Ludwig Bauer (officer)

Ludwig Bauer
Ludwig Bauer
Born	16 February 1923 (age 101); Künzelsau
Allegiance	Nazi Germany (to 1945); West Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1940–45
Rank	Leutnant (Wehrmacht); Oberstleutnant of the Reserves (Bundeswehr)
Unit	Panzer-Regiment 33
Battles/wars	World War II Operation Barbarossa; Battle of Uman; Battle of Kiev (1941); Battle of Moscow; Battle of Voronezh (1942); Operation Overlord; Battle of the Bulge; Western Allied invasion of Germany;
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Ludwig Bauer (born 16 February 1923) was a Leutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (the Knight's Cross), the highest award made by Nazi Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or outstanding military leadership. Bauer was a tank crewman/commander who participated in numerous significant tank battles during World War II.

Tank Leutnant Bauer was not related to infantry Feldwebel Ludwig Bauer, who also was awarded a Knight's Cross.

World War II action

Bauer was featured in the television series Greatest Tank Battles^[1] season 2, Episode 7. In the program Bauer describes his experiences as a Panzer crewman from training to his baptism of fire with the 9th Panzer Division in the Battle of Moscow. Wounded in that battle, Bauer returned to his unit for the German offensive in the Caucasus. When the 9th Panzer Division was transferred to the Western Front, Bauer was again in the thick of the action during the Ardennes Offensive, commanding a StuG tank destroyer in the 9th's drive to help out the stranded 2nd Panzer Division on the east bank of the river Meuse. Bauer ended the war commanding a Panther tank, his tank was positioned as recon front recon, however when Bauer went to sleep he found himself in a tank, with U.S. soldiers on top thinking his Panther was abandoned, after nearly running the soldiers over he returned to the German side after being hit by three bazookas. However he was mistaken for a U.S. tank and fired on by one Hetzer, surviving his burning Panther to end his war, the ninth time he'd managed to bail out of a burning tank.

Awards and decorations

Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class
- 1st Class
Wound Badge (1939)
- in Black
- in Silver
- in Gold
Panzer Badge
Eastern Front Medal
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 April 1945 as Leutnant and leader of the I./Panzer-Regiment 33^[2]^{[Note 1]}

Notes

↑ No evidence of the award can be found in the German Federal Archives. Von Seeman stated that the tradition club of the 9. Panzer-Division informed him of the presentation of the Knight's Cross to Ludwig Bauer in 1954.^[3] The I./Panzer-Regiment 33, to which the 1st company was subordinated, was destroyed on 17 April 1945 under the leadership of Hauptmann Simon in the Ruhr Pocket (Heeresgruppe B). The receipt of a nomination by the troop with the Heerespersonalamt (HPA—Army Staff Office) or the Außenstelle of the Heerespersonalamt (HPA/A—Branch of the Army Staff Office) cannot be verified. A Heerespersonalamt-Verleihungsvorschlag (HPA-VV— Army Staff Office Nomination Recommendation) was definitely not created. Also, the responsible official at the time would have deferred the nomination from Heeresgruppe B after its capitulation after 17 April according to AHA 44 Ziff. 572. A presentation on 29 April via the HPA or the HPA/A is very unlikely. A statement provided by the 1st scribe of the 9. Panzer-Division from 1957 to the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) is inconclusive it states: "...I have to assume that this Knight's Cross was intended for ... Leutnant ... Bauer". Bauer is a member of the AKCR.^[4]

References

Citations

↑ http://www.greatesttankbattles.com/
↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 106.
↑ Von Seemen 1976, p. 378.
↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 119.

Bibliography

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External links

[5] No evidence of the award can be found in the German Federal Archives. Von Seeman stated that the tradition club of the 9. Panzer-Division informed him of the presentation of the Knight's Cross to Ludwig Bauer in 1954.^[3] The I./Panzer-Regiment 33, to which the 1st company was subordinated, was destroyed on 17 April 1945 under the leadership of Hauptmann Simon in the Ruhr Pocket (Heeresgruppe B). The receipt of a nomination by the troop with the Heerespersonalamt (HPA—Army Staff Office) or the Außenstelle of the Heerespersonalamt (HPA/A—Branch of the Army Staff Office) cannot be verified. A Heerespersonalamt-Verleihungsvorschlag (HPA-VV— Army Staff Office Nomination Recommendation) was definitely not created. Also, the responsible official at the time would have deferred the nomination from Heeresgruppe B after its capitulation after 17 April according to AHA 44 Ziff. 572. A presentation on 29 April via the HPA or the HPA/A is very unlikely. A statement provided by the 1st scribe of the 9. Panzer-Division from 1957 to the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) is inconclusive it states: "...I have to assume that this Knight's Cross was intended for ... Leutnant ... Bauer". Bauer is a member of the AKCR.^[4]

[1] ttp://www.greatesttankbattles.com/

[2] Fellgiebel 2000, p. 106.

[3] Von Seemen 1976, p. 378.

[4] Scherzer 2007, p. 119.

[1]

[2]

[Note 1]

[3]

[4]

v t e Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients of the 9th Panzer Division
Stab	Harald Freiherr von Elverfeldt (Oak Leaves) Alfred Ritter von Hubicki Walter Scheller
9. Schützen-Brigade	Wilhelm von Apell
Panzer-Regiment 33	Friedrich Bauer Ludwig Bauer? Alois Eckert Joseph Gauglitz Georg Grüner¹ (Oak Leaves) Heinrich Hendricks Franz-Josef Kohout Karl Pfannkuche Erwin Strasser Gerhard Willing
Schützen-/Panzergrenadier-Regiment 10	Willibald Borowietz² (Oak Leaves) Walter Gorn³ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Fritz Iwand Hans-Joachim Künzel Leopold Liehl Franz Muttenthaler Erich Pelz Johann Reich Johannes Schulz Wilhelm Steger Alfred Tykiel Heinz Unger Ferdinand Wegerer (Oak Leaves) Jakob Zimmermann Hermann Zürner
Schützen-/Panzergrenadier-Regiment 11	Edwin-Oskar Dietz Franz Edtbauer Hans-Henning Eichert Dieter Gläsche Joachim Gutmann Fritz Jacoby Ernst Metelmann Heinz Michelsen Friedrich Rass Helmut Scharf Günther Schemm Wilhelm Schmalz⁴ (Oak Leaves) Max Sperling Theodor Graf von Sponeck
Panzerartillerie-Regiment 102	Heinrich Benner Ewald Kraus
Panzeraufklärungs-Abteilung 9	Engelbert Bockhoff Rudolf von Bünau Heinrich Ernst Jakob Most Theodor Pültz Heinrich Voutta
Panzer-Pionier-Bataillon 86	Heinrich Püttcher Kurt Speidel Max Treptau
Heeres-Flakartillerie-Abteilung 287	Albert Schroeder
Kradschützen-Bataillon 59	Walter Gorn³ (Oak Leaves & Swords)
Kampfgruppe	Josef Knotzer Wilhelm Kohler⁵ (Oak Leaves)
¹ Oak Leaves with Panzer-Regiment 2 (16th Panzer Division). ² Oak Leaves with the 15th Panzer Division. ³ Knight's Cross with Schützen-Regiment 10, Oak Leaves with Kradschützen-Bataillon 59, Swords with Panzergrenadier-Regiment 10. ⁴ Oak Leaves with Brigade z.b.V. (Panzer Division "Hermann Göring"). ⁵ Knight's Cross with Grenadier-Regiment 195 (78th Infantry Division). This along with the ? (question mark) indicates doubt regarding the veracity and formal correctness of the listing.

Ludwig Bauer (officer)

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World War II action

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References

Citations

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Ludwig Bauer
Born	(1923-02-16) 16 February 1923 (age 101) Künzelsau
Allegiance	Nazi Germany (to 1945) West Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1940–45
Rank	Leutnant (Wehrmacht) Oberstleutnant of the Reserves (Bundeswehr)
Unit	Panzer-Regiment 33
Battles/wars	World War II Operation Barbarossa Battle of Uman Battle of Kiev (1941) Battle of Moscow Battle of Voronezh (1942) Operation Overlord Battle of the Bulge Western Allied invasion of Germany
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross