Anton Resch Explained

Anton Resch
Birth Date:	26 November 1921
Birth Place:	Stolberg, Germany
Death Place:	Stolberg, Germany
Serviceyears:	1939–45
Rank:	Oberleutnant (first lieutenant)
Commands:	3./JG 52
Unit:	JG 52
Battles:	World War II Eastern Front
Awards:	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Anton Resch (26 November 1921 – 16 July 1975) was a former Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Resch was credited with 91 victories, becoming an "ace-in-a-day" on three separate occasions.

Career

Resch was born 26 November 1921 in Stolberg, at the time in the Rhine Province the westernmost province of the Free State of Prussia, which at the time was in the British occupied territory of the Rhineland. In mid-1943, Resch who had previously served as transport aviator, was posted to 3. Staffel (3rd squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing). This Staffel was part of I. Gruppe (1st group) of JG 52 headed by Hauptmann Helmut Bennemann and then by Major Johannes Wiese.

On the Eastern Front

On 11 October 1943, the Gruppe moved to an airfield at Nove Zaporizhzhya located approximately 15abbr=offNaNabbr=off west of Zaporizhzhia on the western bank of the Dnieper. The Gruppe supported the 1st Panzer Army fighting in the Battle of the Dnieper on the Eastern Front. Resch claimed his first aerial victory on 21 October over an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft. That day the Gruppe operated over the left wing of the 1st Panzer Army up to Dnipropetrovsk and on the right wing to Bolschoj Tokmak.

On 27 January 1944, Resch and his wingman Leutnant Franz Schall flew a combat air patrol in the area of Kerch. On this mission, they engaged in aerial combat with six Bell P-39 Airacobra fighters and Resch was shot down in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 20581—factory number). Severely wounded, he did not return until May 1944. Following his return to combat, Resch claimed two P-39s from 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (16 GvIAP—Gvardeyskiy Istrebitelny Aviatsionny Polk) on 31 May. On 22 June, Soviet forces launched Operation Bagration, attacking Army Group Centre in Byelorussia, with the objective of encircling and destroying its main component armies. On 24 June, the Gruppe transferred to Galați and again to Peloniczna. The Gruppe reached Grabowiec in eastern Poland on 27 July and Kraków on 1 August. On 12 August they were again relocated and moved to Mzurowa.

On 26 August, Resch became an "ace-in-a-day" for the second time when he claimed seven aerial victories, taking his total to 44. On 31 August, he again claimed seven aerial victories, his third "ace-in-a-day" achievement. On 10 September 1944, he was again wounded when he was shot down in his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 166490) by anti-aircraft artillery 20abbr=offNaNabbr=off west of Altsohl, present-day Zvolen.

With the headquarters unit of JG 52

In late 1944, Resch and Oberleutnant Heinrich Füllgrabe were transferred to the Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit) of JG 52. The request was made by Oberst Hermann Graf who had been appointed Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 52 in September 1944. At the time, the Geschwaderstab was based at Krakau, present-day Kraków. Here on 1 January 1945, Resch was awarded the German Cross in Gold (German: Deutsches Kreuz in Gold). On 6 February 1945, the Geschwaderstab moved to an airfield at Weidengut, present-day Wierzbie. Here Resch claimed four aircraft of unknown type taking his total to 72. On 7 April, Resch was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) for 91 aerial victories.

On 1 May, the Geschwaderstab deployed to Deutsch Brod, present-day Havlíčkův Brod, approximately halfway between Brno and Prague, where they were united with I. and III. Gruppe. Resch and other soldiers of JG 52 surrendered to the 90th US Infantry Division near Písek on 8 May 1945 and became a prisoner of war (POW). The soldiers were initially interned at a POW camp at Strakonice. On 16 May, Resch and most of the JG 52 personnel were handed over by the American forces to the Soviet Union.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Resch was credited with 91 aerial victories. Spick also lists him with 91 aerial victories claimed in 210 combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and also state that he was credited with 91 aerial victories, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 34 Ost 58739". The Luftwaffe grid map (German: Jägermeldenetz) covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360sqmi. These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3x in size.

Chronicle of aerial victories
Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 – Eastern Front — October – 31 December 1943
1	21 October 1943	12:08	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 58739 20km (10miles) west of Bolschoj Tokmak	6	28 October 1943	07:43	P-39	PQ 34 Ost 47161 25km (16miles) north-northwest of Ivanovka
2	23 October 1943	07:19	Yak-1	PQ 34 Ost 58382 25km (16miles) south of Zaporozhye	7	9 November 1943	11:15	U-2	PQ 34 Ost 47771 south of Gromovka
3	23 October 1943	07:24	Yak-1	PQ 34 Ost 58564, south of Kalinowka vicinity of Kaltinowka	8	9 November 1943	11:17	U-2	PQ 34 Ost 47771 south of Gromovka
4	24 October 1943	10:25	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 57182 10km (10miles) southwest of Melitopol	9	29 November 1943	12:17	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 2929
5	27 October 1943	10:35	Boston	PQ 34 Ost 57346 30km (20miles) southwest of Melitopol	10	29 November 1943	12:45	P-39	PQ 34 Ost 39181 15km (09miles) northeast of Alexandrija
– 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 – Eastern Front — 1 January – 10 September 1944
11	26 January 1944	07:54?	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 34 Ost 66563 vicinity of Grammatikowo	38♠	26 August 1944	11:05	Yak-9	PQ 25 Ost 11285 10km (10miles) north of Sandomierz
12	31 May 1944	11:25	P-39	PQ 24 Ost 78642 10km (10miles) south of Tudora	39♠	26 August 1944	11:14	Pe-2	PQ 25 Ost 11418 15km (09miles) west of Sandomierz
13	31 May 1944	11:36	P-39	PQ 24 Ost 78474 10km (10miles) north of Tudora	40♠	26 August 1944	13:05	P-39	PQ 25 Ost 11276 15km (09miles) east-southeast of Opatów
14	1 June 1944	11:40	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 24 Ost 78543 45km (28miles) west-northwest of Iași	41♠	26 August 1944	13:10	P-39	PQ 25 Ost 11285 10km (10miles) north of Sandomierz
15	4 June 1944	15:55	P-39	PQ 24 Ost 78568 15km (09miles) southwest of Tudora	42♠	26 August 1944	13:25	Il-2	PQ 25 Ost 11196 vicinity of Opatów
16	26 June 1944	15:15	La-5	PQ 25 Ost 50733 10km (10miles) south of Borystow	43♠	26 August 1944	17:13	Il-2	PQ 25 Ost 11323 15km (09miles) south-southwest of Opatów
17	14 July 1944	10:27	P-39	PQ 25 Ost 41626 55km (34miles) southwest of Lutsk	44♠	26 August 1944	17:16	Il-2	PQ 25 Ost 11356 20km (10miles) south-southwest of Opatów
18	16 July 1944	15:36	Yak-9	PQ 25 Ost 41683 30km (20miles) northwest of Brody	45	27 August 1944	12:17	P-39	PQ 25 Ost 11249 15km (09miles) northeast of Opatów
19	20 July 1944	13:19	Yak-9	PQ 25 Ost 40113 15km (09miles) north of Lviv	46	27 August 1944	12:23	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11367 20km (10miles) south of Opatów
20	22 July 1944	17:30	Yak-9	PQ 25 Ost 40392 40km (30miles) west-northwest of Berezhany	47	27 August 1944	12:24	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11367 20km (10miles) south of Opatów
21	22 July 1944	17:35?	Pe-2	PQ 25 Ost 40444 25km (16miles) southwest of Zolochiv	48	27 August 1944	15:23	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11321 15km (09miles) south-southwest of Opatów
22	23 July 1944	18:15	Pe-2	PQ 25 Ost 40351 25km (16miles) southeast of Lviv	49	28 August 1944	12:29	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11323 15km (09miles) south-southwest of Opatów
23	24 July 1944	18:36	Pe-2	PQ 25 Ost 30637 20km (10miles) north of Stryi	50	28 August 1944	12:31	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11332 15km (09miles) south of Opatów
24	4 August 1944	14:54	P-39	PQ 25 Ost 11594 vicinity of Mielec	51	28 August 1944	12:35	P-39	PQ 25 Ost 11321 15km (09miles) south-southwest of Opatów
25	4 August 1944	14:55	P-39	PQ 25 Ost 11594 vicinity of Mielec	52♠	31 August 1944	12:55	Yak-9	PQ 25 Ost 11184 10km (10miles) west of Opatów
26	12 August 1944	13:53	Yak-11	PQ 25 Ost 11385 25km (16miles) north-northwest of Mielic	53♠	31 August 1944	14:13	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11158 10km (10miles) northwest of Opatów
27	12 August 1944	14:02	Yak-11	PQ 25 Ost 01463	54♠	31 August 1944	14:14	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11181 10km (10miles) west of Opatów
28	12 August 1944	17:00	La-5	PQ 25 Ost 11442 30km (20miles) southwest of Opatów	55♠	31 August 1944	14:21	P-39	PQ 25 Ost 11148 20km (10miles) west-northwest of Opatów
29	23 August 1944	18:51	Il-2	PQ 25 Ost 11423 vicinity of Sandomierz	56♠	31 August 1944	16:04	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11185 10km (10miles) west of Opatów
30	24 August 1944	11:10	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11442 15km (09miles) southwest of Sandomierz	57♠	31 August 1944	Il-2 m.H.	Il-2	PQ 25 Ost 11197 vicinity of Opatów
31	24 August 1944	14:26	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11753 20km (10miles) south-southwest of Mielec	58♠	31 August 1944	16:08	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11323 10km (10miles) west of Opatów
32	24 August 1944	14:28	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11723 15km (09miles) southwest of Mielec	59	1 September 1944	10:02	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11413 15km (09miles) west of Sandomierz
33♠	25 August 1944	09:11	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11335 15km (09miles) south of Opatów	60	1 September 1944	10:05	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11416 15km (09miles) west of Sandomierz
34♠	25 August 1944	09:11	Yak-9	PQ 25 Ost 11335 15km (09miles) south of Opatów	61	2 September 1944	09:59	P-39	PQ 25 Ost 11182 10km (10miles) west of Opatów
35♠	25 August 1944	16:08	Yak-9	PQ 25 Ost 11388 25km (16miles) north-northwest of Mielec	62	2 September 1944	10:01	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11185 10km (10miles) west of Opatów
36♠	25 August 1944	16:10	U-2	PQ 25 Ost 11521 20km (10miles) north-northwest of Mielec	63	2 September 1944	10:04	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11322 15km (09miles) south-southwest of Opatów
37♠	25 August 1944	16:18	Il-2 m.H.	PQ 25 Ost 11514 25km (16miles) northwest of Mielec
– Stab of Jagdgeschwader 52 – Eastern Front — 1 January – 8 May 1945
69	20 February 1945		unknown		71	20 February 1945		unknown
70	20 February 1945		unknown		72	20 February 1945		unknown
According to Barbas, his aerial victories 73 through 75 were not documented. Mathews and Foreman list the four aerial victories claimed on 20 February 1945 without a specific number.
76?	5 March 1945		Yak-9		79	6 March 1945		Yak-9	PQ 71192
77	6 March 1945		Yak-9	PQ 71193	80	11 March 1945	12:02	Il-2	east of Jauer
78	6 March 1945		Pe-2	PQ 71198	81	11 March 1945	12:06	Il-2	east of Jauer
According to Barbas, Mathews and Foreman, his aerial victories 82 through 84 were not documented.
85	23 March 1945		Yak-9	PQ 71614	89	25 March 1945		unknown
86	24 March 1945		Il-2	PQ 71166	90	25 March 1945		unknown
87	24 March 1945		La-5	PQ 71172	91?	25 March 1945		unknown
88	25 March 1945		unknown

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• Wound Badge in Black
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold
• German Cross in Gold on 1 January 1945 as Leutnant in the 3./Jagdgeschwader 52
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 7 April 1945 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 3./Jagdgeschwader 52

References

Bibliography

• Book: Barbas , Bernd . 2016 . Die Geschichte des Stabes, der 13. und 15. Staffel und der Ersatzeinheit des Jagdgeschwaders 52 . The History of Headerquarters Unit, the 13th and 15th Squadrons and the Replacement Unit of Fighter Wing 52 . de . 978-3-86619-128-0.
• Book: Bergström , Christer .

  sv:Christer Bergström

  . 2008 . Bagration to Berlin – The Final Air Battles in the East: 1944–1945 . Ian Allan . 978-1-903223-91-8.
• Web site: Bergström . Christer .

  sv:Christer Bergström

  . Identifying a Luftwaffe Planquadrat . Bergström Black Cross/Red Star website . 16 May 2023 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20181222042030/http://www.bergstrombooks.elknet.pl/bc-rs/planquadrat.htm . 22 December 2018 . dead.
• Book: Fellgiebel , Walther-Peer .

  de:Walther-Peer Fellgiebel

  . 2000 . 1986 . Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile . The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches . de . Friedberg, Germany . Podzun-Pallas . 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Book: Mathews . Andrew Johannes . Foreman . John . 2015 . Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 3 M–R . Walton on Thames . Red Kite . 978-1-906592-20-2.
• Book: Obermaier , Ernst . 1989 . Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 . The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945 . de . Mainz, Germany . Verlag Dieter Hoffmann . 978-3-87341-065-7.
• Book: Page , Neil . 2020 . Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe 1943–45 . Philadelphia, PA . . 978-1-61200-879-0.
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• Book: Prien . Jochen . Stemmer . Gerhard . Rodeike . Peter . Bock . Winfried . 2012 . Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 12/II—Einsatz im Osten—4.2. bis 31.12.1943 . The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 12/II—Action in the East—4 February to 31 December 1943 . de . Eutin, Germany . Buchverlag Rogge . 978-3-942943-05-5.
• Book: Prien . Jochen . Stemmer . Gerhard . Balke . Ulf . Bock . Winfried . 2022 . Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 15/II—Einsatz im Osten—1.1. bis 31.12.1944 . The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 15/II—Action in the East—1 January to 31 December 1944 . de . Eutin, Germany . Buchverlag Rogge . 978-3-942943-28-4.
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