Herbert von Böckmann


Herbert Adolf Wilhelm Erich Adalbert von Böckmann was a German general during World War II who commanded the L Army Corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.

Life

Herbert's parents were the Prussian Lieutenant General Alfred von Böckmann, a Knight of the Pour le Merite, and his wife Klara, née von Wersebe.
After attending the Cadet Corps, von Böckmann joined the 1st Baden Life-Grenadier Regiment No. 109 of the Prussian Army in Karlsruhe as a Fähnrich on March 14, 1905, and was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant by mid-August 1906. From October 1, 1913, to July 31, 1914, von Böckmann was assigned to the War Academy in Berlin for further training.
After the outbreak of the First World War, he was assigned to the Döberitz Aviation School and, from August 11, 1914, Böckmann served in the 8th Field Aviation Detachment. In this capacity, he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on November 28, 1914. Von Böckmann returned to his home regiment on August 21, 1915, and was posted to the Eastern Front as a company leader. There, he was assigned to the High Command of the Niemen Army on October 13, 1915, and two days later, he was assigned as an aide-de-camp to the staff of the Mitau Group. As a Captain, he was transferred to the General Staff of the 1st Reserve Corps on August 31, 1916, and on December 7, 1916, in the same capacity to the 216th Infantry Division. Von Böckmann then alternated between various general staffs, most recently, from May 31, 1918, in the Political Department of the Field Army.
After the end of the war, he joined the staff of the Baltic Landwehr on December 1, 1918. At the end of February 1919, he left there and joined the Potsdam Freikorps as a company commander, then the Hülsen Freikorps. On October 1, 1920, von Böckmann was transferred to the Reichswehr and assigned as a company commander in the 9th Infantry Regiment.
Before the outbreak of World War II, Major General von Böckmann briefly served as Chief of the General Staff of the 3rd Army from August 23 to October 2, 1939, then as Chief of the General Staff of the Northern Border Sector Command, and finally as Commander of the 11th Infantry Division on October 26, 1939.
Von Böckmann subsequently led the division during the Western Campaign and, as a Lieutenant General, in the war against the Soviet Union. He was transferred to the Führer Reserve from January 26 to March 9, 1942. He was subsequently assigned command of the L. Army Corps and promoted to General of the Infantry on April 19, 1942. Von Böckmann was recalled from his post on July 20, 1942, and transferred back to the Führer Reserve. He was honorably discharged from the armed forces on 31 March 1943 because of his age, maintaining the right to wear the uniform.

Awards and decorations