Werner von Bercken

Werner Rudolf Alfred Fedor von Bercken (born February 8, 1897 in Oppeln , † February 29, 1976 in Röttgen ) was a German lieutenant general in World War II .

Life

origin

Werner comes from the Westphalian noble family von Bercken . He was the son of the Prussian Major General Rudolf von Bercken (1859–1920) and his wife Helene, née Fliess (* 1864).

Military career

At the beginning of World War I, he came at the age of 17 years as an ensign in the Grenadier Regiment "King William I" (2nd West Prussian) No. 7 and was there on October 2 to lieutenant promoted. During the fighting on the Western Front , Bercken was victim of a gas attack on March 16, 1916 and was sent to the hospital for three months . During the first years of the war he received both classes of the Iron Cross . In October 1916 he lost almost all of his hearing after being shot in the head. After the war he was accepted into the Reichswehr, initially as an adjutant in the 12th Infantry Regiment . On October 1, 1920, he was transferred to the 8th Infantry Regiment .

On March 1, 1939, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and acquired the Iron Cross II class during the attack on Poland as battalion leader in the 50th Infantry Regiment during the conquest of Krone. In mid-December 1939 he was transferred to the Führerreserve and at the same time commanded as a course commander at the infantry school. In mid-November 1940 he was appointed commander of the 509 Infantry Regiment and took part in the 292nd Infantry Division (Lieutenant General Dehmel ) in the attack on the Soviet Union . He took part in the Bug crossing at Drohiczyn (June 22nd) and in the further advance of his unit in the area of IX. and XX. Army corps that took place north of Roslavl on Yelnya. On December 1, 1941, he was transferred to the Führerreserve .

In late January 1942 he was appointed commander of the 84th Infantry Regiment and promoted to colonel in early February . In the summer of 1942, he was initially transferred back to reserve and sent to Döberitz for a training course for division leaders . As the successor to Lieutenant General Hitzfeld , he was entrusted with the leadership of the 102nd Infantry Division on November 10, 1943 , and on August 1, 1944, with the promotion to Major General, he was appointed commander of this large formation . He commanded his division in the fighting near Novgorod and in retreating along the Narew River . Bercken received the German Cross in Gold on June 1, 1944, was promoted to Lieutenant General on August 1, 1944 , and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on October 23 . At the end of the war he was captured as commander of the 558th Volksgrenadier Division (from April 5, 1945) in the Heiligenbeil pocket on April 28, 1945 by the Soviet troops on the Fresh Spit and remained in captivity until October 10, 1955.

family

Bercken was married to Asta von Massenbach (1907-1992), a daughter of Bernhard Ernst Sylvius von und zu Massenbach and Clara Heinrichs.

literature

Dermot Bradley (Ed.): The Generals of the Army 1921-1945. The military careers of the generals, as well as the doctors, veterinarians, intendants, judges and ministerial officials with the rank of general. Volume 1: Abberger – Bitthorn. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1993, ISBN 3-7648-2423-9 , pp. 312-314.
Gothaisches genealogical pocket book of the noble houses. 1901. First year, Justus Perthes, Gotha 1900, p. 77.

Web links

Werner von Bercken in the online version of the Reich Chancellery Edition Files. Weimar Republic

Individual evidence

^ 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. 165 ( google.de [accessed on April 26, 2019]).
↑ 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. 214.
^ 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. 156 ( google.de [accessed on April 26, 2019]).

personal data
SURNAME	Bercken, Werner von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Bercken, Werner Rudolf Alfred Fedor von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German Lieutenant General in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH	February 8, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH	Opole
DATE OF DEATH	February 29, 1976
Place of death	Röttgen

[1] 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. 165 ( google.de [accessed on April 26, 2019]).

[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. 214.

[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. 156 ( google.de [accessed on April 26, 2019]).