Dr.jur. Dr.phil. Albrecht Lanz was born on 25 February 1898, in Entringen in the Kingdom of Württemberg of the German Empire.
On
1 June 1940, Lanz arrived at Guernsey Airport with the Luftwaffe, as
part of an attempt to discover the level of military preparedness of the
islands (though they had been demilitarised, the information was kept
secret until 28 June). Upon his arrival with his interpreter Major
Maass. Lanz states that the moment command was transferred to him was
"the proudest in this war". When Lanz went to Sark on 3 July to see Dame
Sybil Hathaway, she noted that "Lanz was a tall, alert, quick-spoken
officer, with dark hair and dark eyes. In civilian life he had been a
Doctor of both Law and Philosophy, and I believe he came from a family
of agricultural machinery manufacturers in Stuttgart [...] a fair minded
man who would never trick anyone by low cunning". Ambrose Sherwill
stated that he was "every inch a soldier and not very easy to get to
know but absolutely straight and kindly".
Lanz was given a
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 4 September 1940 as Major and
Kommandeur I.Bataillon / Infanterie-Regiment 396 /
216.Infanterie-Division. It was noted in Die Wehrmacht in 1940, and an
American military translation revealed the following. Whilst the German
forces were attacking Belgium, specifically during the crossing of the
River Lys, around Theilt (potentially Thielt). The battalion was
attempting to attack Gothem, a village, on the 24 May 1940, but beaten
back. The battalion again tried on the 26 May through grain fields with
limited visibility due to the grain, and under enemy fire, the attack
was failing. Lanz organised the group and they attacked successfully,
taking several enemies prisoner.
However, he left the post at the
rank of Oberstleutnant and later transferred to the Eastern Front.
There, it was stated of Lanz and his regiment, the 396th Infantry
Regiment, "I envy the men under this wonderful leader and person. He's a
man who has intelligence written all over his tanned face, which is
full of humour. He has a kind word or a joke for everyone". He died on
the Eastern Front on the 27 January 1942 at Lazerett in Smolensk, Soviet
Union in hospital of wounds he sustained.
Source :
https://www.alexautographs.com/auction-lot/albrecht-lanz_49547DD952
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albrecht_Lanz
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/46928/Lanz-Albrecht.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment