Walter Gericke

Walter Gericke (23 December 1907 – 19 October 1991), was a German paratroop officer in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II and a general in the Bundeswehr of West Germany. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

Walter Gericke
Walter Gericke
Born	23 December 1907
Died	19 October 1991 (aged 83)
Allegiance	Weimar Republic  Nazi Germany  West Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe (Wehrmacht) German Army (Bundeswehr)
Years of service	1929–45, 1956–65
Rank	Oberst (Wehrmacht) Generalmajor (Bundeswehr)
Commands held	11th Parachute Division 1. Luftlandedivision
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Gericke took part in the Battle of the Netherlands and the Battle of Crete as a Fallschirmjäger battalion commander. He later commanded the Fallschirjäger-Regiment 11 (part of the 4. Fallschirmjäger-Division)) and fought in the Battle of Anzio.

In July 1941 Walter Gericke and his men destroyed the village of Kandanos in Western Crete and killed 180 of its inhabitants.

Gericke joined the newly formed Bundeswehr after the rearmament of West Germany and as a Generalmajor led the 1. Luftlande-Division from 1962 to 1965.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (10 April 40) & 1st Class (12 May 1940)[1]
• German Cross in Gold on 12 December 1943 as Major in the II./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6[2]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 14 June 1941 as Hauptmann and commander of the IV./Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment[3]
  • 585th Oak Leaves on 17 September 1944 as Major and commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 11[3]

References

Citations

1. Thomas 1997, p. 195.
2. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 135.
3. Scherzer 2007, p. 332.

Bibliography

• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• 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 [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.