruined Italy through inaction and voted in favor of Dino Grandi’s order of the day, which stripped the Duce of military command and restored full powers to the king.

After Mussolini’s arrest, Bastianini was condemned to death in absentia at the Verona trial of January 1944. He escaped execution by fleeing first to the Chianti hills in Tuscany and then to Switzerland, where he remained until the end of the war. In the immediate postwar period the Yugoslav government of Marshal Tito accused him, together with Generals Mario Roatta and Francesco Giunta, of war crimes committed as governor of Dalmatia. The Italian Investigation Commission for alleged war criminals, set up by the Army Staff and the government, reported on 6 May 1946 that Bastianini’s conduct had been marked by “excessive obedience towards Mussolini” and that he had surrounded himself with fascist elements whose excesses had provoked resentment among the local population. Nevertheless, the Special Court of Assizes in Rome acquitted him of all charges in 1947, as did the Commission for Sanctions against Fascism.

Bastianini lived quietly in the postwar years. In 1959 the small Milanese publisher Vitagliano issued his memoirs under the title Men, Things, Facts: Memoirs of an Ambassador. The book was reissued in 2005 by Rizzoli under the more dramatic title I Wanted to Stop Mussolini, presenting the recollections of a fascist diplomat who claimed he had tried, within the limits of loyalty, to moderate the regime’s course. He died in Milan on 17 December 1961 at the age of sixty-two.



Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Bastianini  
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Bastianini  
https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/giuseppe-bastianini_(Dizionario-Biografico)/  
Bastianini, Giuseppe. Volevo fermare Mussolini. Memorie di un diplomatico fascista. Milan: Rizzoli, 2005.  
Gentile, Emilio. The Struggle for Modernity: Nationalism, Futurism, and Fascism. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003.  
Hibbert, Christopher. Benito Mussolini: The Rise and Fall of Il Duce. London: Penguin Books, 1965.  
Morgan, Philip. The Fall of Mussolini: Italy, the Italians, and the Second World War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.  
Tomasevich, Jozo. War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001.  
Di Sante, Costantino. Italiani senza onore. I crimini in Jugoslavia e i processi negati (1941-1951). Verona: Ombre Corte, 2005.