Werner Reißmann

Werner Reißmann
Captain Reißmann in North Africa
Birth name	Werner Bernhard Reißmann
Birth date	6 April 1915(1915-04-06)
Place of birth	Neustadt near Coburg, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire
Death date	28 August 1963 (aged 48)
Place of death	Neustadt, Bavaria, West Germany
Allegiance	Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany West Germany
Service/branch	Reichswehr Heer Gehlen Organization Bundesnachrichtendienst
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Battles/wars	World War II Cold War
Awards	Iron Cross Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Werner Bernhard Reißmann (6 April 1915 – 28 August 1963) was a German officer as well as recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in World War II.

Life

Reißmann in a staff vehicle (Opel Blitz Omnibus)

Opening of crates containing boxes and an accordion under the eye of Captain Reißmann

Appointments from 1939 to 1944

Bundesarchiv (Federal Archive) pointing out his last rank as Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)

After achieving his Abitur, Reißmann entered the Reichswehr in 1933/34 as an officer candidate serving with the 21. (Bayerisches) Infanterie-Regiment (Infanterie-Regiment Nürnberg) which became the Infanterie-Regiment 104 on 6 October 1936 and the Schützen-Regiment 104 on 11 November 1940.

• 1 April 1936 Commissioned as Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
  • the Infanterie-Regiment 2 was formerly subordinated to the 7. Division in Munich, but as of 15 October 1935 to the 17. Division in Nuremberg
  • On 6 October 1936, the regiment's 1st Battalion was renamed the 1st Battalion of the 104th Infantry Regiment. At the same time, the regiment's 3rd Battalion was renamed the 3rd Battalion of the 104th Infantry Regiment.
• 1 January 1939 Appointed company leader (Kompanie-Führer) in the Infanterie-Regiment 104/33. Infanterie-Division
  • At the beginning of the Second World War in the late summer of 1939, the regiment took up positions on the Western Front as part of the 33rd Infantry Division. In the spring of 1940, the regiment took part in the Western Campaign as part of the division.
  • 11 November 1940 The Infanterie-Regiment 104 was reclassified Schützen-Regiment 104, a motorized rifle regiment
    • The regiment was subordinate to the 15th Panzer Division. Tactically, the regiment was placed under the command of the 15th Rifle Brigade. In the spring of 1941, the regiment was also deployed to North Africa. The regiment's 1st Battalion arrived in Libya at the end of April 1941 and was deployed in the Battle of Tobruk. After four days of brutal fighting, the battalion had suffered heavy losses, but was immediately deployed to the Halfaya Pass (Halfaja-Paß), which the British called "Hell-Fire Pass". The battalion was surrounded there after the British offensive in November 1941 and surrendered on 17 January 1942. The 1st Battalion was re-formed on 17 April 1942, with the inclusion of the 8th Machine Gun Battalion, which was also fighting in Africa at the time. The 15th Motorcycle Battalion (Kradschützen-Bataillon 15) under Major of the Reserves Curt Alfred Ernst Ehle as incorporated into the regiment as the new III. Battalion on the same day. The regiment had now fully arrived in Africa.
  • 19 January to 9 February 1942 Took part in the second reconquest of Cyrenaica
• 1 June 1942 Commander of the 9th Company Captain Reißmann took over the III. Battalion for the wounded Major Ehle
  • At the end of May 1942, the Afrikakorps became bogged down in the Gazala line; as well the British fort Got el Ualeb was still holding out. Erwin Rommel committed the Panzer-Regiment 5 and then the III. Battalion/Schützen-Regiment 104. Major Ehle, who was supposed to lead the attack, was wounded in an attack by enemy fighter-bombers (like many others on this day). Hauptmann Reißmann leapt into the breach. He led his 9th Company and the 10th Company in an assault on the well-fortified enemy positions, with the battalion staff in the center of the attacking wedge. They drove the enemy out of his forward positions. Then, suddenly, Rommel appeared at Reißmann's side: "The enemy is faltering, Reißmann. Wave White flags". Rommel was correct. The British 50th Brigade surrendered. Reißmann was recommended for the Knight's Cross.
    • The battle for the Gazala position is lost, but perhaps a bold decision can turn the worst around. The plan is put into action shortly after midnight on 30 May 1942. Towards morning, the strong enemy mine belt of the Gazala main battle line is reached from the rear, from the east. The task now is to cut a V lane through the British minefields and open the supply valve. Rommel leaves the battlefield to the enemy. He leaves him the glory of victory. His motto is: don't fight senselessly. The bold operation has not yet succeeded. A mine lane is quickly cleared. The Italian Trieste Division has made good progress from the west. But now the British organization is making itself felt. The German command does not know Got el Ualeb. But there, in the middle of the mine belt, is the 150th British Brigade, 2,000 men with 80 heavy Mark II tanks. They keep the mine lanes under artillery fire. This makes a passage during the day impossible and even at night a dangerous and costly adventure. In addition, General Ritchie has overcome the sluggishness and indecision that have always characterized his tactics. He has reorganized his tank units and is attacking. The English Guard is holding out at Knightsbridge. It is holding out against the 90th Light Africa Division, which is breaking through to the west, and the 3rd and 33rd Reconnaissance Battalions, as well as the proven mixed 580th Reconnaissance Battalion under Rittmeister von Homeyer. [...] "Got el Ualeb must fall. The 150th British Brigade must be driven from its fortress!" Rommel orders harshly. It is the last chance. If this does not succeed, then Rommel will probably be finished and so will his army. Rommel knows it. The commanders know it. The soldiers sense it. Thus the fate of a theatre of war depends – as so often in the history of war – on the fighting power of a brigade and on the question of whether the order to destroy it can be carried out. It is 1 June 1942. Anyone who experienced it in Africa will never forget it. Everything is at stake. During the lull in the fighting, the call rings out: "Commander and adjutant to the divisional command post!" General Georg von Bismarck, the commander of the 21st Panzer Division, is sitting in his bus and is pointing to a burnt-out tank on the horizon. "Do you see the tank, Ehle?" "Yes, General!" "The English base Got el Ualeb is there. You have been ordered to take the base with your battalion. It is difficult, Ehle. All attacks have failed so far. Reconnoiter and tell me how you plan to do it. It is urgent, Ehle," adds Bismarck, and concludes: "The attack is supported by an artillery battalion under Major Beil." On the way to reconnoiter, Ehle meets Major Beil, who is standing with General Nehring and Colonel Bayerlein at an 8.8 Flak gun. Nehring and Bayerlein explain the situation. Bayerlein shows the adjutant, First Lieutenant Kordel, the map. Suddenly someone calls out: "Watch out! Low-flying aircraft!" Then there is an explosion. And Major Ehle is hit. Wounded. He will not take Got el Ualeb anymore. Captain Werner Reißmann takes over the battalion and the attack. 2nd Lieutenant Wolff reported: "Everything depended on good preparation, rapid advance and the fastest driving. At first light an artillery barrage gave the signal to attack. 9th Company on the left, 10th Company on the right, battalion headquarters in the middle, and so they set off at a speed of 60 kilometers towards the English position three kilometers away. A Pionier troop in each company: against the wire and the mines. The 10th Company succeeds in breaking through the minefield in the first wave. But the 9th Company remains lying in the middle. All the fire from the base is concentrated on the men and their vehicles. Captain Reißmann yells to his orderly officer: "Wolff, rush over to the 9th Company, the men have to get out of the mines. Staying down is worse than storming." They hoped to free General der Panzertruppe Ludwig Crüwell, who had been taken prisoner on 29 May 1942. But the British had smuggled him out of the base in a reconnaissance vehicle a few hours before the German attack. The English officer's cook was captured. He said that he had cooked Crüwell a rump steak with all the finesse, but the general had not liked it. The losses of the 3rd Battalion were heavy. Among the many officers and men who had fallen was a very old warrior. Although still young in years, a corporal, someone they all loved: Obergefreiter Börstel. He was there again on his motorcycle. One of the few motorcycles that still worked in the battalion. He brought the first wounded back. He drove forward again with boxes of ammunition. Through mine lanes where the enemy fire was concentrated. He managed to make the trip there and back four times. But on the fifth he received the stomach shot that is so feared in Africa. He had a seriously wounded man in the sidecar. "He has to go to the first aid station, otherwise he'll die, and so will I." So Börstel didn't throw himself off his motorcycle. He didn't call for the medic, but rode with his left hand pressed to his stomach wound and his right hand on the handlebars. That's how he made it to the dressing station [Verbandsplatz]. There he fell off his motorcycle. Hours later he was dead. It was the first aid station at Trigh Capuzzo, and many a soldier still remembers it today. And anyone who evaluates victories shouldn't overlook the first aid stations. The sun shone mercilessly at Trigh Capuzzo. The wounded screamed in pain and cried out for water. The low stretchers stood close together in the sand. The medics hurried through the rows of stretchers. "Another blanket," called the medical sergeant. And he carefully pushed it under the shattered limbs of an artilleryman: "It'll be fine, comrade; I'll give you an injection right away, it'll be fine." And the artilleryman nodded. Fear in his eyes. Will it be fine? The first transport to the main dressing station was due to leave in the evening. The medics could hardly stand on their feet. The junior doctor staggered. At 8 p.m. the column of 100 trucks was ready to drive. Only a few ambulances were available. It was 120 kilometers to the main dressing station at Tmimi. In the back of the truck lay Captain Eckert from the Kiehl combat squadron. He too was hit before Got el Ualeb. Next to him was Lieutenant General von Vaerst, who had been wounded on 26/27 May 1942. Next to him were two soldiers with a shot in the chest. In between them was a man with a seriously injured leg. What good does it do that they tried to make them as soft a bed as possible? The driver cannot choose the route. It was a horrific journey. After the first 500 metres they began to moan. Then to scream. But the journey continued through holes, over stones. Just don't get off the road. Just don't step on a mine. Five Panzer and five reconnaissance vehicles escorted the column. Forward. Forward. The Tommy had spotted the mine lanes and fired artillery into them. Forward. Who can stand it when they're screaming like mad at the back! And how are those who are screaming there supposed to stand it! The driver stopped. Those who could touch them helped to re-bed the seriously wounded. But by then the artillery shells were spraying around the car. On. The column had long since been torn apart. We had to stop again and again. The journey took 19 hours. 19 hours of pain had driven the wounded almost mad. Even at the main dressing station, not an apple can touch the ground. Doctors and Red Cross nurses are exhausted. They keep working. In the sweltering heat. In dusty tents. Sweat is pouring down their bodies. But there is ice. And there is champagne. If you can handle it, you can have it. There is also red wine. And ice-cold lemon water. And more and more transports of wounded. The faces of the doctors and nurses are hard. The instruments clatter in the large, stuffy operating tent. The words are sparing. "Blood transfusion," says the internist after looking at the yellow face of the wounded man lying on the operating table. [...] On 22 June 1942, Rommel's Panzer units rolled east. On 23 June, Rommel himself passed the Egyptian border fence, over which the 90th Light Division had already pushed far. Captured documents and decoded English radio messages had shown that Auchinleck's 8th Army was to take up positions at Marsa Matruh. Rommel urged his divisions to hurry. The fuel was running out. But a sizeable English petrol depot was captured at Habata station, and with this fuel Rommel's tank divisions continued to race. Forward. Forward to the Nile. Those were great days. Often German and British vehicle columns drove eastwards in the same direction, just 500 meters apart. All the old, tried and tested units that we have already met were again on the endless train through the desert. There is Lieutenant Servas from Regiment 104 with his self-propelled guns. 2nd Lieutenant Hans Schulze from the old 15th Motorbike Battalion is also there. On 24 June, he shoots down a tank and a truck from a British column that is roaring past. Schulze and his men drive over in their motor vehicle, a kilometer away, because they hope to make some loot and to supplement the monotonous "old man" beef diet with English corned beef, sliced ​​bacon and mixed pickles. But they find a bunch of seriously wounded British men. Uninjured Tommys are busy bandaging them. No medics, but all armed to the teeth. The English do not raise their guns. Do not throw hand grenades. The misery of their wounded comrades holds them spellbound. And Schulze and his six men are gripped by this misery. They jump out of their motor vehicle, dig out their first aid kits and help bandage them. But then a new convoy of English vehicles arrives. A brief glance between 2nd Lieutenant Schulze and a Tommy sergeant. The lieutenant calls out to his men: »Get in!« He taps his cap as a farewell. The Tommy taps his steel helmet. An Englishman quickly hands Private Müller a packet of cigarettes. He accepts them gratefully. Then they leave. No one shoots at them. Nobody stops them. Nobody shouts: "Hands up!" Everyone, Tommys and Germans, would find this ridiculous at this moment. They are probably all thinking like Private Müller: »And in half an hour we'll be shooting each other to death again. How stupid, how stupid!« Rommel pushed into the Marsa Mamih area with three combat groups. According to old tactics, his aim was to confront the enemy's tank forces and encircle the infantry. The destruction of the British tank forces was the task of the DAK with the 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions, which were advancing south of Marsa Matruh. The 3rd Battalion of the 104th Rifle Regiment under Captain Reißmann took a decisive southern point of the fortification line on the track from Marsa Matruh to the Siwa oasis, despite furious British artillery fire.
• 5 July 1942 The Schützen-Regiment 104 was renamed in Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 104
  • The regiment initially remained subordinate to the 15th Panzer Division. From 1 September 1942, the regiment was subordinate to the 21st Panzer Division. In the summer of 1942, the regiment advanced to the Egyptian border and took part in the battles for Tobruk. After the start of the British counteroffensive at the end of October 1942, the regiment took part in the heavy retreat battles. Reißmann was wounded and forced to leave Africa, which is why he escaped the destruction of the division and being taken prisoner of war.
• 18 December 1942 During his recovery subordinated to the Panzer-Grenadier-Ausbildungs-Bataillon 104
• Führerreserve (Leader Reserve)
  • 1 March 1943 Commanded to the 6. Infanterie-Division
  • 1 September 1943 Commanded to the Deputy General Command XX Army Corps (Stellvertretendes Generalkommando XX. Armee-Korps)
• 1 September 1943 Promoted to Major
• 6 December 1943 to 6 May 1944 War Academy (studies as a future general staff officer)
• 7 May 1944 Commanded to the General Staff of the Wehrmacht as Major i. G.
• 20 June 1944 General Staff officer and Id (responsible for training) in the Panzergruppe West under General der Panzertruppe Heinrich Eberbach
  • The Panzer Group was renamed 5. Panzer-Armee on 5 August 1944
• 1 August 1944 Officially transferred to the General Staff of the Wehrmacht
• 15 December 1944 Chief of Operations (Ia) in the General Staff of the LVIII. (58.) Panzer-Korps under General der Panzertruppe Walter Karl Willy Krüger
  • The corps fought in the Battle of the Bulge, in the Rhineland and as part of the 5th Panzer Army/Army Group B in the Ruhr Pocket as of April 1945. The encircled 5th Panzer Army surrendered on 17 April 1945.

Post-WWII

After the war and a time as POW, Reißmann joined the Gehlen Organization in 1952 and later the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND). It is unclear whether he was promoted to lieutenant colonel during his military service with the Wehrmacht; although it is possible, it is not likely. It is also possible that he received the rank in the Bundeswehr and served in the BND, but this option was not officially available until 1961 (Amt für Militärkunde), and Reißmann was discharged in 1959 for health reasons.

Gallery

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Awards and decorations (excerpt)

• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th Class
• Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
• Infantry Assault Badge (Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen) in Silver
• Wound Badge (1939) in Black
• Medal for the Italian-German campaign in Africa
• Africa Cuff Band (Ärmelband „Afrika“)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 28 July 1942 as Captain and Leader (Führer) of the III. Battalion/Schützen-Regiment 104/15. Panzer-Division