Walter Gericke

Walter Gericke (23 December 1907 – 19 October 1991), was a German paratroop officer in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II and a general in the Bundeswehr of West Germany. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

Walter Gericke
Walter Gericke
Born(1907-12-23)23 December 1907
Died19 October 1991(1991-10-19) (aged 83)
Allegiance Weimar Republic
 Nazi Germany
 West Germany
Service/branchLuftwaffe (Wehrmacht)
German Army (Bundeswehr)
Years of service1929–45, 1956–65
RankOberst (Wehrmacht)
Generalmajor (Bundeswehr)
Commands held11th Parachute Division
1. Luftlandedivision
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Gericke took part in the Battle of the Netherlands and the Battle of Crete as a Fallschirmjäger battalion commander. He later commanded the Fallschirjäger-Regiment 11 (part of the 4. Fallschirmjäger-Division)) and fought in the Battle of Anzio.

Gericke joined the newly formed Bundeswehr after the rearmament of West Germany and as a Generalmajor led the 1. Luftlande-Division from 1962 to 1965.

Awards
  • Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (10 April 40) & 1st Class (12 May 1940)[1]
  • German Cross in Gold on 12 December 1943 as Major in the II./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6[2]
  • Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
    • Knight's Cross on 14 June 1941 as Hauptmann and commander of the IV./Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment[3]
    • 585th Oak Leaves on 17 September 1944 as Major and commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 11[3]
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References

Citations
  1. Thomas 1997, p. 195.
  2. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 135.
  3. Scherzer 2007, p. 332.

Bibliography
  • Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.
Military offices
Preceded by
—		 Commander of the 11th Parachute Division (Wehrmacht)
March 1945 – April 1945		 Succeeded by
—
Preceded by
—		 Commander of the 21. Fallschirmjäger-Division (Wehrmacht)
5 April 1945 – 8 May 1945		 Succeeded by
—
Preceded by
Generalmajor Hans Kroh		 Commander of the 1. Luftlande-Division (Bundeswehr)
1 October 1962 – 31 March 1965		 Succeeded by
Generalmajor Hubert Sonneck


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