Beyer, Franz Waldemar Dr. Jur.

Beyer, Franz Waldemar Dr. Jur, born 27-05-1892 in Bautzen, was a highly decorated General der Infanterie in the Wehrmacht during World War II, who held commands at the divisional and corps levels. He was also a recipient of the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross on 12-09-1941 as an Oberst. The Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Young Franz Beyer joined on 01-04-1911 as Seekadett the Kaiserliche Marine , age 18. At the beginning of World War I, he is Wachoffizier on the Lineship “Westfalen” and “Ostfriesland” and rewarded with both the Iron Crosses. After the war Beyer is a Police Oberst and reactivated in the Reichswehr in 1935, in the Staff of the 66^th Infantry Regiment in Magdeburg. With the breakout of World War II, he as commander of the 131^st Infantry Regiment is involved in the invasion of Poland.  Following by the battles on the Western Front and the Eastern Front, he again is decorated with the Ritterkreuz. On 01-01-1944 he lost the command of the  44^th Infantry Division to Generalleutnant der Infanterie, Friedrich “Fritz” Franek    and again in the Fuhrer Reserve. Friedrich Franek died age 84 on 08-04-1976 n Vienna.

The American General Mark Clark   , commander of the 5^th Army  claims the division in the battles for the Cassino Massif was “practically eliminated”, and the 5^th Army records show that 1303 men were captured from the 44^th Infantry Division , under command of Generalleutnant Hans-Günther von Rost , between 16 January and the end of March, with 540 from the 132 Infantry Regiment alone. The 44th  Infantry Division has been implicated in a number of war crimes in Italy between March and September 1944, with up to thirty-three civilians executed in each incident. Nevertheless, although the attrition of front line infantry soon eat away at a divisions combat strength to a point where it would be no longer effective, the overall headcount could remain little changed and over ten thousand men. Its role in Italy cost Fifth Army dearly. It suffered 109.642 casualties in 602 days of combat. 19.475 were killed in action. Beyer promoted to General der Infanterie, on 01-07-1944 and assigned to Commanding General of the V Army Corps. After the destroying of most of his Corps in the battle of the Krim, Beyer returned his command. As last command, for only two weeks, of the XXXIX Gebirgs Corps. The Corps fought the rest of the war on the Eastern Front and withdrew through Ukraine and Slovakia to the area around Havlíčkův Brod in Bohemia, where it surrendered to the Soviets in May 1945.  At the beginning of August, also the commanding General of the LXXX Army Corps in France. Franz Beyer was captured in 1945 by the Americans Forces, in the Officers Island Farm Camp prison in England and released in 1947. 

Death and burial ground of Beyer, Franz Waldemar Dr. Jur.

   Living in Bad Wiessee, he died at the age of 76, on 15-10-1968. He is buried on the small village cemetery of Bad Wiessee, Bad Wiessee where in 1934 Adolf Hitler (did you know) root out his AS leaders and opponents, during the Night of the Long Knives, in hotel Hanselbaur, like SA leaders, Ernst Julius Rohm
  , August Schneidhuber and Edmund Heines. The Night of the Long Knives between 30 June and 2 July 1934 saw the killing of approximately 82 SA men, including almost its entire leadership, effectively ending the power of the SA. Former chancellor, Kurt von Schleicher and Dr. Gustav von Kahr were also victims.

General Dr. Franz Beyer is buried close to the graves of General Field Marshal of the Luftwaffe, Oberbefehlhaber der Luftflotte 2, Albert Kesselring

and General Field Marshal of the Infantry, Werner Blomberg

   with his mistress.

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