Gustav von Vaerst

Gustav von Vaerst
Born	19 April 1894 Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, German Empire
Died	10 October 1975 (aged 81) Stockheim, Bavaria, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1912–45
Rank	General der Panzertruppe
Commands held	2. Schützen-Brigade
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Gustav Fritz Julius von Vaerst (19 April 1894 – 10 October 1975) was a German General der Panzertruppe during World War II.

Vaerst was born in Meiningen. He married Astor Freiin von Swaine on 30 August 1925 in Theres. They had one son and three daughters.

After being released from a POW camp in 1947, Vaerst returned to what remained of his family's land holdings to live the rest of his life quietly on a hunting lodge in the town of Nordheim vor der Rhön, near Fladungen.

Awards

• Iron Cross of 1914 (Prussia)
  • 1st Class (24 December 1916)
  • 2nd Class (25 September 1914)
• Cross for Faithful Service (Schaumburg-Lippe, 29 November 1914)
• Cross for Merit in War (Saxe-Meiningen, 30 May 1915)
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd Class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award, 3rd class
• Anschluss Medal (8 November 1938)
• Panzer Badge in Silver
• Wound Badge, 1939 in Black
• Ärmelband "Africa"

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Alman, Karl (1998). Ritterkreuzträger des Afrikakorps [Knight's Cross Bearers of the Afrika Korps] (in German). Rastatt, Germany: VPM Verlagsunion Pabel Moewig. ISBN 978-3-8118-1457-8.
• 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.
• 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.