Ernst-Günther Baade

Ernst-Günther Baade
Born (1897-08-20)20 August 1897
Falkenhagen
Died 8 May 1945(1945-05-08) (aged 47)
Bad Segeberg
Allegiance  German Empire (to 1918)
 Weimar Republic (to 1933)
 Third Reich
Service/branch Heer
Years of service 1914–45
Rank Generalleutnant
Commands held 90th Light Infantry Division
Battles/wars

World War I

World War II
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Ernst-Günther Baade (20 August 1897 – 8 May 1945) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Baade was wounded in action and died from his injuries on 8 May 1945.

Career

Ernst-Günther Baade volunteered for military service in 1914 and fought on both the Eastern Front and Western Front. During World War II, in March 1942 Baade was assigned to the active reserve of officers (Führerreserve). He subsequently transferred to the 15th Panzer Division in North Africa and took command of the 115th Rifle Regiment on 15 April 1942, at that time committed to action in Libya and Cyrenaica.

Baade became a legend in the Afrika Korps and was known to go into battle dressed in a Scottish kilt and carrying a claymore, a double-edged broadsword.[1][2] In May 1942 he took part in the Battle of Bir Hakeim. Baade was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his actions during the battle. He was wounded on 28 July 1942 at El-Alamein, and evacuated to Germany.

During the evacuation of German forces from Sicily to the Italian mainland in early August 1943, Baade was placed in charge of the force defending the Straits of Messina.[1] Baade commanded the 90th Infantry Division in the Battle of Monte Cassino. He was known for his occasionally eccentric behavior, his very small staff, and his frequent front-line inspection visits, all of which made him popular with his troops.[3] He was awarded a Tank Destruction Badge for the single-handed destruction of an enemy tank with an infantry weapon.

Baade was wounded on 24 April 1945, when his staff car was strafed by a British fighter aircraft near Neverstaven in Holstein. He died of gangrene in a hospital at Bad Segeberg on 8 May 1945.[1]

Awards

Footnotes and references

Citations

Bibliography

  • Atkinson, Ricky (2007). The Day of Battle – The War in Sicily and Italy 1943–1944. London: Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0-316-72560-6. 
  • Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges [With Oak Leaves and Swords. The Highest Decorated Soldiers of the Second World War] (in German). Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-0-6. 
  • Hapgood, David; Richardson, David (1984). Monte Cassino. New York: Congdon & Weed. ISBN 0-86553-105-6. 
  • Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). Rommel's Desert Commanders — The Men Who Served the Desert Fox, North Africa, 1941–42. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3510-0. 
  • Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8. 
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. 
  • Senger und Etterlin, Fridolin von (1960). Krieg in Europa [Neither Fear nor Hope]. Translated by Malcolm, George. London: Macdonald & Co. Ltd. 
  • Thomas, Franz; Wegmann, Günter (1987). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Teil III: Infanterie Band 1: A–Be [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Part III: Infantry Volume 1: A–Be] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-1153-2. 
  • Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6. 
Military offices
Preceded by
Generalleutnant Eberhard Rodt		 Commander of 15. Panzergrenadier-Division
October 1943 – 20 November 1943 		Succeeded by
Generalleutnant Rudolf Sperl
Preceded by
Generalleutnant Carl-Hans Lungershausen		 Commander of 90. Panzer-Grenadier-Division
December 1943 – December 1944 		Succeeded by
General der Panzertruppe Gerhard von Schwerin
Preceded by
General der Infanterie Friedrich Köchling		 deputy Commander of LXXXI. Armeekorps
10 March 1945 – 13 April 1945 		Succeeded by
disbanded
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