Karl Ziegler (1905)
| Karl Ziegler | |
|---|---|
_I.jpg) Major Ziegler | |
| Birth name | Karl Franz Ziegler |
| Birth date | 1 November 1905 |
| Place of birth | Langenlois, Krems-Land, Lower Austria, Austria-Hungary |
| Death date | 12 January 1992 (aged 86) |
| Place of death | Bregenz, Vorarlberg, Republic of Austria |
| Allegiance |  Austria National Socialist Germany
|
| Service/branch |  Austrian Bundesheer Heer
|
| Years of service | 1925–1988 1938–1945 |
| Rank | Hauptmann (Captain) Oberst (Colonel) |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Iron Cross German Cross in Gold Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Karl Franz Ziegler (1905–1992) was a German officer of Austria and the German Reich, finally Colonel of the Wehrmacht and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in World War II.
Life
Austria
Karl was born the son of bookbinder Sebastian Ziegler. He attended the Volksschule (elementary school), the Bürgerschule (a school to prepare for practical careers in the commercial and craft sectors) and the Handelsschule (a vocational middle school whose focus is on economics subjects) until 1921. In 1925, he joined the Austrian Federal Army (Bundesheer 1. Republik) as an active soldier and was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant in 1930. After the accession of Austria to the German Reich in 1938, Captain Ziegler belonged to the officers, who were offered to join the Wehrmacht, which he did.
Wehrmacht
Ziegler served with the infantry and was transferred to the Infanterie-Regiment 207, which was establish months after the Battle of France on 15 December 1940. On 23 May 1941, the regiment began to be transported to Slovakia, where they took up accommodation near Preschau (Slovak Republic). It was moved in marches via Gorlice – Jaslo – Rzeszow – Zalmia to the Lezaisk area. There the regiment was prepared for the attack on the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa). On 22 June 1941, the regiment marched to the Zamich Tarnogrod area. On 24 June 1941, it was pushed into the front and the first fighting broke out around the forest near Smolin. On 6 July 1942, the regiment was renamed to Jäger-Regiment 207.
On 8 July 1942, the regiment launched the summer offensive near Mayakiam. The regiment advanced across the Donets towards Rostov. On 21 July 1942, there was fighting near Schachtenk, Siambek and Krassno Znamenski, and on 23 July 1942 near Stenka. On 27 July 1942, the regiment's leaders reached the Don. The regiment crossed the river on 28 July 1942 via the war bridge near Rasdorskaya. The Manych River behind it was also crossed, although it was flooded due to a dam blowing up. After crossing the rivers, the regiment and the division turned south towards Maikop. On 13 August 1942, the regiment entered Baniloff-Kushorskaya and took the city. With the capture of the city, the Caucasus mountains were reached and the Mountain War began.
The regiment was able to advance to Nishegorodskaya by 15 August 1942, but Russian resistance became increasingly stronger. Nawaginskis was taken until the end of September, and at the end of October the III. Battalion under Ziegler crossed the Pschish River. The regiment's advance ended here at the end of October and the Russian counteroffensive began. The regiment had to fend off strong attacks, but was able to hold its positions. On the night of December 25th to 26th, 1942, the regiment was replaced by parts of the 4th Mountain Division and relocated in a rush to the area southeast of Krasnodar on the Kuban. Here the regiment had to fend off heavy Russian attacks. These attacks were aimed at cutting off the German units in the Caucasus.
In the following months, the regiment slowly and systematically moved to the Kuban bridgehead, thereby guaranteeing the retreat of the German units in the Caucasus. The regiment returned to Krymskaya via Severskaya, Iskaya, Kholmskaya and Akhtyrskaya. On 4 April 1943, the first of four serious Russian attacks took place here with the aim of breaking through the German front. The four major Russian attacks could only be sealed off and the main battle line (Hauptkampflinie; HKL) held by calling up the last reserves. On the night of 3 to 4 May 1943, the regiment went back to the Goten Line (Gotenlinie) west of Krymskaya. After the positions were expanded, there was heavy fighting around Moldavanskoye and Gorishchnyi at the end of May. In September 1943, the evacuation of the Kuban bridgehead was ordered. The Jäger-Regiment 207, along with the Jäger-Regiment 204, was one of the last units to hold the positions on the Kuban. On 8 October 1943, the regiment also crossed over to the Crimea.
Awards and decorations
- Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 3rd Class (12-year Service Cross)
- Sudetenland Medal (Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938)
- Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
- Infantry Assault Badge (Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen) in Silver
- Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal
- War Merit Cross (1939), 2nd Class with Swords
- Kuban Shield (Kubanschild)
- German Cross in Gold on 29 November 1942 as Major and Commander of the III. Bataillon/Jäger-Regiment 207
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 8 April 1943 as Major and Commander of the III. Bataillon/Jäger-Regiment 207/97. Jäger-Dvision[1]
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