Help with identifying a German Commander

[Cluase Von Wittybrain]

I was reading about a German Commander a few months back in a Osprey Miltary book.

Ive just gone through the books where i thought i saw the section on it but cant find it?

Basically i just want to know his name.

Not sure of his rank...but he was extremly well respected by his soldiers and maybe SS from memory??..

But this is what stood out...he was on a plane on the eastern front towards the end of the war...the plane was shot down and he was Killed.

He was so respected, that the Soldiers under his command Made an offensive to retrieve his Body fromt he Plane wreck and return it and succeded

But that is all i remember when i was reading it..i didnt take note of his name...and now im kicking myself.

I would really like to know....i just re read the book I though it was in, to see if i could see it...but to no avail...anyone with any clues as to who he is?

( i know my info for you is little...but it does stand out a bit)

[Wolfsglen]

That sounds like Theodore Eicke, Commander of the SS Totenkopf Division..what you describe happened with him.

EDIT: and the Osprey book may very well be This One. If not i will have to dig through the ones on my bookshelf and check.

[Cluase Von Wittybrain]

Thanks...that is him i beleive.

Although...i cant find any refrence to the SS Totenkopf Making a mission to extract his body in that book.

Dosnt matter though.

IF your wondering the reason...id like to make a map based around recovering his body...hopefully...i think it could work very well.

Should be interesting.

Eicke...was a Mean SOB thats for sure. be an interesting guy for study...Killed Ernst Rohm supposbly?

Was there from day one with the Reich.

Something else interesting that popped up in that book was Fritz Christen (translated to English)
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.ritterkreuztraeger-1939-45.de/Waffen-SS/Christen-Fritz.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3DFritz%2BChristen%26hl%3Den%26hs%3DJOY %26lr%3D%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-USfficial_s%26sa%3DX

[Wolfsglen]

Originally Posted by Cluase Von Wittybrain

Thanks...that is him i beleive.

Although...i cant find any refrence to the SS Totenkopf Making a mission to extract his body in that book.

"Theodor Eicke himself was killed on February 26, 1943; shortly after being promoted to SS-Obergruppenführer (equivalent to full general). While performing a battlefield reconnaissance during the opening stages of the Third Battle of Kharkov, his Fi-196 Storch was shot down by Soviet troops near Oryol. His division launched a ferocious attack to secure the crash site and recover their commander's body."

An excerpt from the Wikipedia article as im far too lazy to type up the content in the book by me But im sure there are more in-depth details out on the WWW somewhere too.

[LukeFF]

Originally Posted by Wolfsglen

While performing a battlefield reconnaissance during the opening stages of the Third Battle of Kharkov, his Fi-196 Storch was shot down by Soviet troops near Oryol.

Fi 156. Otherwise, yes, Eicke was the same person I was thinking of as well.