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Monday, May 3, 2021

Bio of Generalleutnant Hans Mikosch

Hans Mikosch (7 January 1898 – 18 January 1993) was born in 1898, Mikosch volunteered for the army of Imperial Germany in 1914. After two years service in World War I, he received a commission in an engineer battalion. After the war, he joined the police force where he remained for several years until he rejoined the German Army in 1935 as an engineer. With the rank of Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel), he commanded the 51st Engineer Battalion which fought in the Battle of Poland in 1939 and assisted in the capture of Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium on 11 May 1940. Shortly afterwards, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes.

Promoted to Oberst (colonel) in 1942, Mikosch was commander of the 677th Pioneer Regiment, which took part in the Battle of Stalingrad and saw him awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, and the following year, was temporary commander of the 10th Panzergrenadier Division from late July to late December, during which it fought in Operation Citadel and the Battle of Kiev. He then took command of the 13th Panzer Division on 23 December. His new command, which had been heavily engaged on the Eastern Front, was withdrawn from the front and underwent a refit. During this time he was promoted to Generalmajor (equivalent to the rank of brigadier general in the United States Army). On its return to the front, the 13th Panzer Division took part in the Battle of the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket and the subsequent retreat to the Bug River.

After his period in command of the 13th Panzer Division ended in May 1944, Mikosch took up a post as commandant of the town of Boulogne in France. He later commanded Higher Engineering Command XIII and then towards the end of the war, he was responsible for fortifications in East Prussia. Having been promoted to Generalleutnant (equivalent to the rank of major general in the United States Army) the previous month, he surrendered to the Soviet forces on 8 April 1945. He was held in the Soviet Union for over 10 years before being released. He later lived in Westphalia, where he died in 1993.

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Promotions:
16.05.1916 Leutnant (mit Patent vom 29.01.1916)
Oberleutnant
Polizei-Hauptmann (?)
15.10.1935 Hauptmann (Reichsheer)
01.03.1936 Major
01.04.1939 Oberstleutnant
01.04.1942 Oberst
01.01.1944 Generalmajor
16.03.1945 Generalleutnant

Career:
25.09.1914 - Entered service as a Kriegsfreiwilliger, assigned to Freiwilligen-Bataillon 6.
16.04.1916 Commissioned as a Leutnant in Pionier-Bataillon 27.

20.01.1920 Discharged from military service.
ca. 1920 - 15.10.1935 Polizei service.
15.10.1935 Transferred to Heer as Hauptmann.
01.10.1937 - 00.00.1942 Kommandeur of Pionier-Bataillon 51.
02.10.1943 - 23.12.1943 Führer of 10.Panzer-Grenadier-Division.
23.12.1943 - 25.05.1944 Kommandeur of 13.Panzer-Division.
18.06.1944 - 00.08.1944 (?) Kommandant of Boulogne.
00.08.1944 - 01.10.1944 (?) Höherer Pionier-Kommandeur XIII.
01.10.1944 - 00.00.1945 (?) Kommandant der Befestigungen (Commandant of Fortifications) in Ostpreußen.

Postwar Confinement:
In Soviet captivity, 8.04.45 - 1955.

Decorations & Awards:
06.03.1943 Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernes Kreuzes (201.) as Oberst and Fhr. of a Kampfgruppe (Pionier-Regiments-Stab z.b.V. 677) subrodinated to Heeresgruppe Süd and operating in the area of Stalingrad
21.05.1940 Ritterkreuz des Eisernes Kreuzes as Oberstleutnant and Kdr. Pionier-Bataillon 51, for outstanding bravery during the Fort Eben-Emal and Albert Canal operations in Belgium
13.11.1942 Deutsches Kreuz in Gold as Oberst and and Kdr. Pionier-Regiment 677, Eastern Front
14.05.1940 1939 Spange zum 1914 Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse
19.10.1939 1939 Spange zum 1914 Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse
06.06.1918 1914 Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse
12.06.1916 1914 Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse
Medaille "Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42"
ca. 1934 Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer 00.00.194_ Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnungen


Source :
Gregg Tolbert photo collection
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Mikosch
https://www.oocities.org/~orion47/WEHRMACHT/HEER/Generalleutnant2/MIKOSCH_HANS.html

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