Willy Hammerich
| Willy Hammerich | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth date | 17 December 1921 |
| Place of birth | Fleckeby, Kreis Eckernförde, Province of Schleswig-Holstein, Free State of Prussia, German Reich |
| Death date | 21 November 2010 (aged 88) |
| Place of death | Schulensee, Kreis Rendsburg-Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany |
| Resting place | Friedhof Osterfeld (Rammsee) |
| Allegiance |  National Socialist Germany
|
| Service/branch |  Heer
|
| Years of service | 1940–1945 |
| Rank | Captain of the Reserves |
| Battles/wars | World War II
|
| Awards | Iron Cross Close Combat Clasp Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
| Relations | Lisa Brammer (1923–2022) |
| Other work | Teacher |
Willy Hammerich (also Willi; 17 December 1921 – 21 November 2010) was a German officer of the Wehrmacht, finally Captain of the Reserves and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in World War II. After the war he was a Gymnasium teacher and active member of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients.
Life
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Willy was born in 1921 as the son of a farmer. He first attended eight years of compulsory school (Volksschule) in Fleckeby, then later the advanced school in the district town of Rendsburg. His exceptional hard work and his fabulous certificates earned him many awards, but most importantly – and this was incredibly important at the time – a free place at the Gymnasium, which he completed with his Abitur. Willy Hammerich had already decided early on to pursue a career in higher forestry administration. However, on 1 October 1940, at the age of 18, he volunteered for military service in the Wehrmacht in the 220th Infantry Replacement Battalion in Rendsburg/Schleswig-Holstein.
After his basic training and various courses, which often took place in Denmark at the time, he was deployed from the very beginning in the campaign against the Soviet Union. In the first half of March 1941, he and his unit with the 290th Infantry Division moved to the Graudenz/East Prussia area. From here, his regiment advanced to the Memel by May and moved into the border forest near Wischwill from mid-June. So on the very first day of Operation Barbarossa, Hammerich marched with the 290th Infantry Division (the so-called "North German Infantry Division") across the eastern border of the Reich.
As ordered, the division overcame the Russian border posts and Hammerich and his comrades followed the rapidly advancing German units. In just under two weeks, Lithuania and Latvia were crossed, always on arduous paths. But that was only a small foretaste of what Hammerich and his regiment were to experience. Beyond the Latvian-Russian border, the enemy resistance became much stronger. Despite all this, the earthen fortifications of the Stalin Line were taken and penetrated after extremely hard fighting. In the meantime, however, the Russian troops of the Red Army that had been overrun in the assault, regrouped and then continued the fight behind the main battle line, behind the initially successful assault divisions. Therefore, not only did Hammerich's marching columns have to constantly secure themselves, but also comb through the swamps and forests off the paths on incredible dams and paths. Always deployed in the front lines, Hammerich was awarded the Infantry Assault Badge in Silver on 1 September 1941.
In the unconditionally hard fighting for the bunkers and field fortifications in front of Staraya Russa, both sides, the Germans and the Soviets, suffered extremely heavy losses. However, the German Reich was unable to make up for these losses, or was only able to do so inadequately. In addition, a rather threatening situation arose even before the storming of Staraya Russa. Strong Russian columns and brigades threatened to encircle the planned encirclement of the division (fighting for Dünaburg).
After recovering from another serious injury, he attended war school and was commissioned on 1 October 1942. From mid-February 1943, 2nd Lieutenant Hammerich with his company and the 290th Infantry Division with its neighbours withdrew from the Demyansk combat area as planned, despite being under extremely heavy pressure from the enemy. The division was then relocated to Dedovichi (south of Dno) for refreshment. After the mud season in spring, an extensive Russian offensive against the northern pillar of the Eastern Front was announced. The division with Hammerich therefore took up positions south of Lake Ladoga. The Sinyavino Heights, the Electric Corridor and Wenglerkopf remained in the memory of all survivors with their dehumanising images of the bitter fight in a merciless landscape of swamps and mosquitoes. In the four months of the 3rd Battle of Ladoga, the 290th Infantry Division lost an incredible more than a third of its strength.
His luck and survival skills, which had already become proverbial not only in his battalion, accompanied him in many close combats from then on. In October–November 1943, the few replacement and supply units for the Northern Front were thrown into battle on the southern wing of Army Group North as they arrived by the Reichsbahn without lengthy marches and parades. The Russian units had in the meantime broken through at Newel. But despite their overwhelming superiority, especially in terms of heavy weapons, they did not succeed in their planned breakthrough to the Baltic States, to the Baltic Sea. Due to the balance of power, the northern front of the German Wehrmacht had to be withdrawn to the prepared so-called Panther Line.
On 15 August 1944, the Russians had infiltrated the lines near Jaunsaule–Mēmele. The Russians continued to push with tanks and truck columns towards their left division neighbor. On his own initiative, Hammerich gathered the last 37 healthy men of the battalion and attacked the enemy's flank. The Russians were surprised and numerous vehicles and tanks were destroyed. Then the Russians attacked with tanks from the right, but Hammerich and his men stood firm. This time enabled the division to send reserves to the front and the breakthrough was repelled. The Russians were unable to capture the runway between Neugut (Veemuiza) and Riga. As a crowning achievement for his bravery in the extremely tough fighting in the northern sector of the Eastern Front, including in the Demyansk Pocket, on Lake Ladoga, at Newel and Novgorod, and especially in Courland, Willy Hammerich was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in December 1944.
Hammerich was particularly pleased that his brother Johannes, who had fought with him in the same division, was able to attend the award ceremony and was the first to congratulate him. The ceremony took place at the regimental command post under Lieutenant Colonel Herbert von Ludowig and was led by Division Commander Generalmajor Hans-Joachim Baurmeister. There had long been no connection to Army Group Center. The land route to East Prussia had also been cut off by Russian units. Army Group North and with it the 290th Infantry Division were increasingly forced into the Courland area. In the terrible six Courland battles (20 October 1944 to 31 March 1945), the area became increasingly narrow, but it was held against all resistance until 9 May 1945, when the German Wehrmacht surrendered to the Russians. Willy Hammerich was lucky in misfortune, he had been flown out of the Courland pocket to a military hospital near Flensburg shortly before the end of the war due to another very serious wound that temporarily cost him his sight. Here he also experienced the end of the war – full of pain, but alive and not in the hands of the Russians.
After the war, Hammerich was released from the hospital without being taken prisoner of war because he was seriously disabled. After countless confusions, for example, his Abitur examination was illegally revoked, he finally made a fresh start by studying mathematics and physics at the Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel. Hammerich eventually became a teacher, ultimately becoming head of studies at the Max Planck Gymnasium in Kiel, which teaches modern languages and mathematics. Until his retirement in 1984, he naturally held numerous honorary posts and positions in school administration in addition to the often nerve-wracking and exhausting teaching. For example, he was head of the middle school at his Gymnasium for many years.
Promotions
- 1 July 1941 Gefreiter (Private E-2/Lance Corporal)
- 1 October 1942 Leutnant d. R. (2nd Lieutenant of the Reserves)
- 1 February 1943 Oberleutnant d. R. (1st Lieutenant of the Reserves)
- December 1944 Hauptmann d. R. (Captain of the Reserves) with effect and Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 December 1944
Awards and decorations
- Infantry Assault Badge (Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen) in Silver on 1 September 1941
- Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
- 2nd Class on 16 November 1941
- 1st Class on 7 November 1943
- Wound Badge (1939) in Black and Silver (possibly also in Gold for the last wounds in 1945)
- Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal
- Close Combat Clasp in Bronze and Silver
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 9 December 1944 as Oberleutnant der Reserve and Commander of the 4th (Machine Gun) Company/Grenadier-Regiment 501/290. Infanterie-Division/XXXVIII. Armeekorps/16. Armee/Heeresgruppe Nord
