Adolf Vogt

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Adolf Vogt
Adolf August Vogt I.jpg
Birth date 31 August 1915(1915-08-31)
Place of birth Sindolsheim, Bezirksamt Adelsheim, Grand Duchy of Baden, German Empire
Death date 21 September 1992 (aged 77)
Place of death Rosenberg-Sindolsheim, Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Federal Republic of Germany
Allegiance  National Socialist Germany
Service/branch War Ensign of the Reichswehr, 1919 - 1935.png Reichswehr
Balkenkreuz.jpg Heer
Years of service 1934–1945
Rank Captain
Battles/wars World War II
Awards German Cross in Gold
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Adolf August Vogt (31 August 1915 – 21 September 1992) was a German officer, finally Captain of the Wehrmacht and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in World War II.

Life

Adolf Vogt (1915-1992).jpg
Adolf August Vogt, commissioned as an active officer.jpg
PERS 6-72468 Adolf Vogt I.jpg
PERS 6-72468 Adolf Vogt II.jpg
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross award ceremony (Ritterkreuzverleihungszeremonie) for 1st Lieutenant Vogt through Colonel Josef Meuther (left).
POW in Jena

Adolf was born the son of Protestant master baker Christian Andreas August Vogt (d. 11 December 1935 in Sindolsheim) and his wife Anna, geb. Weiss. After eight years of compulsory school (Volksschule) in Sindolsheim from Easter 1922 to Easter 1930, he attended the vocational training school in Eubigheim for three years. But a trade was neither his goal nor his preference.

He liked the paramilitary structure of the Hitler Youth, where he took on responsibility early on and became a HJ-Scharführer. As such he led a Schar with 40 to 60 boys. A Schar consisted of four Kameradschaften or Comradeships, each with 10 to 15 members.

On 4 April 1934, he joined the Reichswehr and served with the 4th Company/I. Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment 15. After basic training, he knew, this is what he wanted to do. He applied to become a career NCO, was accepted and committed himself for 12 years. On 1 October 1934, personnel from Infantry Regiment 15 formed the new Infantry Regiment 36 in Gießen. Schütze Vogt was transferred to the 8th Company/II. Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment 36. In March 1936, the regiment was deployed to Worms for the purpose of liberating the Rhineland. Vogt had an appendectomy in 1936. On 6 October 1936, II. Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment 36 would become the II. Battalion of the new Infanterie-Regiment 105 in Trier.

  • 6 October 1936 8th Company/II. Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment 105
    • The regiment was initially subordinated to the Trier Border Division (Westwall) upon mobilization. From 19 September 1939, it was subordinated to the newly formed 72nd Infantry Division.
  • 10 May 1940 The attack in the west began, proceeding through Luxembourg, Belgium, and France. At the Marne, Vogt's heavy machine gun platoon (s.M.G.-Zug) succeeded in capturing or disabling a key French bunker, allowing the infantry to cross. His platoon was the first to cross the river. That same evening, the regimental commander awarded all the soldiers of his platoon the Iron Cross, Second Class. The regiment then advanced further across the Seine to the Atlantic coast near Michel-Chef-Chef. Initially deployed for three weeks in coastal defense, the division was then transferred to Paris as a reward for its service as a guard unit. There, together with 2nd Lieutenant Damm, they formed the 12th Company of the new III. Battalion/105th Infantry Regiment. In November 1940, Vogt was promoted to sergeant major.
  • 22 October 1940 12th Company/III. Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment 105
    • November/December 1940 relocation to the Colmar area for training in the low mountain ranges
    • 12 January 1941 as part of the division, the regiment was transferred to Romania as a training unit.
    • 3 March 1941 entry into Bulgaria
    • 6 April to 9 April 1941 Battle of Greece; breakthrough battle through the Metaxas Line and conquest of Thessaloniki
      • At the heavily fortified Metaxas Line, a rifle company and Vogt's heavy machine gun platoon managed to wade through a swamp deemed impassable by the Greeks and capture a hill approximately 1,200 meters high. All of the Greek artillery observation posts were located on this hill. For the next three days, the enemy attacked continuously. When their ammunition was almost exhausted, the Greek army surrendered. The Greek regimental commander provided the German soldiers with bread and canned meat, as they had received no supplies for three days. The opposing regiment gathered their weapons and marched to the nearest town. There, they surrendered their weapons and were dismissed to go home. Captain Heinrich Nietsche, commander of the III. Battalion, was awarded the Knight's Cross on 13 June 1941, and Vogt received the Iron Cross First Class in Thessaloniki.
    • 10 April to 30 April 1941 breakthrough to Aliakmon, Battle of Olympus, pursuit battles through Thessaly, Battle of Thermopylae and pursuit of the Greek forces to Athens.
    • 1 May to 23 May 1941 Security service in Greece
    • 24 May to 13 June 1941 countermarch through Bulgaria
    • 14 June 1941 once again training unit in Romania
    • 22 June 1941 preparation for the Eastern Campaign and protection of the war-essential oil fields
    • 2 July to 25 July 1941 battles to liberate Bessarabia, conquest of the city of Kishinev and breakthrough of the Stalin Line
    • 31 August to 30 September 1941 advance on the Crimea and breakthrough battle at Perekop
  • 29 October 1941 Severely wounded; infantry bullets (machine gun) to chest (bullet passed through) and both hands as well as splinter in neck (through explosive projectiles)
    • The terminal and middle phalanges of three fingers on his right hand were amputated. The attending military Oberarzt offered Vogt on 2 February 1943 a final conditional fitness-for-war classification (bedingt k.v.), which would have meant he would have stayed deployed at homefront, but Vogt requested a full fitness-for-war classification (k.v.) and was granted his wish, allowing him to return to the Eastern Front.
  • 30 November 1941 Transferred to the Infantry Replacement Battalion 105 for long-term recuperation
  • 18 September 1942 Appointed platoon leader in the 4th Company/Infantry Training Battalion 105
    • 7 November 1942 renamed Grenadier Training Battalion 105
  • 1 January 1943 Appointed Reserve Officer Candidate; in assessments from the end of 1942, he had already been classified as "suitable for a career as a war officer".
    • In April 1943, he was, surprisingly, commissioned as an active troop officer (aktiver Truppenoffizier), not as a war (Kriegsoffizier) or reserve officer. He committed himself for 25 years, service time since 1934 was taken into account.
  • 3 January 1943 Transferred to the Permanent (Root) Company/Grenadier Replacement Battalion 105
    • 12 January to 7 April 1943 commanded to the 12th Officer Candidate Course at School IV for Infantry Officer Candidates in Beverloo (Flanders)
  • 8 April 1943 Appointed platoon leader in the 4th Company/Grenadier-Ersatz- und Ausbildungs-Bataillon 105
    • 1 May to 24 July 1943 commanded to the Company Leader Course No. 73 at the Infantry School Döberitz
  • 25 July 1943 Return to the 4th Company/Grenadier-Ersatz- und Ausbildungs-Bataillon 105
    • 4 November to 3 December 1943 commanded to the 5th Company Leader Course No. 143
  • 4 December 1943 Appointed leader of the 12th Company/III. Battalion/reinforced Grenadier Regiment 1024 in Baumholder
  • 24 February 1944 Appointed leader of the 12th Company/III. Battalion of the new Grenadier Regiment 1054
    • The regiment was formed on 1 February 1944 in the area of the Channel coast for the 85th Infantry Division. After the Invasion of Normandy, the division became embroiled in heavy defensive battles. It suffered such heavy losses that it had to be reconstituted on the Lower Rhine as early as September 1944. It was subsequently deployed in the Aachen area until it was destroyed in the Eifel region in February/March 1945. The remaining members were distributed among other units.
  • Summer 1944 Wounded; military hospital
  • Late 1944 / early 1945 Commanded to the Course for General Staff Officers in Bad Soden
  • 4 March with effect from 1 March 1945 Transferred to the 85. Infanterie-Division
    • He probably only arrived in Döberitz at the end of March 1945, where the division was once again re-established. From the old division, the divisional staff, the signals detachment, and the supply regiment were transferred to it. To form the regimental cores, the division received the III. and IV. Battalions of the 412th People's Artillery Corps, the 1185th Anti-Tank Company, the 3rd Company of the 185th Anti-Tank Battalion, and the remnants of the 1053rd, 1054th, and 1064th Infantry Regiments. The combat elements of the division were drawn from schools and training courses of all branches of the armed forces. A prerequisite was that the personnel had completed at least eight weeks of basic military training. Any personnel shortages were filled by Military District III, drawing on reserve personnel of all kinds. Weapons, vehicles, and equipment had to be provided by the Inspector General for the Leadership Training Program from the stocks of the respective schools. The division reached a strength of 4,000 to 6,000 men. On 8 April 1945, the division was renamed Infantry Division Potsdam.
    • The division, still in the process of being formed, was transferred to the Harz Mountains. There, as part of the "Harz Fortress," it was to occupy a defensive sector between Wernigerode and Quedlinburg. Due to the rapidly unfolding events at the front, the division was not deployed as a unit. The units, arriving at the front by rail, were deployed separately and suffered heavy losses in the process. Grenadier Regiment Potsdam 2 and the Pioneer Battalion never saw action in the west, but instead served with the Ulrich von Hutten Infantry Division in Eastern Germany. The division's command post was located in Treseburg in the Bodental valley from 12 to 17 April 1945, and subsequently in Blankenburg until its disbandment. On 20 April 1945, after suffering heavy losses, the division commander discharged the division's personnel, and the division was dissolved. Parts of the division subsequently surrendered to the 8th US Armored Division, while some soldiers of the fusilier battalion were still used to form the "Scharnhorst" Infantry Division.

Knight's Cross

Vogt's 12th Company was involved in the German retreat across France in mid-1944. Shortly after he had received an order to retreat, a colonel from a Panzer regiment asked that he hold his positions for two more days until his tanks had been evacuated across the Seine. He held his positions as requested and with his men was also able to destroy two tanks in close combat. But on the second day of fighting, he was shot through the elbow and was paralyzed in the arm. That night, he and his men also retreated across the Seine and Vogt was transferred to hospital. For his successful stand during this engagement he would shortly thereafter be awarded the Knight's Cross in October 1944.

POW and post-war

During the division's final battles in April 1945, Voigt was primarily deployed in the Harz Mountains. After being quickly surrounded by American units there, he and his battle group reported to the division command post on the Brocken mountain. The commander informed the soldiers about the end of the war and that everyone could now make their own way.

Captain Vogt, slightly wounded, planned to make his way to the military hospital in Jena in seven night marches. He and his last men succeeded and reached a doctor he knew at the Bismarck School, who was able to accommodate the soldiers. When the Americans evacuated Thuringia and handed it over to the Russians, all soldiers fit for transport would be discharged.

The city of Jena had been occupied by the U.S. Army on 13 April 1945 without a fight after the USAAF bombed the city on 9 April, killing hundreds of civilians, and then shelled the city with artillery for hours on 11 April, killing more civilians. Voigt was subsequently taken prisoner by the Americans. The Americans released him from captivity on 16 June 1945, only two weeks before the city was transferred to the control of the Red Army.

In July 1945, Adolf Vogt arrived in his hometown, where he volunteered at a car repair shop. In 1950, he opened a car rental company with just one car, which soon became very successful. Two years later, he bought his first bus. He drove another 3,000,000 kilometers before his 70th birthday.

Promotions

  • 4 April 1934 Schütze (Rifleman)
  • 1 May 1935 Gefreiter (Private E-2/Lance Corporal)
  • 1 April 1936 Unteroffizier (NCO/Corporal/Junior Sergeant)
  • 1 November 1940 Oberfeldwebel (Sergeant Major / Senior Staff Sergeant)
    • 1 January 1943 appointed Reserveoffizierbewerber (R.O.B.; Reserve Officer Candidate)
  • 1 March 1943 Fahnenjunker-Feldwebel (Officer Candidate with Staff Sergeant rank)
  • 7 April 1943 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant) with effect and Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 April 1943 (283)
  • 21 June 1944 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant) with effect and RDA from 1 June 1944 (126)
  • 1 January 1944 (RDA date) Hauptmann (Captain)

Awards and decorations

Sources

  • German Federal Archives: BArch PERS 6/72468
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