This Date in History: September 11

 

Wilhelm von Thoma, Army General of Panzer Troops, born on September 11, 1891 in Dachau, commander of German ground troops supporting General Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War (Condor Legion), commander of the 20th Panzer Division, commander of the Africa Corps, winner of the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, died April 30, 1948 in Dachau, on development of the armored force: “It may surprise you to hear that the development of armored forces met with much resistance from the higher generals of the German Army, as it did in yours [Britain’s].  The older ones were afraid of developing such a force fast – because they themselves did not understand the techniques of armored warfare and were uncomfortable with such new instruments.  At best they were interested, but dubious and cautious.”  (2,000 Quotes From Hitler’s 1,000-Year Reich)

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Max Otto Wilhelm Bläsing.  Max Bläsing was born at Oberallersdorf near Sorau in Brandenburg on January 29, 1922.  As a youngster he served in the Hitler Youth from May 1933 to February 1940.  He entered the SS on September 1, 1940 and began his service at the front in Russia on June 28, 1941 and received the Eastern Front Medal on October 17, 1942.  On November 11, 1942, he was detached to a special course for drivers at the Wegmann Company at Kassel.  He was assigned to the Tiger company of the Das Reich effective November 15, 1942.  After promotion to SS-Rottenführer on January 13, 1943, Max Bläsing was assigned as the driver of the company commander’s Tiger at Kharkov in February-March 1943 and received the Panzer Battle Badge in Silver on April 9, 1943 for these actions.

At the Kursk Offensive he served as the driver on Tiger S02 in the Headquarters Platoon and was wounded on the first day of the battle (he would receive the Wound Badge in Black for this on August 27.)  Still a driver, Max was wounded again near Kremenchuk in the Ukraine on September 11, 1943 and spent the next five weeks at a reserve hospital in Lublin, Poland before being assigned to the SS Panzer Training and Replacement Regiment at Beneschau (Benešov) in Bohemia.  (Waffen-SS Tiger Crews at Kursk: The Men of SS Panzer Regiments 1, 2 & 3 in Operation Citadel, July 5-15, 1943)