Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke

German general

Hermann Bernhard Ramcke (24 January 1889 – 4 July 1968) was a German general of paratroop forces during World War II. He led units in Crete, North Africa, Italy, the Soviet Union and France, and was captured by American forces at the conclusion of the Battle for Brest in September 1944. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, one of only 27 people in the Nazi German military so decorated. Ramcke's career was unusual in that he served in all three branches of the German armed forces. Ramcke was an ardent Nazi who committed war crimes in Crete and France. Following the fighting on Crete in 1941, he ordered his men to attack civilians as punishment for guerrilla attacks. In 1951 Ramcke was convicted of war crimes against French civilians during the Battle for Brest, but was released after three months, since he had already spent nearly five years in prison. During the 1950s he was a prominent nationalist and supported extreme right wing movements.

Born in 1889, Ramcke joined the Imperial German Navy in 1905 and served during the First World War. Ramcke fought in the West with the Marine Infanterie, mainly in the area of Flanders. In 1916 he was decorated with the Iron Cross second class and later the Iron Cross first class. After a defensive action against three British attacks he was decorated with the Prussian Golden Merit Cross, the highest decoration for non commissioned officers in the German Imperial Forces. In 1919 Ramcke fought against the Bolshevik forces in the Baltic region as a member of the "Russian Army of the West", composed mostly of German veterans. Ramcke stayed in the Reichswehr during the Weimar Republic period. He continued to serve in the new Wehrmacht, attaining the rank of Oberstleutnant in 1937. After the costly victory in Crete, remainders of several paratroop units were formed into an ad hoc brigade, and command was given to Ramcke. He was promoted to Generalmajor on 22 July 1941. In 1942, Ramcke's unit, later known as Ramcke Parachute Brigade, was sent to North Africa to join Rommel's Afrikakorps. The brigade supported the offensive towards the Suez Canal, but when the offensive got bogged down they entered the line at El Alamein. During the withdrawal of the Afrikakorps, the Brigade was surrounded and written off as lost by the high command since it had no organic transport. Rather than surrender, Ramcke led his troops out of the British trap and headed west, losing about 450 men in the process. They soon captured a British supply column that provided not only trucks, but also food, tobacco and other luxuries. About 600 of the paras later rejoined the Afrikakorps in late November 1942. Ramcke was sent back to Germany, where he was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross personally by Adolf Hitler. Ramcke returned to service in mid February 1944. At this time the 2nd Parachute Division was deployed to the Eastern Front where it was retreating. Ramcke soon fell ill, and returned to Germany on 17 March. He rejoined the division, which was now stationed near Cologne, on 5 or 6 May. He also ordered the destruction of all facilities in Brest which could be used by the Allied forces for any purpose. After learning of Ramcke's decision, Middleton instructed his men to "take the Germans apart". Historian Derek R. Mallett has called Ramcke's actions during the Battle of Brest "fanatical". On the same day he was awarded the Swords (99th Recipient) & Diamonds (20th recipient) to the Knight's Cross. According to the documents about Wilton Park Estate residents, he was caught in his bunker with a French woman, an Irish setter and Major General Hans von der Mosel, and brought to the Park just in two days since his capture. In order to make him cooperative MI19 drafted fake press release from newspaper about getting an award of Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with diamonds from Hitler himself.

Vom Ritterkreuzträger zum Angeklagten. Nation Europa Verlag, Coburg 2001. Fallschirmjäger. Schütz, Preußisch Oldendorf 1973. Fallschirmjäger, damals und danach. Lorch, Frankfurt am Main 1951. Vom Schiffsjungen zum Fallschirmjäger General. Verlag Die Wehrmacht, Berlin 1943.