basis of merit. He then passed through the
general staff college before joining the embry-
onic panzer (tank) force. Rising steadily
through good performance, Bayerlein was a
major when World War II commenced and
saw service in Poland. Thereafter, he was at-
tached to the staff of Gen. Heinz Guderian as
operations officer during the lightning con-
quest of France. The following year he accom-
panied Guderian throughout the invasion of
Russia, fighting bravely and acquiring the rep-
utation as a competent tactician and staff offi-
cer. The turning point of Bayerlein’s career
occurred in October 1941, when he was trans-
ferred to the Afrika Korps as chief of staff.
Bayerlein remained in North Africa for the
next 19 months and enhanced his reputation
for promptness and efficiency. For a profes-
sional soldier steeped in European tactics, he
found desert warfare a unique experience.
“Here everything is in flux,” Bayerlein
recorded. “There are no obstacles, no lines,
no water or woods for cover; everything is
open and incalculable.” In December 1941, he
was closely engaged at the Battle of Al
Agheila, winning the coveted Ritterkreuz
(Knight’s Cross) for bravery. Promoted
colonel, he next served as Gen. Erwin Rom-
mel’s chief of staff, commencing in May 1942.
That August he temporarily commanded the
Afrika Korps during initial phases of the Bat-
tle of Alam Haifa until Rommel arrived to take
over. He then prevailed upon his superior to
maneuver around the flank of British armored
forces until superior firepower drove them
back. Following the decisive defeat at El
Alamein in November 1942, Bayerlein again
commanded the Afrika Korps during its long
retreat out of Egypt. Rommel, who had also
been removed due to illness, expressed relief
that Bayerlein was remaining behind with the
army. The general subsequently sustained se-
vere injuries while in action, and he too was
finally evacuated before Tunis surrendered in
May 1943.
Bayerlein gained additional laurels by
fighting in the defense of Sicily and won pro-
motion to major general. Shortly after he
transferred back to Russia, commanding the
Third Panzer Division under Guderian again.
At this point in the war, the Germans were ex-
periencing a shortage of experienced person-
nel to man their tank formations. Hitler then
ordered the creation of a new division—the
Panzer Lehr—which was composed of in-
structors culled from the various tank
schools. Given the exceptional quality of the
crews, and their priority assignment of new
Tiger and Panther tanks, Panzer Lehr became
one of the toughest and most feared outfits in
the already formidable Wehrmacht. Upon
Guderian’s personal recommendation, Bayer-
lein was chosen to head this elite formation
as of January 1944. Promoted lieutenant gen-
eral the following May, he led his division to
France to participate in the defense of Nor-
mandy. There he formed part of the First SS
Panzer Army under Gen. Josef Dietrich.
Normandy proved another bitter learning
experience for Bayerlein. Unlike Russia,
where the Germans enjoyed at least some de-
gree of local air superiority, the British and
Americans completely controlled the skies. As
the Allies’ Operation Overlord, the invasion of
France, commenced on June 6, 1944, they un-
leashed thousands of heavily armed fighter-
bombers against German armored formations.
To reduce losses, Bayerlein moved only at
night and instructed his troops to employ cam-
ouflage and concealment during the day.
Nonetheless, Bayerlein himself had been
badly injured in his staff car during an air at-
tack. While its commander recovered, Panzer
Lehr performed heroic work against British
troops at Caen on the Normandy beachhead,
although it was severely pummeled by air
strikes. Bayerlein’s unit was then taken out of
line in late July and redeployed around Saint-
Lô in the American sector. There, on July 25,
1944, the Allies hit his position with the entire
U.S. Eighth and Ninth Air Forces—upward of
1,500 aircraft. Panzer Lehr, assailed by more
than 3,000 tons of bombs, sustained losses to-
taling 70 percent of its entire strength! A badly
shaken Bayerlein described the landscape as
“looking like the surface of the moon. After anBAYERLEIN, FRITZ