Helmut Bechler

From Metapedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Helmut Bechler
Helmut Bechler.jpg
Oberst Bechler
Birth name Helmut Bernhard Franz Bechler
Birth date 2 June 1898(1898-06-02)
Place of birth Grün,[1] Amtshauptmannschaft Auerbach, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire
Death date 9 January 1971 (aged 72)
Place of death Kassel, Hesse, West Germany
Place of burial Niederzwehren Cemetery in Kassel
Allegiance  German Empire
 Weimar Republic
 National Socialist Germany
Service/branch Iron Cross of the Luftstreitkräfte.png Imperial German Army
Freikorps Flag.jpg Freikorps
War Ensign of the Reichswehr, 1919 - 1935.png Reichswehr
Balkenkreuz.jpg Heer
Years of service 1915–1920
1934–1945
Rank Major General
Commands held 173rd Infantry Regiment
504th Grenadier Regiment
85th Infantry Division
Battles/wars World War I
World War II
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Relations ∞ 1925 Ilse Herrmann
Other work Merchant

Helmut Bernhard Franz Bechler (2 June 1898 – 9 January 1971) was a German officer of the Imperial German Army, the Freikorps, the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht, finally Generalmajor of the Heer during World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. After the war he was a Lutheran lay preacher.

Life

Helmut Bechler (center) with his officers at the Eastern Front (World War II)
Helmut Bechler's younger brother, Bernhard Max Bechler (b. 9 February 1911 in Grün; d. 30 November 2002), to the left with his wife (∞ 7 May 1938) Margret,[2][3] was an "unconditional National Socialist" and Major of the Wehrmacht, decorated with the German Cross in Gold.[4] He was taken prisoner at the Battle of Stalingrad on 27 January 1943 as commander of the I. Battalion/Grenadier-Regiment 29, became a traitor of his comrades in a Russian Gulag (member of the "National Committee for a Free Germany") and then labeled himself an "anti-fascist". He made his career in the GDR and would become a Generalmajor of the Volkspolizei. The brothers detested each other, Helmut remained a passionate anti-communist.
1942 to 1945
Family grave

Helmut attended elementary school in Lengenfeld from 1904 to 1909. He then transferred to the Realschule (middle school) in Auerbach for the next to years. From 1909, he attended the Fürsten- und Landesschule Sankt Afra zu Meißen, a prominent Gymnasium for the promotion of gifted children. He then achieved his emergency war Abitur (Kriegs- or Notabitur) in June 1915. On 10 June 1915, he joined the Replacement Battalion of the 16. Königlich Sächsisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 182 in Freiberg as an officer candidate.

  • Detached to Fahnenjunker-Course at Döberitz (01 Sep 1915-06 Nov 1915)
  • 24 November 1915 Deployed into the field to the 8th Company/II. Battalion/16th Royal Saxon Infantry Regiment No. 182
  • Wounded, in Hospital (11 Jul 1916-21 Dec 1916); during this time promoted to Leutnant
  • Ordinance-Officer with the Staff of the II. Battalion of the 182nd Infantry-Regiment (21 Dec 1916-14 Mar 1918)
  • Platoon-Leader and Signals-Officer in the II. Battalion of the 182nd Infantry-Regiment (14 Mar 1918-04 Dec 1918)
    • At the same time, was Company-Leader in the 182nd Infantry-Regiment (06 Aug 1918-14 Aug 1918)
  • Adjutant of the I. Battalion of the 182nd Infantry-Regiment (04 Dec 1918-19 Feb 1919)
  • Granted Leave for Studies at Berlin (19 Feb 1919-27 Mar 1919)
  • Platoon-Leader and Temporary-Adjutant of the I. Battalion in the Assault-Infantry-Regiment of the Guards-Cavalry-Rifle-Division (Freikorps) (27 Mar 1919-21 Jun 1919)
  • Company-Leader (1st Company) in the 56th Reichswehr-Infantry-Regiment (21 Jun 1919-10 Dec 1919)
    • 23 June to 15 August 1919 border protection in Lithuania
    • 28 August to 29 January 1920 border protection in Silesia
  • Adjutant of the II. Battalion of the 20th Infantry-Regiment (10 Dec 1919-01 Mar 1920)
  • Ordinance-Officer with the Staff of the III. Battalion of the 37th Reichswehr Infantry-Regiment (01 Mar 1920-01 Oct 1920)
  • Transferred into the 24th Infantry-Regiment (01 Oct 1920-31 Dec 1920)
  • Retired from Army Service (31 Dec 1920)
  • Reactivated to Army Service (15 Jul 1934)
    • Hauptmann with the 11th Infantry-Regiment (15 Jul 1934-01 Oct 1934)
    • 2 August 1934 newly sworn-in
  • Transferred into Infantry-Regiment Königsbrück (01 Oct 1934-01 Apr 1935)
  • Commander of the 11th Company/III. Battalion/Infantry-Regiment Königsbrück (01 Apr 1935-15 Oct 1935; regimental renaming)
  • Commander of the 11th Company/III. Battalion/53rd Infantry-Regiment (15 Oct 1935-26 Aug 1939)
  • Staff-Officers-Course of the IV. Army-Corps in Königsbrück (15 Nov 1937-27 Nov 1937)
  • Commander of the I. Battalion of the 173rd Infantry-Regiment (26 Aug 1939-06 Jan 1942)
  • Delegated with the Leadership of the 173rd Infantry-Regiment (06 Jan 1942-25 Feb 1942)
  • Commander of the 173rd Infantry-Regiment (25 Feb 1942-29 Mar 1943)
  • Führer-Reserve – Panzer Army High Command 3 (29 Mar 1943-01 Sep 1943)
  • Führer-Reserve OKH (01 Sep 1943-15 Oct 1943)
  • Commander of the 504th Grenadier-Regiment (15 Oct 1943-31 Aug 1944)
  • Führer-Reserve – Detached to Division Leaders Course (31 Aug 1944-11 Oct 1944)
  • Delegated with the deputy/temporary leadership of the 275th Infantry-Division for Generalleutnant Hans Schmidt (11 Oct 1944-22 Nov 1944)
  • Delegated with the deputy/temporary leadership of the 85th Infantry-Division (22 Nov 1944-07 Dec 1944)
  • Delegated with the Leadership of the 85th Infantry-Division (07 Dec 1944-04 Feb 1945)
  • Severely wounded in Hürtgenwald, Eifel (Abwehrschlacht im Hürtgenwald) – in Hospital (04 Feb 1945-15 Mar 1945)
  • Führer-Reserve OKH – Reserve-Hospital (Reserve-Lazarett) in Königstein, Taunus (15 Mar 1945-00 Jun 1945)

Knight's Cross

The Knight's Cross was awarded for Bechler's leadership while his Division was fighting in the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket.

On the night of the 9./10.3.1944, the Grenadier-Regiment 504 was tasked with occupying the village of Sapadinzy (located 3 km to the east of the Schepetowka—Proskurow road). Its mission was to hold this village and prevent the enemy from reaching the road while the bulk of the Korps (i.e. 3 Divisionen) were retreating along it. As the first regimental elements arrived they were surprised by the sudden appearance of Soviet armour. Acting swiftly himself, Oberst Bechler was able to stabilize the situation with the immediately available elements of his unit (some 30 men). He then used the follow-up regimental elements to create a defensive front in the extended village and was ultimately able to hold Sapadinzy for three days against all Soviet attacks, some of which were supported by tanks.

Bechler would be recognized appropriately for this brave and important operational victory.

Post-war

Bechler was a Russian POW for a short while, was released, was arrested twice without cause by the Soviet occupation force, until finally, in June 1948, he succeeded to escape to the West Zone. He lived in the city of Kassel, with many fellow Generals, like Generalmajor z. V. Friedrich von Both (1871–1945), Commandant of the Troop-Exercise-Grounds at Wildflecken, Generalleutnant der Luftwaffe Walter Friedensburg (1889–1959), Generalmajor der Artillerie Friedrich "Fritz" von Buch (1876–1959), Inspector for the Officers-Training in the Staff of the Commanding General of the Training and Replacement Troops of the Parachute-Army, and many more.

Family

Helmut was the son of factory director (Vorstandsvorsitzender der Vogtländischen Carbonisieranstalt AG) Bernhard Max Rudolph Bechler (3 May 1869 – 2 March 1946) and his wife (∞ Falkenstein 23 June 1896) Frieda Martha, née Lange (1875–1955). He had three younger siblings.

Marriage

On 21 March 1925 in Kassel, Bechler, now a merchant, married his Lutheran fiancée Ilse Herrmann (1901–1984), daughter of merchant Alfred Otto Herrmann and his wife Emma Helene, née Lange. They would have five children:

  • Maria (b. 20 January 1926 in Lengenfeld, Vogtland)
  • Ruth (b. 15 June 1927 in Lengenfeld, Vogtland; d. 26 November 1984)
  • Elisabeth (b. 12 May 1929 in Lengenfeld, Vogtland; d. 24 December 1964)
  • Gisela (b. 20 February 1932 in Lengenfeld, Vogtland), well-known organ player and Kantorin (female conductor of a church choir)
  • Alfred (b. 7 November 1936 in Naumburg)

Promotions

  • 10 June 1915: Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
  • 30 September 1915: Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier (Officer Candidate with Corporal/NCO/Junior Sergeant rank)
  • 3 December 1915: Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
  • 21 October 1916: Leutnant (2nd Liutenant)
  • 31.12.1920: Charakter als Oberleutnant (Honorary 1st Lieutenant)
  • 15 July 1934: Hauptmann with Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 February 1934 (63)
  • 31 March 1939: Major with RDA from 1 April 1939 (38)
  • 18 January 1942: Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) with RDA from 1 February 1942 (183)
  • 15 February 1943: Oberst (Colonel) with RDA from 1 December 1942 (60
  • 16 February 1945 (telex date): Generalmajor (Major General) with effect and RDA from 30 January 1945

Awards and decorations

Sources

  • German Federal Archives: BArch PERS 6/1077 and PERS 6/299378

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

References

  1. ↑ Since 1. April 1935 a part of Lengenfeld (Vogtland).
  2. ↑ Margret Bechler: Warten auf Antwort – Ein deutsches Schicksal, 1978 (second edition 1990); Margret, née Dreykorn (1914–2002), daughter of an Imperial naval engineer, was also betrayed by her husband Bernhard Max Bechler, she spent many years, after being arrested in Altenburg by the US-Americans in June 1945 and then, after they left, turned over to the Russians, until 1950 in Russian Gulags (Speziallager) in Germany (on 16 September 1946 judicially declared dead at the request of the husband, although he found out in June 1946, that she was alive; Bernhard married his secretary, the war widow Erna Voll on 19 September 1946) and until April 1956 in the prison Hoheneck, her ex-husband would not help her, filed for divorce in 1950, when he found out, she was still alive. She would become a teacher in Wedel near Hamburg in 1959, still searching for her two children (Heidi, born 2 October 1939, and Hans-Bernhard, born 23 July 1940), who had disappeared 1945. They were abducted by the Russians and handed over to the father 1946. She was supported by Helmut Bechler and his family. She finally saw her son again after the German Reunification 1990, her daughter Heidi had died.
  3. ↑ Hans Ehlert / Armin Wagner: Genosse General! – Die Militärelite der DDR in biografischen Skizzen, 2010
  4. ↑ Bechler, Bernhard, Traces of War
  5. ↑ Bechler, Helmut, Traces of War
  6. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 107.
Retrieved from "http://en.metapedia.org/m/index.php?title=Helmut_Bechler&oldid=549335"