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During his career in World
War II, Bayerlein served as Operations Officer on the staff of General Heinz Guderian in the invasions of Poland,
France and Russia.
In October 1941, Bayerlein's
mentor, Field Marshal Rommel recommended him to serve as the Afrikakorps Chief of Staff.
From
January 1944 to March 1945,
Bayerlein commanded
the elite Panzer Lehr Division, fighting in Normandy during the D-Day invasion, suffering under the carpet bombing at St.
Lo, and in the “Battle of the Bulge” -- the Ardennes Offensive.
Finally, as
Commander of the 53rd Army Corps Bayerlein saved his men from further "useless bloodshed" by surrendering
in the Ruhr Pocket to General Robert Hasbrouck's "Lucky Seventh" Armored Division.
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| Remagen Bridgehead with FM Model & Bayerlein. |
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| NARA II, RG 338 - Foreign Military Studies |
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Generalleutnant Fritz Hermann Bayerlein - World War II
record:
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General Guderian's Operations Officer
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Rommel's Afrikakorps Chief of Staff
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Commander, Berlin - Brandenburg 3rd Panzer Division
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Commander, Panzer Lehr Division
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Commander, LIII Armee Korps
Bayerlein was first drafted for service into World War I into the 4th Bavarian
Infantry Division on 24 June 1917. He served in the front lines, receiving the Iron Cross in August 1918. Wounded and
sent home, he attended officer cadet training in September 1918, just before the armistance to end the war in November
1918.
| Generallt. Walter Krueger (l) & General Bayerlein. |
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| NARA II RG 242, US Army Military Intel. Div. |
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Bayerlein was a prisoner of war from 16 April 1945
until his release on 2 April 1947.
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While interred as a POW, Bayerlein volunteered to
become an auto mechanic, working for the US Army in a transportation company motorpool.
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Bayerlein wrote numerous European battle histories
while a prisoner of war to include the carpet bombing at St. Lo, the Ardennes Offensive and his surrender in the
Ruhr Pocket.
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During the 1950s, Bayerlein assisted Field Marshal
Rommel's widow, Mrs. Luci Rommel and her son Manfred, to edit her husband's papers. This book was subsequently translated
into English and published as "The Rommel Papers."
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Bayerlein worked for the US Army's Intelligence Service
for 10 years.
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In the 1960s, Bayerlein was the owner of two oriental
carpet shops in his hometown of Wuerzburg, Germany.
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