List of commandants of Berlin Sectors explained

This article lists the military commanders of divided Berlin between 1945 and 1994. Following the end of World War II in Europe, the Allies divided Berlin into distinct, occupied sectors, each had its own military governor, often referred to as commandant. This practice ended officially with the German reunification in 1990, but the several military commanders were in place until as late as 1994, when the respective occupying/protective forces were withdrawn, according to the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany.

Commandants

American sector

Commandant[1] In Office
MG Floyd L. Parks4 July 1945 – 2 September 1945
MG James M. Gavin3 September 1945 – 10 October 1945
MG Ray W. Barker11 October 1945 – 1 May 1946
MG Frank A. Keating1 May 1946 – 13 May 1947
MG Cornelius E. Ryan14 May 1947 – 23 September 1947
MG William Hesketh24 September 1947 – 30 November 1947
BG Frank L. Howley1 December 1947 – 31 August 1949
MG Maxwell D. Taylor31 August 1949 – 31 January 1951
MG Lemuel Mathewson1 February 1951 – 2 January 1953
MG Thomas S. Timberman3 January 1953 – 4 August 1954
MG George B. Honnen5 August 1954 – 9 September 1955
MG Charles L. Dasher10 September 1955 – 3 June 1957
MG Barksdale Hamlett4 June 1957 – 15 December 1959
MG Ralph Osborne20 December 1959 – 3 May 1961
MG Albert Watson II4 May 1961 – 2 January 1963
MG James H. Polk2 January 1963 – 31 August 1964
MG John F. Franklin, Jr.1 September 1964 – 3 June 1967
MG Robert G. Fergusson3 June 1967 – 28 February 1970
MG George M. Seignious28 February 1970 – 12 May 1971
MG William W. Cobb12 May 1971 – 10 June 1974
MG Sam S. Walker10 June 1974 – 11 August 1975
MG Joseph C. McDonough11 August 1975 – 7 June 1978
MG Calvert P. Benedict7 June 1978 – 5 July 1981
MG James G. Boatner5 July 1981 – 27 June 1984
MG John H. Mitchell27 June 1984 – 1 June 1988
MG Raymond E. Haddock1 June 1988 – 2 October 1990

British sector

Commandant[2] In Office
Maj Gen Lewis Lyne5 July 1945 – 30 August 1945
Maj Gen Eric Nares30 August 1945 – 13 June 1947
Lt Gen Otway Herbert13 June 1947 – 23 January 1949
Gen Geoffrey Bourne23 January 1949 – 24 October 1951
Lt Gen Charles Coleman24 October 1951 – 13 March 1954
Lt Gen William Oliver13 March 1954 – 30 April 1955
Maj Gen Robert Cottrell-Hill1 May 1955 – 6 February 1956
Maj Gen Francis Rome26 March 1956 – 20 March 1959
Maj Gen Rohan Delacombe23 March 1959 – 3 May 1962
Maj Gen Claude DunbarMay 1962 – December 1962
Lt Gen David Peel YatesDecember 1962 – January 1966
Maj Gen John NelsonFebruary 1966 – February 1968
Maj Gen James Bowes-LyonMarch 1968 – November 1970
Maj Gen Lord CathcartNovember 1970 – July 1973
Lt Gen David Scott-BarrettAugust 1973 – November 1975
Maj Gen Roy RedgraveNovember 1975 – January 1978
Lt Gen Robert RichardsonJanuary 1978 – September 1980
Gen David MostynSeptember 1980 – October 1983
Maj Gen Bernard Gordon LennoxOctober 1983 – December 1985
Maj Gen Patrick BrookingDecember 1985 – January 1989
Maj Gen Robert Corbett1989 – 2 October 1990

French sector

Commandant[3] In Office
Geoffroi du Bois de Beauchesne11 July 1945 – 12 March 1946
Charles Lançon12 March 1946 – 4 October 1946
4 October 1946 – 5 October 1950
Pierre Carolet1 October 1950 – 31 December 1952
Pierre Manceaux-Démiau1 January 1953 – 31 December 1954
Amédée J.B. Gèze1 January 1955 – 30 September 1958
Jean Lacomme1 October 1958 – 25 February 1962
Edouard K. Toulouse1962 – 1964
1964 – 1967
1967 – 1970
Maurice Routier1970 – 1973
Camille Metzler1973 – 1975
Jacques Mangin1975 – 1977
1977 – 1980
Jean P. Liron1980 – 1984
Olivier Le Taillendier de Gabory1984 – 1985
Paul Cavarrot1985 – 1987
1987 – 2 October 1990

Soviet sector

CommandantIn Office
Soviet Commandants
Nikolai Berzarin28 April 1945 – 16 June 1945
Alexander Gorbatov17 June 1945 – 19 November 1945
19 November 1945 – 1 April 1946
1 April 1946 – 7 June 1950
Sergey Dengin7 June 1950 – 28 May 1953
28 May 1953 – 23 June 1956
Andrey Chamov28 June 1956 – 26 February 1958
Matvei Zakharov26 February 1958 – 9 May 1961
Andrey Soloviev9 May 1961 – 22 August 1962
East German Commandants
22 August 1962 – 31 May 1971
1 June 1971 – 31 August 1978
1 September 1978 – 31 December 1989
1 January 1990 – 30 September 1990
Detlef Wendorf30 September 1990 – 2 October 1990

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Book: Robert P. . Grathwol . Donita M. . Moorhus . Gareth L. . Steen . Berlin and the American Military: A Cold War Chronicle . 17 March 2013 . 1999 . NYU Press . 9780814731338 . 192.
  2. http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf Army Commands
  3. http://rulers.org/gerstat2.html German states after 1945