Johannes Bachmann

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Johannes Bachmann
Johannes Bachmann.png
Birth name Johannes Theodor Bachmann
Birth date 22 March 1890
Place of birth Werdau, Kreis Zwickau, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire
Death date ⚔ 1 April 1945
Place of death near Willebadessen, Kreis Höxter, Nordrhein-Westfalen, German Reich
Allegiance  German Empire (to 1918)
 Weimar Republic (to 1933)
 National Socialist Germany
Service/branch  Kaiserliche Marine
 Reichsmarine
 Kriegsmarine
Years of service 1909–1945
Rank Admiral
Battles/wars World War I
World War II
Awards German Cross in Silver
Relations ∞ 1920 Karoline Hagedorn

Johannes Theodor Bachmann (22 March 1890 – 1 April 1945) was a German naval officer, finally Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral) of the Kriegsmarine in World War Two. He should not be confused with Captain at Sea (Ing.) Johannes Bachmann (1902–1968),[1] also a German naval officer.

Career (chronology)

Vice Admiral Bachmann inspects the Anglo-German war cemetery on the island of Schiermonnikoog (Vredenhof) on 11 September 1941.
Vizeadmiral Bachmann commemorating the "Day of the Wehrmacht"
  • Entered the Navy as Seekadett with "Crew 1909" and attended Basic-Training on Board the Heavy-Cruiser "Freya" (1 April 1909-31 March 1910)
  • Naval-School and Special-Purpose Courses (1 April 1910-30 September 1911)
    • Among them an infantry course at the I. or II. Seebataillon (1 to 30 April 1911)
  • On Board the Heavy Cruiser "Gneisenau" in East Asia (20 November 1911-24 September 1913)
  • Returned Home and Placed to the Disposal of the II. Naval-Inspection (25 September 1913-14 January 1914)
  • Company-Officer and Watch-Officer on Torpedo-Boats with the II. Torpedo-Division (15 January 1914-April 1917)
  • Commandant of the Torpedo-Boats "G 8" and "V 130" of the V. Torpedo-Boat-Flotilla (October 1917-20 August 1919)
    • from June 1919, at the same time, also company officer with the 16th Reichswehr-Brigade (Landesjägerkorps Reichswehrbrigade 16); The Reichswehr-Brigade 16 Weimar of the Vorläufige Reichswehr was formed in June 1919 from the Freikorps unit Freiwilliges Landesjägerkorps. It is therefore possible, that Bachmann served with the Freikorps.
  • Company-Officer with the Coastal-Defence-Battalion Cuxhaven (21 August 1919-3 November 1920)
  • Detached to the Commander of Cuxhaven, then, Coastal-Defence-Battalion IV (4 November 1920-7 September 1921)
  • Artillery-Officer on the Cruiser "Hamburg" (4 October 1923-3 October 1925)
    • At the same time, Assigned the Temporary Position of 1st Admiral-Staff-Officer "Asto" (31 July 1926-10 September 1926)
  • Navigations-Officer on the Cruiser "Nymphe" (27 September 1928-16 April 1929)
  • Leader of the Crew-Cadre (Crew 1929) on board the "Karlsruhe" (17 April 1929-5 November 1929)
    • At the same time, Delegated with the Temporary Leadership of the 1st Battalion of the Ship’s-Cadre-Division Baltic Sea (20 May 1929-30 September 1929)
  • First Officer on the Cruiser "Karlsruhe" (6 November 1929-31 March 1931)
  • Placed to the Disposal of the Chief of the Naval-Station of the Baltic Sea (9 April 1931-21 September 1931)
  • Advisor in the Naval-Defence-Department, Naval Command (22 September 1931-28 September 1933)
  • Director of the Reichsmarine-Service-Office in Königsberg (29 September 1933-2 July 1935)
  • Director of the Kriegsmarine-Service-Office in Königsberg (3 July 1935-20 September 1935)
  • Commandant of the Cruiser "Emden" (21 Sep 1935-25 Aug 1936)
  • Chief Of Staff in the Command of the Naval Station of the North Sea (26 August 1936-20 August 1940)
  • Coastal-Commander Eastern Frisia (21 August 1940-13 February 1941)
  • Coastal-Commander Deutsche Bucht (German Bay) (14 February 1941-22 June 1942)
  • Naval Commander West France (8 August 1942-31 January 1943)
  • Commanding Admiral Atlantic Coast (1 February 1943-6 March 1943)
  • Placed at the Disposal (zur Verfügung) of the Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine (7 March 1943-31 May 1943)
  • Retired (31 May 1943)
  • Placed at the Disposal (zur Disposition) of the Kriegsmarine without being Mobilised (1 June 1943)
  • Deputy district administrator (stellvertretender Landrat) of Warburg (16 June 1943)
  • District administrator (Landrat) of Warburg (2 August 1943)

Death

Johannes Bachmann was dismissed from active naval service on 31 May 1943 because of "rejuvenation" and placed on disposal (z. D.) on June 1, 1943, but without being mobilized again. From 16 June 1943, he was deputy district administrator in Warburg, from 28 June 1943 to 24 July 1943, he held an informational position at the Düsseldorf-Mettmann district office, and on 2 August 1943, he was inaugurated as district administrator in Warburg. When the enemy invaded, he stood up to fight.

The Americans and the English intended to close the large Ruhr basin around the Ruhr area in the Höxter district. The Americans came from the south via Marburg/Korbach, the English via Osnabrück/Bielefeld. At the end of March 1945, it was time, in Warburg and Scherfede there was fierce fighting. District administrator of the district of Warburg Admiral z. D. Bachmann had withdrawn to the northern district as a result of the fighting around Warburg and was staying in Willebadessen Castle with the family of Major a. D. Freiherr von Wrede. All his luggage with the admiral's uniform had been lost. He therefore wore civilian clothes, but wanted to wear a uniform as a soldier in the final battle for Germany. The admiral then borrowed the Freiherr's major's uniform, put it on, as there was no admiral's uniform, and left Willebadessen. On 1 April 1945, Easter Sunday, Willebadessen was then occupied by the Americans coming from Helmern.

Below the cemetery on Griesenberg and Helleberg there were air-raid shelters in which numerous residents had gone for protection. From the bunker entrance of the Helleberg tunnel, witnesses saw how a car was shot at on the other side of the valley, on the sloping road from Altenheerse am Schleusenberg, from which a jet of flame immediately erupted. All occupants were killed by enemy anti-tank gun fire, including Admiral Johannes Bachmann. Some sources give 2 April 1945 as the death date (possibly because he was not identified until that day), but local eyewitnesses, including Diethard Freiherr von Wrede (son of the Major), confirm 1 April 1945.[2]

German troops, mostly units of the Waffen-SS, were still in the Egge and in the Neuenheerse area, from where they tried to liberate Willebadessen in the early morning hours of Easter Monday, 2 April 1945, after German artillery had fired from Egge. They came across completely open ground and advanced to the center of the village, but then had to retreat to Egge, suffering heavy losses. They left many dead in the village and 6 or 7 destroyed "Tiger" tanks, which stayed in the village for a long time. German Waffen-SS tank crews who tried to surrender were shot and murdered by the Americans anyway, and their wristwatches, medals and boots were then stolen. Wounded German soldiers, whose groans filled the night, were not treated until the morning of 3 April 1945.

Resting place

Admiral Johannes Bachmann rests on the war cemetery in Königswinter-Ittenbach; Final grave location: Block B, Row 10, Grave 188.

Family

Lieutenant Captain Bachmann married his fiancée Karoline Charlotte Christiane Gertrud Hagedorn (b. 31 October 1897) on 5 May 1920 in Grimelsheim (Hofgeismar district), daughter of the landowner nd farmer Paul Richard Ernst Hagedorn and Margarethe Auguste Charlotte, née Milter.

Promotions

Signature
  • Seekadett / Officer Candidate (1 April 1909)
  • Fähnrich zur See / Officer Cadet (12 April 1910)
  • Leutnant zur See / 2nd Lieutenant (19 September 1912)
  • Oberleutnant zur See / 1st Lieutenant (2 May 1915)
  • Kapitänleutnant (21 January 1920)
  • Korvettenkapitän (1 January 1928)
  • Fregattenkapitän (1 April 1933)
  • Kapitän zur See / Captain at See (1 April 1935)
  • Konteradmiral / Rear Admiral (1 April 1939)
  • Vizeadmiral / Vice Admiral (1 April 1941)
  • Admiral (1 September 1942)

Awards and decorations

References

  1. ↑ Kapitän zur See (Ing.) Johannes Bachmann
  2. ↑ Willi Sasse / Waldemar Becker: Das Kriegsende 1944/45 in Willebadessen, Bad Driburg 2006 (Archive)
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