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At the end of 1940, Weidinger was promoted to SS-Captain and his unit was sent to subdue [[Occupation of the Baltic states|insurgents in Lithuania]]. Weidinger commanded a heavy (anti-tank) company of the motorcycle rifle battalion of the SS-Reconnaissance-Detachment until the onset of [[Operation Barbarossa]]. He was subsequently promoted to SS-[[Hauptsturmführer]] and transferred to the Divisional Staff of the SS-Division "Das Reich". Following a tour of duty in Russia, Weidinger returned to the Braunschweig Junkerschule as a tactics instructor for officer candidates until 1943.
At the end of 1940, Weidinger was promoted to SS-Captain and his unit was sent to subdue [[Occupation of the Baltic states|insurgents in Lithuania]]. Weidinger commanded a heavy (anti-tank) company of the motorcycle rifle battalion of the SS-Reconnaissance-Detachment until the onset of [[Operation Barbarossa]]. He was subsequently promoted to SS-[[Hauptsturmführer]] and transferred to the Divisional Staff of the SS-Division "Das Reich". Following a tour of duty in Russia, Weidinger returned to the Braunschweig Junkerschule as a tactics instructor for officer candidates until 1943.

In June 1943, Weidinger was again ordered to the Russian front and assumed command of the First Battalion of the SS Regiment "Germany", with the rank of SS major. This battalion saw significant combat action at the [[Battle of Kursk]]. In the battle, Weidinger received a serious head wound. In November 1943 he was awarded the German Cross in Gold award. By the end of 1943 he commanded at the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich", an armored infantry regiment.

In the spring of 1944, his SS Panzer Division received orders to move to France. On 21 April 1944, Weidinger was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Shortly thereafter, was promoted to the SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer (Lieutenant Colonel) and the assumption of command of the 4th SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment "Der Führer" , which had the responsibility for defending the Normandy coastline.

After two months of heavy fighting following the Normandy D-Day invasion, Weidinger's unit, along with 50,000 other German troops, were surrounded by British and Polish forces led by General Bernard Montgomery in what would be known as the battle of [[Falaise pocket]]. Faced with the prospect of surrender or annihilation, Weidinger had his unit constantly probe the enemy line for weaknesses. They discovered a very small gap in the Polish lines, which Weidinger then exploited by using the massed firepower of his remaining tanks to enlarge. Ten thousand German troops were able to escape the collapsing pocket. For his heroic actions in the face of near-certain defeat, Weidinger was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross in December 1944.


==Post war==
==Post war==

Revision as of 23:48, 15 November 2010

Otto Weidinger
AllegianceNazi Germany Nazi Germany
Service/branch Waffen-SS
Years of service1934-1945
RankObersturmbannführer
UnitSS-PzAufklAbt 2 "Das Reich"
SS-PzGrenRgt 4 "Der Führer"
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Otto Weidinger (27 May 1914 – 11 January 1990) was a member of the German Waffen-SS and a commander of SS-PzGrenRgt 4 "Der Führer" (2nd SS Division Das Reich) during World War II and was involved in the massacre of Oradour-sur-Glane in France in June 1944. He held the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel). He was also a recipient of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern(Knight's Cross).

SS career

Otto Weidinger enlisted in the SS-Verfügungstruppe SS-VT (precursor to the Waffen-SS) in April 1934. His first duty assignment was as a concentration camp guard at SS-Wachsturmbann (camp guard detachment) Dachau. He volunteered for officer training and entered the SS-Junkerschule in Braunschweig in May of 1935. After graduating from Junkerschule, he completed platoon leader training back in Dachau and was commissioned as an SS-Untersturmführer (Second Lieutenant) in April 1936[1].

Weidinger's first command was the 3. Kompanie of the SS-Standarte "Deutschland" (2nd SS Division Das Reich) in Ellwangen. Shortly after he underwent training as a combat engineer with the SS-Pioniere Battalion, as well as attending the Kampfschule (combat school) in Munich.

Promoted to SS-Obersturmführer (Platoon Commander) in 1938, Weidinger first saw combat in the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, earning an Iron Cross 2nd Class. After subjugating Poland, his unit then participated in the Battle of the Netherlands, where Weidinger continued to distinguish himself, earning a Iron Cross 1st Class and a promotion to Division Adjutant.

At the end of 1940, Weidinger was promoted to SS-Captain and his unit was sent to subdue insurgents in Lithuania. Weidinger commanded a heavy (anti-tank) company of the motorcycle rifle battalion of the SS-Reconnaissance-Detachment until the onset of Operation Barbarossa. He was subsequently promoted to SS-Hauptsturmführer and transferred to the Divisional Staff of the SS-Division "Das Reich". Following a tour of duty in Russia, Weidinger returned to the Braunschweig Junkerschule as a tactics instructor for officer candidates until 1943.

In June 1943, Weidinger was again ordered to the Russian front and assumed command of the First Battalion of the SS Regiment "Germany", with the rank of SS major. This battalion saw significant combat action at the Battle of Kursk. In the battle, Weidinger received a serious head wound. In November 1943 he was awarded the German Cross in Gold award. By the end of 1943 he commanded at the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich", an armored infantry regiment.

In the spring of 1944, his SS Panzer Division received orders to move to France. On 21 April 1944, Weidinger was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Shortly thereafter, was promoted to the SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer (Lieutenant Colonel) and the assumption of command of the 4th SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment "Der Führer" , which had the responsibility for defending the Normandy coastline.

After two months of heavy fighting following the Normandy D-Day invasion, Weidinger's unit, along with 50,000 other German troops, were surrounded by British and Polish forces led by General Bernard Montgomery in what would be known as the battle of Falaise pocket. Faced with the prospect of surrender or annihilation, Weidinger had his unit constantly probe the enemy line for weaknesses. They discovered a very small gap in the Polish lines, which Weidinger then exploited by using the massed firepower of his remaining tanks to enlarge. Ten thousand German troops were able to escape the collapsing pocket. For his heroic actions in the face of near-certain defeat, Weidinger was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross in December 1944.

Post war

After the war, Weidinger wrote the history of Regiment "Der Führer" (he was its last commander) titled "Comrades to the End," as well as a 6 volume history of "Das Reich" consisting of five text volumes and a photo compilation published by Munin Verlag in Germany. Most of the "Das Reich" volumes have been translated into English as well as the regimental history.

He died 11 January 1990, aged 75.

Awards

Notes

  1. ^ No evidence of the award can be found in the German National Archives. The award was unlawfully presented by SS-Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich. The date is taken from the announcement made by the 6. SS-Panzerarmee. The sequential number "150" was assigned by the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR). Weidinger was member of the AKCR.[2]

References

Citations
  1. ^ http://www.oradour.info/appendix/weidgr10.htm
  2. ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 184.
Bibliography
  • Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
  • Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 - 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II. Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • Williamson, Gordon (2006). Knight's Cross, Oak-Leaves and Swords Recipients 1941-45. Osprey Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84176-643-7.
  • Yerger, Mark C., "German Cross in Gold Holders of the SS and Police," volumes 1 and 2, R. James Bender Publishing corrects considerable fact errors of this article
  • Yerger, Mark C., "Otto Weidinger, Knight's Cross with Oakleaves and Swords, Commander SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 4 "Der Führer," Schiffer Publishing, is a detailed biographical study of this officer. Its text corrects the considerable personal and military career fact errors in this article.
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  • "Lexikon der Wehrmacht". Otto Weidinger. Retrieved 6 March 2008.

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