Robert Lang (General)

Robert Lang (born March 15, 1921 in Berndorf , Lower Austria; † August 28, 2010 in Wiener Neustadt ) was an Austrian general and from 1980 to 1985 deputy general troop inspector.

Life

Lang attended the humanistic collegiate high school in Melk and was called up for labor and military service after graduating from high school in 1940. After basic training, he reported to the “Brandenburg” regiment , which had been formed by the Foreign Defense Department to carry out special operations. With this he took part in the Yugoslavia campaign in 1941 and was then deployed on the Eastern Front, where his troops were often used as regular infantry . In July 1942 he became a lieutenant. Transferred to the Balkans in mid-1943 , he was involved in defensive battles in the area of Klausenburg (Cluj) as the leader of a motorized unit after the capitulation of Romania . In November 1944 he took over an armored reconnaissance squadron as first lieutenant, with which he retreated through Poland to the Neisse . He experienced the end of the war, meanwhile promoted to captain, in the Olomouc area , where he was taken prisoner by the Soviets on April 27, 1945.

Although his unit had not been involved in any illegal special operations, he was sentenced to a long prison term and was only able to return home in June 1955. In November 1997, the Moscow Chief Military Prosecutor determined his innocence and rehabilitated him as a victim of Stalinist repression. On April 1, 1956, he joined the army of the 2nd Republic. He was transferred to the Hörsching armored troop school and led a company in the armored reconnaissance school department. With this association he took part in the border guard operation during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956 .

He then served in the Panzer Troop School in Götzendorf under Lieutenant Colonel Emil Spannocchi . Together with his comrades Wilhelm Kuntner , Karl Wohlgemuth and Günther Hoy, he became a close associate of the later army commander. Together they developed the basis for the creation of the first large armored unit of the new federal army, the 9th Panzer Grenadier Brigade. In mid-1958, Lang took over the management of the tank reconnaissance school department. From 1960 to 1962 he attended the 3rd General Staff Course and was appointed Major of the General Staff on December 18, 1962.

From 1963 to 1967 he served on the staff of Group Command I in Vienna. In January 1968 he became head of the training department S in the Federal Ministry for National Defense , which was responsible for sports and special training in the armed forces. From 1968 to 1971 he was - as Colonel of the General Staff - in personal union also the commander of the Army Sports and Close Combat School. With their construction and expansion, he created the prerequisites for a single-minded training in small-scale warfare, as was required for the spatial defense concept developed at the time . At the same time, an institution was created from which numerous Austrian top athletes have emerged.

Due to his language skills - he spoke fluent Russian - he made numerous international sporting contacts. On July 28, 1976, he became head of the inspection staff. With his weapons and specialist inspectors, he was now responsible for the control of the entire training and service operations in the armed forces. In mid-1980 he became a division general and deputy general troop inspector . Appointed general , he retired on June 30, 1985.

literature

• Stefan Bader: At the highest point, The Generals of the Federal Army of the Second Republic , Vienna 2004, p. 189 ff.