Friedrich Lengfeld

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Portrait of Friedrich Lengfeld. Taken at the grave site ( Düren-Rölsdorf cemetery )

Friedrich Lengfeld (born September 29, 1921 in Grunwald , Glatz district , Lower Silesia Province ; † November 12, 1944 in Froitzheim ) was a lieutenant in the Wehrmacht and company commander of the 2nd company of the fusilier battalion of the 275th Infantry Division . In the All Souls Battle for the village of Schmidt , he was killed trying to save a wounded American soldier from a minefield.

Military career

Little is known about his early military career to this day (December 2017), but the inscription on his identification tag (No. 1406 1st Geb.Jäg.Ers.Btl.98) suggests that he was part of the Gebirgsjäger-Ersatz staff unit -Bataillon I./98 in Mittenwald , which was part of the 8th Mountain Division . Lengfeld was wounded and awarded several times on various frontline missions in Russia . In 1944 Lengfeld was assigned to the 275th Infantry Division established in France.

Battle in the Huertgen Forest

The course of the battle in the Hürtgenwald (1944)

Friedrich Lengfeld was company commander of the 2nd Company of the 275th Infantry Division during the fighting at the Battle of the Hürtgenwald . This was used in November 1944 around the minefield (internal place name: Wilde Sau ) and forester's house Hürtgen .

On the afternoon of November 2nd, the German troops built a line of defense that led from the Wilde Sau minefield to the west side of the road. A machine gun nest protected the mine-free alley that now leads to the cemetery. The supply route for the American troops was the old Zweifaller Straße , via which heavy tracked vehicles could be brought to the front during the fighting . The attack on Hürtgen, which started from here on November 2, 1944, was stopped a little later by the Germans in the area of ​​the Wilde Sau minefield . The minefield stopped the advance of the American 109th Infantry Regiment .

On November 3rd, the 116th Panzer Division "Greyhounds" recaptured the torn front between Schmidt and Huertgen. On November 4th, the counter-attacks by American forces began. Heavy fighting raged in the area between Vossenack and Schmidt , accompanied by artillery strikes and tank battles. The US Army Air Corps took part in the ground fighting due to its air superiority , but had to discontinue air support due to the very bad weather .

After heavy losses of the 109th Infantry Regiment , the front section was taken over on November 7th and 8th by the 12th Infantry Regiment of the 4th US Infantry Division . Lieutenant Lengfeld and his messenger , Hubert Gees, led a patrol to an American outpost that had not yet been reoccupied by the US Army. Around noon on November 10, the German commanders opened a half-hour heavy artillery bombardment at the head of the forest and on the American front line southwest of Hürtgen . This was a new attempt to push the Americans back by all means available. Lieutenant Lengfeld's company was besieged by American troops (12th US Infantry Regiment). The strategically important forester's house changed hands several times during the battles . On the night of November 12th, the American troops briefly retook the Hürtgen forester's lodge, but were repulsed by the Germans in the morning hours.

On the morning of November 12, 1944, the German soldiers heard calls for help and screams of pain from the Wilde Sau minefield . It was a wounded American soldier who was calling for help on the bank of the eastern road, in the middle of no man's land between the front line . Lieutenant Lengfeld gave the order under no circumstances to shoot any American medics who might be approaching , so that they could rescue and treat the wounded soldier.

Since around 10:30 a.m. local time the wounded soldier's calls for help continued even after hours, Lieutenant Lengfeld ordered his own paramedics to form a rescue team. He led this troop under the symbol of the Red Cross past his own tank mines , the location of which was relatively easy to see. When Lengfeld crossed the street at the level of the seriously wounded American, a rifle mine tore him to the ground. The shrapnel effects of the anti-personnel mine caused serious internal injuries to Lengfeld. As quickly as possible, under the leadership of a slightly injured NCO, he was taken to the Lukas-Mühle dressing station and later to the main dressing station in Froitzheim , where his death was determined. Friedrich Lengfeld rests on the Düren-Rölsdorf war cemetery (final grave location: grave 38).

Honors

At the Hürtgen Cemetery of Honor there is a memorial in his honor , which the Veterans Association of the 22nd US Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division had erected on October 7, 1994 in honor of Lengfeld. This and the monument in honor of Karl-Heinz Rosch in the Netherlands are the only known monuments for German Wehrmacht soldiers that were erected by the opponents of the time.

Inscription of the memorial stone

A modified quote from the Gospel of John : “ No man hath greater love than he who layeth down his life for his enemy. ”(German:“ Nobody has greater love than someone who gives his life for his enemy ”).

Leadership style and personality

His leadership style as an officer is described as exemplary. Particularly noteworthy is his willingness to perform and not to ask more of his subordinates than he was able to do himself. According to the tactical principle of leadership from the front , he led u. a. personally to his soldiers and sat at the head of a reconnaissance patrol as it advanced towards the American lines.

Others

To date, there is no reliable information about the identity and fate of the wounded American soldier in the minefield (as of December 2019). Friedrich Lengfeld's eyewitness and reporter, Hubert Gees, states in his eyewitness report that the wounded GI may have been able to be transported or walked.

However, this first impression does not correspond to a profound medically performed triage .

Gees speculates in his report that the wounded US soldier was able to save himself to the American lines before the area was recaptured by the German Wehrmacht on November 13, 1944.

Picture gallery

  • Friedrich Lengfeld's accident site near the Hürtgen war cemetery . The wounded American soldier was lying at the front edge of the forest near the road. The German rescue team crossed the road from the left ( B 399 -Höhenstraße 110, 52393 Hürtgenwald).

  • Grave site with portrait of Friedrich Lengfeld on the war cemetery ( Düren-Rölsdorf cemetery )

  • Memorial stone for Friedrich Lengfeld on the war cemetery in Hürtgen

Web links

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Lengfield: I died for the enemy magazine article by Argunners of January 3, 2017 on the magazine's website (accessed December 10, 2017)
  2. ↑ Remembrance and dunning in Hürtgenwald by Robert Hellwig (history association) on the website of the national park community Hürtgenwald http://www.huertgenwald.de/de/ (accessed on December 11, 2017)
  3. ^ Battle in the Hürtgenwald Memories by Hubert Gees (accessed December 10, 2017).
  4. ↑ Memories of Hubert Gees on the website of Stefan Willms: Hürtgenwald 1944 – Today (accessed December 10, 2017)
  5. ^ Biography of Lieutenant Lengfeld on the World of War Tours website (accessed December 10, 2017)
  6. ↑ 22nd Infantry Monument to a Fallen German Soldier Eyewitness report from Hubert Gees who served as Lengfeld's reporter. From 1st Battalion 22nd Infantry Veterans Association website (accessed December 10, 2017)
  7. ↑ Friedrich Lengfeld Memorial on the website of the American War Memorials Overseas, Inc. (accessed December 10, 2017)
  8. ↑ A triad of silence, light and darkness A newspaper article by Andreas Kilb; published in the FAZ on November 27, 2008; (Retrieved from the FAZ website on December 10, 2017)
  9. ↑ MEMORIES OF HUBERT GEES-Fusilier Battalion (Major Rider) - 275th Infantry Division on the website The Battle of the Huertgen Forest (accessed December 18, 2019)
  10. ↑ The heroic German officer killed in a minefield trying to save an American on the War History Online website (accessed December 10, 2017)
  11. ↑ MEMORIES OF HUBERT GEES-Fusilier Battalion (Major Rider) - 275th Infantry Division on the website The Battle of the Huertgen Forest (accessed December 18, 2019)
  12. ↑ Das Wunder vom Hürtgenwald , Die Welt , June 23, 2001 (accessed on July 25, 2017): “After all, the 28th US Infantry Division, which is still in service today, tracked down its enemy from back then. She honored him in 1996 as a guest of the National Guard in a ceremony ” .
personal data
SURNAME Lengfeld, Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German military, lieutenant in the Wehrmacht
DATE OF BIRTH September 29, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Grunwald , Province of Lower Silesia
DATE OF DEATH November 12, 1944
Place of death Froitzheim