Ernst Feßmann

Ernst Feßmann
Born (1881-01-06)6 January 1881
Ofersee, Bavaria
Died 25 October 1962(1962-10-25) (aged 81)
Pullach, Bavaria
Allegiance  German Empire (to 1918)
 Weimar Republic (to 1933)
 Nazi Germany
Service/branch Heer
Years of service 1900–37, 1939–43
Rank General der Panzertruppe
Commands held 3rd Panzer Division
Battles/wars World War I
World War II

General Ernst Feßmann (6 January 1881 – 25 October 1962) was a Cavalry General in the German Army who was notable for commanding one of the first Panzer Divisions.

He joined the Bavarian army in the 2nd Royal Bavarian Chevau-légers "Taxis" as an officer cadet on 15 July 1900 and was commissioned as a leutnant. After service in the German Imperial Army in World War I in which he commanded the 2nd Cavalry Regiment he was retained in the Reichswehr in which he commanded a motorized battalion.

From 1934 to 1935 he commanded the Panzer Lehr Brigade and on 15 October 1935 as a generalleutnant he was appointed commander of the 3rd Panzer Division in Berlin, which was one of the first three Panzer Divisions to be created. The other two were the 1st Panzer Division formed in Weimar and commanded by Maximilian von Weichs and the 2nd Panzer Division formed in Würzburg and commanded by Heinz Guderian.

Feßmann retired from the Wehrmacht in September 1937 as a General der Panzertruppe but returned to active service at the outbreak of World War II as commander of the 267 Infantry Division which served on the Western Front and took part in the invasions of Belgium, France and the Netherlands. He retired again on 30 April 1943.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
none
Commander of 3. Panzer-Division
Creation in 1935 – 1 September 1939
Succeeded by
Generalleutnant Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg
Preceded by
none
Commander of 267. Infanterie-Division
1 September 1939 – 1 June 1941
Succeeded by
Generalleutnant Friedrich-Karl von Wachter


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, April 20, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.