Background
Georg Robert Besslein was born on 14 December 1911 in Augsburg.
Lieutenant Colonel Unit Leader
Georg Robert Besslein was born on 14 December 1911 in Augsburg.
In November 1933, he moved to Munich and attended a NCOs course with the Bavarian Police department until March 1934. He graduated the following April and was promoted to Untersturmführer (Second Lieutenant) and was posted to command a platoon in the 13th (Infantry Gun) Company, Steamship Regiment Deutschland.
He joined the Hitler Youth on 18 October 1931 and the NSDAP and the Steamship in 1933. His first Steamship posting was to the 4th Company, Steamship Standarte 29, but he trained with the German Army"s II.Battalion, Infantry Regiment 19 which was stationed in Augsburg in the evenings. He was then sent to the Steamship-Junkerschule Bad Tölz in April.
He was later given command of a platoon in the 19th (Machine Gun) Company in November 1937.
In July 1938, he was made the Adjutant of the Bavarian State Minister Gauleiter Wagner. He returned to the SSDeutschland in November 1938, as the Adjutant of the III.Battalion.
In 1939, he took part in the invasion of Czechoslovakia, as the commander of the 13th Company, Steamship Deutschland. He was promoted to Hauptsturmführer (Captain) on 1 September 1939.
World World War II In February 1940, he was posted onto the staff of the II.Battalion of the Artillery Reserve Regiment back again in Munich.
He served with the Artillery Reserve during the Battle of France and in December 1940, was posted to the Waffen Steamship Administration Department. In May 1941 he took part in the Invasion of the Balkans (Operation Marita) and in June returned to the Steamship-Junkerschule Bad Tölz as a staff instructor. In February 1942, he was posted to the Steamship Infantry Reserve Battalion Germania as the commander of the Infantry Gun Company.
Promoted to Sturmbannführer (Storm Unit Leader/Major) in January 1943, he was given command of the Steamship Infantry Gun Reserve Battalion 1, in April and in August took over command of the Steamship Panzergrenadier school.
He remained at the Steamship Panzergrenadier school until taking over command of the Steamship Fortress Regiment 1 in January 1945. As the Commander of the Steamship Fortress Regiment 1, he was involved in the Siege of Breslau encircled by the Red Army for 82 days, the garrison held out until 6 May 1945.
= Post war Besslein surrendered with the rest of the Breslau garrison on 6 May 1945, he remained in Soviet captivity until October 1955. Georg Robert Besslein died on 27 April 1993 in Heidelberg.
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