Jakob (Bauer) Bauer IV (1924 - 2008)

Born 9 Oct 1924 in Viehbach, Bayern, Germany

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 14 Aug 2008 at age 83 in Munich, Bayern, Germany

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Biography

Jakob (Bauer) Bauer IV served in the Heer in World War II
Service started: 1943
Unit(s): 11th Panzer Division
Service ended: 1945

Jakob Bauer was born on October 9, 1924 in Viehbach, Bavaria (Bayern) to Jakob Bauer (1888-1968) and Klara Mayr (1892-1965). He grew up with 7 siblings.

He served in WWII driving tanks with rocket-launchers in Crimea, (Nazi-occupied Soviet Union). He was injured in southern Ukraine in Oct 1943 near Kherson and was sent back to Bavaria.

In 1944 he was tranferred to Bordeaux, France with another tank unit. By the end of the year the unit was pushed back into Germany by the Allies.

By Spring 1945 his unit had retreated to western Czechoslovakia. His unit surrendered to the Americans at Všeruby (at the Bavarian border) in the final days of the war.

According to family lore, Jakob didn't serve time as a POW. He was taken to a processing center at the town of Kötzting, north of Deggendorf, for official discharge. From there he walked about 100 kilometers to his parents' house in Viehbach!

After the war he ran a limonade business in Viehbach which his father founded. He married and had 3 children.

Almost every summer, Jakob would take his wife and kids to Bordeaux, France for holiday.

He gave the business over to his son-in-law (Sigi Spanner) before he retired.

Jakob died on August 14, 2008 and is buried at the family grave in the village cemetery in Viehbach.

Military Service (Bundesmilitärarchiv, as well as family narration):

Oct 1942-Mar 1943 (at age 18, Labor Service 'Reichsarbeitsdienst' for 6 months prior to basic training).

March 1943 Basic Training, (before going to Tank School).

Panzer-Grenadier-Ausbildungs-Bataillon 40. (Augsburg, April 1943). Jakob may have been trained to operate a 'Panzerwerfer', a multiple-rocket launcher, mounted on a halftrack vehicle.

1.Kompanie Panzer Grenadier Regiment 63, 17th Panzer Division. (Crimea Region of Southern Ukraine, Sept 1943). (arrived as support AFTER the Battle of Kursk and subsequent German retreat. Unit was involved during the Soviet Dnieper Offensive).

Injured on 22. Oct. 1943 in Beloserka, Ukraine (near Kherson on the Dnieper). (Bullet went through the lower abdomen, but missed vital areas). Note: the Soviets were not yet in the area around Kherson in Oct 1943 when Jakob was shot. This injury may have been the result of Soviet partisan attacks. Sent back to Germany on 23. Nov. 1943.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Dnieper

2.Genesenden-Kompanie Panzer Grenadier Ersatz Batailion 40 (Augsburg). Probably to recover from his injury. (Dec 1943).

Transferred to Stabs-Kompanie, Panzer Grenadier Regiment 110, 11th Panzer Division. (Aug 1944) (Bordeaux, France).

When the Allies invaded southern France in August 1944, the 11th Panzer Division retreated via the Rhône corridor, reaching Besançon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Dragoon

The 11th Panzer Division saw combat in Alsace, as it helped in the defence of the Belfort Gap. They were defeated in the Battle of Arracourt before going back to the Saar. In December 1944, the division fought as part of the Army Group G. At the Battle of the Bulge in Jan 1945, the 11th Panzer Division entered combat in Saarland and Moselle and fought at Remagen, but was expelled from the region by the advancing US forces. (Wikipedia)

Remnants of Jacob's tank unit joined up with German 7th Army as it retreated from the U.S. Army across southern Germany. (March 1945).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Allied_invasion_of_Germany

By late April 1945, surviving units flee to western Czechoslovakia.

Unit surrendered to U.S. Army in western Czechoslovakia at Všeruby. (May 4/5, 1945).

Link to 'Find a Grave'

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSmcid=48722189&GRid=157926561&

Todesanzeige - Münchner Merkür - Aug 2008: https://trauer.merkur.de/traueranzeige/jakob-bauer

Verein der Computergeneologie (GEDBAS). Jakob Bauer (1924-2008). https://gedbas.genealogy.net/person/show/1264015087