Erwin Bachmann
Encyclopedia
Erwin Bachmann was a Obersturmführer
(Senior Storm Leader/First Lieutenant) in the Waffen SS during World War II
. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany
during World War II
.
Göttingen
. He was educated at home until 1927 when he attended the local school in Reinhausen.
After leaving school in April 1935, he started an apprenticeship with a local firm, passing his trade tests in 1938 he was given a position as an administrative assistant.
.
At the end of the Polish Campaign he was posted as a machine gun
ner to the 11th Company SS Regiment Germania and took part in the Battle of France
. He was promoted to Rottenführer
(Corporal) in August 1941 and in September 1941 he was involved in Operation Barbarossa
, the invasion of the Soviet Union
until November 1941 when he returned to the SS Training and Reserve Battalion Germania.
He was then selected to become an officer and from February to June 1942 he was posted to the SS-Junkerschule (Officer Candidate School) in Bad Tölz
and after graduation his first duties were in the SS Training and Reserve Battalion Germania which at the time was stationed in Arnhem
in Holland and he was promoted to Oberscharführer
(Senior Squad Leader) in May 1942.
In September 1942 he volunteered for a posting with the SS Division Wiking until January 1943 and the formation of the new SS Division Frundsberg he was posted in as the Adjutant
of the II. Battalion, 10th SS Panzer Regiment with the rank of Untersturmführer
(Second Lieutenant).
In October 1943 he was given his first command which was a platoon in the 3rd Company, 10th SS Panzer Regiment, Frundsberg
. After a short retraining course on Sturmgeschütz
(assault guns/StuG) he was given command of the 5th Company, Sturmgeschütz Battalion and also promoted to Obersturmführer
(Senior Storm Leader/First Lieutenant) in November 1944.
After the defeat in the Ardennes offensive
the Frundsberg Division in January 1945, was part of Army Group G
and involved in Operation Nordwind
together with the 6th SS Gebirgs Division Nord over the night of the 16–17 January they were tasked with making a breakthrough of the Allied line and forming a bridgehead at Hagenau
for the following attack.
The attack was to be led by the 3rd Company, 10th SS Panzer Regiment with Obersturmführer Bachmann now the Battalion Adjutant in command. Mounted on a motorcycle, he attacked and destroyed a Sherman tank with a Panzerfaust
in Herrlisheim
, more Allied tanks were destroyed by the accompanying Panther tank
s and in the following fighting 60 prisoners were taken and 20 Germans that had been captured by the Americans were released and rearmed, also 12 Sherman tanks were captured intact.
The attack continued from Herrlisheim towards Drusenheim
and a further 9 tanks were destroyed. The captured Sherman tanks were formed into the 13th Company, 10th SS Panzer Regiment until the end of the war.
For theses actions Erwin Bachmann was awarded the Knight's Cross in February 1945.
Bachman was next in combat in Pomerania
with the 1st Company at Christinenberg destroying a number of T-34
tanks. In May 1945 they moved west and in the area Göttingen
, Sandbostel
were captured by the British.
Bachmann died on 18 February 2010 and was buried in Göttingen.
Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the SS and also as a rank of the SA. Translated as “Senior Assault Leader”, the rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the Sturmabteilung and the need for an additional rank in...
(Senior Storm Leader/First Lieutenant) in the Waffen SS during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Early life
Bachmann was born on the 5 May 1921 in ReinhausenReinhausen
Reinhausen is the largest village in the municipality Gleichen in the district Göttingen, Germany. It is also the seat of government for the Gleichen. The village has 1,500 residents . The village mayor is Manfred Kuhlmann. The village was settled in the tenth century or earlier...
Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
. He was educated at home until 1927 when he attended the local school in Reinhausen.
After leaving school in April 1935, he started an apprenticeship with a local firm, passing his trade tests in 1938 he was given a position as an administrative assistant.
World War II
In August 1939 he volunteered for the SS-VT and was assigned to the 2nd Company, SS Training and Reserve Battalion Germania stationed in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
.
At the end of the Polish Campaign he was posted as a machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
ner to the 11th Company SS Regiment Germania and took part in the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
. He was promoted to Rottenführer
Rottenführer
Rottenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in the year 1932. The rank of Rottenführer was used by several Nazi paramilitary groups, among them the Sturmabteilung , the Schutzstaffel and was senior to the paramilitary rank of Sturmmann.The insignia for Rottenführer...
(Corporal) in August 1941 and in September 1941 he was involved in Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, the invasion of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
until November 1941 when he returned to the SS Training and Reserve Battalion Germania.
He was then selected to become an officer and from February to June 1942 he was posted to the SS-Junkerschule (Officer Candidate School) in Bad Tölz
Bad Tölz
Bad Tölz is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and administrative center of the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen.- History :Since the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the Ice Age, archaeology has shown continuous occupation of the site of Bad Tölz...
and after graduation his first duties were in the SS Training and Reserve Battalion Germania which at the time was stationed in Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
in Holland and he was promoted to Oberscharführer
Oberscharführer
Oberscharführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between the years of 1932 and 1945. Translated as “Senior Squad Leader”, Oberscharführer was first used as a rank of the Sturmabteilung and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions required by growing SA membership...
(Senior Squad Leader) in May 1942.
In September 1942 he volunteered for a posting with the SS Division Wiking until January 1943 and the formation of the new SS Division Frundsberg he was posted in as the Adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
of the II. Battalion, 10th SS Panzer Regiment with the rank of Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...
(Second Lieutenant).
In October 1943 he was given his first command which was a platoon in the 3rd Company, 10th SS Panzer Regiment, Frundsberg
Frundsberg
Frundsberg may refer to:*10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg*Georg von Frundsberg*SMS Frundsberg...
. After a short retraining course on Sturmgeschütz
Sturmgeschütz
Sturmgeschütz is a German word for "assault gun", usually abbreviated StuG. The vehicle was a leading weapon of the Sturmartillerie, a branch of the German artillery tasked with close fire support of infantry in infantry, panzer, and panzergrenadier units...
(assault guns/StuG) he was given command of the 5th Company, Sturmgeschütz Battalion and also promoted to Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the SS and also as a rank of the SA. Translated as “Senior Assault Leader”, the rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the Sturmabteilung and the need for an additional rank in...
(Senior Storm Leader/First Lieutenant) in November 1944.
After the defeat in the Ardennes offensive
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
the Frundsberg Division in January 1945, was part of Army Group G
Army Group G
The German Army Group G fought on the Western Front of World War II and was a component of OB West.When the Allied invasion of Southern France took place, Army Group G had eleven divisions with which to hold France south of the Loire...
and involved in Operation Nordwind
Operation Nordwind
Operation North Wind was the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front. It began on 1 January 1945 in Alsace and Lorraine in northeastern France, and it ended on 25 January.-Objectives:...
together with the 6th SS Gebirgs Division Nord over the night of the 16–17 January they were tasked with making a breakthrough of the Allied line and forming a bridgehead at Hagenau
for the following attack.
The attack was to be led by the 3rd Company, 10th SS Panzer Regiment with Obersturmführer Bachmann now the Battalion Adjutant in command. Mounted on a motorcycle, he attacked and destroyed a Sherman tank with a Panzerfaust
Panzerfaust
The Panzerfaust was an inexpensive, recoilless German anti-tank weapon of World War II. It consisted of a small, disposable preloaded launch tube firing a high explosive anti-tank warhead, operated by a single soldier...
in Herrlisheim
Herrlisheim
Herrlisheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-Geography:Herrlisheim is positioned on the rich alluvial farmland to the west of the River Rhine, north of Strasbourg and a short distance to the east of the A35 Autoroute.-Economy:The local economy is based on...
, more Allied tanks were destroyed by the accompanying Panther tank
Panther tank
Panther is the common name of a medium tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV; while never replacing the latter, it served alongside it as...
s and in the following fighting 60 prisoners were taken and 20 Germans that had been captured by the Americans were released and rearmed, also 12 Sherman tanks were captured intact.
The attack continued from Herrlisheim towards Drusenheim
Drusenheim
Drusenheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin département in Alsace in north-eastern France, situated on the bank of the Rhine.-History:Drusenheim was fortified by the military architect, militaire Jean Maximilien Welsch in 1705.-Notable people:...
and a further 9 tanks were destroyed. The captured Sherman tanks were formed into the 13th Company, 10th SS Panzer Regiment until the end of the war.
For theses actions Erwin Bachmann was awarded the Knight's Cross in February 1945.
Bachman was next in combat in Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
with the 1st Company at Christinenberg destroying a number of T-34
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
tanks. In May 1945 they moved west and in the area Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
, Sandbostel
Sandbostel
Sandbostel is a municipality in Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany, 43 km north-east of Bremen, 60 km west of Hamburg. Coordinates: 53° 25′ N, 9° 8′ E. Population: 816...
were captured by the British.
Bachmann died on 18 February 2010 and was buried in Göttingen.