Otto Vincon

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Otto Vincon
Major Otto Vincon.png
Birth date 23 January 1906(1906-01-23)
Place of birth Perouse (today a part of Rutesheim near Stuttgart), Oberamt Leonberg, Neckarkreis, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire
Death date ⚔ c. 13 April 1945 (aged 39)
Place of death Wildbad–Kaltenbronn area in the northern Black Forest, Gau Württemberg-Hohenzollern, German Reich
Allegiance  Weimar Republic
 National Socialist Germany
Service/branch War Ensign of the Reichswehr, 1919 - 1935.png Reichswehr
Balkenkreuz.jpg Heer
Years of service 1924–1945
Rank Major der Reserve
Battles/wars World War II
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Otto Vincon (23 January 1906 – 13 April 1945) was a German NCO of the Reichswehr as well as officer of the Wehrmacht, finally Major and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. He was one of only 98 recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with the Close Combat Clasp in Gold in World War II. Military historian Veit Scherzer contends that Vincon was posthumously promoted Oberstleutnant der Reserve (Lieutenant Colonel of the Reserves). Although this is not an unusual occurrence, the promotion cannot be clearly documented.

Life

Lieutenant General z. V. Hans Schmidt awarding 1st Lieutenant of the Reserves Otto Vincon with the Iron Cross, 1st Class
Hauptmann Otto Vincon.jpg
Hauptmann Vincon am Stuttgarter Hauptbahnhof im November 1943.jpg
Otto Vincon.jpg
Otto Vincon, Grave in Dobel.jpg

Vincon was born 1906 in the Kingdom of Württemberg and joined the 13th (Württemberg) Infantry Regiment of the Reichswehr in 1924 as a non-commissioned officer candidate (SaZ 12) and was retired as a sergeant major (Oberfeldwebel) in 1936 after twelve years of service.[1]

WWII

At the beginning of the war in 1939, he was called up as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Reserve to the 6th company of the 470th Infantry Regiment in the 260th Infantry Division and took part in border protection on the Western Front. Even though the Western Front remained relatively quiet during the Campaign in Poland and the months that followed—aside from some small-arms fire and occasional artillery shelling, the Allies only attempted one abortive offensive to aid their Polish Allies and it soon collapsed. Two months before the great German offensive was launched, he personally led combat and reconnaissance patrols through the no-man’s-land on the Upper Rhine and reconnoitered French positions.

During the first phase of the Campaign in the West, while the rapid armored forces were advancing through Belgium towards northern France, Vincon’s division was positioned across from the feared Maginot Line. This defensive line, which had a length of 150 kilometers and was constructed after the Great War to prevent another German surprise attack, was considered to be impenetrable with its thousands of artillery pieces, bunkers, antiaircraft guns and machine-gun positions. When France had to pull out forces there as a result of its defeats in the north (and German armor there), resulting in the Maginot Line being outflanked, the German infantry assaulted the fortifications frontally under cover of massive amounts of artillery and support from the air. The specter of invulnerability was forced to its knees. Following that, the 260. Infanterie-Division fought along the Aisne, in the Champagne region and at Langres and Dijon. This was followed by quiet occupation duty in France, before the division was ordered to the East in July 1941, shortly after Operation Barbarossa had started.

The division was allocated to Heeresgruppe Mitte, where Vincon, now 1st Lieutenant of the Reserves, had acting command of the 5th Company/Infanterie-Regiment 470. He participated in the successful advances and the pocket battles until Moscow was in sight. The brave division had been involved in some of the greatest defeats of the Red Army at Kiev and Gomel. Vincon was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class in August. In the winter fighting that followed, he and his men fought in the Juchnow Salient, which was followed by seven months of positional warfare in the Rshew—Wjasma Salient in 1942. It was there that Vincon’s company stopped enemy attacks again and again, brought armored attacks to a standstill in conjunction with the tank-destroyer (Panzerjagd) elements and functioned as a “fire brigade” for the neighboring battalions. By the time he was awarded the German Cross in Gold for his achievements in August 1942, the officer from Württemberg had also been promoted to Captain of the Reserves (Hauptmann der Reserve) and was a recipient of the Close Combat Clasp in Bronze.

As had been the case at Kiev, Moscow and Rshew, Otto Vincon proved himself to be one of the most daring officers or the division and accumulated close-combat days by dint of innumerable offensive and defensive operations. Hauptmann Vincon was given acting command of the 1st Battalion/Grenadier-Regiment 460 and earned the Knight’s Cross in December 1943 in that capacity when he successfully defended against a Soviet assault and then pursued the withdrawing attackers. At the head of his troops, he penetrated into the enemy’s main line of resistance and blew up several dugouts. Four months later, on 1 March 1944, he was promoted to Major of the Reserves.

At the end of 1943, Vincon visited together with the newly awarded Knight's Cross recipients, Lance Corporal Richard Foldenauer (1920–1944) and Colonel Dr. med. August Friker the exhibition “Swabian Divisions in the East” in the Stuttgart State Trade Museum. The men were welcomed in Villa Reitzenstein by the mayor, Dr. Strölin, later the delegation also visited the Silcher Museum and Daimler-Benz.

After a continuous fighting withdrawal, during which the division was badly battered several times or threatened with encirclement, its burnt-out soldiers were positioned outside of Orscha in the summer of 1944. When thousands of artillery pieces opened fire against the German positions on the anniversary of the German attack on the Soviet Union on 22 June, the seasoned veterans of the front knew what was happening—the Soviets were launching their summer offensive. Seemingly innumerable divisions, accompanied by thousands of armored vehicles and supported by thousands of artillery pieces, attacked Heeresgruppe Mitte along hundreds of kilometers of front. Attacked by an estimated two complete rifle divisions in his sector of the front, Vincon saw his battalion break apart and be forced back, just like the rest of the shot-up division. Artillery positions were rolled up, headquarters scattered and many rear-area services, hospitals and depots overrun.
The situation maps from the German Armed Forces High Command from those days reveal the catastrophic picture. Within Generalfeldmarschall Busch’s Heeresgruppe Mitte, the 3. Panzer-Armee of Swords recipient Generaloberst Reinhardt was badly battered during its withdrawal, and the 9. Armee under Swords recipient General der Infanterie Jordan was torn in two and portions of it encircled at Bobruisk! Several divisions, including the remnants of the 260. Infanterie-Division, fought in the Minsk Pocket against superior forces—and lost. By the middle of July, the badly battered Heeresgruppe Mitte was retreating in the direction of Poland. Otto Vincon was one of those gifted at survival; he understood how to get through the horrific defeat.
The remnants of the 260. Infanterie-Division, including the 260-man-strong Bataillon Vincon as its lead force, broke out of the encirclement at Minsk, moved through Brasctscino against stubborn resistance and headed to Ramschino. Despite the constant fire of Soviet artillery and attacks by masses of pursuing tanks, the remnants of the division were able to cross the Drut River. Despite all that, the numerically superior Soviets were able to bypass the division on 30 June and deliver a severe blow to it. The breakout efforts were reduced to small units of determined men. With a few dozen soldiers and enduring unbelievable hardships and dangers, Vincon moved for weeks through the woods, surrounded on all sides by hundreds of Soviet elements, both large and small. At night, Gruppe Vincon crossed rivers and went around identified Soviet strongpoints. When the ammunition was gone, the soldiers made use of captured Soviet weapons. As early as 1942, seasoned Eastern Front veterans such as Vincon had recognized that the enemy’s rifles and submachine guns were often more reliable and better performers in bad weather than the German equivalents. The famous PPSh-41 submachine gun, with its drum magazine, was especially prized as a captured weapon and did well in German service. Gruppe Vincon continued to press to the west and actually reached the German lines.
As a consequence of the Rückkämpfer Decree1 of the High Command, which was promulgated as a result of the sensational achievements of Kampfgruppen and individuals who fought their way back—sometimes months later—after a pocket battle, Major Vincon received the Oakleaves to the Knight’s Cross as the 728th member of the German Armed Forces so honored. As a recipient of the Close Combat Clasp in Silver, he also automatically received the Close Combat Clasp in Gold. In addition to Gruppe Vincon of the effectively destroyed 260. Infanterie-Division, there was another successful group that broke out to the west. It was led by Oberst Friedrich Strohm, and it did not reach the German lines until 80 days after breaking out from Minsk. Strohm was likewise awarded the Oakleaves (Number 613) for his achievements, but he unfortunately died shortly after making it back as a result of ten wounds suffered during the breakout and the hardships he had endured.[2]

In October 1944, Major Vincon was transferred to the 257. Volks-Grenadier-Division, where he assumed acting command of Grenadier-Regiment 466. Employed on the Western Front, the experienced Major participated in the fighting in the Alsace and along the Rhine in the early part of 1945. The division then moved to positions in the foothills of the Black Forest. In mid-March 1945, the 257. Volks-Grenadier-Division had to join the retreat of the 1st Army, crossed the Rhine near Karlsruhe and was still in defensive battles here at the beginning of April 1945.[3]

Knight's Cross

On 27 October 1943, Captain of the Reserves Vincon planned a counterattack with the goal of recapturing two heights and the lost main defensive line at Teploje. He formed three shock groups, and these began their attack from different directions starting at 06:30. Vincon led one of these groups (containing 6 men), and they began clearing out their old trenches with only mixed success. They were reduced to just 2 men plus Vincon at one point in the fighting, but were eventually reinforced by men from Vincon's staff along with a flamethrower. This addition of force enabled them to finally eliminate the Soviets occupying the German line, and after a failed hostile counterattack soon afterwards the old line was back in German hands by 16:30. Vincon played a major role in this success, despite being wounded during the fighting. He was thus awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.[4]

Oak Leaves

With the coming of the Soviet Operation Bagration in June 1944, Vincon's division found itself among the German units in the path of the offensive and was forced to retreat. The adventurous 39-day escape from the Minsk Pocket in 1944 was only possible thanks to the unshakable leadership of Major Otto Vincon, who pushed his men to the limit of what was humanly possible with an iron will. Vincon was awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross following a long retreat back to German lines, with the timeline playing out as follows:

  • 26.6.1944 – Retreat of Vincon's Bataillon to Tscherwen.
  • 27.6.1944 – Defeat of 5 Soviet attacks by Vincon's troops.
  • 28.6.1944 – Attack on Brachtschino from the march with 5 Sturmgeschütze (assault guns) and 3 light tank destroyers, which succeeded in taking the town and capturing 50 prisoners. Creek bottom near Achimkowitschi reached at midnight.
  • 29.6.1944 – Successful capture of the Lichinitschi—Teterin road.
  • 30.6.1944 – Capture of Chapry.
  • 1.7.1944 – Opening up the retreat route in the area of Ssomry.
  • 5.7.1944 – Breakout of the remnants of the 260. Infanterie-Division starting at 23:00. By this time it was down to just 10 officers and 760 men, who were gathered at Aptschak under the command of the once again wounded Major Vincon. These men attempted to break through the forest in small groups, with varying degrees of success.
  • August 1944 - Vincon and his group of survivors reach the German lines at Dombrowa, 40 km west of Grodno.

Death

There is much speculation concerning the fate of Otto Vincon. Missing in action since April 1945, the theory concerning that happened to him in Dobel is among the most conclusive of the variants. On 13 April 1945, the Vinvon, who was the acting commander of Grenadier-Regiment 466 of the 257. Volksgrenadier-Division under Major General Erich Seidel (⚔ 11 April 1945), personally conducted terrain reconnaissance in the contested Black Forest. It was important to determine the movements and positions of the advancing Americans in the Wildbach—Kaltenbronn area. Accompanied by a machine-gun detachment, Vinvon, who had nearly five years of front-line experience, headed out at first light. When there was a firefight with American soldiers in the vicinity of Dobel, the soldiers accompanying Major Vincon lost sight of their commander. Since he had not returned by the next day and search teams dispatched by the regiment had found no trace of him, he was reported as missing in action. He was never seen again.

Decades after the war ended, an entry in the logs of Dobel for April 1945 indicated that a dead Major of the Heer was found in an empty building in the town. The anonymous officer did not have an identity disk, awards or papers (e.g. Soldbuch) of any sort on him. It seems probable that Major Vincon had holed up in the building while pulling back from the Americans. He was killed in the firefight and then robbed of his valuable decorations. It is also possible, that he was captured, brought to the building which was used as an enemy command post, stripped of everything and tortured to death. What is strange is the fact that Dobel had been invaded by the French (as well as the French Foreign Legion and Moroccan troops) on 10 April 1945 and was under their control.

In Dobel, an unnamed major without papers or identification tags was buried as an "unknown soldier", believed to be Vincon. The exact circumstances of death could never be determined.[5]

Awards and decorations

References

  1. ↑ Otto Vincon
  2. ↑ Florian Berger: The Face of Courage. The 98 Men Who Received the Knight's Cross and the Close-Combat Clasp in Gold, Stackpole Books edition, 2011 (Archive)
  3. ↑ Vincon, Otto
  4. ↑ Vincon, Otto
  5. ↑ Heimatgeschichte: 75 Jahre Ende Zweiter Weltkrieg: Als die Franzosen in Dobel einmarschierten / Zeitzeugen erinnern sich
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