Johannes Bäßler

Johannes Bäßler
Born	3 May 1892
Died	9 November 1944 (aged 52) Vienna
Allegiance	German Empire  Weimar Republic  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Rank	Generalleutnant
Commands held	9th Panzer Division 14th Panzer Division 242nd Infantry Division
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of Toulon (1944)
Awards	German Cross in Gold

Johannes Bäßler (3 May 1892 – 9 November 1944) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II, who commanded two armoured divisions. Bäßler served as Chief of Staff of XI Army Corps at the start of World War II, and participated in the Invasion of Poland in this capacity. He remained in the General Staff of XI Corps until 21 February 1942, and participated in the Battle of France, the Invasion of Yugoslavia, and Operation Barbarossa, the latter as part of Army Group South.

Bäßler took command of 9th Panzer Division on 15 April 1942 in the area east of Kursk, around the town of Shchigry on the Eastern Front. In July 1942 the unit was involved in heavy fighting to secure the German northern flank around Zemlyansk, northwest of Voronezh, when Bäßler was seriously wounded and had to leave his command on 27 July 1942.^[1] After recuperating, on 16 November 1942, he took command of 14th Panzer Division until 26 November 1942, when the division was put into reserve in the Don River curve behind the Romanian front in the area.^[2]

He returned to active duty in June 1943, and was assigned to command 242th Infantry Division in the Toulon, France on 7 July 1943. Bäßler was critically wounded on 26 August 1944, and died of his wounds in a hospital in Vienna on 9 November 1944.

References

1. Glantz, David M.; House, Jonathan (2009). To the Gates of Stalingrad: Soviet-German Combat Operations, April-August 1942. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. p. 26. ISBN 9780700616305.
2. Mitcham, Samuel W. (2006). The Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of World War II and Their Commanders. Stackpole Books. p. 98. ISBN 9780811733533.