Max Wünsche

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Max Wünsche (20 April 1914 – 17 April 1995) was a member of the SS of Nazi Germany and a regimental commander in the Waffen-SS during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

Biography

Max Wünsche was born on 20 April 1914 in Kittlitz. In July 1933 Wünsche joined the SS. In 1935, he graduated from '' SS-Junkerschule'' at Bad Tölz and was promoted to '' Untersturmführer''. Wünsche was then posted to the ''Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler'' (LSSAH) as a platoon leader. In October 1938, Wünsche was assigned as an orderly officer for Hitler. In that role, Wünsche joined the '' Führerbegleitkommando'' (the SS bodyguard unit), which provided personal security for Hitler.

In January 1940 he was again posted to the LSSAH, as a platoon commander in a motorcycle company under the command of Kurt Meyer, for the invasion of the Netherlands and the Battle of France. In December 1940 he became an adjutant to Sepp Dietrich during the invasion of the Balkans ( Operation Marita) and the invasion of the Soviet Union ( Operation Barbarossa). In February 1942 Wünsche was given the command of the LSSAH ''Sturmgeschütz'' (assault gun) battalion.

In 1942 Wünsche completed the General Staff training course at the Staff College in Germany and was promoted to '' Sturmbannführer''. In September 1942 he was posted to the LSSAH and resumed command of the ''Sturmgeschütz'' battalion; in October he assumed command of a battalion in a panzer regiment of LSSAH. His battalion's first action was at Kharkov in 1943. On 25 February 1943 Wünsche's battalion went into action against a defensive position occupied by the Soviet 350th Rifle Division. Supported by artillery and a company of SS grenadiers, Wünsche's battalion attacked and overran the Soviet front lines. Wünsche's assault would lead to the destruction of 47 artillery pieces and anti-tank guns. For his actions during the battles for Kharkov, Wünsche was awarded the German Cross in Gold and later the Knight's Cross, both in February 1943.

In June 1943, Wünsche was transferred to a new division forming in France, 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, to take command of the 12th SS Panzer Regiment. On 6 June 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy (Operation Overlord) and the division was committed to action on 7 June. The division was later trapped in the Falaise pocket, where on the night of 20 August, Wünsche escaped on foot. He was wounded and taken prisoner by British soldiers.

Wünsche spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war in camp 165 at Caithness, Scotland, a special camp for high-ranking German officers. In 1948 Wünsche was released and returned to Germany. He died in 1995.

Summary of SS career

;Decorations
* Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (25 May 1940 & 1st Class (31 May 1940)
* German Cross in Gold on 25 February 1943 as SS-'' Sturmbannführer'' in the I./SS-Panzer-Regiment 1
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
** Knight's Cross on 28 February 1943 as SS-''Sturmbannführer'' and commander of the I./SS-Panzer-Regiment 1.
** 548th Oak Leaves on 11 August 1944 as SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' and commander of SS-Panzer-Regiment 12 "Hitlerjugend"

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wuensche, Max
1914 births
1995 deaths
Nazi Party members
SS-Standartenführer
Recipients of the Gold German Cross
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Waffen-SS personnel
German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom
Adjutants of Adolf Hitler
Military personnel from Saxony
People from Löbau