Hans-Oscar Wöhlermann was a German officer during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Towards the end of the war, Wöhlermann took part in the

Battle of the Seelow Heights The Battle of the Seelow Heights (german: Schlacht um die Seelower Höhen) was part of the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation (16 April–2 May 1945). A pitched battle, it was one of the last assaults on large entrenched defensive positions o ...

and the

Battle for Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–O ...

. During the night of 24 April 1945, the frantic reorganization of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

's defences added to the confusion and to the pressure on officers like Wöhlermann. To better allow General

Helmuth Weidling Helmuth Otto Ludwig Weidling (2 November 1891 – 17 November 1955) was a German general during World War II. He was the last commander of the Berlin Defence Area during the Battle of Berlin, and led the defence of the city against Soviet force ...

to concentrate on his overall responsibilities as city commandant, Major-General

Werner Mummert Werner Mummert (31 March 1897 – 28 January 1950) was a general in the German Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded Panzer Division Müncheberg, Panzer Division ''Müncheberg''. A veteran of World War I, he was also a recipient of the Kni ...

, commander of "Müncheberg" Tank Division (''Panzer Division Müncheberg''), was ordered to take over the eastern defense sectors A and B. Mummert was also given nominal charge of the LVI Tank Corps (''LVI Panzer Korps''). Weidling then took with him his Chief-of-Staff, Colonel

Theodor von Dufving Theoderich Heinrich August Wilhelm von Dufving (1907–2001), known as Theodor von Dufving, was a German officer of the ''Wehrmacht'' during the Second World War. In May 1945 he was one of the last Germans to enter the '' Führerbunker'', shortly ...

, to look after the "military" side of his assignment, but kept Lieutenant Colonel

Helmuth Reymann Hellmuth Reymann (24 November 1892 – 8 December 1988) was an officer in the German Army ('' Heer'') during World War II. He was one of the last commanders of the Berlin Defence Area during the final assault by Soviet forces on Berlin. World Wa ...

's former Chief-of-Staff, Colonel

Hans Refior Hans Refior (born 29 October 1906, date of death unknown)''Haefnner, Paul.'' In: Günter Wegmann: ''Die Dienstlaufbahnen der Offiziere des Generalstabes des deutschen Heeres, 1935–1945. Nach dem Stand vom 1.9.1944 aufgrund der Handliste des Heeres ...

, to handle the "civil" side. The civil side included dealing with

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

and the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

. Wöhlermann was asked to take command of "Müncheberg", while still remaining in overall charge of artillery. All through the night, Weidling and his senior officers struggled to make some sort of sense of the shambles that had been forced upon them. On 25 April, the "Nordland" SS Armored Infantry Division (''SS Nordland Panzergrenadier Division'') and "Müncheberg" were ordered by Weidling to launch a counterattack to clean up dangerous

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

penetrations at

Tempelhof Airfield Berlin Tempelhof Airport (german: Flughafen Berlin-Tempelhof) was one of the first airports in Berlin, Germany. Situated in the south-central Berlin borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg, the airport ceased operating in 2008 amid controversy, leav ...

and in Neukolln. During the morning of 26 April, "Müncheberg" attacked southward from the northwest end of the Tempelhof Airfield with its last ten tanks. But the attack soon came to a halt due to Soviet defensive fire. During that same morning, Weidling's command structure was changed yet again on the whims of German dictator

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. However, this time the change was for the good. Hitler promoted

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

(''

Oberstleutnant () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedis ...

'') Erich Bärenfänger to a

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

(''

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...

'') and gave him the command of defence sectors A and B. This change meant that Mummert could return to the command of the "Müncheberg" Tank Division and Wöhlermann could concentrate on his job as artillery commander. For Weidling, this was a great improvement. For the men of "Müncheberg," experiencing their third change of command in little more than twenty-four hours, it merely added to their total bewilderment.

Awards

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in Gold (27 October 1941)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wohlermann, Hans-Oscar German Army officers of World War II Recipients of the Gold German Cross