Alexander Leschke

Alexander Leschke
Birth name	Alexander Gustav Wilhelm Leschke
Birth date	5 February 1889
Place of birth	Straßburg, Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine, German Empire
Death date	7 December 1942 (aged 53)
Place of death	Leipzig, German Reich
Resting place	Leipzig South Cemetery
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Royal Saxon Army Imperial German Army Freikorps Provisional Reichswehr Sturmabteilung Heer
Rank	SA-Oberführer Colonel of the Reserves
Commands held	Infanterie-Regiment (mot.) 11
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Other work	Commercial Director Member of the Stahlhelmbund

Alexander Gustav Wilhelm Leschke (5 February 1889 – 7 December 1942) was a German officer, finally Colonel of the Reserves of the Wehrmacht and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in World War II.

Life

Der Sächsische Erzähler, 12 December 1942

Ritterkreuzträger Leschke ᛣ, in: "Deutsche Zeitung im Ostland", 14 December 1942, p. 2

Oberste SA.-Führung

Alexander Leschke was born in Straßburg in 1889, where at the time his father was serving as a Hauptmann (since 1 April 1887) in the Royal Saxon 6. Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 105 of the 66. Infantrie-Brigade. After completing military school in Weißenfels as well as Gymnasium and achieving his Abitur, Alexander joined the 2nd Company of the Royal Saxon 8. Infanterie-Regiment "Prinz Johann Georg" Nr. 107 in 1908 as Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate) and was promoted to Fähnrich (Officer Cadet) in March 1909. On 21 January 1910, now in the 6th Company, he was promoted to Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant). As of the Rangliste 1912, he was in the 1st Company. He served with distinction in WWI.

In 1919, he fought with the Freikorps (Saxon Border Guard Brigade) and was discharged from the Preliminary Reichswehr on 31 March 1920. He then worked for Daimler-Benz in Leipzig, where he would become commercial director. On 1 May 1933, he joined the NSDAP (#2,995,013). Leschke joined the Sturmabteilung (Stab der SA-Brigade 35, SA-Gruppe Sachsen) on 19 November 1933 (commanding a Standarte until 15 February 1934), finally rising to SA-Oberführer. On 26 July 1939, he was reactivated by the Wehrmacht with effect from 1 August 1939.

Wehrmacht

Leschke went into the field 1939 as Major of the Reserves. During the Battle of France, he earned his clasp to his Iron Cross 1st Class and the Infantry Assault Badge. As commander of the II. Bataillon/Infanterie-Regiment 11, since 15 October 1940 motorized (the horse drawn parts were handed over to the 122nd Infantry Division), he now prepared his men for the Operation Barbarossa.

On 11 July 1941, the regiment was transferred to East Prussia in the area south of Bischofsburg. On 28 November 1941, the regiment reached the easternmost point of its advance at Dimitrov on the Moskva-Volga Canal, about 60 kilometers north of Moscow. The hardships that the soldiers had to put up with for this success were unimaginable and yet only the beginning. All forces were exhausted and now winter set in, which caught the troops completely unprepared because of Hitler's ban on providing winter clothing. On 4 November 1941, Major d. R. Leschke received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the Reserves.

On 6 December 1941, the Red Army counterattacked and the regiment had to retreat. Large numbers of frostbite also weakened the regiment. At the end of January, the regiment landed in the area northwest of Gshazk. In January 1942, Leschke fell ill (Oberleutnant d. R. Harry Schröter took over) but could soon return to his regiment.

Regimental commander was Colonel (later Generalmajor) Dipl.-Ing. Paul Schürmann, on 30 June 1942 Colonel Heinrich Arthur Wiedemann took over the Infanterie-Regiment (mot.) 11, but fell on 23 July 1942. Now Oberstleutnant Leschke took over the regiment. The regiment was then deployed in July/August 1942 in the combat area north of the Volga, which flows in an arc near Rzhev, and later also east of Rzhev. There was heavy fighting, and towards the end of the summer silting set in again, which meant rain and correspondingly difficult conditions.

On 11 September 1942, Leschke was lightly wounded at around 0700 hours, but still lead the counterattack of his regiment (together with a battalion from the regiment "Großdeutschland" and the Pionier-Bataillon 72) at 1240 hours. Shortly afterwards, Michejewo is retaken and the surviving Russians flee. On the same day, at around 1500 hours, the command post was struck by Russian artillery and Leschke was wounded again. He radios 1515 hours to the division:

"Hooray, the Russian made it. Direct hit in commander's room. Woke up at the door. Still encouraging mood."

The truth is a bit different, the regiment was seriously stricken. So many fallen and wounded, little ammunition and even less sleep. Heinrich Wosch, commander of the senior 14. Infanterie-Division, reported to commanding general of the XXVII. Armee-Korps:

"11th Infantry Regiment is completely exhausted and unable to withstand a serious attack. It has to go!"

During his visit to the division the next day, the Commander-in-Chief of the 9th Army expressed his highest appreciation for Lieutenant Colonel Leschke, who initiated and enforced the cordoning off at Michejewo. The threat of a breakthrough on Rshew has once again been averted. By order of 17 September 1942, Leschke notes that the regiment has again fought exceptionally bravely and thanks the troops. Due to a lack of manpower, the regiment is now divided into three administration battalions and the combat troops. The "masses" of the 11th Infantry Regiment occupied themselves with the usual refresher work during the rest period, building roads, digging cover holes, attending church services and concerts by the music corps. Great importance is also attached to strengthening discipline, which naturally suffers badly on hard days of fighting, especially in the rear parts.

At the end of September 1942, the regiment received 238 men replacements, whose training by the replacement army and internal attitude, insofar as they are not convalescents, generally still did not meet the demands of the front. And in the future it got worse instead of better. On 15 October 1942, the regiment was renamed Grenadier-Regiment 11 (mot.). In the middle of October 1942, the regiment moved, one could not call it a march, in individual groups and in short marching distances to the area around Poltipo (11 km north-west of Tschertolino), where until 21 October 1942 it was gathered. It took until 1 November 1942, for the whole division to arrive in this area, since the paths are completely soft again and the horses are completely exhausted. A number of horses even had to be shot. In addition, fuel was allocated too late. The automobiles were completely run down. Accommodation was cramped and makeshift, regimental headquarters and staff company were in Poltino.

Death

Lieutenant Colonel of the Reserves Lescke was stricken by stomach cancer, cardiac arrhythmias and pneumonia, also his wounds had not healed properly. On 7 November 1942, he finally had to leave the regiment, which was taken over (in representation) the day before by Oberstleutnant Otto Eduard Hoeland (1894–1959), commander of the Pionier-Bataillon 14. Lescke was transported back to the Reich and admitted to a reserve military hospital (Reservelazarett Leipzig), where his family awaited him. Still, his health deteriorated and on 7 December 1942, Alexander Leschke died in the Teillazarett Diakonnisenhaus Leipzig of the Reservelazarett V.

The solemn funeral ceremonies on 11 December 1942 took place in the crypt of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations (Völkerschlachtdenkmal) in Leipzig with honor company, honor guard and music corps but also coffin, wreath and medal cushion bearers. Major General Johann von Stein, commandant of Leipzig, was commissioned to lay the Führer's funeral wreath. He rests in the German war cemetery of the Leipzig South Cemetery; final grave location: section XXV, group II, grave 7/8.

Family

Alexander was the son of Royal Saxon officer Oberst z. D. Wilhelm Maximilian Leschke (b. 17 May 1853; d. 10 September 1924) and his wife Camilla, née Hartwig (b. 17 November 1864; d. 6 May 1898). His brother Oberst Horst Johann Georg Leschke (b. 14 July 1894 in Leipzig-Gohlis) also served in both world wars. Also, Oberst Georg Karl Edgar Gläsche (1889–1968) was their brother-in-law. Edgar was married to their sister, Anna Leschke (b. 7 July 1890 in Straßburg). Edgar was also son of a professional officer, Generalmajor Carl Robert Georg Gläsche (1853–1921).

Marriages

• 1918 Erika Groß
  • The couple divorced in October 1922. Joachim grew up with his mother. Erika escaped the GDR in 1963 and relocated to Frankfurt am Main.
• 18 March 1927 Charlotte Müller
  • Charlotte died on 1 March 1929, only 12 days after the birth of daughter and only child Thy
• c. 1931 Ingeborg Zeidler
  • Ingeborg died in an accident on 1 September 1932
• 4 February 1936 Waltraut Köhlau (b. 2 August 1912)
  • The loss of son Peter led to an understandable nervous breakdown; the loss of her husband seems to have completely thrown her life into disarray. Only caring for her stepdaughter Thy kept her more or less mentally sound. She inherited the single family house in Sophienhöhe (Lärchenweg),in Holzhausen near Leipzig, and almost 8,000 Reichsmarks savings, a substantial amount for the time. She received another almost 6,000 Reichsmarks death benefits as well as c. 1,050 Reichsmarks monthly widow's pension, orphan's pension and conversion assistance. On 21 October 1944, she was taken into police custody for "immoral conduct" and for attempting to evade compulsory wartime labor (labor sabotage). She was later sentenced to three months in a labor camp in Ravensbrück and transferred there in January 1945.

Children

• Joachim "Jochen" (b. 1 March 1919 in Dresden; d. 17 February 1971 in München)
  • In 1939, Jochen Leschke was drafted into the Wehrmacht and participated in the Western and Russian campaigns. In the spring of 1944, he was taken prisoner of war by the Americans. Via the USA, he was taken prisoner of war in June 1944 by the English at Ascot, to Camp No. 7. There he received training in broadcast journalism at the BBC, then headed by traitor Waldemar Freiherr von Knoeringen. In September 1945, he became the first head of the NDR women's radio program after the war. In the spring of 1946, he moved to Radio Frankfurt, becoming head of youth radio and founding the school radio program. He promoted political and social youth education by addressing current and controversial topics in programs for young listeners. From 1957, Leschke worked as a freelance journalist in Munich. He then worked for several broadcasting companies, including BR and SWR. From 1960 to 1964, he was Chief Correspondent of the BBC's German department. From 1964, he headed the public relations department at Lufthansa Cologne until 1969. In the last years until his death, he produced travel reports for various broadcasters. Jochen Leschke was married from 1948 onwards; his marriage to Christine Leschke ended in divorce in 1955. From 1956 until his death, he was married to actress Irene Naef. He had a son from his first marriage and a daughter (Eugenia Naef) from his second.
• Alexander Roitsch (b. 1 October 1925)
  • Alexander was illegitimate, but received his father's name. His mother, née Kaminsky, had an affair with the divorced Leschke, with whom she fell in love. She had another illegitimate child, therefore he could not marry her because this would have seriously jeopardized his economic and social position. His mother (d. 1 November 1940) then married foreman Martin Roitsch in 1928 and they would have two more children. Alexander Leschke paid monthly child support. After the death of his biological father, Alexander received a savings book with 5,000 Reichsmarks as an educational allowance from the private funds of Adolf Hitler. Alexander Roitsch was a member of the Flieger-HJ (aviators of the Hitler Youth). He had successfully passed the B-test for glider pilots. After attending school until Easter 1940, he started an apprenticeship as a mechanic. On 4 February 1943, he was called up for RAD service in Willstätt bei Kehl. His goal, as his father's files show, was to become a professional soldier and Luftwaffe pilot. Whether he achieved this goal is unknown, but he served on the Eastern Front during the last year of the war, where he was killed in action.
• Thy Charlotte (b. 17 February 1929)
  • After the death of her father, Thy also received a savings book with 5,000 Reichsmarks as an educational allowance from the private funds of Adolf Hitler.
• Peter (15 July 1939 – 7 October 1939)

Promotions

• 22 August 1908 Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
  • Fahnenjunker-Gefreiter
  • Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier
• 29 March 1909 Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 21 January 1910 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
• 16 December 1915 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
• 1 February 1936 Major der Reserve (Major of the Reserves)
• 1 December 1941 Oberstleutnant der Reserve (Lieutenant Colonel of the Reserves)
• Posthumously Oberst der Reserve (Colonel of the Reserves) with effect and Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 December 1942 (14)

SA

• 5 October 1933 SA-Anwärter (SA Candidate)
• 19 November 1933 SA-Mann
• 24 December 1933 SA-Standartenführer
• 9 November 1940 SA-Oberführer

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 1st Class in 1914
• Saxon Albert Order (Albrechts-Orden), Knight 2nd Class with Swords (SA3b⚔/AR2⚔)
• Saxon Military St. Henry Order, Knight’s Cross (SH3) in 1915
• Military Merit Order (Bavaria), 4th Class with Swords (BMV4⚔)
• Civil Order of Saxony (Sächsischer Verdienstorden), Knight 2nd Class with Swords (VR2⚔/SV3b⚔)
  • possibly also Knight 1st Class with Swords (SV3a⚔)
• Wound Badge (1918) in Black
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (1934) with Swords
• SA-Wehrabzeichen
• Hungarian World War Commemorative Medal (Ungarische Kriegs-Erinnerungs-Medaille) with Swords
• Austrian War Commemorative Medal (Österreichische Kriegserinnerungsmedaille) with Swords
• Repetition Clasp 1939 to the Iron Cross 1914, 2nd and 1st Class
• Infantry Assault Badge in Silver
• Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal
• Wound Badge (1939) in Silver
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 4 November 1941 as Major of the Reserves and Commander of the II. Bataillon/Infanterie-Regiment 11 (motorized)
• German Cross in Gold on 11 February 1943 (posthumously) as Oberst der Reserve and Commander of the Grenadier-Regiment 11 (motorized)/14. Infanterie-Division (motorized)

Gallery

• 

  Freikorps "Michaelis" – Sächsische Grenzjäger-Brigade

• 

  SA-Stabschef Viktor Lutze at the reception for seven Knight's Cross holders of the SA in January 1942; the photo was taken in the standard hall (Standartensaal) of the adjutant's office of the SA chief of staff in Berlin, and the following day the gentlemen were also received by Joseph Goebbels.

• 

  From left to right: Oberführer Major Alexander Leschke, Standartenführer Leutnant Georg Feig, Sturmbannführer Leutnant Walter Evers, Sturmbannführer Unteroffizier Alois Zmugg, Obersturmführer Leutnant Hans Hoffritz, Sturmführer Feldwebel Josef Gollas and Rottenführer Oberfeldwebel Karl Brüggemann.

• 

  Heinrich Wosch (in general's coat) paying his last respects to Oberst Heinrich Arthur Wiedemann from Plauen, who had fallen on 23 July 1942 in Tereschkowo/Rshew; to the right with Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and Stahlhelm is Oberstleutnant d. R. Alexander Leschke, new commander of the Infanterie-Regiment (mot.) 11.

Sources

• German Federal Archives: BArch PERS 6/36918 and R 9361-II/633230

Further reading

• Walther-Peer Fellgiebel: Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile (in German), Podzun-Pallas, Wölfersheim 2000, ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6
  • English: The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches, expanded edition, 2000
• Klaus D. Patzwall / Veit Scherzer: Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941–1945 Geschichte und Inhaber, Band II (in German), Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt 2001, ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8
• Veit Scherzer: Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 – Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German), Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag, Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2