Albert Bach

This article deals with the Austrian general Albert Bach. For the German politician see Albert Friedrich Bach .

Albert Bach (born November 29, 1910 in Treffen , Carinthia ; † July 22, 2003 in Graz ) was an Austrian infantry general and from 1963 to 1972 commander of Group II (Styria, Carinthia) in Graz.

Life

After graduating from high school , Bach joined the armed forces in 1931 , graduated from the Theresian Military Academy from 1932 to 1935 and was retired on September 1, 1935 as a lieutenant in the Carinthian Infantry Regiment No. 7. At the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch , he was the team leader of the Austrian Olympic team for military ski patrols and took fourth place with her.

After the occupation of Austria in 1938 by the German Reich, he was a first lieutenant in the German armed forces . He participated in the attack on Poland in 1939 with the Mountain Infantry Regiment 139 and the Narvik company in 1940 in the staff of the 3rd Mountain Division . From autumn 1940 to early 1941 he completed the general staff course as a captain at the Berlin War School. Then he took part in the staff of the 12th Army in the Balkan campaign and in the landing on Crete . In the campaign against the Soviet Union in 1941 during the advance through the Baltic States, he was second general staff officer of the 30th Infantry Division , in 1942 first general staff officer of an army corps in the fighting around Demyansk and from May 1943 to August 1944 during the defensive battles in northwestern Russia and the retreat in the Baltic states 1st General Staff Officer of the 30th Infantry Division. At the end of November 1943 he became lieutenant colonel i. G. From September 1944 until the end of the war he was 1st General Staff Officer of the 16th Army , which was involved in the fighting around Riga and in the defensive battles in Courland. In May 1945 he was taken prisoner by the Soviets, from which he was released in 1948.

After working in the private sector, Bach joined the army of the Second Republic on July 26, 1956 and became head of the organization department. From March 1, 1958 to July 1, 1961, he was the deputy head of Section II and thus the closest advisor to General Troop Inspector General of the Infantry Erwin Fussenegger . During this time he was significantly involved in building the new army of the second republic. After the changes in the department under Federal Minister Karl Schleinzer , which led to a restriction of the competencies of the General Troop Inspector, there was no more room for Bach in the ministry and he was entrusted with the command of the higher officer courses. He devoted himself to his new use without resentment. He brought the 3rd general staff course to a successful conclusion and converted the previous modest course command into a new educational institution for the army - the staff academy. On July 1, 1961, he became the commandant of the new facility, from which the later National Defense Academy emerged, the basis of which he had laid with his development work.

On July 15, 1963 he was appointed commander of Group II (Styria and Carinthia) and on January 1, 1964, he was promoted to major general . Again he devoted himself to his new area of ​​activity and put the stamp of his personality on his association. In the years under his command, the power of the troops was strengthened in numerous exercises through didactic impulses and the level of training raised. On January 1, 1969, he was promoted to General of the Infantry .

During the efforts to reform the armed forces, triggered by the shortening of the service in 1970, the general got involved in the reform commission and tried to propose an appropriate solution through detailed memoranda. After his efforts were unsuccessful, in 1972 he demonstratively asked the Federal Minister to be relieved of his position because of his serious concerns about the planned restructuring of the force. This happened and at the end of the year he retired.

Only those in the immediate vicinity knew that Bach was not only an impressive military personality, but also had broad cultural interests and an above-average artistic talent, which he expressed primarily as a subtle watercolorist.

Awards

• Bronze medal for services to the Republic of Austria
• 1940: Iron Cross 2nd and 1st class
• 1943: German cross in gold
• Decoration of honor for services to the Republic of Austria (expression unknown)
• Ring of Honor of the State of Styria

literature

• Stefan Bader: At the highest level ... The generals of the Federal Army of the Second Republic. Gra & Wis, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-902455-02-0 , p. 36 ff.