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Afrika Korps RKTs for Kai.

Discussion in 'North Africa and the Mediterranean' started by C.Evans, Mar 13, 2003.

  1. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    Hans-Wilhelm Albers: was born on June 12/ 1912 in Lauenburg, Elbe.

    He entered the Reichswehr on April 1/ 1933 and was in the Artillerie. He was promoted to Leutnant and was in the fighting in Poland. He won both Iron Cross 2nd class and Iron Cross 1st class during the Polich ans Western Campaigns and then from mid 41--was serving on the Eastern Front.

    In Tunisia, he commanded the 1st Battaillon, Artillerie Regiment "Afrika" where the Bataillon was in constant heavy combat.

    Albers served in the Mareth Line which was where his Bataillon stopped an Armored Assault from the British. He went from gun-to-gun, took over as Gunner from a wounded soldier, and knocked out 3 enemy tanks and had prevented a breakthrough by the British. For that, he was awarded the: Knights Cross of the Iron Cross.]

    After Africa fell, Albers served in Sicily and Italy. On May 21/ 1944, after long and difficult nighttime campaigning, Albers lay down beneath a tree for a few moments of rest. His small dof started barking and a sentry fired his weapon in order to scar away the barking dog but, hit Major Albers instead. Albers was seriously wounded and passed away on June 4/ 1944; because of the wounds he recieved.

    Kai, please let me know the rest of the names you wanted this kind of info on as I am now ready to give you what I have.

    I know you had sent me the names before but, somewhere they got lost and I need them again. Please post them here in this topic and ill start getting this stuff for you. :D
     
  2. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    Thanx for that Carl!

    Heh, almost forgot this...
    Sorry!

    Hans Jurgen von Arnim.
    Ernst-Gunther Baade.
    Fritz Bayerlein.
    Georg von Bismarck.
    Stefan Frohlich.
    Walter Fromm.
    "Smiling" Albert Kesselring.
    Herbert Konig.
    Kurt Kuhlmey ( the Ju 87 pilot!!! )
    Walter K. Nehring.
    Theodor Graf von Sponeck.

    ;)
     
  3. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    No problemo Batman and, your request is my honor Sir! ;) :D Below is another :D

    Hans Jurgen von Arnim: Was born on April 4/ 1889 in Ernsdorf, Sileasia. He joined the Army on April 1/ 1908 and was promoted to Leutnant on August 19/ 1909 and served in the 1st Guards Uhlan Foot Regiment.

    He was a Bataillon Adjutant & a Company Commander in the 93rd Reserve Infantry Regiment when ww1 started. He was wounded three times and had eventually became an Adjutant on the Staff of: 4th Guards Infanterie Division, and he won both classes of the Iron Cross.

    He stayed in the military after ww1 and was serving in the Reichswehr on a General Stab & with field forces. In mid to late 1931, he transferred to the Garrison at: Orteslburg, East Prussia as CO of the Light Infanterie units based there. On July 1/ 1934, he was promoted to Oberst and was I.a. 22nd Infanterie Division in Bremen.

    Next he was the CO of the 68th Infanterie Regiment on October 1/ 1935 and on January 1/ 1938, he was promoted to Generalmajor. He next was CO of the Army units based at Schweidnitz.

    When war broke out, he then became the CO of the 52nd Infanterie Division, and was promoted to Generalleutnant on December 1/ 1939 and led his Division in the French Campaign. On OCtober 17/ 1940 he became the CO of the 17th Panzer Division, which he commanded during the invasion of the Soviet Union.

    von Arnim commanded this unit during the fighting for and capturing of Brest Litovsk, Smolensk, Kiev and Briansk. For these successful actions, he was awarded his Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. He was promoted to General der Panzertruppen on October 1/ 1941 and was Co of the 39th Panzerkorps untill he became the commander of the 5th Panzer Armee then located in Tunisia on December 3/ 1943.

    He led these forces against a much more superior allied force till May 12/ 1943. von Arnim went into captivity with his men on May 12/ 1943 and was released sometime in 1947.
     
  4. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    Ernst-Gunther Baade was born in Falkenhagen on August 20, 1897. He joined the Army as an Officers Candidate on August 18/ 1914, and was promoted to Leutnant on August 22/ 1916 and served in the 6th Dragoon Regiment. During ww1 he was wounded several times earning the Black Wound badge and the Silver Wound badges. He earned both classes of the Iron Cross in ww1 as well. He left Army service after the war ended but returned on April 1/ 1924 and being sent to serve in the 14th Kavallerie Regiment in Ludwigslust.

    He was an avid horseman and he earned his Equestrian Horseriders Badge in Silver. On October 1/ 1935, he became a Squadron Commander in the 3rd Kavallerie Regiment,located in Gottingen.

    By the time ww2 was started-- Baade had been promoted to Hauptmann and then to Major and as a Major, he saw action in Poland as a Commander in the 17th Recon Bataillon, 22nd Kavallerie Regiment. On March 1/ 1940, he was promoted to Oberstleutnant and was the CO of the 1st Bicycle Bataillon later renamed: 4th Motorcycle Bataillon, which he also commanded in the invasion of Russia and with this unit; he won his: Deutsches Kreuz im Gelb on March 4/ 1943.

    Baade was sent to the African theater of Ops in April 1942 where he became the CO of 115th Rifle Regiment as an Oberst . For his participation in the capturings of Tobruk and Bir Hacheim, he was awarded his Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. He became the 402nd Recipient of the Oak Leavesat Monte Cassino on February 22/ 1944 as Co of the 90th Panzergrenadier Division. He had taken command of that Division on December 20/ 1943, and on February 1/ 1944, he was promoted to: Generalmajor; and was stationed in the Italian Theater of Operations.

    On Nevember 16/ 1944, he became the 111th Recipient of the Swords and had earlier been promoted to: Generalleutnant. He had been assigned to a class for Commanding generals on December 9, 1944 and when he graduated he became the CO of 76th Armee Korps. While he was commanding this Korps, he was killed by strafing allied aircraft.
     
  5. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    Kai--sorry I havent had much time these last few days--ill try to get a few more done for you by the weekend.
     
  6. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    No problemo, Carl!

    New avatars?

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    And Rommel again...

    [​IMG]

    And Hans-Joachim Marseille

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    :D
     
  7. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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  8. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    Thank you Kai, and before I leave today--ill have something more for you. :D
     
  9. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    Fritz Bayerlein was born in Wurzburg on January 14/ 1899. He was a Staff Officer in the 10th Panzer Division and participated in the campaign in Poland. He bacame I.a. of the 19th Panzer Korps and on October 3, 1941, he began serving under Rommel as I.a of the Afrika Korps.He was awarded his Knights Cross of the Iron Cross on December 26/ 1941. On September 7/ 1942, he was promoted to Chef-des-Stabes of the German-Italian Panzerarmee Afrika.

    On October 23/ 1942, he was awarded his Deutsches Kreuz im Gelb and then on March 7/ 1943, he was Chef des Stabes of the 1st Italian Army and of Armeegruppe Afrika. On July 6/ 1943, he was awarded the Oak Leaves being the 258th recipient and was made a General Staff Oberst. On October 25/ 1943, Bayerlein was serving on the Eastern Front as CO of the 10th Panzer Division.

    On January 10/ 1944, he became the CO of the Panzer Lehr Division leading this fine Division through the Invasion of Normandy through the Battle of the Bulge. During that time he became the 81st recipient of the and was awarded his Swords on July 20/ 1944. Next he became the Commanding general of the 53rd Army Korps serving there until wars ending at the rank of Generalleutnant. Generalleutnant Fritz Bayerlein passed away in Wurzburg on January 31/ 1970.
     
  10. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    Georg von Bismarck was born in Neumuhl, Germany on February 21/ 1891. On November 18/ 1911, von Bismarck was assigned to the 6th Lichte Infanterie Bataillon stationed in Oels, Sileasia. von Bismarck saw his first action as an Officer Candidate at Verdun and then later in the Carpathian Mountains and then in Italy. He was awarded the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords for his brqavery and leadership for storming a heavily defended mountain position.

    Next he served in the Sileasian Frontier Guards, and then he joined the Reichsheer. By 1938 he had already obtained the rank of Oberstleutnant and was transferred to the Konigsberg garrison and became an Officer in the 1st Recon Bataillon. On February 1/ 1939, he was promoted to Oberst.

    In the Polish Campaign, von Bismarck was the CO of the 7th Rifle Regiment, in the 2nd Lichte Infanterie Division--later to become the 7th Panzer Division. It was during this campaign that he recieved his Knights Cross on September 29/ 1940. He was the chap that led a breakthrough to the coast.

    During the Invasion of Russia, von Bismarck was the CO of the 20th Rifle Brigade til December 17/ 1941. He was next assigned onto the Staff of Panzer Armee Afrika on January 5/ 1942. Rommel then made von Bismarck the CO of the 21st Panzer Division. He led this Division in a brave and daring charge to Cyrenaica and almost to El Alamein. He was promoted on August 1/ 1942 to Generalmajor.

    On day two of the on-going attack on El Alamein, (August 31st 1942) von Bismarck was killed in an air attack as he was visiting some of his forward elements of his Division. He was promoted to Generalleutnant. In this same attack, General Walter K. Nehring and Generalmajor Kleemann were also seriously wounded.
     
  11. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    Stefan Frohlich was born in Orsovo, Hungary on October 7/ 1889. He was a student at the Imperial Austrian Pioneer Cadet School in Hainburg 1904 til 1908, when on August 18/ 1908, he became a member of Pioneer Battalion Nr.1. He was promoted to Leutnant on May 1/ 1911 and then was promoted on August 1/ 1914 to Oberleutnant. During ww1, he became highly decorated for his bravery. On July 1/ 1918, he was promoted to Hauptmann.He served as an Instructor at the Imperial Austrian Cadet Academy till wars ending. After the war he then served as an Adjutant and a Kompanie Commander in Pioneer Batallion Nr.2.


    He was promoted on November 1/ 1928 to Major and then promoted to Oberstleutnant in 1933. Starting in 1929, he served in the Federal Ministry of the Army as a Combat Engineer Specialist. Frohlich completed a Pilot Training Course in 1935. In September 1937, he formed the first Flight Training Regiment in Austria and also became the CO of Zeltweg Airbase. He was taken into the Luftwaffe as an Oberstleutnant sometime in March of 1938 and on April 1/ 1939, he was promoted to Oberst. A few weeks later, he became the CO of 1/KG 76.

    He Commanded there through the Polish & French Campaigns taking part in every mission. Frohlich was promoted to Generalmajor on July 1/ 1940 and on July 4/ 1940, he recieved his Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. He was appointed as Fliegerfuhrer Afrika, in February 1941. Till mid-April 1941--there were no fighter units in this theatre but he soon had several Jagdtruppen units in North Afrika. they included: 1/JG 27, 1/JG 53, and for a short time a Gruppe from JG 77.

    Next he was promoted to Generalleutnant on January 1/ 1942 and transferred back to germany where on March 15/ 1942, he oversaw the formation of the 2nd Air Division and much later in the war and as a General der Flieger , he bacame the CO of Luftflotte 10.

    [ 01. April 2003, 02:39 PM: Message edited by: C.Evans ]
     
  12. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    Thanx a lot Carl!

    [​IMG]

    Fritz Bayerlein

    [​IMG]

    receiving the DKiG (23.10.1942) from Rommel
     
  13. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    Your quite welcome Kai--sorry I didnt have time to post more for you today--ill do so on Tuesday. :D
     
  14. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    Walter Fromm was born in Dingelstadt, Thuringia on February 2/ 1910. When he was 18, he entered the Hannover-Munden Polizei Academy. In 1935, he was then a member of an Anti-aircraft unit in which he saw action in Spain as a member of the Condor Legion. During his service in Spain--he was awarded the Spanish Cross with Swords in Silver. He was next seeing servin=ce as a Regimental Adjutant oon the 202nd Flak Regiment during the campaign in the West. He became the CO of 1st Battalion, 33rd Motorized Flak Regiment in October 1940.


    On February 19/ 1941, he became one of the first german Soldiers to step on African soil. His battalion destroyed 92 enemy tanks during the 3 day Battle of Sollum. On July 9/ 1941, Fromm was awarded his Knights Cross. He was badly wounded during the winter advance in 1941 during the attack of El Hamid and was flow out of Africa to recooperate. His next command was as CO of the 697th Flak Battalion located in Furth. His next assignment was as the Instruction Group Commander at Air Warfare School VI/Kitzingen.

    In that period of time--he had been promoted to Major and after requesting--he then became the Co of the 69th Motorized Flak Regiment then located in Marseille, France. He was in charge of the Anti-Aircrafe defense from the Rhone River to the Italian border. On August 27/ 1944, Fromm was captured by French troops and was the victim of several attempts of the French soldiers to steal his Knights Cross. He was released in 1951 and then he rejoined the Police. He organized the 7th reunion of the German Afrika Korps in Munster.

    More later.
     
  15. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    Battle of Sollum ( Battleaxe )

    http://www.superevil.tv/rommel/rommel4.htm

    Wavell constructed an offensive nicknamed Operation Battleaxe to take place in the summer of '41, also known as the Battle of Sollum. This was to be a major attack with almost all of England's Tank Divisions and a large number of infantry support. Their main objective was to lift the siege on Torburk and allow the garrison there to join the attack on the flank, but they also had high hopes of having a decisive victory in North Africa and destroying the Africka Korps. The largest tank battle the world has ever seen was about to take place, and this was exactly the type of warfare Rommel was made for.

    The battle started with the concentrated attack on German and Italian Infantry positions at Halfaya Pass and Sollum. They put up a valiant defense at Sollum but were pushed back by the sheer number of of tanks in the 7th and 4th Armored Division and mechanized infantry units of the 22nd.Guards. The troops at the pass held on though heavy attacks and caused the 11th Indian Brigade to suffer some grievous casualties. After the fall of Sollum, the tank units joined up and headed towards Capuzzo. Before they could reach the city they met the 8th Panzer Regiment (from the 15th Panzer Division) and a violent tank battle took place. Although many British tanks were knocked out of action, only 30 of the original 80 Panzer tanks survived the battle and had to relent and give up Capuzzo. Rommel's plan from the outset was to avoid face to face battle and to ignore their attempt to break through to Tobruk while concentrating a attack with the 15th Panzer and the 5th Light Mechanized Infantry. He did this at at Sidi Suleiman and took the British by complete surprise. Another large tank battle occurred and a great amount of the faster British Mark VI Cruisers were destroyed. The forces who were on route north had to be called back or risk being cut off from their supply routes. At this point, Rommel put the British at a very awkward position as he drove his units towards the Halfaya Pass to tighten the net that they had now set. The British fell back in a panic and withdrew from Cappuzzo after setting fire to their stores. Due to being cut off from supply, many vehicles were abandoned and littered the desert. Once the German forces reached the Pass, they attacked north from both side. When Rommel heard of this he was furious. Instead of closing the trap and handing the English a total defeat, this allowed many units a chance to escape from the west in the gap from Sid Omar to Sidi Suleiman. Nevertheless, the Afrika Korps had won the 3 day Battle of Sollum and destroyed over two-thirds of the British amour and killed and captured a large number of troops while only losing a fraction of that .

    Although many would be quick to blame General Wavell's attack plan for the failure of the Battle of Sollum, (Churchill certainly did, and replaced him with Auchinleck), Rommel had nothing but praise for Wavell's execution and sited other factors such as tank speed as the reason for their loss:

    "Wavell's strategic planning of this offensive had been excellent. What distinguished him from other British army commanders was his great and well- balanced strategic courage, which permitted him to concentrate his forces regardless of his opponent's possible moves. He knew very well the necessity of avoiding any operation which would enable his opponent to fight on interior lines and destroy his formations one by one with locally superior concentrations. But he was put at a great disadvantage by the slow speed of his heavy infantry tanks, which prevented him from reacting quickly enough to the moves of our faster vehicles. Hence the slow speed of the bulk of his amour was his soft spot, which we could seek to exploit tactically."

    [​IMG]

    http://www.btinternet.com/~ian.a.paterson/battles1941.htm
     
  16. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    Albert "Smiling Albert" Kesselring was born in Markstadt on November 13/ 1885. In June of 1904--he finished his schooling in Bayreuth and joined the Imperial German Armys, 2nd Bavarian Fuss Artillerie Regiment 1 then located in Metz. While attending the Artillerie und Pioneering Schule/Munich he had also had special training as a Beobachter (Balloon Observer).

    In ww1 Kesselring had already been promoted to Oberleutnant and was serving as an Adjutant to the Bavarian General of Fuss Artillerie 1. He was promoted to Hauptmann in early 1917, and was transferred to Artillerie Commander 3 and served as a member of the Cease-fire Commission which was negotiating with the Imperial Russian Military. After the war ended, Kesselring stayed in the military to become a member of the Reichswehr. He was promoted to Major on october 1/ 1922 and in 1930 was promoted to Oberst and became the CO of the 4th Artillerie Regiment/Dresden.

    On October 1/ 1933, he left service with the Army and joined the Luftwaffe, serving as a member of the Reich Air Ministry's D-Amt. Kesselring became Chief of the Luftwaffe Administration Office. Sometime in 1936, he was made the Luftwaffe Chef des Stabes. When ww2 started--he was the Commander-in-Chief, Luftflotte 1 leading it through the Polish Campaign. Kesselring recieved his Knights Cross of the Iron Cross on September 30/ 1939 at the rank of General der Flieger with Luftflotte 1.

    By January 1940--he was then the Co of Luftflotte 2 leading it through the Western Campaigh, the Battle of Britain and the early stages of the war in Russia. Near the ending of 1941, he became the Commander in Chief-South which means that he was now working very closely with the Afrika Korps as it fell into the area of his command. Kesselring was a strong supporter of Erwin Rommel who in turn made him an honorary "Afrikanier." Kesselring became the 78th Soldier to be a Recipient of the Oak Leaves on February 25/ 1942 as a Generalfeldmarschall.

    On July 18/ 1942, he became the 15th Recipient of the Swords to his Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. On June 13/ 1943, he became the Commander-in-chief of Armee Grupp C. On July 19/ 1944, he became the 14th Soldier to recieve his Diamonds to his Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. On January 15/ 1945, Kesselring became the Supreme Commander of all the military forces in Italy. His next command was as Commander-in-Chief West on Marcvh 9/ 1945. He was made a Prisoner of War on May 2/ 1945 and was handed over to the British.

    "Smiling" Albert Kesselring was no longer "smiling" as he then had to endure a series of trials, internment and imprisonment, before he was finally released. He passed away on July 15/ 1960 in Bad Wiesee. Some of his other decorations included: Pilots badge with Diamonds and a Flyers Clasp.
     
  17. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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  18. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    Great pics Kai--too bad that whomever printed the 1st picture--did so backwards--notice his breast eagle is on the wrong pocket? and his Clasp is on the wrong pocket?
     
  19. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    Indeed Carl,

    I was personally so hypnotized by his smile that I did not notice...

    :D :D and :D
     
  20. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    Just thought id point that out :D

    I just realized I forgot to bring my stuff with me today--so ill do a few for you tomorrow. ;)
     

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