Gerke, Ernst.

Gerke, Ernst, born 07-06-1890 in Altenburg, Thüringia, entered the Army as a Fähnrich in the 7^th Royal Saxon Company of the 2^nd Railway Regiment, on 24-02-1910, age 19. Ernst participated in World War I, was wounded in hospital in 1917 and ended the war as a Signal Liaison Officer to the High Command of the Army Group “Deutscher Kronprinz”. Gerke retained in the Reichswehr  and he joined the NSDAP: Nr 1 048 844 on  01-04-1932 and with the outbreak of World War II he was the Higher Signal Leader of the 4^th Army , in Hermann Göring’s 

(did you know) Luftwaffe , until 10-10-1941. Commander of the 4^th Army was Generaloberst der Infanterie, Hans von Salmuth. The 4^th Army was activated on 01-08-1939 with Generalfieldmarschall der Infanterie, Günther von Kluge

    in command. It first went into action during the Polish Campaign of September 1939 as part of Army Group North, which was under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock

   The 4^th Army contained the II Corps and III Corps, each with two infantry divisions, the XIX Corps with two motorized and one Panzer divisions, the I Frontier Guard Corps with one infantry division, and two infantry divisions in reserve. It was tasked with capturing the Polish Corridor and thus re-linking mainland Germany with East Prussia. Under Kluge, the Fourth Army completed its task without much difficulty. Part of the Fourth Army attacked south into Pomorze and joined other German forces at Warsaw. Higher Signal Leader of the Army Group South to 09-07-1942, of the Army group Africa  until 10-05-1943 and in the Führer Reserve (see Adolf Hitler) (did you know), to 10-06-1943. He became Signal leader of the Work Staff of Erwin Rommel , to 19-07-1943. Signal leader of the Army Group B   to 26-11-1943 and Higher Signal leader of Special Purpose Army Group, until 01-01-1944. He ended his career in Europe with the command of Higher Signal Leader of Army Group B in France, until his captivity on 08-05-1945 by the Allied.

Released in Mai 1947 he lived in Bartgeheide, where he at the old age of 83 died on 01-08-1973 and is buried on the small village cemetery of Bartgeheide.

  

Message(s), tips or interesting graves for the webmaster:    robhopmans@outlook.com