Erich Balla

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Erich Balla (born March 15, 1885 in Pülz , Rastenburg district , East Prussia ; † August 11, 1943 near Białystok ) was a German officer , most recently major general in World War II . In 1919 he was the commander of a battalion of the " Iron Division ".

Life

Balla joined the 1st Jäger Battalion as a flag boy on February 28, 1905 . Further promotions were made to ensign on October 18, 1905, lieutenant on August 18, 1906, first lieutenant on February 17, 1914 and captain on June 18, 1915. At the end of the First World War , he led a battalion as commander and was appointed on March 21, 1921 adopted from the service.

At the beginning of the Weimar Republic , Balla served as battalion commander in the "Iron Division" in the Baltic States .

On February 1, 1934, Balla was reactivated and taken over as a major in the army of the Wehrmacht . Here he served in the military replacement inspection in Königsberg . He was later transferred to Tilsit as a training manager . In this function he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on April 1, 1939 .

With the beginning of World War II, Balla took over the 301 Infantry Regiment, the 206th Infantry Division . During the attack on Poland, this division was subordinate to the reserve of Army Group North . He then took part with his regiment in the western campaign as an OKH reserve. In the war against the Soviet Union , his regiment was deployed in Army Group North. There he became a colonel on February 1, 1942 . From November 1, 1942, he was transferred to the Führerreserve . On May 14, 1943 he was appointed commander of the 11th Grenadier Replacement Training Regiment in Bialystok.

Erich Balla died there on August 11, 1943, possibly fighting partisans. His physical remains have not been recovered to this day.

Awards (incomplete)

Works

  • In the Yorckian spirit: The German soldier and his soul , Verlag Deutscher Jägerbund, Berlin, 1926.
  • We became Landsknechte ...: Adventures from the Baltic States , Verlag Tradition, Berlin, 1932.

literature

  • Dermot Bradley: Die Generale des Heeres 1921–1945 Volume 1 Abberger-Bitthorn , Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1993, ISBN 3-7648-2423-9 , p. 181.

Individual evidence

  1. Kürschner's German Literature Calendar 1937/38. Walter de Gruyter: Berlin, Leipzig 1937, column 29.
  2. ^ Albert Norden: Between Berlin and Moscow , Dietz Verlag, 1954, p. 251.