Franz, Gerhard

Franz, Gerhard, born 26-02-1902 in Bobeck, Thüringen, entered the Army on 15-10-1917, age 14, as a cadet on the Officer Preparatory School in Weilheim. Generaloberst der Infanterie, Franz Halder lived and died in Weilheim. Franz was allowed in the Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 20, on 01-10-1920. Franz was Operation Officer of the 29^th Division  with the outbreak of World War II and landed 25-04-1942 in the Führer Reserve,(see Adolf Hitler) (did you know). Assigned on 10-05-1942 as Chief of Staff of the XXXX Army Corps on the Eastern Front. He landed again in the Reserve and was detached to the Staff of the Africa Corps, commander Erwin Rommel

, on 20-11-1942. He became Chief of the General Staff until his sick leave on 10-02-1943 and in the Reserve again. From 01-08-1943 he left Africa as Chief of the General Staff of the XXXXII Army Corps, under General der Infanterie, Gerhard Matzky,   on the Eastern Front. Matzky died old age 89, on 09-06-1983, in Bonn. On 01-08-1944 as an Oberst again in the Reserve and sent to a course of higher troop leadership. With the start of Operation Market Garden, 17-09-1944, he as commander of the 256^th Volksgrenadier Division was sent to the Netherlands, (see About) under Generalder Flieger, Oberkommando Wehrmacht in the Netherlands, Massacre of Putten, Friedrich Christiansen

     Obercommander of the Wehrmacht. Promoted to Major General, on 01-12-1944, he with the 256^th Division came on the Western Front in Alsace, France, “Operation Nordwind” and Germany until his captivity on 08-04-1945, by the Americans. Operation North Wind, Unternehmen Nordwind, was the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front. It began on 31-12-1944 in Alsace and Lorraine in northeastern France, and it ended on 25 January. Franz came to the Trent Park Camp 11, Generals prison and repatriated from Camp 186 on 12-05-1948.

  Franz retired in Bad Wildungen and died at the age of 73, on 24-12-1975 and is buried on the Stadtfriedhof of Bad Wildungen, only steps from the grave of Generaloberst der Panzertruppe, Kommandeur Duits Afrika Korps Hans Jürgen von Arnim  , who was the successor of Field Marshal, Erwin Rommel as commander of the  Africa Corps.