Ludwig Bieringer (12 August 1892 – 22 January 1975) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

general during World War II. A lifelong professional soldier, he served his country as a junior officer in World War I, a staff officer in the inter-war period and a brigade-level commander during World War II.

Biography

Born on 12 August 1892 in

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

, Ludwig Bieringer joined the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

straight from school in 1913. During the First World War, he was an

Oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...

(First Lieutenant). Bieringer served mainly in the 8th Train-Battalion. Bieringer was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in 1934, and served as Staff-Officer of Transport Troops, with the Staff of the 7th Division. He was promoted to Commander of the 7th Motor-Transport-Battalion in October 1935, before being promoted to Course-Director at the Army Supply School, in 1937. As Army Supply Leader at the beginning of the Second World War, Bieringer assumed command of the Outpost of the General-Quartermaster, with the

Army Group South Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Ge ...

, in June 1942, and then with the

Army Group A Army Group A () was the name of three distinct army groups of the ''German Army (1935–1945), Heer'', the ground forces of the ''Wehrmacht'', during World War II. The first Army Group A, previously known as "Army Group South", was active from Oct ...

. Bieringer was promoted to the grade of

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

in July 1943. Bieringer was in charge of the supply of the troops, this time in Italy, from June to September 1943. From September 1943 to April 1944, he was detached as Field Commander assistant to the ''Feld Kommandantur'' of

Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...

. Bieringer was eventually nominated ''Feld Kommandeur'' in

Draguignan Draguignan (; ) is a commune in the Var department in the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (formerly Provence), southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department and self-proclaimed "capital of Artillery" an ...

(''Feld Kommandantur 800''). Captured in August 1944, Bieringer was released in May 1947. Bieringer died on 22 January 1975, in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

Military career

* Fähnrich (01 Aug 1914); * Leutnant (07 Aug 1914); * Oberleutnant (22 Mar 1918); * Rittmeister (01 Jun 1926); * Major (01 Aug 1934); * Oberstleutnant (01 Jan 1937); * Oberst (01 Jan 1940); * Generalmajor (01 Jul 1943)

Decorations

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

of 1939, 1st and 2nd Class *

of 1914, 1st and 2nd Class * Friedrich August Cross, 2nd class *

Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (), commonly referred to as the Hindenburg Cross or the German WWI Service Cross, was established by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, President of the German Weimar Republic, by an order dated 13 July ...

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a List of military decorations of the Third Reich, military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March 1936, Adolf ...

, 1st Class *

Eastern Front Medal The Eastern Medal (), officially the Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal (), was a military award of the ''Wehrmacht'' which was created by ordinance of Adolf Hitler on 26 May 1942. The Eastern Medal was awarded to any member of the ''W ...

References

Sources

* ''Die Generale des Heeres 1921–1945''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bieringer Ludwig 1892 births 1975 deaths Military personnel from Metz Military personnel from Alsace-Lorraine German Army personnel of World War I Major generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class