Gustav Fehn

Gustav Fehn (born February 21, 1892 in Nuremberg , † June 5, 1945 Ljubljana ) was a German general of the tank troops in World War II .

Life

Fehn joined on 24 July 1911 as an officer cadet in the fourth Magdeburgische Infantry Regiment. 67 and was on January 27, 1913 lieutenant promoted. When the First World War broke out , Fehn was transferred to the Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 67 as platoon leader , later he joined the Metz Infantry Regiment No. 98 , where he was promoted to lieutenant on April 18, 1916 . He served as a company commander and in January 1917 was also temporarily deputy commander of the II. And III. Battalions. At the beginning of March 1917 he became a regimental adjutant and in December 1917 was briefly with the staff of the 207th Infantry Division before he was then transferred to the Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 98 and commanded to the staff of the 89th Reserve Infantry Brigade . On December 21, 1917 he was appointed adjutant of this brigade. For his work during the war, in addition to the two classes of the Iron Cross, he was awarded the Wound Badge in Black, the Hanseatic Cross Hamburg and the Friedrich August Cross 1st Class.

After the end of the war, Fehn was reassigned to the Metz Infantry Regiment No. 98 at the beginning of January 1919 and after the demobilization of the unit he joined the Freikorps German Protection Division in April 1919. When he was taken over by the Reichswehr in October 1919, he was initially used in the 8th Reichswehr Rifle Regiment, then in the 12th Infantry Regiment . After he was transferred to the 12th (Saxon) Cavalry Regiment , he completed his assistant command training with the staff of the 4th Division . On October 1, 1922 he was reassigned to the 12th Infantry Regiment and promoted to captain on January 1, 1923 . On October 1, 1923, he was transferred to the 13th Company of the 4th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment , until he returned to the 12th Infantry Regiment on October 1, 1924, where he served in the regimental staff. On May 1, 1927, Fehn was appointed chief of the 15th company in this regiment , and from spring 1929 he was chief of the 6th company. On October 1, 1932, he was transferred to the 5th (Prussian) cavalry regiment in Belgard . After that, Fehn , who was promoted to major on April 1, 1933, was sent to the infantry school in Dresden and used as a teacher from 1935. On December 1, 1935 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and commander of the 1st battalion of the 33rd Infantry Regiment. On October 12, 1937, he was transferred to the regimental staff and on April 1, 1938 he was promoted to colonel . On April 1, 1939, he became the commander of the 33rd Infantry Regiment.

Second World War

During the invasion of Poland , he was awarded both braces for his Iron Crosses for leading the regiment. In the period that followed, his 33rd Infantry Regiment was transformed into the 33rd Rifle Regiment. He also led this regiment in the western campaign . After giving up his command, he was promoted to major general on August 1, 1940 . On August 5, 1940, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his achievements in the western campaign .

On November 25, 1940, Fehn took over the 5th Panzer Division from Joachim Lemelsen . The large association was used in the spring of 1941 in the Balkan campaign . There units of his division were also involved in the airborne battle for Crete . In autumn 1941 his division was transferred to the east to attack the Soviet Union , where it was subordinate to Army Group Center . On July 7, 1942, he was awarded the German Cross in Gold.

On August 1, 1942, he was promoted to lieutenant general and on October 1, 1942, he was promoted to commanding general of the XXXX. Panzer Corps , which was subordinate to the 1st Panzer Army . On November 1, 1942, he was promoted to General of the Panzer Troops and on November 13, 1942, he was placed in the Führerreserve . On November 16, 1942, he was appointed the commanding general of the Africa Corps and was briefly in command of the German-Italian tank army . On January 15, 1943, he was seriously wounded and taken to the hospital. Lieutenant General Hans Cramer took over his corps . There was then again a transfer to the Führerreserve and on July 1, 1943 he became the deputy leadership of the LXXXVI. Army Corps instructed. After a further stay in the Führerreserve he came on October 10, 1943 as commanding general of the XXI. Mountain Army Corps in the Balkans. This corps was part of the 2nd Panzer Army . On July 20, 1944 he took over as commanding general of the XV. Mountain Army Corps of the 2nd Panzer Army ( Army Group F ), which he led until the end of the war.

post war period

After the Second World War he was taken prisoner by the British. He was extradited to Yugoslavia on June 4, 1945 and one day later murdered by partisans without trial in Ljubljana along with General der Infanterie Werner von Erdmannsdorf f, Lieutenant General Friedrich Stephan and Major General Heinz Kattner .

literature

• Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: The Generals of the Army 1921–1945. The military careers of the generals, as well as the doctors, veterinarians, data officers, judges and ministerial officials with the rank of general. Volume 3: Dahlmann – Fitzlaff. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1994, ISBN 3-7648-2443-3 , pp. 427-428.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Reichswehr Ministry (Ed.): Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres. Verlag Mittler & Sohn, Berlin, p. 140.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearer 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. 303.