Otto Teschner

Lieutenant Colonel Otto Teschner

Otto Teschner (born March 23, 1869 in Pillau ; † September 21, 1948 in Springe ) was a German officer, most recently Lieutenant General in World War II .

Life

On March 22, 1888, Teschner was transferred from the cadet corps as a second lieutenant to the 8th East Prussian Infantry Regiment No. 45 of the Prussian Army . With his promotion to Prime Lieutenant on January 27, 1895, he was transferred to the Lower Rhine Fusilier Regiment No. 39 in Düsseldorf . In the following year Teschner rose to the rank of adjutant of the 2nd battalion. From October 18, 1902 to May 17, 1907 he served as a captain and company commander . Teschner then held the same position at the Marienwerder NCO School until January 26, 1912. He was then promoted to major and as such was transferred to the 8th Baden Infantry Regiment No. 169 . On July 19, 1913, he was appointed commander of the 2nd battalion.

He led this at the outbreak of the First World War on the Western Front, initially in the Battle of Mulhouse . Here Teschner was wounded for the first time, but remained with his troops. He was then used in the Battle of Lorraine and the pursuit battles on Nancy - Épinal until Teschner was wounded for the second time on August 27, 1914. After his stay in hospital, he returned to his battalion at the end of September 1914 and was wounded for the third time in the fighting in northern France on October 13, 1914. Teschner came home to recover. On January 9, 1915, Teschner was given command of the 7th Baden Infantry Regiment No. 142 . In the coming months he fought in the spring battle at La-Bassée and Arras and in the autumn battle in Champagne . Then the regiment was in position battles in Champagne . There Teschner was wounded for the fourth time. The wound was so severe that his left arm had to be amputated. Nonetheless, Teschner, who had meanwhile been promoted to lieutenant colonel on November 25, 1916 , reported fit for duty in May 1917. He was again given command of his regiment, which at that time was fighting off Verdun . For the defense of the northern slope of the height 344 at the end of November 1917, Teschner was awarded the highest Prussian bravery award, the Order Pour le Mérite , on January 22, 1918 .

Due to his poor health, Teschner was released from his command at his own request and at the end of April 1918 was appointed commander of Infantry Regiment No. 342 in Vilnius . Since the regiment was ready for transport to the western front when he arrived there, he was given command of infantry regiment No. 433 near Lida . With him Teschner traveled from Belarus to Kiev in the coming months . There he took over command of the Landwehr Infantry Regiment "King Wilhelm II." No. 2 at the end of August 1918 .

After the armistice in Compiègne , he led his troops back home, where they were first demobilized in Stettin at the beginning of February 1919 and finally dissolved in the middle of the month. Teschner then returned to Lahr / Black Forest and led the 8th Baden Infantry Regiment No. 169 until it was dissolved in autumn 1919. On October 1, 1919, he was accepted into the provisional Reichswehr and appointed commander of the Glatz Fortress . Due to the Kapp putsch , he was briefly put on the agenda in April 1920 , promoted to colonel on May 16, 1920 and at the same time appointed in command of the Küstriner fortress . On March 31, 1923 Teschner was awarded the character as a major general retired from military service.

Later he was special commissioner of the steel helmet and in 1933 became regional leader of the steel helmet Hanover. As part of the incorporation of the steel helmet into the SA as the so-called National Socialist German Front Fighters Association (NSDFB), Teschner received the rank of SA brigade leader in March 1934. In 1934 he was appointed special agent to examine the complainants against members of the NSDFB.

Before the start of the Second World War, Teschner was reactivated on August 26, 1939. At first, he was used as a commander of the POW camp Stalag XI-B . From February 28 to June 2, 1940, Teschner was then commander of the prisoners of war in military district XI (Hanover) . He then briefly had command of the prisoners of war in the Netherlands and then became the commander of the prisoners of war in the French military administration . Teschner held this position until November 4, 1940. He was then again commander of the prisoners of war in military district XI and as such was promoted to lieutenant general on January 1, 1942. Teschner was released from his post on May 31, 1942 and transferred to the Führerreserve . On July 31, 1942, his mobilization provision was lifted.

literature

• Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Christian Zweng: The knights of the order Pour le Mérite of the First World War. Volume 3: P-Z. Biblio Publishing House. Bissendorf 2011. ISBN 3-7648-2586-3 . Pp. 402-404
• Hanns Möller: History of the knights of the order pour le mérite in the world war. Volume II: M-Z. Bernard & Graefe publishing house. Berlin 1935. pp. 408-410
• Who is it Berlin 1935, p. 1595.