#panzers

• Franz Bäke

Franz Bäke was a German officer and tank commander during World War II. In post-war popular culture, Bäke is considered one of the "panzer aces", that is, a highly decorated German tank commander.

Born February 28th, 1898 in the Province of Hesse-Nassau, German Empire. Bäke volunteered for the German Army in May 1915 and was posted to an infantry regiment. Fighting on the Western Front, Bäke earned the Iron Cross 2nd Class in 1916. Bäke was discharged from military service in January 1919. From 1919 to 1921, Bäke served in the Freikorps Epp, a right-wing paramilitary unit named after Franz Ritter von Epp. In parallel, he studied medicine and dentistry and attained degree of Doctor of Medical Dentistry in 1923. On March 1st, 1933, Bäke joined the SA; his final rank within the SA was SA-Standartenführer as of August 1944. Bäke established his own dentistry practice in Hagen. In 1937 he was accepted into the reserves and was posted to a reconnaissance unit. In 1938, he was mobilized for full-time service as an officer and took part in the occupation of Czechoslovakia.

Bäke's unit took part in the invasion of Poland as part of the 1st Light Division, which was redesignated 6th Panzer Division in October 1939. With this unit, Bäke took part in the Battle of France and Operation Barbarossa. Following the encirclement of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad, the division took part in the abortive attempt to relieve the 6th Army in Operation Winter Storm in December 1942 and then retreated to Kharkov. In January 1943, Bäke was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. During the Battle of Kursk (Operation Citadel) in July 1943, Bäke's unit fought near Belgorod, retreating to the Dniepr afterwards. For his actions during Operation Citadel, Bäke was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross.

On November 1st, 1943, Bäke was appointed as a regimental commander. In December 1943, he was ordered to form an ad hoc reinforced tank regiment named Heavy Panzer Regiment Bäke. The regiment consisted of 46 Panther and 34 Tiger I tanks, supported by self-propelled artillery and a mechanized engineer battalion. In January 1944, Bäke commanded his regiment during the battles for the Balabonovka pocket. Bäke single-handedly destroyed three Soviet tanks during the battle with infantry weapons at close range, for which he received three Tank Destruction Badges. Next, the regiment was part of a relief effort in support of Group Stemmermann, encircled in the Cherkassy Pocket. For his actions during these battles, Bäke received the Swords to the Knight's Cross on February 21st, 1944. In March, the regiment fought in the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket. In May 1944, Bäke was promoted to Oberst and later appointed commander of Panzer Brigade Feldherrnhalle. Bäke's unit attacked the U.S. 90th Infantry Division near Aumetz on the night of September 8th, 1944. Bäke's command found itself poorly deployed and under sustained counter-attack from American infantry. By the evening of September 8th, Bäke had lost thirty tanks, sixty half-tracks, and nearly a hundred other vehicles in the lopsided battle. His infantry losses were also heavy, with the unit reporting to OB West that it had only nine armored vehicles and that unit strength was down to 25 per cent of the authorized establishment. On February 28th, 1945, Bäke transferred from reserve to active duty. On March 10th he was appointed commander of Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle 2, formally the 13th Panzer Division, and sent to Hungary. Bäke's division fought as part of the Panzer Corps Feldherrnhalle during the retreat through Hungary and Czechoslovakia. On April 20th, Bäke was promoted to Generalmajor and officially given command of the division. On May 8th, 1945 he surrendered to American forces. Bäke was interned for two years; he was released in 1947. He returned to Hagen and resumed his dental practice. He died in December 1978 at the age of 80 in Bochum, West Germany.