Gustav Gihr

Gustav Gihr
Gustav Gihr
Born	10 January 1894 Geisingen
Died	31 October 1959 (aged 65) Koblenz
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer (Army)
Years of service	1914–44
Rank	Major General
Commands held	216th Infantry-Division 707th Infantry Division 45th Infantry Division
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Deutsches Kreuz in gold

Gustav Gihr (born 18 August 1894 – 31 October 1959) was the German commander of the 707th Infantry division during the Bobruisk Offensive.

World War I

Gustav Gihr enlisted 10 January 1914 as Fahnenjunker in infantry regiment 98. After his duty assignment at the war college in Kassel and promotion to second lieutenant, Gihr joined, 2 August 1914, infantry regiment 98 in the field. On 11 September 1914 Gihr was wounded and sent to a military hospital, where he remained until September 22. Gihr returned, December 1914, to infantry regiment 98 in the field. On 10 February 1915 he became company leader in his regiment. On 29 September 1915 Gihr was again wounded and transported to a military hospital. He was wounded three times more and became, 18 May 1918, 2nd Ordnance officer, on the staff of the 12th Reserve division.

Interwar Period

On 4 January 1919 Gihr became commander of the 9th Company of his regiment. On 22 March 1919 he took over the 1st Battalion. On 29 April 1919 he became commander of the 4th Company of the infantry replacement depot of Reichswehr brigade 25. On 15 May 1920 he was given leave. On 6 October 1920 Gihr was discharged from the army and transferred to the police. He served in Mannheim and Karlsruhe and rose to the police rank of major. On 16 March 1936 Gihr was transferred again to the army and became commander of the 1st Battalion of infantry regiment 109. On 1 April 1937 Gihr was promoted to lieutenant colonel. On 12 October 1937 he became commander of the 1st Battalion of infantry regiment 107.

World War II

On 16 December 1939 Gihr became commander of infantry regiment 367. On 1 April 1940 he was promoted to Colonel. On 5 September 1942 he was assigned to the Führerreserve. On 10 September 1942 he became commander of fortress infantry regiment 725. Subsequently he led, 16 January 1943 to 28 February 1943, infantry regiment 186, before he was again assigned to the Führerreserve. On 1 October 1943 Gihr was promoted to major general. On 20 October 1943 he became commander of the 216th Infantry-Division. On 1 December 1943 Gihr became commander of the 7th Infantry division. On 9 December 1943, he became commander of the 95th Infantry division. On 27 February 1944 he took over command of the 45th Infantry division, on 9 April 1944 the 35th Infantry division and on 11 May 1944 the 110th Infantry division. On 15 May 1944 Gihr became commander of the 707th Infantry division and fought during the Bobruisk Offensive.^[1] On June 29, 1944, the Red Army took Bobruisk. The city lay in ruins. The population, which had been 84,107 in 1939, was down to 28,352. On 27 June 1944, at Bobruisk Gihr was captured by the Russians. On 11 October 1955 they released him.

References

1. Samuel W. Mitcham. German Order of Battle: 1st-290th Infantry divisions in World War II. Stackpole Books, 2007 p 168

Bibliography

• Lehrer, Steven (2002). Hitler Sites: A City-by-city Guidebook (Austria, Germany, France, United States). McFarland. p. 224. ISBN 0-7864-1045-0.
• Lexikon der Wehrmacht. Personenregister. Gihr, Gustav This non-political website is maintained by Volksbund Deutscher Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V., a non-governmental charity that cares for German World War II military graves and the remains of Hitler's soldiers, both in Germany and in other parts of the world. See Hitler Sites: A City-by-city Guidebook (Austria, Germany, France, United States) for further detail.