Wilhelm Daser


Wilhelm Daser was a German military officer who commanded the 70th infantry division of the Wehrmacht during the Battle of the Scheldt and surrendered unconditionally on 6 November 1944 in Middelburg.

Career

Promotions

Fähnrich ; Leutnant ; Oberleutnant ; Hauptmann ; Major ; Oberstleutnant ; Oberstleutnant a.D. ; Oberstleutnant ; Oberst ; Generalmajor ; Generalleutnant

Postings pre-World War I

Entered Army Service ;
Fähnrich in the 15th Bavarian Infantry-Regiment ;
Detached to the War School in Munich ;
Adjutant of District-Command Weilheim.

Postings World War I

Regiments-Adjutant of the 15th Bavarian Reserve-Infantry-Regiment 5 ;
Taken ill ;
Regiments-Adjutant of the 15th Bavarian Reserve-Infantry-Regiment 5 ;
Adjutant of the 3rd Bavarian Reserve-Infantry-Brigade ;
Commander of the III. Battalion of the 18th Bavarian Reserve-Infantry-Regiment ;
Delegated with the Temporary Leadership of the 18th Bavarian Reserve-Infantry-Regiment ;
Commander of the III. Battalion of the 18th Bavarian Reserve-Infantry-Regiment ;
Delegated with the Temporary Leadership of the 18th Bavarian Reserve-Infantry-Regiment ;
Commander of the II. Battalion of the 30th Bavarian Infantry-Regiment ;
Delegated with the Temporary Leadership of the 18th Bavarian Reserve-Infantry-Regiment.

Postings Weimar Republic/Reichswehr

Commander of the III. Battalion of the 18th Bavarian Reserve-Infantry-Regiment and Delegated with the Temporary Leadership of the 18th Bavarian Reserve-Infantry-Regiment ;
Transferred back into the 15th Bavarian Infantry-Regiment ;
Adjutant of the Volunteer-Detachment Schaaf ;
Adjutant of Higher Disbandment Staff 104 ;
Leader of the Mortar-Company of the 48th Reichswehr-Infantry-Regiment ;
Leader of the 5th Company of the 48th Reichswehr-Infantry-Regiment ;
Leader of the 5th Company of the 20th Infantry-Regiment ;
Transferred into the 19th Infantry-Regiment and Adjutant of Infantry-Leader VII ;
Transferred to the Mortar-Company of the 19th Infantry-Regiment ;
Transferred to the Staff of the II. Battalion of the 20th Infantry-Regiment ;
Commander of the Training-Battalion of the 21st Infantry-Regiment ;
Commander of the II. Battalion of the 20th Infantry-Regiment.
Retired as an Oberstleutnant .

[German re-armament]

Employed as a Civilian in the Army ; Territorial-Officer ; Supplemental-Officer.
Ausbildungsleiter in Regensburg ;
Border-Regiment-Commander Regensburg
Ausbildungsleiter Regensburg
Ausbildungsleiter Aschaffenburg

Postings World War II

Commander of the 388th Infantry-Regiment. In this posting Daser took part in Operation Weserübung as part of the 214th Infantry Division, which afterward was part of the German forces occupying Norway. But after the 1941 reorganisation in which the 388th regiment was detached to the Russian front, he received a temporary posting at the Replacement Army, where he would periodically reappear.
Führer-Reserve OKH
Commander of the 251st Infantry-Replacement-Regiment
Führer-Reserve OKH
In 1942 he received a number of appointments as feldkommandeur in the German military administration in occupied France during World War II.
Detached to the Staff of the Military Commander France for use as a Field Commandant
Field Commandant 580, Amiens
Field Commandant 894, Marseille
Senior Field Commandant 670, Lille
Field Commandant 454
In early 1944 he finally received appointments as a troop commander again.
Führer-Reserve OKH
Commander of the 165th Reserve-Division
Commander of the 70th Infantry-Division
As commander of the 70th Infantry Division he was charged with the defense of Zuid-Beveland and Walcheren after the collapse of the German front in Northern France at the end of August 1944 and the retreat through Belgium in early September 1944. In the course of Operation Infatuate the Inundation of Walcheren took place, and Daser became isolated in Middelburg in the center of Walcheren at the head of 2,000 soldiers. After the Allies established bridgeheads at Vlissingen and across the Sloedam causeway, and cleared the Westkapelle and Domburg Atlantic Wall gun emplacements, it became clear to him that the battle was lost, and he had his willingness to surrender on terms broadcast on the Canadian frequencies. Because a large number of Dutch civilians had fled to Middelburg due to the military inundation of the island, Daser agreed to an unconditional surrender of the city to avoid bloodshed on 6 November 1944.

Prisoner of war

Daser was in captivity from 07 Nov 1944 to 10 Dec 1949. At first, he was taken to the special prisoner of war detention center for general officers at Trent Park. In May 1945, that center became overcrowded, and he was transferred to the POW Camp Clinton in the U.S. Only in 1949 was he transferred to Zuffenhausen POW camp in Germany and shortly thereafter released. By that time, he was 65 years of age. He spent the final years of his life as a private citizen.

Awards