Hermann Julius Fischer

Hermann Fischer
Birth name	Hermann Julius Fischer
Birth date	19 February 1894(1894-02-19)
Place of birth	Ostheim vor der Rhön, Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, German Empire
Death date	12 April 1968 (aged 74)
Place of death	Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
Resting place	Südfriedhof in Bonn (Section XIX, Grave 136)
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army Freikorps Reichswehr Heer
Years of service	1913–1945
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	181. Infanterie-Division
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Norwegian Campaign Balkans Campaign Courland Pocket
Awards	Iron Cross Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Hermann Julius Fischer (19 February 1894 – 12 April 1968) was a German officer since 1913, finally Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) of the Heer of the Wehrmacht and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in World War II. Fischer surrendered to the Red Army on 9 May 1945 in the Courland Pocket. Convicted at a show trial in the Soviet Union, he was held until 7 October 1955.

Military career (chronology)

• 27.2.1913 Joined the 2. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 32 as an officer candidate

WWI

• 8.8.1914 With the regiment into the field
• 23.8.1914 Wounded
• 5.12.1914 Platoon leader in the 60th Field Infantry Battalion
• 31.1.1915 Into the field with the Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 251
• 9.2.1915 Fallen ill
• 9.5.1915 Platoon leader in the Replacement Battalion of the 2. Kurhessisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 82
• 16.6.1915 Teacher and educator at the Royal Prussian Main Cadet Institute (Preußische Hauptkadettenanstalt Groß-Lichterfelde)
• 19.3.1916 Company leader in the Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 251
• 12.6.1918 Wounded again
• 20.8.1918 Company leader in the Replacement Battalion of the 2. Kurhessisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 82
• 1.10.1918 Commanded to the Replacement Machine Gun Company No. 2
• 7.12.1918 Replacement Battalion/2. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 32
• 9.12.1918 Adjutant of the Meiningen District Command
• 27.12.1918 Platoon leader in the 2. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 32

Freikorps

• 22.3.1919 Company leader in the Iron Divison (Eiserne Division) under Josef Bischoff
• 8.12.1919 Company leader in the Freikorps Lichtschlag

Reichswehr

• 1.6.1920 Platoon leader in the Reichswehr-Infanterie-Regiment 19
• 15.9.1920 Platoon leader in the 9. Kompanie/Reichswehr-Infanterie-Regiment 14
• 1.10.1923 Officer in the 8. (Machine Gun) Kompanie/Infanterie-Regiment 18 (Münster)
• 1.10.1925 Officer in the 13. (Mortar) Kompanie/Infanterie-Regiment 18 (Paderborn)
• 1.4.1927 Commander of the 16. Kompanie/ Infanterie-Regiment 18 (Detmold)
• 1.5.1931 Commander of the 12. (Machine Gun) Kompanie/Infanterie-Regiment 18 (Bückeburg)
• 1.10.1934 Commander of the III. Bataillon/Infanterie-Regiment 39 (Rheine)

Wehrmacht

• 6.10.1936 Commander of the III. Bataillon/Infanterie-Regiment 77 (Bonn)
• 26.10.1939 Commander of the Infanterie-Ersatz-Regiment 6
• 1.12.1939 Commander of the Infanterie-Regiment 340
• 12.3.1942 Führerreserve OKH (Leader Reserve)
• 24.3.1942 Delegated with the leadership of the of the 181. Infanterie-Division
• 20.4.1942 Commander of the 181. Infanterie-Division
• 1.10.1944 Führerreserve OKH (Leader Reserve)
• 20.10.1944 Commander of the rear army area 584
• 9.5.1945 Became a Soviet prisoner of war in Courland

Family

Descent

Hermann was the son of Franz Fischer, senior district judge (Oberamtsrichter) and judicial councilor (Justizrat), and his wife Elisabeth, née Münzel.

Marriage

On 8 October 1925, 1st Lieutenant Fischer married his fiancée Renate bell (1901–1991). They had three children: one son (b. 1929) and two daughters (b. 1926 and 1934).

Promotions

Prussian Army / Imperial Army

• 27.2.1913 Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
• 20.10.1913 Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 19.6.1914 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant) with Patent from 23.6.1912
• 6.11.1917 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
  • 1.7.1922 received new Rank Seniority (RDA) from 6.11.1917

Reichswehr

• 1.12.1925 Hauptmann (Captain)
• 1.6.1934 Major

Wehrmacht

• 1.10.1936 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)
• 1.8.1939 Oberst (Colonel)
• 8.4.1942 Generalmajor (Major General) with Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1.4.1942
• 20.4.1943 Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) with Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1.4.1943

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 14 September 1914
  • 1st Class on 22 May 1918
• Saxe-Meiningen Cross for Merit in War (SMK) on 15 April 1915
• Order of the White Falcon (Hausorden vom Weißen Falken), Knight's Cross 2nd Class with Swords (GSF3b⚔/SF3b⚔) on 18 July 1915
• Schwarzburg Honor Cross (Fürstlich Schwarzburgisches Ehrenkreuz), III. Class with Swords on (SEK3⚔/SE3⚔) on 8 October 1917
• Princely Waldeck Cross of Merit (Fürstlich Waldeckisches Verdienstkreuz), 4th Class with Swords (WVK4⚔) on 24 April 1918
• Wound Badge (1914) in Black on 7 November 1918

Post-war

• Baltic Cross (Baltenkreuz)
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords on 14 February 1935
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 1st Class
  • 4th to 2nd Class on 2 October 1936
  • 1st Class on 27 February 1938
• West Wall Medal (Deutsches Schutzwall-Ehrenzeichen)

WWII

• Repetition Clasp 1939 to the Iron Cross 1914, 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 23 April 1940
  • 1st Class on 10 May 1940
• Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal
• Finish Order of the Cross of Liberty, 2nd Class with Swords on 10 February 1942
• Courland Cuff Title / Cuff band "Kurland" (Ärmelband „Kurland“)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 9 May 1940 as Colonel and Commander of Infanterie-Regiment 340

Gallery

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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