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Saint-Désir-de-Lisieux German War Cemetery
Saint-Désir-de-Lisieux is a Second World War German military war grave cemetery, located close to the village of Saint-Désir and west of Lisieux in the Calvados department, Normandy, France. It is located adjacent to the British Saint-Désir War Cemetery and is unique as the two burial grounds are linked by a pathway. It is the smallest German war cemetery in Normandy and contains the remains of 3,735 German military personnel. The cemetery was created by the British Graves Registration Commission in August 1944 with British and German casualties buried in adjacent fields. Saint-Désir-de-Lisieux is usually chosen as the cemetery for newly discovered German war dead from across Normandy. The cemetery is maintained and managed by the voluntary German War Graves Commission (''Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge''). History The majority of the German war dead buried at Saint-Désir-de-Lisieux were killed during the last days of the Battle of Normandy and inside the Fala ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German War Graves Commission
The German War Graves Commission (, ) is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of German war graves in Europe and North Africa. Its objectives are acquisition, maintenance and care of German war graves; tending to next of kin; youth and educational work; and preservation of the memory to the sacrifices of war and despotism. Former head of the Bundeswehr Wolfgang Schneiderhan was elected President of the organisation in 2016, succeeding SPD politician Markus Meckel. The President of Germany, currently Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD), is the organisation's patron. Role The German War Graves Commission cares for the graves, at 832 cemeteries in 46 countries, of more than 2.7 million persons killed during World War I and World War II. The German war graves are intended to remember all groups of war dead: military personnel, those dead by aerial warfare, murdered in the Holocaust, and all other persons persecuted to death. In addition, the Volksbund maintains cemeteries and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
7th Army (Wehrmacht)
The 7th Army () was a World War II field army of the German land forces. History Origins The 7th Army was activated in Stuttgart on August 25, 1939 with General Friedrich Dollmann in command. At the outbreak of the war, the 7th Army defended the French border and manned the Westwall in the Upper Rhine region. At the start of the Campaign in the West in 1940, the 7th Army was part of General Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb's Army Group C. On 14 June 1940, Army Group C attacked the Maginot Line after it had been cut off by armored units of the XXXXI Panzer Corps. Lead elements of the 7th Army reached the area in front of Colmar and later pursued parts of the French 2nd Army Group into Lorraine. At the conclusion of the campaign, the 7th Army was in eastern France. From July 1940 until April 1941, the 7th Army guarded a region of the coast in southwestern France. From 18 April 1941, the 7th Army was responsible for coastal defense in Brittany and Normandy. By mid-1944, the 7th Arm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cemeteries In Calvados (department)
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek language, Greek ) implies that the land is specifically designated as a burial ground and originally applied to the Ancient Rome, Roman catacombs. The term ''graveyard'' is often used interchangeably with cemetery, but a graveyard primarily refers to a burial ground within a churchyard. The intact or cremated remains of people may be interred in a grave, commonly referred to as burial, or in a tomb, an "above-ground grave" (resembling a sarcophagus), a mausoleum, a columbarium, a niche, or another edifice. In Western world, Western cultures, funeral ceremonies are often observed in cemeteries. These ceremonies or rites of passage differ according to culture, cultural practices and religion, religious beliefs. Modern cemeteries often inclu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Military Cemeteries In Normandy
The following military cemeteries were established in the French region of Normandy in memory for casualties of the World War II battles there: American * The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, located near the battle site at Omaha Beach. * The Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial, located near Saint-James. Despite the name of the cemetery, it is located in Normandy, on the border with Brittany. British * Banneville-la-Campagne War Cemetery contains 2,175 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War with a high number of casualties from Operation Goodwood interred in the cemetery. * Bayeux War Cemetery contains 4,144 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 338 of them unidentified. There are also over 500 war graves of other nationalities, the majority German. * Brouay War Cemetery contains 375 British and 2 Canadian graves with a high number of casualties from the 53rd (Welsh) Division. * Cambes-en-Plaine War Cemetery contains 223 graves of those that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eugen-Ludwig Zweigart
Eugen-Ludwig Zweigart (3 May 1914 – 8 June 1944) a former German fighter ace in the Luftwaffe. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II, awarded by Nazi Germany for extreme battlefield bravery. He was credited with 69 victories. Career On 11 November 1941, Zweigart made a forced landing at Sablin, near Lyuban, following combat damage sustained to his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 (''Werknummer'' 12943—factory number). On 27 July 1943, Zweigart was shot down in his Bf 109 G-6 (''Werknummer'' 15678) by Supermarine Spitfire fighters, bailing out near Norden. On 8 June 1944, Zweigart was shot down flying Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8 (''Werknummer'' 170736) in aerial combat near Les Champeaux, France. He bailed out and was allegedly shot and killed while hanging in his parachute. He was interred at the Saint-Désir-de-Lisieux German war cemetery. Summary of career Aerial victory claims According to US historian David T. Zabecki, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egon Mayer
Egon Mayer (19 August 1917 – 2 March 1944) was a Luftwaffe wing commander and fighter ace of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was credited with 102 enemy aircraft shot down in over 353 combat missions. His victories were all claimed over the Western Front and included 26 four-engine bombers, 51 Supermarine Spitfires and 12 Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. Mayer was the first fighter pilot to score 100 victories entirely on the Western Front. Born in Konstanz, Mayer, volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany in 1937. Following flight training he was posted to ''Jagdgeschwader'' 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing) in 1939. He fought in the Battle of France and claimed his first aerial victory in that campaign on 13 June 1940. Mayer was appointed squadron leader of the 7. '' Staffel'' (7th squadron) of JG 2 in June 1941. Two months later, following his 21st aerial victory, he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurt Ubben
Kurt "Kuddel" Ubben (18 November 1911 – 27 April 1944) was a German Luftwaffe wing commander and military aviator during World War II, a fighter ace listed with 110 aerial victories—that is, 111 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—claimed in approximately 500 combat missions. Born in Dorstadt, Ubben volunteered for military service with the ''Reichsmarine'' in 1931. He transferred to the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany in 1935. Following flight training, he was posted to ''Jagdgruppe'' 186 (JG 186—186 Fighter Group) and later to ''Jagdgeschwader'' 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing). He claimed his first aerial victory during the Battle of France on 10 May 1940. In July 1940, he was appointed ''Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader) of 8. '' Staffel'' (8th squadron) of JG 77. With this unit, Ubben then fought in the Battle of Greece and Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Knight's C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horst Hannig
Horst Hannig (13 November 1921 – 15 May 1943) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace and Posthumous recognition, posthumous recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. Hannig is credited with 98 aerial victories claimed in over 350 combat missions. He was killed in action following combat with Royal Air Force (RAF) Supermarine Spitfire fighters on 15 May 1943. Early life and career Hannig was born on 13 November 1921 in Ząbkowice Śląskie, Frankenstein, present-day Ząbkowice Śląskie, at the time in Lower Silesia. He was the son of a secretary of justice (). After he graduated with his ''Abitur'' (diploma), Hannig joined the military ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
7th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)
The 7th Panzer Division was an Panzer, armored formation of the German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army in World War II. It participated in the Battle of France, the invasion of the Soviet Union, the occupation of Vichy France, and on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front until the end of the war. The 7th Panzer Division is also known by its nickname, Ghost Division. The division met with great success in France in 1940 and then again in the Soviet Union in 1941. In May 1942, the division was withdrawn from the Soviet Union and sent back to France to replace losses and refit. It returned to Southern Russia following the defeat at Stalingrad, and helped to check a general collapse of the front in a series of defensive battles as part of Army Group Don, and participated in General Erich von Manstein's counterattack at Third Battle of Kharkov, Kharkov. The division fought in the unsuccessful offensive at Battle of Kursk, Kursk in the summer of 1943, suffering heavy losses in m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
15th Army (Wehrmacht)
The 15th Army (German: 15. ''Armee'') was a field army of the German Army (1935–1945), German army in World War II. History The 15th Army was activated in German military administration in occupied France during World War II, occupied France on 15 January 1941 with General Curt Haase in command. It was tasked with occupation and defensive duties in the Pas de Calais area. The Allies of World War II, Allies landed further west, in Operation Overlord, during June 1944. Afterwards, the 15th Army was withdrawn to the Netherlands, where it fought the Allies during Operation Market Garden in September 1944. It suffered defeat against the First Canadian Army in the Battle of the Scheldt during which the Army Headquarters at Dordrecht was subject to a mass attack by Hawker Typhoons of the Second Tactical Air Force on 24 October 1944. Two generals and 70 other staff officers were killed in the attack.. According to a Dutch documentary there were 69 civilian casualties and some German c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falaise Pocket
The Falaise pocket or battle of the Falaise pocket (; 12–21 August 1944) was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. Allied forces formed a pocket around Falaise, Calvados, in which German Army Group B, consisting of the 7th Army and the Fifth Panzer Army (formerly ), were encircled by the Western Allies. The battle resulted in the destruction of most of Army Group B west of the Seine, which opened the way to Paris and the Franco-German border. Six weeks after the 6 June 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy, German forces were in turmoil, having expended irreplaceable resources defending the frontline and with Allied air superiority threatening the availability of food and ammunition. However, on the Allied side, British forces had expected to liberate Caen immediately after the invasion, an operation which ended up taking nearly two months, and US forces had expected to control Saint-Lô by the 7 June, yet German resistance delayed this u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lisieux
Lisieux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland. Name The name of the town derives from the ("Noviomagus of the Lexovii"). The town was originally known in Common Celtic, Celtic as ("New Field", "New Market"), which was Latinization of names, Latinized as . Owing to the large number of similarly named cities, however, it was necessary to specify where this one was located. The local French demonym derives from the Latin as well. History Antiquity Lisieux was the capital of the Lexovii. In his work, ''Commentaries on the Gallic War'', Caesar mentions a Gallic ''oppidum'', a term which refers to Celtic towns located on the tops of hills. The oppidum has been pinpointed to a place referred to as ''le Castellier op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
