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Erich Bärenfänger (born January 12, 1915 in Menden ; † May 2, 1945 in Berlin ) was a German officer during the Second World War . Bärenfänger was the youngest army general and second youngest general in the Wehrmacht after Dietrich Peltz . As the bearer of the oak leaves with swords for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross , he was one of the most highly decorated soldiers in the army.

Military career

Erich Bärenfänger's father was a postman in Menden. He was drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1936. After three years of service in the 123rd Infantry Regiment, he was promoted to lieutenant in the reserve in 1939 . Shortly before his release, World War II broke out and Bärenfänger's regiment was transferred to Poland as part of the 50th Infantry Division . In mid-1940 he was awarded the Iron Cross first and second class as a platoon leader .

Shortly after the start of the German-Soviet War , Bärenfänger was promoted to first lieutenant . After a serious wound from a land mine , he was given command of the 7th Company of the 123rd Infantry Regiment in September 1941. Together with Romanian troops belonged to his division to the 11th Army of Erich von Manstein . The unit was involved in the fighting on the Dnepr , Kiev , Perekop , Sevastopol and in the Crimea . In January 1942 he received the Wound Badge in gold after he was wounded three times in a single battle, and in December the German Cross in Gold.

On August 7, 1942, Bärenfänger was awarded the Knight's Cross, his promotion to captain followed a few weeks later, and he was given command of the III. Battalion of his regiment. The 50th Infantry Division was later involved in the fighting in the Caucasus and was almost completely cut off from the Kuban bridgehead . Only in February 1943 was it possible to return across the frozen Sea of ​​Azov . In the spring of 1943, after a breakdown of Romanian units on his flank, he launched a counterattack in which two Soviet regiments were repulsed. As recognition, Bärenfänger received, as the 243rd soldier of the Wehrmacht and 118th member of the army , the oak leaves to the knight's cross and the appointment to major . In the heavy breakthrough battles of the Red Army on the Crimean peninsula, his battalion had to repel several Soviet assaults. In the spring of 1944 his unit took the heavily defended height 133.3 near Kerch . After several days of close combat , the Soviet troops had to withdraw. In January 1944, Bärenfänger was strongly recommended by his division commander, Major General Sixt, for the swords to be awarded the Knight's Cross. He received this award on January 23, 1944 as the 16th Army Officer. On March 4, 1944, he was made an honorary citizen of his hometown Menden.

After the Wehrmacht had cleared the Crimean peninsula, Bärenfänger was transferred to Germany as a lieutenant colonel and initially took part in a regimental commanding course. During the Battle of Berlin in April 1945, he was given the heavily contested defense section A, and later also B. On April 25, 1945, after jumping over the rank of colonel , he was promoted to major general for his services . At thirty he was the army's youngest general. As the commander of Section A in the eastern part of Berlin, he tried to break out to Oranienburg with smaller combat groups on the night of May 2nd or 3rd, 1945 . When the attempt failed, Bärenfänger - a staunch National Socialist - shot himself together with his wife and brother-in-law in the cellar of the Schultheiss brewery in the Prenzlauer Berg district .

Awards

literature

  • Franz Kurowski : Major General Erich Bärenfänger. From lieutenant to general. Flechsig Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2007; ISBN 978-3881897310 .
  • Siegfried Stichling / Karl-Otto Leukefeld: Major General Erich Bärenfänger - a picture of life. Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1994; ISBN 3-7648-2436-0 .
  • Gordon Williamson: Knight's Cross with Diamonds Recipients. Osprey Publishing Ltd., Oxford 2006, German edition: Mathias Lempertz GmbH, Königswinter 2008; ISBN 978-3-939908-81-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Gordon Williamson: Knight's Cross Bearer. Pp. 21-23.
  2. Reinhard Stumpf : The Wehrmacht Elite Structure of rank and origin of the German generals and admirals 1933-1945. (Military history studies), Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1982, ISBN 3-7646-1815-9 , p. 292.
  3. Fritjof Schaulen: Eichenlaubträger 1940-1945. Volume 1, p. 28.
  4. a b c Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 1939–1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 199.