Gesche Bruno

German Nazi military figure who rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the SS. He was handpicked by Adolf Hitler as a member of Hitlers entourage and the fourth commander of Hitlers personal bodyguard (originally known as the SS-Begleitkommando des Führers, later known as Führerbegleitkommando) for the periods June 1934 – April 1942 and December 1942 – December 1944. In 1942 Gesche was transferred to the Eastern Front and the Waffen-SS, 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking, serving with 1./SS-Panzer-Jäger-Abteilung 5. The 5th SS, from the moment Gesche arrived in the summer of 1942, engaged in bitter battles with Soviet forces for control of the oil-rich Caucasus. Before the collapse of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad, and the retreat through the Caucasus by the remnants that had not surrendered, Gesche had been evacuated from the front after being wounded in combat in October 1942. Gesche was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class and Wound Badge in black. Bruno Gesche died in 1980 in West Germany. Link to Wikipedia biography Read less