Semi-Unidentified Austrian General in the Wehrmacht?

[Guest Rick Research]

The ribbon bar on top, 10mm width reduction to fit the usual excess Hapsburg ribbonery, is shown with another Nameless Wehrmacht bar for size comparison:

[attachmentid=39190]

This bar has been bothering me for some years now, since it "should" (insane laughter, thunder, organ crescendoes) be readily identifiable.

With any 25 other than a Beamter, you can assume generally a Colonel, if not a General. And since this fellow was in the service before 1908, the odds are even greater that he WAS a General rather than a continously serving frozen in career tracks Oberst.

CONTINUOUSLY may be the clue.

Some years back Glenn hunted through his late 1930s Bundesheer rank Lists looking for suspects who would have been taken over into the post-Anschluss Wehrmacht.

This combination (an Order of the Iron CrownX, a mere SINGLE generic "bravery" ribbon--which could be almost anything but is probably an ?M3K-- Troop Cross, Karl Medal for TWO wounds, 1908 Military Jubilee Cross, and 1912/13 Mobilization Cross all suggested ONLY

post-war Maria-Theresa Order Knight (that being worn from the buttonhole) Franz FREUDENSEHER, who was an Oberst when Htler drove into Vienna.

Problem is... Freudenseher was apparently one of those Austrian officers who either refused to swear allegiance to der F?hrer or for whatever reason was not allowed to. There is no record of post-1938 Wehrmacht service for him.

(Ignore the strange "close enough" ribbon in enxt to alst place for the moment... it distracts rather than helps.)

BUT!!!

WAS this fellow actually in the Bundesheer in 1937???

Going through Keilig, I've started to find officers who I don't recall coming up before, or who retired in the late 1920s or early 1930s (Austria's promotion policy was ruthlessly survival of the best of the best of the best) and have started to notice some possible OTHER suspects:

1) Gottfried BARTON, who incomplete entry and rank as Oberst (E) in 1935 suggests retirement before that and recall later

2) Martin BASLER, whose Keilig entry is so truncated I can't tell what he was up to before WW2

3) Eugen BEYER (1882-1940) who served from 1902

4) Joseph BRAUNER (von Haydringen) (1886-1953)

5) "DIETINGER" who doesn't even get a first name, HE was so obscure!!!!

6) Karl EBNER who served from 1906

7) Josef FEICHTMEIER (1883-MIA 1945) who retired as a Generalmajor in 1929 and was called back up ?1939

8) Valentin FEURSTEIN (1885-1970) who served from 1906

9) Karl FUCIK (watch it!!!) another Keilig "skip"

10) Josef Gerstmann who served from 1905

11) Gustav GRACHEGG (1882-MIA 1945) who retired in 1932 as a char. Generalmajor and then was called back up in 1939

12) Dr. Walther HINGHOFER (1885-1951) who started out dR... confusing me as much as Keilig

13) Eugen H?BERTH (Edler von Schwarzthal) Generalmajor 1930, retired 1932, back for WW2

14) Otto HOTZY (1887-1953)

15) Alfred (Ritter von) HUBICKI who served from 1905

16) Hermann JANOWSKI (1884-1948)

17) Johann JANUSZ (1882-1952)

18) Kurt (von) Jesser (1890-1950) about whose 1908 eligibility I'm unclear

19) Dr. Emil KERN (1882-KIA 1944)

20) Dr. Ernst KLEPP another I'm not even sure qualified for the 1908

21) Dr. Karl KOSKE (1889-KIA 1945) but who was dR in 1908 so...?

22) Franz KR?TZER served from 1906

23) Wilhelm KRANJAK (1887-1949)

24) Friedrich KRISCHLER (Edler von Wehregg) ? 1908

25) Johann KUBENA (1882-1955) served from 1902

26) Heinrich LECHNER served from 1906

27) Adalbert LONTSCHAR (1885-hanged 1947)

28) Rudolf zu der LUTH retired as Generalmajor 1933 and was called back in 1938, pre-war

29) Josef MAGOY (1883-1953) who was dR 1904-08

30) well, that's where I ran out of steam early in the Ms. Lots of truly obscure, overaged Generals, with Keilig's 1958 "Die Generale des Heeres" skimpy on these non-Germans.

The big little ribbon bar's combination suggests a WW1 prisoner of war (less than the usual number of generic "bravery" ribbons with routine Signum Laudis medals and the ?M3K being normal) and somebody who WORE the uniform of the Third Reich's Wehrmacht.

On dark, dreary, pouring rain days like this I revisit my identification failures and wonder, if looked at ANOTHER way...

[Bernhard H.Holst]

Hello Rick.

Gen.Maj. Gottfried Barton

DoB 29.Mar. 1885 Wien. DoD 13.Jan.1977 Wien.

Entered Austrian Army 18.Aug.1904

Transferred German Army 15.Mar.1938

E-Off. 1.Aug.1938 ( later Date of Rank established as 1.Aug.1935 ( Keilig gives this dte. as only date of rank);

27.Aug.1939 Charakter as Gen.Maj.

1.Feb.1941 Gen.Maj. and established as "aktiver" officer.

Left the service 30.Jun. 1943.

Ritterkreuz des Militaer Maria-Theresia Ordens 9. May 1922

Ribbon bar in photo does not resemble the one you pictured.

Gen.Maj. Moritz Basler

DoB 24.Dec.1886 Wartenberg/Bohemia; DoD 13.Jul.1941 Salzburg.

Entered Austrian Army 18.Aug.1909;

Transferred to German Army 15.Mar.1938

Austr. Gen.Maj. 1.Jan.1938;

German Gen.Maj. 15.Mar.1938 ( without date of rank)

Gen.Maj.1. Aug.1941.

No picture available.

Gen.d.Inf. Eugen Beyer

picture shows a ribbon bar which could, just maybe the one you show.

Gen.Lt. Joseph Brauner (von Haydringen)

died 27. Apr. 1954 in Soviet captivity.

D.K.i.G. 23.Jan. 1942.

Picture shows E.K. II ribbon with Spange 1939, Eastmedal ribbon and other ribbon underneath?

Gen.Maj. z.V. Ing. Robert Dietinger

DoB. 14.Feb. 1880 Marburg/Drau - DoD 3.Oct.1960 Wien

Entered Austr. Army 18. Aug.1898;

i.R. 30.Jul. 1932

z.V. German Army 1.Oct.1939,

a.D. 31.May 1944

Gen.Maj. z.V. 1.Oct.1939

This officer was arty branch, in WW II directed the German supervisory services at Schneider-Creusot.

No picture.

Source for the above: Biblio series on German army general officers

Bernhard H.Holst

[Guest Rick Research]

Thanks Bernhard!!! I missed this as a "new since last visit" post and just found it now.

Looks like those OBSCURE Austrian generals have REMAINED obscure!!!!

The miniaturized ribbon bar is a real because while highly decorated, he was obviously a prisoner of war who did not receive the usual range of wartime awards 1914-18.

Rick