Karl Böttcher

Karl Böttcher (25 October 1889 – 21 October 1973) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded several divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Karl Böttcher
Böttcher and Erwin Rommel
Born	25 October 1889 Thorn, Western Prussia, Germany
Died	21 October 1973(1973-10-21) (aged 83) Bad Wimpfen, Baden Wurttemburg, Germany
Allegiance	German Empire  Weimar Republic  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	1909–45
Rank	Generalleutnant
Commands held	21st Panzer Division 345th Infantry Division 326th Infantry Division 347th Infantry Division
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Böttcher served in the Deutsches Afrikakorps under Erwin Rommel where he commanded an artillery regiment. Later Böttcher was made commander of the 21st Panzer Division. Böttcher surrendered to the Western Allies on May 8th, 1945 and was interned until June 25th, 1947.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (November 1914) & 1st Class (July 1916)^[1]
• Frederickscross (27 January 1916)^[1]
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (1 January 1935)^[1]
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 1st Class (2 October 1936)^[1]
• Memel Medal (10 December 1939)^[1]
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (5 June 1940) & 1st Class (15 November 1940)^[1]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 13 December 1941 as generalmajor and commander of 21st Panzer Division^[2]
• Italian Military Order of Savoy (14 January 1942)^[1]

References

Citations

1. Wegmann 2004, p. 148.
2. Scherzer 2007, p. 231.

Bibliography

• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Wegmann, Günter (2004). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Teil VIIIa: Panzertruppe Band 1: A–E [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Part VIIIa: Panzer Force Volume 1: A–E] (in German). Bissendorf, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2322-1.

Military offices
Preceded by Oberstleutnant Gustav-Georg Knabe	Commander of 21st Panzer Division 1 December 1941 – 11 February 1942	Succeeded by Generalmajor Georg von Bismarck