Johannes Bäßler (3 May 1892 – 9 November 1944) was a German officer in the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

'' 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 ...

who also served in the army of

Imperial Germany The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

during World War I. During World War II, he commanded two

panzer This article deals with the tanks (german: panzer) serving in the German Army (''Deutsches Heer'') throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German Wehrmacht, ...

divisions on the Eastern Front. He later commanded the 242nd Infantry Division which was stationed in the south of France. He died from wounds received during the Battle of Toulon.

Biography

Born in 1892, Bäßler joined the army of

in early 1914 and was commissioned a ''leutnant'' (second lieutenant) in the infantry. He participated in World War I and afterwards was among the personnel retained in the postwar ''

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

'' (Imperial Defence). By 1935, he was the Chief of Operations, or 1a, of the 1st Panzer Division. Promoted to ''oberst'' (

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

), from 1938 to 1939, he commanded the 4th Panzer Regiment, which was part of the

2nd Panzer Division The 2nd Panzer Division ( en, 2nd Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army, the Heer, during World War II. Created as one of the original three German tank divisions in 1935, it was stationed in Austria after the Anschluss an ...

. Upon the outbreak of World War II, Bäßler was serving as

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of XI Army Corps and participated in the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

in this capacity. He remained on the staff of XI Corps through the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

, the

Invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, or ''Projekt 25'' was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was p ...

, and

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

, the latter as part of Army Group South, until February 1942. In April 1942, and now 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 ...

'', he was given command of

9th Panzer Division The 9th Panzer Division was a panzer division of the German Army during World War II. It came into existence after 4th Light Division was reorganized in January 1940. The division was headquartered in Vienna, in the German military district Weh ...

which was then operating on the Eastern Front, around the town of Shchtschigry, to the east of

Kursk Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...

. In July 1942 the division was involved in heavy fighting to secure the German northern flank around Zemlyansk, northwest of

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the ...

, when Bäßler was seriously wounded and had to leave his command on 27 July 1942. Following recuperation from his wounds, on 16 November 1942, Bäßler took command of

14th Panzer Division The 14th Panzer Division (german: 14. Panzer-Division) was an armoured division in the German Army during World War II. It was created in 1940 by the conversion of the 4th Infantry Division. The division took part in the invasion of Yugoslavia ...

which, at the time, was engaged in the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...

. He led the division until 26 November 1942 at which time he was again wounded and evacuated from the city. He thus avoided capture when the Germans surrendered the city in early 1943. Bäßler returned to active duty in July 1943 when he was appointed commander of the newly formed 242nd Infantry Division. His new command was initially based in northeastern Germany before being transferred to Liege in Belgium for training and occupation duties. In October 1943, the division, intended to be a static unit with little organic transport, was moved to the south of France and the following February, Bäßler was promoted to '' generalleutnant''. The day after the launch of

Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15August 1944. Despite initially designed to be executed in conjunction with Operation Overlord, th ...

, the Allied invasion of Southern France in mid-August 1944, Bäßler and his division were ordered to hold the city of

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

. The division resisted the french forces in the Battle of Toulon for ten days before Bäßler, who had been critically wounded, surrendered it on 26 August 1944. Although initially made a prisoner of war, he was repatriated to Germany shortly after his capture. He died of his wounds in a hospital in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

on 27 November 1944.

Notes

Footnotes Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bassler, Johannes 1892 births 1944 deaths Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Gold German Cross Reichswehr personnel German Army personnel killed in World War II German prisoners of war in World War II held by France German Army personnel of World War I German Army generals of World War II