Georg von Bismarck

Georg von Bismarck (15 February 1891 – 31 August 1942) was a German general during World War II who commanded several divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.

Georg von Bismarck
Bismarck (right) with Erwin Rommel
Born(1891-02-15)15 February 1891
Died31 August 1942(1942-08-31) (aged 51)
near El Alamein
Buried
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branchArmy (Wehrmacht)
Years of service1910–42
RankGeneralleutnant (Posthumously)
Commands held20th Panzer Division
21st Panzer Division
Battles/warsNorth African Campaign
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Bismarck joined the army in 1910 and took part in World War I. During the interwar years he served as an officer in the Reichswehr. During World War II, Bismarck took part in the Invasion of Poland in September 1939. During the Battle of France in 1940, he commanded a motorized infantry regiment of Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division.

In 1941 he was promoted to commander of the newly formed 20th Panzer Division. He led the division during Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front as a part of Army Group Centre. In January 1942 he was transferred to Africa to serve in the Africa Korps as commander of the 21st Panzer Division. Here he again served under Rommel. Bismarck was killed by a mine while leading the 21st Panzer Division in the Battle of Alam el Halfa, 31 August 1942.[1]

Awards

References

  1. Lewin p. 157
  2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 114.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • Lewin, Ronald (1998) [1968]. Rommel As Military Commander. New York: B&N Books. ISBN 978-0-7607-0861-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
Military offices
Preceded by
Generalleutnant Horst Stumpff
Acting commander of 20th Panzer Division
10 September 1941 – 13 October 1941
Succeeded by
Generalmajor Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma
Preceded by
Generalmajor Karl Böttcher
Commander of 21st Panzer Division
11 February 1942 – 21 July 1942
Succeeded by
Oberst Alfred Bruer
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.