1. Gerhard Bassenge was a general in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II.
25 Facts About Gerhard Bassenge
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Gerhard Bassenge became Chief of Staff of Luftflotte 5 in Norway while it flew into the northern British isles in the Battle of Britain.
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Gerhard Bassenge was captured there on 9 May 1943, and was held prisoner of war until 2 October 1947.
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Gerhard Bassenge was born in Ettlingen, the Grand Duchy of Baden in the German Empire on 18 November 1897.
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Gerhard Bassenge began his military career in the early days of World War I, on 4 October 1914, just shy of his 17th birthday.
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Gerhard Bassenge became an Unteroffizier or noncommissioned officer; he was a Fahnenjunker or officer candidate.
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Gerhard Bassenge was assigned as a platoon leader in the Imperial German Army's 29th Infantry Regiment.
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Gerhard Bassenge was then ranked as a Fahnrich or ensign, the most junior officer rank in the German Army.
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Gerhard Bassenge transferred to the Luftstreitkrafte and began pilot training on 1 April 1916.
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Gerhard Bassenge was successful and was posted to a fighter squadron, Jagdstaffel 5.
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Gerhard Bassenge was confirmed as a leutnant on 28 June 1917; his commission granted him over two years seniority in rank, back to 18 June 1915.
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Gerhard Bassenge used this plane to score his first aerial victory on 20 October 1917.
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In 1927, Gerhard Bassenge completed his studies and was granted the title of Dip.
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In 1934, Gerhard Bassenge transferred from the German Army to the Luftwaffe, which was then forming.
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In 1937, Gerhard Bassenge was assigned as Chief of Staff under Generalmajor Kurt Student.
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Gerhard Bassenge was promoted to Oberst on 1 May 1939; a month later, with the world on the brink of World War II, Bassenge was appointed Chief of Staff of Air Zone Command XVII in Wien, Austria.
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On 30 January 1940, Gerhard Bassenge was appointed Chief of Staff of Luftflotte 2 under General der Flieger Albert Kesselring.
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On 1 August 1940, Gerhard Bassenge was transferred to be Chief of Staff of Luftflotte 5 in Oslo, Norway under Generaloberst Hans-Jurgen Stumpff.
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However, before that battle ended, Gerhard Bassenge had been transferred; on 5 October 1940, he was appointed Chief of Staff of a Luftwaffe mission to Romania.
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Gerhard Bassenge would serve in that post until 1 October 1942, when he was named commanding officer of the 19th Luftwaffe Field Division.
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Gerhard Bassenge was captured 9 May 1943 at Metline, North Africa by the British.
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Gerhard Bassenge was hastily transported to Britain, arriving at Camp 11, Trent Park, on 16 May 1943.
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Gerhard Bassenge was logged into this luxurious camp for high-ranking prisoners as POW 18809.
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Camp 11 was "bugged" by British military intelligence, and on 10 July 1943, a wiretap caught Gerhard Bassenge being informed of war crimes by a horrified Generalleutnant Georg Neuffer.
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General der Panzertruppe von Thoma, who was held prisoner along with Gerhard Bassenge, believed that Hitler had gone insane and that the Nazi war effort was doomed.