Wilhelm Beck

Who was Wilhelm Beck?

Wilhelm Beck was a Hauptsturmführer in the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. He was born on the 22 December 1919 at Bitz in Württemberg Germany. He enlisted in the SS and rose to the rank of Hauptsturmführer being awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

In 1940 Oberscharführer Beck served with Michael Wittmann in the LSSAH Sturmgeschütz Battery and by the time of Operation Barbarossa he had been promoted to Unterstrumführer and given command of a platoon in the Sturmgeschütz battery. During the advance to the Black Sea at the port city of Kerson Beck engaged a Russian Gunboat and a Submarine In 1942 the LSSAH Sturmgeschütz unit was brought up to battalion strength and Beck was given command of one of the Batteries, the Battalion commander being Max Wünsche.

Beck was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his actions in the Third Battle of Kharkov, by this time he had been transferred to the II/Battalion of the SS Panzer Regiment 1 LSSAH, Beck and his unit destroyed more than 100 Soviet artillery pieces and over 10 T-34 tanks in 3 weeks of fighting. In 1943 Beck was promoted to Hauptsturmfurher and assigned to 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, as 2nd Company Commander, he was replaced by SS Ostuf Gaede when the Division was moved to France in 1944 and Beck was appointed as the Liaison officer between the LSSAH and 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, he was killed in a carpet bombing attack by Allied forces near Caen on the 10 June 1944.