Heinz Kokott

Heinz Kokott (born November 14, 1900 in Groß-Strehlitz ; † May 29, 1976 in Traunstein ) was a German officer , most recently major general in World War II .

Life

Heinz Kokott joined the 4th Silesian Infantry Regiment No. 157 of the Prussian Army on October 1, 1918 during the First World War as a flagjunker . After the end of the war and the demobilization of the regiment, Kokott was accepted into the provisional Reichswehr and assigned to the Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 16. On October 1, 1920, he was transferred to the 7th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment , where he served until the end of May 1934. On June 1, 1934, he was ranked company commander in the teaching battalion "Döberitz" and served until October 1939 as an instructor at the infantry school.

After the beginning of the Second World War, Kokott was given command of the 2nd Battalion of Infantry Regiment 196 of the 68th Infantry Division . The division was used at a later phase of the western campaign in Luxembourg and France and was transferred to eastern Poland in July 1940 to secure the border. He also commanded the battalion during the raid on the Soviet Union , where he carried out operations in Poltava and Kharkov . From December 27, 1941 to May 1942, Colonel Kokott commanded the 178th Infantry Regiment of the 76th Infantry Division in southern Russia. This was followed by his command to the battalion commanders school in Mourmelon . On June 19, 1942, Kokott returned to service and became the commander of the 317 Infantry Regiment of the 211th Infantry Division , which was later renamed the 317 Grenadier Regiment. He was deployed with his regiment on the Eastern Front and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his achievements on March 17, 1943 . During the fighting in the Oryol area , Kokott was wounded on June 1, 1943, and was transferred to the Führer Reserve on July 7, 1943 after a stay in a hospital .

In the autumn of 1943 he took over command of the School VI for Fahnenjunker of the infantry in Beverloo , where he worked as an instructor for almost a year. He then took command of the Grenadier Brigade 1135 and fought in northern Ukraine. After the dissolution, he was commissioned from August 1944 to lead the 26th Volksgrenadier Division . There he took part in the Battle of the Bulge and was confirmed as division commander when he was promoted to major general on January 1, 1945. On April 22, 1945, Kokott was taken prisoner by the United States and released in June 1947. During his captivity, he was interviewed several times by the US Army about his missions.

plant

26th Volks Grenadier Division in the Ardennes Offensive . Historical Division, Headquarters United States Army, Europe, Foreign Military Studies Branch, 1954.

literature

Leo Barron: Patton at the Battle of the Bulge . Penguin , 2014.
Dermot Bradley (Ed.): The Generals of the Army 1921-1945. The military careers of the general, as well as the doctors, veterinarians, intendants, judges and ministerial officials in the rank of general. Volume 7: Knabe – Luz. Biblio Publishing House. Bissendorf 2004. ISBN 3-7648-2902-8 , pp. 98-99.
Samuel W. Mitcham : Panzers in Winter . Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006, et al. P. 190.

Individual evidence

↑ ^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. 463.
^ ^A ^b Samuel W. Mitcham: German Order of Battle: 1st-290th Infantry divisions in World War II . Stackpole Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8117-3416-5 , pp. 73 ( google.de [accessed on May 2, 2019]).
↑ Stephen E. Ambrose: Citizen Soldiers: The US Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany June 7, 1944, to May 7, 1945 . Simon and Schuster, 2013, ISBN 978-1-4767-4025-6 ( google.de [accessed on January 11, 2019]).

personal data
SURNAME	Kokott, Heinz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German officer, most recently major general in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH	November 14, 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH	Groß-Strehlitz
DATE OF DEATH	May 29, 1976
Place of death	Traunstein

[Scherzer-1] 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. 463.

[:0-2] A ^b Samuel W. Mitcham: German Order of Battle: 1st-290th Infantry divisions in World War II . Stackpole Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8117-3416-5 , pp. 73 ( google.de [accessed on May 2, 2019]).

[3] Stephen E. Ambrose: Citizen Soldiers: The US Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany June 7, 1944, to May 7, 1945 . Simon and Schuster, 2013, ISBN 978-1-4767-4025-6 ( google.de [accessed on January 11, 2019]).