SOME OF THE PRISONERS HELD AT
SPECIAL CAMP
11
 |
NAME: Generalmajor
Gerhard Franz
PW NO: A938912
RANK: Generalmajor
CAPTURED: Germany
DATE: 8 April 1945
PERSONAL
DATE OF BIRTH:
26 February 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH: Boverk, Kr. Stadtroda
DATE OF DEATH: 24 December 1975
PLACE OF DEATH: Bad Wildungen
NATIONALITY: German
RELIGION: Evangelical
OCCUPATION: Regular Soldier
HEIGHT: 165cm
WEIGHT: 70kgs
HAIR COLOUR: Fair
EYE COLOUR: Grey
NEXT OF KIN: Waldschmidt, Bad Wildungen, Hessen.Am Golfplatz II (American Zone)
Promotions:
- Gefreiter:
26 April 1920
- Unteroffizier:
1 December 1922
- Fähnrich:
1 September 1923
- Oberfähnrich:
1 October 1924
- Leutnant:
1 December 1924
- Oberleutnant:
1 March 1928
- Hauptmann:
1 July 1934
- Major:
1 April 1939 (RDA 1 April 1938)
- Oberstleutnant: 1 April 1941 (RDA later changed to 1 February 1941)
- Oberst: 1 July 1942
- Generalmajor: 1 December 1944
Commands & Assignments:
- 15
October 1917: Entered Army service as a Student at the Unteroffizier [Non-Commissioned
Officer] Preparatory School Weilheim.
- 5
April 1919: Transferred for training to the Unteroffizier School Northeim.
- 12
September 1919: Transferred to Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 21.
- 21
February 1920-23 March 1920: Detached to the V. Course at the Brigade
College Kassel.
- 1
October 1920: Transferred to Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 20.
- 1
January 1921: Transferred to Infantry Regiment 17.
- 6
May 1922-15 July 1922: Detached to the Officer Candidate Training Course
in Braunschweig.
- 6
July 1922-8 July 1922: At the same time, detached to the Officer Selection
Examination at Potsdam.
- 31
July 1922: Named an Officer Candidate.
- 21
September 1922-20 September 1923: Detached to the I. Course at the Infantry
School.
- 21
September 1923-11 November 1923: Detached to the II. Course at the Infantry
School.
- 1
May 1924-30 September 1924: Detached for the continuation of the II. Course
in Ohrdruf.
- 1
December 1924: Transferred to the 14th Company of Infantry Regiment 17.
- 1
October 1925: Transferred to the 15th Company of Infantry Regiment 17.
- 1
April 1927: Transferred to the 10th Company of Infantry Regiment 17.
- 14
March 1929-18 March 1929: Detached for training in Pioneer Service to
the 6th Pioneer Battalion.
- 1
October 1930: Transferred to the 12th Company of Infantry Regiment 17.
- 1
October 1931: Transferred to the 14th Company of Infantry Regiment 17.
- 1
October 1933: Placed at the disposal of the Chief of the Army Command
– detached to the clandestine General Staff Course.
- 1
May 1935: Detached to the War Academy.
- 10
July 1937: Transferred into the General Staff of the Army.
- 15
October 1935: Detached to the General Staff of Army Service Center 4.
- 8
January 1937: Transferred into the General Staff of the Army.
- 10
November 1938: Chief of the 9th Company of Infantry Regiment 9.
- 15
June 1939: To the staff of the 29th Division.
- 1
July 1939: Operations Officer (Ia) of the 29th Division, on 24 August
1939 redesignated the 29th Infantry Division (Motorized).
- 23 December 1941: Deputized as Chief of the General Staff of the Higher Command “for Special Employment” XXXV.
- 15 April 1942: Führer Reserve in the Army High Command.
- 10 May 1942: Chief of the General Staff of the XXXX Army Corps (Motorized) on the Eastern Front.
- 25 July 1942: Führer Reserve in the Army High Command.
- 20 November 1942: Detached to the staff of the German Africa Corps.
- 7 December 1942: Chief of the General Staff of the German Africa Corps.
- 10 February 1943: Führer Reserve in the Army High Command/sick.
- 1 August 1943: Chief of the General Staff of the XXXXII Army Corps on the Eastern Front (from 2 March 1944 also served as Commander Crimea).
- 1 August 1944: Führer Reserve in the Army High Command.
- 8 August 1944-31 August 1994: At the same time, detached to the 13th Division Leader Course.
- 31 August 1944: Detached to the Short Course for Panzer Troop Officers in the Course of Higher Troop Leadership.
- 1 September 1944-17 September 1944: Commander of Division Group 256 (subordinated to Corps Detachment “H”).
- 17 September 1944: Delegated with the leadership the 256th Volksgrenadier Division in the Netherlands (formed by the redesignation of the 568th Volksgrenadier Division).
- 1 December 1944-8 April 1945: Commander of the 256th Volksgrenadier Division in Alsace and Germany. [On 31 December 1944, Franz’s division took part in Operation “Nordwind” (North Wind), the German plan to seize the Saverne Gap, 20 miles northwest of Strasbourg, in an effort split the U.S. Seventh Army and retake the Alsace north of the Marne-Rhine Canal. Assigned to the LXXXIX Army Corps (General der Infanterie Gustav Hoehne), the 256th Volksgrenadier Division was one of four infantry divisions that attacked near Bitche through the Low Vosges. Although the Germans gained about 10 miles during the first four days of the operation, they were stopped short of Saverne by the Americans and thus never gained the key terrain and passes of the Voges. After the battles in Alsace, the division continued to fight against the advancing Americans in the Saar, Hunsrück, and the Mittelrhein regions of Germany.]
- 8 April 1945-1947:
Prisoner of war.
- 5 May 1945 transferred to Trent Park Camp 11 sorting camp.
- 9 January 1946 transferred to Island Farm Special Camp 11 from Camp 1
- 12 May 1948 transferred to Camp 186 for repatriation.
Awards
& Decorations:
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross: 24 July 1941, Oberstleutnant i.G., Operations Officer (Ia) of the 29th Infantry Division (Motorized) in Russia.
- German Cross in Gold: 14 February 1944, Oberstleutnant i.G., Chief of the General Staff of the XXXXII Army Corps in Russia.
- Iron Cross, 1st Class (1939)
- Iron Cross, 2nd Class (1939)
- Armed Forces Long Service Awards
- Medal for the Winter Campaign in Russia 1941/1942 (“East Medal”)
- “AFRIKA” Campaign Cuff-Title