Kurt Versock

Kurt Versock
Kurt Versock in 1943
Born	14 February 1895 Hütten/Pirna, Kingdom of Saxony
Died	17 March 1963 (aged 68) Aachen , Germany
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1914–45
Rank	General der Gebirgstruppe
Commands held	31st Infantry Regiment 24th Infantry Division XXXXIII Army Corps
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

General Kurt Versock (14 February 1895 – 17 March 1963) was a German General of the Mountain Troops who was awarded the Knight's Cross during World War II.

Career

From 1913 to 1914 he studied Law and Economics. In October 1914 he joined an Infantry and in May 1915 he was commissioned as a Leutnant and commanded a platoon and was a battalion adjutant, company commander and regimental adjutant, mainly on the western front during World War I.

After the war he was retained in the Reichswehr and on 1 January 1921 he commanded a platoon of the 4th (MG) Company of Infantry Regiment 10. He was an assistant training officer and a company commander in the 16th Company and then the 4th (MG) Company of the 10th Infantry Regiment From 1934 to 1938, followed by a period as a lecturer at the infantry school in Dresden. He was promoted to Major and Oberstleutnant in January 1938. On 1 November 1938 he was appointed commander of the First Battalion of the 138th Mountain Regiment.

After the Polish campaign Versock was from March to October 1940 the Commander of the officer-training courses. On 1 November 1940 he was promoted to Oberst and appointed commander of the 31st Infantry Regiment and he led the regiment in the battles in Ukraine and Crimea. For the performance of the regiment and for his personal involvement in the conquest of the fortress of Sevastopol, on 25 August 1942, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

On 1 March 1943 Versock served on the Leningrad front with the 24th Infantry Division. In May 1943 he was promoted to Generalmajor and appointed commander of the 24th Infantry division. On 1 November 1943 this was followed by a promotion to Generalleutnant. On 18 February 1944 he was seriously wounded by a machine gun bullet, but in June he was able to return to his division. On 3 September 1944, He was appointed commander of the XXXXIII Army Corps and tasked with the organization of the coastal defense of the Courland operation. On 1 November 1944 he was promoted to General der Gebirgstruppe and at the end of the war he was captured by the Americans.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Cross of Honor
• Anschluss Medal
• Sudetenland Medal
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (21 October 1939)
  • 1st Class (26 June 1941)
• Wound Badge (1939)
  • in Black (9 June 1943)
• Eastern Front Medal
• German Cross in Gold (20 June 1944)^[1]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 25 August 1942 as Oberst and commander of the Infanterie-Regiment 31^[1]

References

Citations

1. Scherzer 2007, p. 757.

Bibliography

• 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.
• 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 Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Hans von Tettau, Kurt Versock (1956). The history of the 24th Infantry Division 1935–45. Stollberg.

External links

• Kurt Versock in the German National Library catalogue
• Kurt Versock at the Lexicon der Wehrmacht