Gerd-Paul von Below

Gerd von Below (left), 1939

Gerd-Paul Valerian Georg Heinrich von Below (born November 30, 1892 in Strasburg (Uckermark) ; † December 8, 1953 in POW camp 5110/48 Woikowo near Iwanowo , Soviet Union ) was a German major general of the reserve in World War II .

Life

Below joined the 2nd Pomeranian Uhlan Regiment No. 9 of the Prussian Army as a flag junior on October 24, 1911 . There he was promoted to lieutenant on March 23, 1914 with a patent from June 16, 1913 . After the outbreak of the First World War , he marched with the association as a platoon leader in neutral Belgium . In November 1914, the regiment was then in northern France and was then transferred to the Eastern Front, where it was initially used to guard the southern East Prussian border. Subsequently, Below was involved with his regiment in the winter battle in Masuria and in the later campaign against Romania . In 1917 the regiment was relocated to the Western Front, where it was involved in several defensive battles until the end of the war. It was here that he was promoted to lieutenant on August 18, 1918 . After the march home and the demobilization of the regiment in December 1918, Below resigned from the Reichswehr on March 31, 1920 and returned to civilian life.

After the establishment of the Wehrmacht in the spring of 1935, Below joined it on September 23, 1935 while being promoted to Captain of the Reserve, where he was assigned to the 4th Infantry Regiment. In the meantime transferred to Infantry Regiment 374 of the 207th Infantry Division , Below took over the function of commander of the III on August 26, 1939 as part of the general mobilization. Battalions. With this he then took part in the attack on Poland and in the western campaign in the Netherlands . With the beginning of Operation Barbarossa , the 374 Infantry Regiment became part of the 207th Security Division . On January 5, 1942 Below was initially commissioned with the management of the regiment to be appointed commander on May 1, 1942.

In the course of the Second Ladoga Battle , his regiment suffered heavy losses. Nevertheless, on January 19, 1943, the remnants of the regiment, consisting of only three officers and 108 non-commissioned officers and men , started an attack on the Ssinjawino Heights to fend off a Soviet break-in. As a result of the fighting, Below succeeded in breaking open the Russian enclosing wing, rolling up the unit and throwing back the remains. On February 28, 1943, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for the reconquest of Possjolok 6 and keeping it until the relief the next morning . However, Below was badly wounded during these skirmishes, so that he had to spend the period from January 20 to May 1943 in a hospital . After his recovery, he returned to his regiment. On September 30, 1944 Below was then the leader Reserve of the Army High Command transferred and reassigned to a division leader training course. After its completion he was on February 4, 1945 with the leadership of the division staff z. b. V. 615 commissioned to be appointed commander at the same time as the promotion to major general of the reserve on April 20, 1945. With his large association , Below fell into Soviet captivity in Silesia on May 8, 1945 , where he died in 1953 in POW camp 5110/48 Woikowo .

Gerd von Below's grave slab in the Cherntsy military cemetery

literature

Dermot Bradley (Ed.): The Generals of the Army 1921-1945. The military careers of the generals, as well as the doctors, veterinarians, intendants, judges and ministerial officials with the rank of general. Volume 1: Abberger – Bitthorn. Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1993, ISBN 3-7648-2423-9 , pp. 299-300.
Manfred Dörr: The knight's cross bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945. The knight's cross bearers of the infantry. A – Be. Pp. 380-381.

Individual evidence

↑ 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. 213.
↑ ^a ^b Samuel W. Mitcham: German Order of Battle: 291st-999th Infantry divisions, named infantry divisions, and special divisions in World War II . Stackpole Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8117-3437-0 , pp. 185 ( google.de [accessed on May 1, 2019]).

personal data
SURNAME	Below, Gerd-Paul von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Below, Gerd-Paul Valerian Georg Heinrich von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German Major General of the Reserve in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH	November 30, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH	Strasburg (Uckermark)
DATE OF DEATH	December 8, 1953
Place of death	POW camp 5110/48 Woikowo near Iwanowo , Soviet Union

[Scherzer-1] 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. 213.

[:0-2] Samuel W. Mitcham: German Order of Battle: 291st-999th Infantry divisions, named infantry divisions, and special divisions in World War II . Stackpole Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8117-3437-0 , pp. 185 ( google.de [accessed on May 1, 2019]).