Ernst Barkmann

Ernst Barkmann

Ritterkreuzträger SS-Oberscharführer Ernst Barkmann
Born 25 August 1919
Kisdorf, Segeberg, Holstein, Germany
Died 27 June 2009(2009-06-27) (aged 89)
Kisdorf, Segeberg, Holstein, Germany
Allegiance Germany
Service/branch Waffen-SS
Years of service 1936–45
Rank Oberscharführer
Battles/wars Operation Barbarossa
Operation Citadel
Ardennes Offensive
Awards Full list
Other work Fire Chief, Mayor
Signature

Ernst Barkmann (later Ernst Schmuck-Barkmann) (25 August 1919 – 27 June 2009) was a German tank commander in the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II. He is known for the actions undertaken at “Barkmann’s corner,” in which it was claimed he halted a major U.S. Army armoured advance in Normandy on 27 July 1944, for which action he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

This narrative has been challenged by the military historian Steven Zaloga in his 2015 work Armored Champion: The Top Tanks of World War II. He analysed the Allied war records, and was unable to locate the losses claimed by Barkmann. He attributes the myth of Barkmann's corner to the "propaganda efforts of the Waffen-SS".[1]

Military career

Barkmann was drafted in 1939. He joined the SS-Standarte 2 Germania regiment, a unit of the SS-Verfügungstruppe, and served during the occupation of Poland and Soviet Union. He was posted for a time as an instructor of SS volunteers in the Netherlands.[2] In winter 1942/43 he was posted to SS Regiment Das Reich, part of SS Division Das Reich on the Eastern Front.[2] Das Reich was attached to II SS Panzer Corps, under Army Group South. Barkmann served with the regiment during the large-scale operations against the Soviet forces' mobile spearhead under command of Markian Popov and took part in the Third Battle of Kharkov. In July 1943, his division took part in Operation Citadel, the operation to eliminate the Kursk salient, later being transferred to the Mius river line. In the course of these operations, Barkmann was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross.

In February 1944, Das Reich was ordered to France to form a part of the 5th Panzer Army, the armoured reserve for the expected Allied invasion. Following Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion, the division reached the front in early July and fought against the American forces near Saint-Lô. Barkmann was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

After the launch of Operation Cobra, his unit, alongside the 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen, fought to hold open an escape route for the trapped German forces. After the collapse of the pocket, Das Reich fell back towards the West Wall. Barkmann participated in the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944 and the fighting on the Eastern Front in the spring of 1945. Barkmann surrendered to the British forces south of Vienna.

Summary of SS career

Dates of rank

Awards and decorations

At the time of his capture in 1945, Barkmann was authorized the following awards:

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ According to Scherzer as panzer commander in the 4./SS-Panzer-Regiment 2.[5]

References

Citations

Bibliography

  • Federl, Christian (2000). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Panzerdivisionen 1939–1945 Die Panzertruppe [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Panzer Divisions 1939–1945 The Panzer Force] (in German). Zweibrücken, Germany: VDM Heinz Nickel. ISBN 978-3-925480-43-0. 
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6. 
  • Mattson, Gregory L. (2002). SS-Das Reich: The History of the Second SS Division, 1944–45. Amber Books. ISBN 0-7603-1255-9. 
  • Ripley, Tom (2001) SS Steel Rain: Waffen-SS Panzer – Battles in the West 1944–45. Zenith Imprint. ISBN 0-7603-1168-4, ISBN 978-0-7603-1168-4.
  • 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 Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. 
  • Wegmann, Günter (2004). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Teil VIIIa: Panzertruppe Band 1: A–E [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Part VIIIa: Panzer Force Volume 1: A–E] (in German). Bissendorf, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2322-1. 
  • Zaloga, Steven (2015). Armored Champion: The Top Tanks of World War II. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-1437-2. 
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 22, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.