| August von Mess | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 17, 1895 Hanover, Germany |
| Died | July 26, 1944 Saint-Lo, France |
| Affiliation(s) |  Germany
|
| Rank | Commander, 1st Lithuanian SS Division |
| Final Position | Lieutenant-General |
| Key Conflicts | World War I World War II |
| Key Battles | Battle of Saint-Lo |
August von Meß (von Mess) was a German military officer who was a Lieutenant-General in the Wehrmacht by 1944, when he was killed in action during the Falaise Gap campaign.
Biography[]
Von Mess was born in Hannover, Germany, in 1895. When he was nineteen years old, in 1914, he enlisted in the German Army and fought at the First Battle of the Marne, where he was critically wounded by a bullet that severed an artery in his leg. He narrowly survived the wound, and was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Mess was promoted to Sergeant for his bravery, and by 1918, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel. He served in the Latvian War of Independence as an adviser to the Latvian Army, and he became of value to Adolf Hitler when war began in 1939. He was made the commander of the Slovak 1st Army in the Invasion of Poland, and led the Slovaks during the Eastern Front campaigns against the Yugoslavians, Greeks, and Russians. He soon became an officer in the Waffen-SS, and was promoted to Lieutenant-General, being posted in command of the Lithuanian 1st SS Division, which fought along the Eastern Front. He fought in the actions along the front line, such as the Battle of Kursk, and was relocated to the Western Front when warfare re-opened there in 1944.
Mess was killed in action on the 26th of July, 1944, during the Battle of Normandy. In fighting in Saint-Lo, he was killed by American planes that carpet-bombed the city, reportedly while reading out a map to find routes for a counterattack. Lt. Colonel Ralf Liebenbruck took over the battle.