Bruno Meineke

Bruno Meineke
Bruno Meineke
	;
Birth name	August Robert Adolf Bruno Meineke
Birth date	25 May 1908
Place of birth	Hannover, Province of Hanover, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date	29 November 1980 (aged 72)
Place of death	Einbeck, Lower Saxony, West Germany
Allegiance	Weimar Republic; National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Police; Heer
Years of service	1927–1945
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Iron Cross; Honour Roll Clasp of the Army; Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

August Robert Adolf Bruno Meineke (sometimes wrongly Meinecke; 25 May 1908 – 29 November 1980) was a German officer of the police and the Wehrmacht, finally Lieutenant Colonel, regimental commander and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in World War II. It seems possible that Dr. med. Bruno Meinecke (1932–2020) was his son.

Life

After graduating from school, Meineke joined the police on 4 October 1927 and was commissioned in 1931. On 1 October 1935, Meineke was transferred to the army of the Wehrmacht. At the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, he was a Captain and commander of the I. Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment 407. In autumn 1941, he was wounded. At some time between summer 1942 and early 1943, he was appointed commander of the Jäger-Bataillon 4 at the Eastern Front. The Jäger unit was dissolved at the end of 1943. One source states, Meineke was appointed leader of the Grenadier-Regiment 531 on 15 December 1943 and officially commander on 6 March 1944. Another source states, he commanded the Grenadier-Regiment 533 (both regiments belonged to the 383. Infanterie-Division) while the Grenadier-Regiment 531 was led by Major Otto Benzin.^[1] On 15 October 1944, Meineke was appointed commander of the anew formed Grenadier-Regiment 912 subordinated to the 349. Volks-Grenadier-Division.

Promotions

1 September 1931: Polizei-Leutnant (Police 2nd Lieutenant)
1 June 1933: Polizei-Oberleutnant (Police 1st Lieutenant)

Army

1 October 1935: Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
1 March 1938: Hauptmann (Captain)
1 January 1942: Major
1 December 1944: Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) with Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 March 1944
- at least one source states, he was promoted to Oberst (Colonel)^[2] in c. spring 1945, but this cannot be verified by documentation.

Awards and decorations

Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 3rd Class for 12 years
Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
- 2nd Class on 6 July 1941
- 1st Class on 21 January 1942
Wound Badge (1939) in Black on 29 October 1941
Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal on 17 July 1942
Infantry Assault Badge (Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen) in Silver on 9 April 1943 as Major
Tank Destruction Badge (Panzervernichtungsabzeichen) on 5 December 1943 as Major
Honour Roll Clasp of the Army (Ehrenblattspange des Heeres) on 6 or 7 February 1944 as Major and Commander of the Jäger-Bataillon 4
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 19 June 1942 as Major and Commander of the I. Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment 407/121. Infanterie-Division^[3]