Walter Koch (Fallschirmjäger)

For other persons named Walter Koch see Walter Koch (disambiguation).

Walter Koch
Walter Koch Note that the Knight's Cross at his neck is a photomontage
Born	(1910-09-10)10 September 1910 Bonn, Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	Berlin, Free State of Prussia, Nazi Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1929–1935 (Police) 1935–1943 (Luftwaffe)
Rank	Oberstleutnant
Unit	1. Fallschirmjäger-Division
Commands held	Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Abteilung "Koch"
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of Fort Eben-Emael Battle of Crete Eastern Front Battle of Tunisia
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Other work	Police officer

Walter Koch (10 September 1910 – 23 October 1943) was a highly decorated commander of the Fallschirmjäger during World War II who died in mysterious circumstances after openly criticising Adolf Hitler. Koch, who was the recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his actions during the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael in May 1940, had publicly denounced the Führer's infamous Commando Order, which ordered that all captured enemy commandos were to be executed. Shortly afterwards the Oberstleutnant and commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 5 died in Berlin from injuries allegedly resulting from a motor vehicle collision.

Early career

Walter Koch joined the Landespolizei as an officer on 3 April 1929. As a Leutnant he had served in the state police and a police battalion for special purposes (Polizeiabteilung z.b.V. Wecke). In 1935 the new commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Göring, transferred this police unit into the reformed Luftwaffe and renamed it the Regiment "General Göring".

Airborne service

A wounded Major Walter Koch returning to Germany in June 1941 following his airborne troops successful operations during the Battle of Crete.

Koch was promoted to Hauptmann (Captain) on 20 April 1938. He was then tasked with training a special commando unit dubbed Koch Parachute Assault Battalion (Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Abteilung "Koch") for operations in the west.

When Fall Gelb began in May 1940, his troops saw action during the opening phase of the Battle of France during assaults on the Belgian fortress Eben-Emael, the Maas river and Albert Canal bridges. Koch's commandos successfully captured Fort Eben-Emael and the bridges in Veldwezelt and Vroenhoeven. Only the bridge at Kanne, which was blown up by the Belgian defenders, was not taken by the German paratroopers. For these successful operations, Walter Koch along with ten other Wehrmacht officers received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes).

By May 1941, Koch was promoted to Major and given the command of the re-designated I Battalion, 1st Parachute Assault Regiment (I./Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment 1) The battalion was part of the first attacking airborne waves during the Battle of Crete. Koch led the attack using 53 DFS 230 troop-carrying gliders. Their target was the village of Maleme on the western coast of Crete because its small coastal airfield and Hill 107 commanded the approaches to the island's capital. The German troops faced the New Zealanders of 5 Brigade's 22nd Battalion, with other battalions close behind, under the command of Brigadier Edward Puttick. Although Koch was wounded in the head in the battle for Hill 107 on the first day, his airborne troops quickly achieved their targets.

Koch was promoted to Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) on 20 April 1942. He and the 5th Parachute Regiment (Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 5) were transferred to Tunisia in mid November 1942.

Opposition to the Commando Order

In his regiment's first African engagement two weeks later, Koch's troops encountered the British 2nd Parachute Battalion under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel John Dutton Frost at Depienne Airfield 53 km southwest of Tunis. Frost had left a number of injured men under the protection of a single platoon behind at the airfield while he and his forces went on to other targets. On their discovery, the British paratroopers were quickly captured by Koch's troops and made prisoners of war (POW). The German commander then ordered his medics to treat the wounded. Before leaving, he ensured that the prisoners were given food and water, and even cigarettes, before handing them over to other Axis ground forces.

However Koch and the commander of the I Battalion, 5th Parachute Regiment Hauptmann Hans Jungwirth returned just in time to stop the machine gunning of the captured British soldiers. After a heated debate with another German officer about the Commando Order, Koch managed to obtain adequate treatment for the Allied prisoners who were instead transferred to a POW camp.

Death

Shortly after stopping the killing of POWs in North Africa, Koch was wounded in the head. The highly experienced combat leader was sent back to Germany to recover from his wounds; while there he was placed in the Führerreserve. While convalescing he was involved in car accident, he died in a Berlin Hospital from these injuries in October 1943. However many in his regiment believed that this was no accident and he had been most likely killed by the SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt because of his outspoken criticism of the Commando Order. From Koch's wider family it is known and handed down until today that the driver who was in his car during the car accident said that Koch was killed by a faked car accident ordered to him personally by Adolf Hitler himself. The driver said this being old to the pharmacist Ingeborg Friedrich-Sander, the wife of Koch's direct relative and important figure in his youth the pharmacist Hugo Friedrich-Sander (living in Hofgeismar/Germany), to make his conscience easier before he had to die. He wanted the family to know the truth.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (12 May 1940)
  • 1st Class (12 May 1940)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 10 May 1940 as Hauptmann and commander of Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Abteilung "Koch"
• German Cross in Gold on 31 March 1942 as Major in the I./Luftlande-Sturm-Abteilung
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 9 June 1941

Wehrmachtbericht reference

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
Monday, 9 June 1941	In den Kämpfen um Kreta zeichneten sich die unter Führung von Major Koch, Hauptmann Altmann und Oberleutnant Genz stehenden Fallschirmverbände durch Kühnheit und Heldenmut aus.	In the battles in Crete parachute units under the leadership of Major Koch, Hauptmann Altmann and Oberleutnant Genz distinguished themselves through boldness and heroic courage.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by none	Commander of Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment 1 2 November 1939 – 31 August 1940	Succeeded by Generalmajor Eugen Meindl