Willy Albrecht

Willy Albrecht
Born 7 July 1907
Birkow, Farther Pomerania, German Empire
Died 9 September 1996(1996-09-09) (aged 89)
Bramsche, Germany
Allegiance  Nazi Germany
Service/branch Heer
Rank Hauptmann of the Reserves
Unit Jäger-Regiment 734
Battles/wars World War II
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Willy Albrecht (7 July 1907 – 9 September 1996), born in Birkow, Farther Pomerania, was a German Hauptmann of the Reserves in the Wehrmacht during World War II.

Military career

He served in the 82nd Infantry Division. He was promoted to Leutnant on 5 October 1941 in the Headquarters Company of his regiment and later became a Oberleutnant of the Reserves of the 7./Jäger Regiment 734. On 1 December 1943, he took charge of Field Replacement Battalion 654 and then acquired command of Jäger Regiment 734 of the 104th Jäger Division.

On 22 June 1944, Albrecht was promoted to captain of the Reserve Battalion. He assumed command of the 104th Hunter Division and led them to the front in order to strengthen the lines when Lika was introduced in the spring of 1945. Albrecht's division was deployed in the area of Bihac, Yugoslavia, alongside the 373rd (Croatian) Infantry Division which had been charged to hunt down Yugoslav partisans. However, the partisan forces had grown to over 800,000 by 1945, and on or about 28 March 1945, the Wehrmacht line collapsed. During this last battle Albrecht's troops fought valiantly.

Albrecht, along with regimental commander Lieutenant Colonel Franz Wecker, may have received the Knight's Cross on September 5, 1945. However, no evidence for the award survives in the German Federal Archives, casting doubt on the authenticity of the award. Albrecht died on 9 September 1996, in Bramsche, Germany.

Awards

Notes

  1. ↑ No evidence of the award can be found in the German Federal Archives. Albrecht's case was never processed by the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR). It is incomprehensible what evidence exists and who accepted him as a Knight's Cross recipient.[2]

References

Sources

  • 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. 

External links

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