Heinrich Burchard

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Heinrich Burchard (born October 5, 1894 in Fulda ; † April 11, 1945 in Quassel ) was a German officer , most recently a general of the Luftwaffe anti-aircraft cartillery in World War II .

Life

Promotions

Burchard joined the Lorraine Foot Artillery Regiment No. 16 in Metz on March 23, 1914 as a flag junior . When the First World War broke out , he was transferred to the Reserve Field Artillery Regiment No. 16 , where Burchard remained until September 20, 1915. He was then transferred to the Hohenzollern Foot Artillery Regiment No. 13 , in which he initially acted as a battery officer , later as a battery commander and remained until May 15, 1920 beyond the end of the war. Subsequently, he served from May 16 to the end of September 1920 as a battery officer in the Reichswehr Artillery Regiment 16 .

From October 20, 1920 to September 30, 1923 he then acted as a battery officer in the 7th battery of the 6th (Prussian) Artillery Regiment in Wolfenbüttel . From there he was transferred to Hanover in the 4th Squadron of the 6th (Prussian) Driving Department, where he remained until 1927. Then he came back to the 6th (Prussian) Artillery Regiment. In the meantime, Burchard had graduated from the Technical University of Charlottenburg from October 1, 1923 to March 31, 1931 and obtained his degree as a graduate engineer . After completing his studies, he was assigned to the Reich Ministry of Economics with effect from April 1, 1931 , where he remained until the end of March 1932. He was then used for six months as squadron chief in the 3rd (Prussian) driving department. In the same position, Burchard was then again with the 6th (Prussian) Driving Department before he was reassigned from May 1, 1933 to September 30, 1934. On July 1, 1934, he was promoted to commander of the Wolfenbüttel driving department , while being appointed major . This driving department emerged from the renaming of driving department 6 .

On April 1, 1935, as a result of a further restructuring, this was established as Flak Department 6 in Wolfenbüttel and transferred to the Air Force, which led to Burchard transferring to this day with the rank of major. On October 1, 1935, Flak Department 6 was given a new name, which was now referred to as Flak Regiment 7 . In this regiment, Burchard acted from October 1935 to the end of March 1937 as a department commander. Following this, Burchard taught from April 1937 to the end of January 1938 as a teacher at the Air Technology Academy in Berlin-Gatow, from where he was appointed to the command staff of the air district school in February 1938. On July 1, 1938, Burchard was appointed Chief of Staff of the Luftgau Command XII in Gießen , whose post he then held until mid-June 1940.

After the occupation of northern France by German troops, Burchard acted from August 15, 1940 to December 2, 1940 as chief of staff in the Luftgau command in western France, then returned to Germany and on December 3, 1940 became commander of Air Defense Command 2 (later 2 Flak Division) in Dresden . On July 1, 1941, he handed over his command to Major General Walter Feyerabend and on August 1, 1941, he switched to the 7th Flak Division as commander of Air Defense Command 7 , or after its renaming from September 1941 . He then led this with an interruption until February 21, 1942.

From February 21 to the end of March 1942, Burchard was instructed as commander of the Luftgaustabes z. b. V Afrika , which was later called the 19th Flak Division . After the divisional command was established in Greece , the command staff was transferred to North Africa, where it was subordinated to the Armored Army Africa . This was followed by missions in the Battle of El Alamein , El Daba and heavy retreat fights. On December 21, 1942, Burchard gave command of the division to Major General Gotthard Frantz , who took over leadership on January 8, 1943. Burchard himself was transferred to the Führerreserve until the end of February 1943 , and on March 1, 1943 again took over the fate of the 7th Flak Division, which he then led until July 9, 1944. On July 10, 1944 he was appointed general of the anti-aircraft cartillery z. b. V. appointed to Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring . No information has been passed on about his duties there.

Grave site in Hagenow

After an air raid in early April 1945 in a small town on the northern edge of the Harz Mountains, Burchard said that "... Hitler should put an end to the war, after all." This was reported to Hermann Göring. He then ordered a flying field court judgment for degradation of military strength and the court ruled execution. Burchard was brought to Hagenow Air Base in Mecklenburg on April 11, 1945. They put a pistol in his room and he shot himself there. He is buried in the local cemetery.

Heinrich Burchard was married to Lotti Müller, sister of Max Müller , who succeeded in enforcing the pension she was entitled to after the currency reform.

Awards

literature

  • Karl Friedrich Hildebrand: The Generals of the German Air Force 1935–1945, Part II, Volume 1: Abernetty – v. Gyldenfeldt , Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1990, ISBN 3-7648-1701-1 , pp. 138-139.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c 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. 330 ( google.de [accessed on July 6, 2019]).
  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. 325 ( google.de [accessed on July 6, 2019]).
  3. ^ 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. 341 ( google.de [accessed on July 6, 2019]).
  4. ↑ a b Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres , Ed .: Reichswehrministerium , Mittler & Sohn Verlag , Berlin 1930, p. 146
  5. ↑ Klaus D. Patzwall and Veit Scherzer : Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941-1945, History and Proprietor Volume II , Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt 2001, ISBN 3-931533-45-X , p. 68
personal data
SURNAME Burchard, Heinrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer, most recently general of the anti-aircraft artillery in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH October 5, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Fulda
DATE OF DEATH April 11, 1945
Place of death Chatter