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~SOLD~TETSCH Ernst
Tetsch Ernst
*October 28th, 1916 (Karlsruhe/Baden, Germany)
+November 11th, 1993 (Stuttgart/Baden-Württemberg, Germany)
Knights Cross: 28. März 1945
As: SS-Sturmbannführer I./SS-Pz.Rgt. 10
Postwar return address signed clipping with unsigned photo
Ernst Johann Tetsch was born 28 October 1916, in Karlsruhe, Baden. After he finished elementary school he volunteered to join the SS-VT and was assigned to SS-Standarte Germania (SS number 199 968), he also joined the NSDAP (party number 5 262 862). He was then selected to become an officer and sent to the SS-Junkerschule in Braunschweig, being in the Class of 35.
World War II
Tetsch started World War II in the SS Germania Regiment which at the time was part of the SS-VT. On the reformation of the SS-VT after the Battle of France he was part of the SS Division Das Reich and given command of the 8th (Heavy) Company, 2nd SS Panzer Regiment.
He then went onto command the III. Battalion, 2nd SS Panzer Regiment between July and October 1943, this unit had been formed from captured T-34 tanks and crewed by the 2nd SS Panzerjager Battalion.
In 1944 he was posted to the 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg to command the I. Battalion, 10th SS Panzer Regiment, a Panther tank battalion. It was while in command of this battalion that he was awarded the Knight's Cross serving on the Eastern Front in March 1945. Shortly after he assumed command of the 10th SS Panzer Regiment until the end of the war.
Post war
After the war Tetsch served in the rank of Major with the 3936th Labor Service Center of the US-Army in Becelaere Kaserne in Esslingen am Neckar till about 1958. Ernst Johann Tetsch survived the war and died on the 11 November 1993.
Tetsch’s Knight’s Cross recommendation reads as follows…
“I recommend SS-Sturmbannführer Ernst Tetsch, commander of the I./SS-Pz.Rgt. 10, for the award of the Knight’s Cross to the Iron Cross:
On the 18.02.1945 the enemy launched an attack following strong fire preparation from anti-tank guns, mortars, tanks and aircraft. Under the ongoing cover of this fire, they launched a regimental sized infantry assault from the south, southeast and east against the village of Muscherin, a place of vital importance for the Division’s bridgehead at Blumberg-Muscherin-Sallentin.
SS-Sturmbannführer Tetsch and his Panther Abteilung were deployed along the whole position, with the task of holding Muscherin. Thanks to his clear and energetic leadership, as well as his constant intervention at the hotspots of the fighting, the Abteilung (along with the Panzer IV group of SS-Obersturmführer Quandel) provided the backbone of the German frontline. Constantly operating outside his command post while actively leading his men, he gave all the defenders a personal example of the steadfastness of an SS leader and was the soul of the resistance. In addition, he called upon his technical officer, administrative officer, communication platoon commander and Kraderkunderzugführer to assist him in an improvised manner. They helped by overseeing weaker sectors of the frontline or assembling leaderless troops into alarm units.
Furthermore he stood in the place of the commander of the whole Kampfgruppe on those occasions when he left for Hill 55 or Sallentin, taking control of the combined-arms unit whenever this happened.
SS-Sturmbannführer Tetsch consequently had a major role in the defense of Muscherin and significantly contributed to the fact that the armoured group of the Division was able to withdraw during the night as planned. The enemy suffered high losses during the battle.
SS-Sturmbannführer Tetsch is an irreproachable, knightly SS leader and commander and is by virtue of his personality worthy of wearing the Knight’s Cross.
He displayed his outstanding leadership qualities multiple times during the fighting around Muscherin. This was also the case during the combat in the Upper Rhine area, specifically in the area Hagenau-Bischweiler-Drusenheim-Herlisheim, where he led his Abteilung with distinction in both attack and defense. In earlier campaigns he led a Tiger Kompanie and a captured-Panzer Abteilung while serving with the Panzer Regiment of the ‘Das Reich’ Division during the defensive battles of the 1942/43 winter and Operation Citadel. He was heavily wounded in battle during this time, and following his recovery he continues to lead as of today despite a shattered right shoulder.”
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