Poland 1939: KIA German officers

[Njorl]

Hello,

here's an excerpt from list of officer losses (only those marked as "tot") of VII A.K. (T-314 R-342, frame 000571). The name of this document is not known - the document itself has been partly damaged by fire and 2 out of 18 names are missing as well (one of them could be Stabsarzt Dr. Eugen Götzl, Truppenarzt II./AR 43).

I also tried to find "matching" names from Master List. Some pairs, like Kaiser-Kayser and Toeber-Toebert, require cross-checking, though.

Hermann, rank unknown (document damaged)

Herrmann Horst, 14.10.1914, Lt., -, -, 07.09.1939 (Udorz), VB

Deninde, Lt.

Beninde Max-Joachim, 30.11.1905, Lt. d. R., -, -, 07.09.1939 (Podgorze), VB

Schneider, Obstlt.

Schneider Karl Anton, 15.10.1895 (Schweinfurt), Obstlt. (VB fälschlich Oblt.), Kdr. I./I. R. 40 and "oddział specjalny Schneider" ("Task Force Schneider"), 27. Div., 09.09.1939 (Busko Zdroj), VB (Grablage: Pulawy), Chronik des Regiments

Hülke, Lt.

Zühlke Heinz, 25.09.1916, Oblt., -, -, 09.09.1939 (Bronina), VB

Janssen, Hptm.

Janssen Armin, 04.11.1904, Hptm., -, -, 11.09.1939, VB

Menzel, Lt.

Menzel Wilhelm, 13.12.1916, Lt., -, -, 11.09.1939 (Osiek/Polen), VB

Dorsch, Lt. d. R.

Dorsch Georg, 20.08.1907, Oblt., -, -, 12.09.1939 (Vorwerk Speranda, pow.: Sandomierz), VB

Steffen, Lt. d. R.

Steffen Wilhelm, 27.08.1903, Lt., -, -, 14.09.1939 (Skowieczyn / San), VB

Kaiser, Hptm.

Kayser Hans-Werner, 19.05.1900, Hptm. d. R., -, -, 20.09.1939, VB

Pflüger, Lt.

Pflüger Wolfgang, 21.11.1916, Lt., -, -, 24.09.1939 (Feldlaz. 27), VB

Krampf, Lt.

Krampf Franz, 24.11.1916, Lt., -, -, 21.09.1939 (b. Labunie), VB

Breithaupt, Oblt.

Breithaupt Eberhard, 24.04.1914, Oblt., -, -, 22.09.1939 (Labunie), VB

Toeber, Oblt.

Toebert Lothar, 15.08.1896, Maj., -, -, 24.09.1939 (Suchowola), VB

Scholz-Madang, Lt.

Scholz-Madang Fedor, 25.02.1917, Lt., -, -, 24.09.1939 (Suchowola), VB

Weber, Maj.

Weber Hanns, 08.12.1900, Maj., Kdr. III./I. R. 40, 27. Div., 07.10.1939 (Feldlaz. Lublin), VB

Güthe, Lt.

Güthe Heinz, 01.02.1903, Lt., with Pz Abw Abt 168, 68 ID, -, 29.09.1939 (Dzwola), VB, KTB Korpsarzt VII Korps

Regards,
MJU

[nimbuss]

Hallo,
there are some new info from Verlustliste der 46. Infanterie-Division. I write info about two new officers and additional info about known ones. I skip many officers that are well identified yet at our list.

New ones (but I am not sure we can treat the second one as officer ?):

von Stammer, - , Lt., A.A.46 [46.Inf.Div.], 01.09.1939, Verlustliste der 46. Infanterie-Division
Rutenberg, - , San. Fähnr., I.R.72 [46.Inf.Div.], 27.09.1939, Verlustliste der 46. Infanterie-Division


And now some additional info about known officers:

These officers were from I.R.72:

Seifert Horst, 15.02.1914, Oblt., -, -, 12.09.1939 (Matyldzin), VB

Kühling Werner, 20.08.1916, Lt., -, -, 25.09.1939 (Warschau Fort 9), VB

Szemkus Erich, 16.12.1902, Oblt. d. R., -, -, 27.09.1939 (Südfront Warschau), VB

Köberlin Wilhelm, 29.10.1912, Oblt., -, -, 27.09.1939 (Park Sieleckie/Südrand Warschau), VB

This officer was from I.R.97:

Engewald Richard, 08.02.1902, Lt., -, -, 04.09.1939 (Tschenstochau), VB

This officer was from A.R.115:

Buck Rolf, 05.02.1916, Oblt., -, -, 12.09.1939, VB

This officer was from Pi.88:

Fannenböck Franz, 31.10.1916, Lt., -, -, 27.09.1939 (Warschau-Süd), VB

[Ste]

Oberleutnant Gustav Freiherr von Wagner-Wehrborn
Source: http://www.denkmalprojekt.org/images/Do ... Gustav.jpg

[Piotr Kapuscinski]

Oberleutnant Gustav Freiherr von Wagner-Wehrborn
Source: http://www.denkmalprojekt.org/images/Do ... Gustav.jpg

von Wagner-Wehrborn Gustav, 03.05.1897, Oblt. d. R.(also NSKK-Obersturnführer), -, -, 11.09.1939-12.09.1939 (b. Korczyna), VB

Was he from 1. Gebirgs-Division? But fights near Korczyna (between elements of perhaps 1. Gebirgs-Division and elements of 2. Brygada Górska) took place on 08.09.1939 according to Polish sources.

Maybe he died of wounds 3 days later?

[manage1]

Hi all on this longtime thread.

There is a mention several times here that a Major Armand du Plessis Kdr I.Inf.Regt 30 was killed in Poland on 6/9/1939 however unless there were 2 with the same name and in the same Regiment, it appears that du Plessis was still alive (or at least still being promoted and awarded) well after his supposed death?

du Pressis of the Inf.Regt.30 was still listed in the 1941, 41, 42, 43 and 44 Dals, achieving the rank of,
Obst/Lt 1/6/1941 (22)
Oberst 1/1/1943 (16) promotion also noted in my 42 Dal

He was also awarded the German Cross in Gold 24/8/1944 whilst commanding Grenadier-Feldausbildungs-Regiment 639.

Can anyone clarify this situation?

Thanks

Manage1



in 1944 as per DAL 1/5/44 having gained the rank of Obst/Lt Oberst 1/1/1943 (16) as well as being awarded the German Cross in Gold 24/8/1944

[manage1]

Sorry guys a later reading of a different section of this thread answered my question

Regards

Peter

[Piotr Kapuscinski]

One apparently new, but not yet fully confirmed, officer to the Research Section:

- observer Lt. Heinz Bierey from 2.(H)/31 (Brieg) ---> Luftwaffe

WIA on 01.09.1939 when his plane was damaged in combat over Bzie (near Pszczyna / Pless) by ground-to-air fire from Strumień and then had a forced landing behind Polish lines (between Bzie Zameckie and Pawłowice, ca. 4 - 5 km west of Jastrzębie Zdrój).

His plane was most probably a Hs 126, but it could be also a He 46 (according to other sources).

According to this forum post by user kadam linked below, Lt. Heinz Bierey later died of wounds:

http://www.dws.org.pl/viewtopic.php?f=5 ... m#p1654705

Source for this info seems to be "Krakowski III/2 Dywizjon Myśliwski" by Łukasz Łydżba.

[Piotr Kapuscinski]

Who was commander of 3./IR.94 (32 ID) in 1939 ??? I have information that he was KIA on 03.09.1939.

We most probably already have him listed, but we have not yet identified him as commander of 3./IR.94.

32 ID lost in total 8 KIA and 27 WIA officers in Poland - AFAIK, we have only 6 of those 8 KIA identified so far.

Only 2 of these 6 identified officers, are listed as officers of IR.94 - and no of them is listed as KIA on 03.09.1939.

===========================================================

Excerpt from:

32.Inf.Div.: engages enemy forces escaped from the Tucheler pocket. Inf.Rgt.94 cuts off the retreat road Schwetz – Bromberg. The machineguns open fire at 1500m distance and the infantry attacks. After suffering heavy losses the enemy forces surrender. Several polish soldiers fled and resist in a farmhouse. The 3./I.R.94 attacks and suffers havy losses including the Kp.Chef. After heavy fighting the last 14 defenders surrender to the 3.Kp. The Kp. lost 1 officer, 10 men KIA, 1 officer, 15 men WIA.

Or maybe commander of 3./IR.94 was the wounded officer, not the killed one?

[Heimatschuss]

Hello,

I've found the unit for another officer now:

von Ostau Ludwig Heinrich, 09.01.1905, Lt., -, -, 08.09.1939, VB

Ludwig-Heinrich Guiskard Hans Fabian Eugen von Ostau
* Dretzel 09.01.1905
+ KIA at Odrzywol near Nowe-Miasto, Poland, 08.09.1939
Oberlt. d. Res. in Aufklärungs-Abteilung 13

Source:
Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels
Volume 76
Verlag C.A. Starke; Limburg/Lahn; 1981, p.403

Best regards
Torsten

[Heimatschuss]

Hello,

Hi Bernd,

Maybe we have one new officer:

Oberst Freiherr von Wachtmeister, commandant X C in Lübeck, lost his son during the Polish Campaign in 1939.

Probably his son was an officer, but he is not listed by Volksbund.

But I think that it shouldn't be so hard to check, von Wachtmeister was important and had a rare surname.

Hello,

this is falsified. Maybe sth. got lost in translation. Oberst Erik Freiherr von Wachtmeister (24.11.1880-26.06.1953) lost his son Elof Freiherr von Wachtmeister, born on 14.01.1904 on 18.04.1940 on the Western front, as Lt. in the I. R. 12. Of interest Elof possibly led a Spähtrupp in French territory. According to GHdA he was KIA in Jungenwald near Berweiler / Mosel in Lothringen, a German settled area in Lorraine/France.

A further officer listed in the Stellenbesetzung (Axel *14.12.1911) survived the war as Major. He was Lt. in the II./A. R. 67.

Both officers: 31. Division.

Regards!
Jürgen

the colonel commanding Oflag X/C in Lübeck actually was Oberst Axel Freiherr von Wachtmeister (Fey, 1989, p.17), the older brother of Erik Freiherr von Wachtmeister. But it doesn't look like he had any son. Here's what I could piece together on him from several volumes of Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels (GHdA) and some websites, in particular http://www.adelsvapen.com/genealogi/Wac ... _31#TAB_16

Axel Albrecht (or Albert?) Wilhelm Freiherr von Wachtmeister
* 09.09.1869 in Reichenbach/Silesia
+ 09.05.1945 in ??? (from exhaustion during the flight west or as a consequence of Gestapo imprisonment, accounts vary)

His grave must be on the war cemetery in Güstrow (http://www.volksbund.de):

Freiherr von Wachtmeister ruht auf der Kriegsgräberstätte in Güstrow - Rostocker Chaussee. Endgrablage: Block 9 Reihe 5 Grab 2

Nachname: Freiherr von Wachtmeister
Geburtsdatum: 1869
Todes-/Vermisstendatum: 1945
Todes-/Vermisstenort: nicht verzeichnet

1st marriage on 11.01.1894 at Ober-Lahnstein to Luise Lessing, (* 1876, + ...), daughter of industrialist Anton Lessing and his wife Lydia de Cuyper. Marriage divorced on ... at Thorn.
No mention of any children from this relationship.

2nd marriage on 08.10.1907 at Berlin to Anna Wilhelmina Sofia von Dewitz, (* 03.02.1879 in Bonn, + 23.11.1956 in Bad Godesberg), daughter of Otto von Dewitz and his wife Wilhelmine von Zaborowski.
children:
a) Sigrid Wilhelmina Elsa Ingeborg (* 09.09.1908 in Pasewalk, + 27.12.1923 in Berlin)
b) Barbara Sascha Margarethe (* 25.9.1913 in Cologne; + 2002) (marriage on 18.10.1937 in Bochum to Rudolf Wilhelm Fey (* 07.05.1914 in Bochum, + 20.07.1999)

The Wachtmeister couple also had two children from Anna's first marriage with Heinrich von Ostau:
a) Ruth von Ostau (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_von_Ostau)
b) Joachim von Ostau (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_von_Ostau)
but they both survived WW II as did their spouses, Ruth's children and even the spouses of those.

The only 'relative' of Wachtmeister to die in the Polish campaign of 1939 I've found (in an admittedly not totally exhaustive search) was Ludwig-Heinrich von Ostau (http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 5#p1835475). He was a remote relative (1st cousin once removed) of the first husband of Wachtmeister's second wife, Anna von Dewitz. The uncle of this husband Heinrich Paul Albrecht von Ostau (* 09.06.1873 in Osselwitz, + 03.10.1924 in Runina (Hungary?), Eugen von Ostau, also was the grandfather of Ludwig-Heinrich von Ostau. That's as close as I could get. It's not very close I must say.

Presumably Jürgen is right with his assumption that there was a translation error/misunderstanding and Axel von Wachtmeister actually referred to his nephew Elof von Wachtmeister.

References:

Fey, Rudolf
Ein Totgesagter kehrt zurück.
Militärverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik; (East) Berlin; 1989

Best regards
Torsten

[nimbuss]

Fuhrmann Kurt, 13.11.1915, Oblt., -, -, 09.09.1939 (b. Swierze Gorne), VB

He was from Pz.Abw.Abt.41 [1.le.Div.], as we can see at the picture.
http://www.ebay.de/itm/J429-Polen-Feldz ... 565e1d7c25

[Ste]

According to: http://forum.panzer-archiv.de/viewtopic.php?p=193187
Leutnant Adalbert von Krane was from Infanterie Regiment 12 (31.Infanterie Division)

Leutnant Franz Krampf - Infanterie Regiment 40 (27.Infanterie Division)

Leutnant Werner Kühling - Infanterie Regiment 72 (46.Infanterie Division)

Oberleutnant Kurt Kuntzen - Infanterie Regiment 8 (3.Infanterie Division)

[Heimatschuss]

Hello,

During the failed counterattack on Sierakow on 19.09.1939 German Panzer-Abteilung 65. lost major part of its tanks which took part in the attack (mainly 1. Kp.) knocked out (according to Oberst Bade; Polish accounts confirm very heavy losses inflicted to German tanks during that battle) and 28 - 25 men - including 6 officers (2 KIA - including one Kp. Chef / 4 WIA), 5 NCOs (3 KIA / 2 WIA) and 17 - 14 privates (6 KIA / 8 WIA + 3 MIA ?).

I am almost shure that this KIA Kp. Chef was the commander of 1./Panzer-Abteilung 65. - Hauptmann Kraus.

Chefs of other companies from Panzer-Abteilung 65. were:

2. Kompanie - ?
3. Kompanie - Hauptmann Erich Löwe
4. Kompanie - Oberleutnant von Hagen
Stabskompanie - Hauptmann von Kriegsheim

Hi!

That´s highly interesting. What is the source for stating that 1 Kp. Kdr. was KIA, please?

St: v. Kriegsheim
1: Krauß
2: Anhalt
3: Löwe
4: Hagen (without "von"!!!)

Nachname: von Kriegsheim
Vorname: Falk
Dienstgrad: Hauptmann
Geburtsdatum: 13.10.1908
Geburtsort: Spandau
Todes-/Vermisstendatum: 19.09.1939
Todes-/Vermisstenort:

Falk von Kriegsheim ruht auf der Kriegsgräberstätte in Stuttgart ...

It implicitely appears to be Falk von Kriegsheim although the necessary explicite confirmation is not here. I prefer research section, what do you say Bernd?

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 7#p1316047

supplement by me : 1./65 definitely makes more sense - Stab.Kp wasn't a combat company, not an ordinary company for an attack at least (exceptions for single officers from Stab.Kp taking over an ad-hoc command, etc. etc.).
The second officer is not named. My thesis : a Zugführer i. d. 1./65, most likely ranked Leutnant ; possibly he is listed already - date 19.09., near Sierakow.

(http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 7#p1316727

Good idea. There are two suitable candidates

Leutnant Julius Büsing 09.1939 (Laski-Sierakow) (He's been already discussed without a final result.)
Leutnant d.R. Joachim Hauck 19.09.1939 (Sierakow) (Looks very promising to me.)

BTW, it seems the encounter at Sierakow claimed the life of a third German officer besides the two KIA.

Hauptmann Heinz Hagen, commander of 4./Panzer-Abteilung 65 died of wounds in a Berlin hospital on Dec 2nd, 1939.
http://www.denkmalprojekt.org/2012/10.% ... sheer.html
So far he's not even in the research section because he's missing from the Volksbund database. It's very likely his death was a late result of the engagement at Sierakow.

Best regards
Torsten

[Piotr Kapuscinski]

Good find Torsten!

So we can add Hptm. Heinz Hagen to the list - but to the Research Section at first, I suppose. What do you think?

Best regards
Peter

[Stauffenberg II]

Dear mods!

Could you please do me a favour. There is a mislisting of general staff officers in most sources re AOK 14. Therefore my list on page 1 of all major positions contains an error:

14. Armee List (Wilhelm), Gen. Oberst
Ch. d. Gen. St. von Mackensen (Eberhard), Gen. Maj. >Offz. z. Vfg. d. Ob. d. H., z. Vfg. d. Ob. Bef. d. H. Gru. 5<
Ia Wöhler (Otto), Oberst i. G.
O Qu Zellner (Emil), Oberst i. G.
Ic Freiherr von Gersdorff (Rudolph Christoph), Hptm. i. G. >Kr. Akad.<
Koluft Pistorius (Robert), Oberst

Could you please show Schmidt-Richberg (Erich), Maj. i. G. >Ib VI. A. K.< as Ic instead of Frhr. v. Gersdorff. Frhr. v. Gersdorff, a very junior officer at this stage, held the position of O3 instead.

Thank you very much.
Jürgen