Rudolf Bacherer

Rudolf Bacherer
Born	(1895-06-19)19 June 1895 Pforzheim
Died	6 July 1964(1964-07-06) (aged 69) Bad Krozingen
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1919) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1914–19 1935–45
Rank	Oberst of the Reserves
Commands held	Infanterie-Regiment 234 Grenadier-Regiment 234 Infanterie-Regiment 1026 Grenadier-Regiment 1049
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Battle of France Operation Barbarossa Invasion of Normandy Battle of Saint Malo
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Rudolf Bacherer (19 June 1895 – 6 July 1964) was a highly decorated Oberst of the Reserves in the Wehrmacht during World War II who held several regimental commands. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

In June 1944 Bacherer was commanding the 1049th Infantry Regiment on the Western Front when Major General Rudolf Stegmann, commander of the 77th Infantry Division was killed in American air raid. Bacherer was immediately promoted to command the Division and enjoyed some early successes, capturing 250 American prisoners on 17 June and the following day broke through US lines to link up with the remnants of the LXXXIV Corps near La Haye-du-Puits. The Division however, which was already understrength when Bacherer made his advance soon suffered heavy losses as the Americans forged ahead. Bacherer was captured by American forces following the fall of Saint-Malo in 1944 and was held as a POW until 1947.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (1 June 1940)
  • 1st Class (1 September 1940)
• Wound Badge
  • in Black
• Eastern Front Medal
• German Cross in Gold on 29 January 1942 as Rittmeister of the Reserves in Aufklärungs-Abteilung 156
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 30 October 1943 as Oberst of the Reserves and commander of Grenadier-Regiment 234
  • 550th Oak Leaves on 11 August 1944 as Oberst of the Reserves and commander of Grenadier-Regiment 1049
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht (10 July 1944)

References

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6. CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8. CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• 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 (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6. CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

External links

• World War 2 Awards.com
• Lexikon der Wehrmacht