Ernst-Günther Baade

Ernst-Günther Baade
Born	(1897-08-20)20 August 1897 Falkenhagen
Died	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	Schützen-Regiment 115 90. Panzer-Grenadier-Division
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Generalleutnant Ernst-Günther Baade (20 August 1897 – 8 May 1945) was a German general serving during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He was wounded in action and died from his injuries on the last day of World War II in Europe.

Military career

World War I

Ernst-Günther Baade volunteered for military service in 1914 at the age of seventeen and joined the 9th Ulanenregiment (light cavalry). Baade distinguished himself in the fighting on the Eastern Front and was chosen for officer candidate training. He was commissioned as Leutnant in August 1916. In 1918 he transferred to the Western Front where he was wounded during a poison gas attack.

Second World War

On 6 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.

Baade distinguished himself on 27 May 1942 by his leadership and decision making, checking an armored attack to the rear of the 15th Panzer Division. A battalion of the regiment under his command managed to infiltrate into Bir Hacheim on the next day, defeating the British attackers after 24 hours of bitter fighting. Baade was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for these actions. He was again wounded on 28 July 1942 at El-Alamein, when his position was hit by artillery fire, then was evacuated to Rome and Germany for a period of convalescence.

During the successful 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.

Promoted to Generalmajor, Baade was given command of 90th Infantry Division at 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. He was one of the few general officers who earned the wearing of a Tank Destruction Badge on his upper right sleeve for the single-handed destruction of an enemy tank with an infantry weapon.

Baade was wounded in the neck and lower leg by a phosphorus projectile on 24 April 1945, when his Kübelwagen was strafed by a British fighter aircraft near Neverstaven in Holstein. He was taken to a hospital at Bad Segeberg, where he died of gangrene on 8 May 1945, the last day of the war in Europe.

Awards

• Wound Badge
  • in Black (1 July 1918)
  • in Silver
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 2nd Class (2 October 1936)
• Infantry Assault Badge
• Tank Destruction Badge for Individual Combatants
• Cuffband "Afrika"
• German Cross in Gold on 2 November 1941 as Oberstleutnant in the I./Reiter-Regiment 22
• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (25 November 1916)
  • 1st Class (24 December 1917)
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (18 September 1939)
  • 1st Class (5 June 1940)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross on 27 June 1942 as Oberst and commander of Schützen-Regiment 115
  • 402nd Oak Leaves on 22 February 1944 as Oberst and leader of the 90. Panzergrenadier-Division
  • 111th Swords on 16 November 1944 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 90. Panzergrenadier-Division "Adiatisches Küstenland"
• Mentioned twice in the Wehrmachtbericht (8 February 1944, 27 May 1944)

Wehrmachtbericht references

The daily Wehrmachtbericht (Wehrmacht propaganda report) noted the following:

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
8 February 1944	In den harten mehrtägigen Abwehrkämpfen nordwestlich Cassino hat sich die 44. Reichs-Grenadierdivision "Hoch- und Deutschmeister" unter Führung des Generalleutnants Franek mit einem unterstellten Bataillon des Grenadier-Regiments (mot.) 8 und einer Kampfgruppe unter Führung des Oberst Baade besonders ausgezeichnet.	Northwest in the tough multi-day defensive battles at Cassino, the 44th Reichs-Grenadier Division "Hoch- und Deutschmeister" under the leadership of Lieutenant General Franek with a subordinate battalion of the Grenadier Regiment (mot) 8 and a battle group under the leadership of Colonel Baade particularly distinguished themselves.
27 May 1944	In den Kämpfen der letzten Tage hat sich die schon bei Cassino bewährte 90. Panzergrenadierdivision unter Führung von Generalmajor Baade mit unterstellten Verbänden des Heeres und der Luftwaffe erneut besonders ausgezeichnet.	In combat of the recent days, the 90th Mechanized Infantry Division which has already proven itself at Cassino, led by Major General Baade, with subordinated units of the Army and the Air Force has again particularly distinguished itself.

External links

• Ernst-Günther Baade in the German National Library catalogue
• World War II Awards
• Ritterkreuzträger 1939–45

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