Richard Schimpf

Richard Schimpf (born May 16, 1897 in Eggenfelden ; † December 30, 1972 in Düsseldorf ) was a German lieutenant general in World War II , who later also served in the Bundeswehr . Most recently he held the rank of major general .

Military career

First World War

Schimpf occurred during the First World War on 11 February 1915 as a cadet in the 9th Infantry Regiment "Wrede" the Bavarian army and was posted on October 25, 1915 to lieutenant promoted. In this regiment he served on the Western Front until November 1918 , most recently as platoon leader and battalion adjutant. Schimpf was wounded during the war and was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross , the Bavarian Military Merit Cross IV. Class with Swords and the Wound Badge in black.

Reichswehr

After the demobilization , Schimpf was taken over on October 1, 1919 as a lieutenant (with seniority from March 1, 1916) and platoon leader in the infantry regiment 45 of the transitional Reichswehr in Marienburg . When the 100,000-man army was formed, he was transferred to Infantry Regiment 21 in Nuremberg on October 1, 1920 , where he served as platoon leader and company officer and was promoted to lieutenant on April 1, 1925 . From April 27, 1925 to September 27, 1925, he completed an aircraft pilot training course at the Bayern-Nord flight control in Fürth , a police station. This was followed by the training of assistant leaders at Military District Command VII in Munich, where he became a photo officer on April 1, 1926 . On October 1, 1926, he was transferred to the training squadron of the 17th (Bavarian) Cavalry Regiment in Bamberg , but from there he was immediately sent back to Munich for further training as assistant driver. On October 1, 1928, he was transferred to the 6th Squadron of the 17th Cavalry Regiment in Straubing , but served with the 7th Division headquarters in Munich. On 31 August 1929 he was the purpose of secret Next training pro forma from the Reichswehr adopted and the following day as a clerk in the Ministry of Defense adopted.

In this position, disguised as a civilian position, Schimpf was sent from September 1, 1929 to September 30, 1930 to the secret flying school and test site of the Reichswehr in Lipetsk in the Soviet Union for pilot training, circumventing the provisions of the Versailles Treaty . Schimpf returned to Germany on September 9, 1930. He was reactivated on October 1, 1930. in the Army and initially 21 (Bavarian) Infantry Regiment in Nuremberg, but then to the Army Ordnance Department in the Ministry of Defense ordered and began studying at the Technical University in Berlin-Charlottenburg , which he on Graduated as a graduate engineer on January 31, 1935 . While still a student, he was promoted to captain on April 1, 1932 .

Wehrmacht and World War II

On February 1, 1935, he was transferred to the still secret Air Force , which was not officially established until one month later, on March 1. There he was initially an officer z. b. V. in the Air Ministry in Berlin and then from 1 April 1935 to coincide with his promotion to Major , squadron captain in the plane reconnaissance group Munster while commander of the air base Munster - Loddenheide .

Schimpf was transferred to the Reich Aviation Ministry on March 1, 1936, where he was head of the aerial photography department (LB IV) in the General Aviation Office from the beginning of the Second World War until March 25, 1940, and on April 1, 1937 to lieutenant colonel and on October 1 Was promoted to colonel in 1939 . On March 26, 1940, he was transferred to the staff of General of the Air Force as First General Staff Officer (Ia) in Army Group A , and in this function he took part in the Western campaign. On July 17, 1940, he returned to the Reich Ministry of Aviation as a department head. On November 4, 1940 he was appointed Chief of the General Staff of Air Fleet 4 . On January 17, 1941, he moved as chief of the general staff to Luftgaukommando VIII in Breslau , on December 1, 1941 to the Feldluftgaukommando Kiev , which was renamed on 10 September 1942 to Feldluftgaukommando Charkow .

On September 27, Schimpf was appointed as the successor to Lieutenant General Job Odebrecht with the management of the Meindl Air Force Division fighting on the Eastern Front in Army Group North , which was then renamed the 21st Air Force Field Division on November 11 and for which he received the plaque of honor of the 21st Air Force Field Division . On March 18, 1943, he was promoted to major general. After Hitler had ordered the incorporation of the Luftwaffe field divisions under the designation "Felddivision (L)" into the Army on September 20, 1943 , Schimpf was replaced as division commander by Major General Rudolf-Eduard Licht on October 12, 1943 and joined the Führerreserve of Commander in Chief Air added.

On February 17, 1944, he was appointed commander of the 3rd Parachute Division in Lieutenant General Eugen Meindl's II Parachute Corps , which had been newly established in France . In the course of the Allied landing in Normandy , he was seriously wounded in the leg on the night of August 20, 1944, when he broke out of the Falaise pocket with the remains of his division and Meindl's corps . On August 26, 1944, he was awarded the German Cross in Gold and on October 6, 1944 with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross .

After his recovery, he returned to his division on January 6, 1945. With their remnants, about 7000 men, he got delayed in Belgium and the Eifel fighting on March 7, 1945 to Bad Godesberg . After covert negotiations with the following US troops, and after the majority of his troops had crossed the Rhine, he surrendered the city with its many hospitals without a fight on March 8th. A plaque on the Godesberg town hall commemorates the three key players who saved Bad Godesberg at risk of death: Lieutenant General Schimpf, City Councilor Heinrich Ditz and the Swiss Consul General Franz-Rudolf von Weiss . He himself was taken prisoner in the United States and then in British captivity , from which he was released on December 22, 1947.

armed forces

On October 1, 1957, Schimpf joined the German Armed Forces, where, with the rank of major general corresponding to his previous rank, he was in command of Defense Area III in Düsseldorf until his departure on July 31, 1962. He was awarded the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany .

Familiar

Richard Schimpf died on December 30, 1972 in Düsseldorf. His marriage to Hilde von Othegraven on April 9, 1930 resulted in a son and a daughter.

literature

• Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand: The Generals of the German Air Force 1935-1945. The military careers of the aviation, anti-aircraft, paratrooper, air intelligence and engineer officers. Part II, Volume 3: Odebrecht – Zoch. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1992, ISBN 3-7648-2207-4 .
• Klaus-Dietmar Henke: The American occupation of Germany. 2nd edition, Oldenbourg, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-486-56175-8 , p. 358 ff.

Web links

• Some of the Prisoners held at Special Camp 11
• Richard Schimpf in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ On November 1, 1943, the 21st Air Force Field Division became Field Division 21 (L) of the Army.
2. ↑ 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. 662.
3. ↑ Rhenish History ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ^ Klaus-Dietmar Henke: The American occupation of Germany. 2nd edition, Oldenbourg, Munich, 1996, ISBN 3-486-56175-8 , p. 358 ff.
5. ↑ Brave Godesbergers risk head and neck. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn. March 8, 2005