Herman Bottcher
Encyclopedia
Major
Herman J. F. Bottcher (1905 or 1909 – December 31, 1944) was a German national who achieved the rank of Major with two different armies: the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War
and the United States Army
during World War II. He was awarded two U.S. Distinguished Service Crosses
, the second highest U.S. military decoration after the Medal of Honor
. Because the International Brigade was a nominally Communist organization, the United States Government denied him American citizenship for many years. Bottcher however, joined the United States Army and distinguished himself in combat
during World War II. He was granted his U.S. citizenship
days before he was mortally wounded.
, Germany and was a witness to the events surrounding his country during World War I. He trained as a cabinetmaker and in 1928, left Germany for Austria. In 1931, Bottcher emigrated to the United States and lived in San Francisco
. During the Great Depression
, Bottcher was a student at San Francisco State College and he applied for American citizenship in 1935.
, which pitted the pro-Republican loyalists against a nationalist coalition led (among others) by General Francisco Franco
. The nationalists received support from Fascist Italy
and Nazi Germany
. Bottcher joined the pro-Republican Abraham Lincoln Brigade
and was assigned with the rank of Captain to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and during the 35 months that he served he was wounded twice, once in the Battle of Madrid and once at Aragon
. Spanish prime minister Juan Negrín
ordered the withdrawal of the International Brigades and on September 24, 1938, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade was replaced by Spanish loyalist troops. Bottcher, who was then a Major
with three Spanish military decorations which included the Spanish Medal of Valour, and the rest of the men of the Brigade were sent home. Bottcher, returned home to San Francisco and continued his college education in architecture. Bottcher's citizenship request was denied by the United States government because of his involvement in the Spanish Civil War.
on January 5, 1942, just one month after the Empire of Japan
attacked Pearl Harbor
on December 7, 1941. He was assigned to the 32nd Infantry Division a Michigan
-Wisconsin
National Guard Unit. The 32nd Division was sent to the South West Pacific Theater.
Bottcher's unit was sent to New Guinea
in late 1942, as part of a US-Australian offensive against Japanese forces who had built extensive defenses around beachheads in the Buna
area.
On November 16, 1942, Australian and US forces began to attack Buna, Sanananda and Gona
. Bottcher was promoted to Staff Sergeant, and was appointed a platoon
commander in G Company of the 126th Infantry Regiment. On December 5, 1942, when G Company was pinned down by enemy fire, Bottcher led a 31-strong detachment forward against the attacking force. Wading across a creek under constant mortar
fire, Bottcher led twelve volunteers through to the Buna beach. He stood up and threw hand grenades at the enemy knocking out several pillboxes en route and was able to drive a wedge between Buna beach and Buna village. Bottcher, one eardrum broken by mortar blast, his hand cut by shrapnel, held that wedge. Bottcher ordered his men to dig in at once on the edge of the beach, which became known as "Bottchers Corner". He and his men fought against enemy attacks from both the village and the fortified beach which resulted in the death of over a hundred enemy soldiers. Bottcher's break-through completed the isolation of Buna village and is considered to be a turning point of the battle. According to a Time magazine article, by Australian war correspondent George Johnston
, published September 20, 1943:
Bottcher was awarded the battlefield commission of Captain
and his first Distinguished Service Cross
Medal. On December 20, Bottcher led a detachment of his men in an attack and that was within 20 yards of the enemy, when he stood up to draw the enemy fire upon himself so that his men could move forward. He was wounded twice and awarded a second Distinguished Service Cross Medal for his actions. He was sent to Australia, for treatment of his three wounds.
in June 1944, with the rank of Major. There he received the news that the US Government, by a special act of Congress
, had granted him U.S. citizenship. Bottcher's men had spent 43 days behind enemy lines during the Battle of Leyte
when, on December 30, 1944, a group of Japanese soldiers encountered Bottcher's men and attacked them with small arms fire and mortar rounds, one of which fell directly into Bottcher's position. The next day, Bottcher's men sent the following radio message: "Bottcher dead. Recon troop withdrawing west..." Captain (later Major) Dick Tucker, sent the following message to the news wires: "Major Herman Bottcher, veteran soldier in the fight against Fascism, hero of the battle of Buna and reconnaissance-troop commander, whose exploits had become legend among the men who were fighting the Pacific war, lay dead on a hill overlooking Silad Bay." Bottcher is buried in the Manila American Cemetery, Manila
in Plot L Row 4 Grave 134.
, is working on a project to honor Major Herman Bottcher. In 1945, Sgt. John Rossen wrote an eloquent poem that pays tribute to Bottcher and the sacrifice he made in his fight against fascism. This poem went on to inspire the artist Pierre Daura to create a painting that commemorates Bottcher and captures the tone of the poem which was anti-fascist. In this work, found in the Taubman Museum of Art's permanent collection, located in Roanoke, Virginia, a Filipino kneels beside Bottcher's grave, marked with a cross and his helmet and covered with a palm leaf, and looks toward Heaven. He clearly contemplates Bottcher's sacrifice as his eyes are closed. Rossen and Bottcher served together in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. Daura also fought in the Spanish Civil War against Franco, but he was not a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Presumably, it was during the Spanish Civil War that Rossen, Bottcher, and Daura became acquainted with one another.
In an article published in the Saturday Evening Post on August 13, 1949, Lieutenant-General Robert L. Eichelberger
(former commander in the Buna campaign
) wrote that "On my recommendation, the Allied commander commissioned Bottcher as a captain of infantry for bravery on the field of battle. He was one of the best Americans I have ever known.... His combat experience was extremely useful at Buna, and his patriotism as a new American was vigorous and determined." According to Eichelberger, Bottcher was "Buna's greatest hero."
Badges:
Foreign decorations
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
Herman J. F. Bottcher (1905 or 1909 – December 31, 1944) was a German national who achieved the rank of Major with two different armies: the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
and the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during World War II. He was awarded two U.S. Distinguished Service Crosses
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
, the second highest U.S. military decoration after the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
. Because the International Brigade was a nominally Communist organization, the United States Government denied him American citizenship for many years. Bottcher however, joined the United States Army and distinguished himself in combat
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
during World War II. He was granted his U.S. citizenship
United States nationality law
Article I, section 8, clause 4 of the United States Constitution expressly gives the United States Congress the power to establish a uniform rule of naturalization. The Immigration and Naturalization Act sets forth the legal requirements for the acquisition of, and divestiture from, citizenship of...
days before he was mortally wounded.
Early years
Herman Bottcher was born in LandsbergLandsberg, Saxony-Anhalt
Landsberg is a town in the Saalekreis in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany with about 12,000 inhabitants. Landsberg lies in the Greater Halle area....
, Germany and was a witness to the events surrounding his country during World War I. He trained as a cabinetmaker and in 1928, left Germany for Austria. In 1931, Bottcher emigrated to the United States and lived in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Bottcher was a student at San Francisco State College and he applied for American citizenship in 1935.
Spanish Civil War
In 1936, Bottcher dropped his college studies to fight in the Spanish Civil WarSpanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, which pitted the pro-Republican loyalists against a nationalist coalition led (among others) by General Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
. The nationalists received support from Fascist Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
and Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. Bottcher joined the pro-Republican Abraham Lincoln Brigade
Abraham Lincoln Brigade
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade refers to volunteers from the United States who served in the Spanish Civil War in the International Brigades. They fought for Spanish Republican forces against Franco and the Spanish Nationalists....
and was assigned with the rank of Captain to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and during the 35 months that he served he was wounded twice, once in the Battle of Madrid and once at Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
. Spanish prime minister Juan Negrín
Juan Negrín
Juan Negrín y López was a Spanish politician and physician.-Early years:Born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Negrín came from a religious middle-class family...
ordered the withdrawal of the International Brigades and on September 24, 1938, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade was replaced by Spanish loyalist troops. Bottcher, who was then a Major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
with three Spanish military decorations which included the Spanish Medal of Valour, and the rest of the men of the Brigade were sent home. Bottcher, returned home to San Francisco and continued his college education in architecture. Bottcher's citizenship request was denied by the United States government because of his involvement in the Spanish Civil War.
World War II
Bottcher enlisted in the United States Army at the PresidioPresidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
on January 5, 1942, just one month after the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
attacked Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on December 7, 1941. He was assigned to the 32nd Infantry Division a Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
-Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
National Guard Unit. The 32nd Division was sent to the South West Pacific Theater.
The Battle of Buna
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
in late 1942, as part of a US-Australian offensive against Japanese forces who had built extensive defenses around beachheads in the Buna
Buna, Papua New Guinea
Buna is a village in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. It was the site in part, of the Battle of Buna-Gona during World War II, when it constituted a variety of native huts and a handful of houses with a airstrip...
area.
On November 16, 1942, Australian and US forces began to attack Buna, Sanananda and Gona
Battle of Buna-Gona
The Battle of Buna–Gona was a battle in the New Guinea campaign, a major part of the Pacific campaign of World War II. On 16 November 1942, Australian and United States forces attacked the main Japanese beachheads in New Guinea, at Buna, Sanananda and Gona. Both forces were riddled by disease and...
. Bottcher was promoted to Staff Sergeant, and was appointed a platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
commander in G Company of the 126th Infantry Regiment. On December 5, 1942, when G Company was pinned down by enemy fire, Bottcher led a 31-strong detachment forward against the attacking force. Wading across a creek under constant mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
fire, Bottcher led twelve volunteers through to the Buna beach. He stood up and threw hand grenades at the enemy knocking out several pillboxes en route and was able to drive a wedge between Buna beach and Buna village. Bottcher, one eardrum broken by mortar blast, his hand cut by shrapnel, held that wedge. Bottcher ordered his men to dig in at once on the edge of the beach, which became known as "Bottchers Corner". He and his men fought against enemy attacks from both the village and the fortified beach which resulted in the death of over a hundred enemy soldiers. Bottcher's break-through completed the isolation of Buna village and is considered to be a turning point of the battle. According to a Time magazine article, by Australian war correspondent George Johnston
George Johnston (novelist)
George Johnston OBE was an Australian journalist, war correspondent and novelist, best known for My Brother Jack. His second wife and literary collaborator was Charmian Clift.-Life:...
, published September 20, 1943:
- "The American, Herman Bottcher, led twelve volunteers into the Japanese positions, built fortifications on the beach. Constantly under fire, Bottcher provided a diversion that resulted in Allied victory. By a conservative count ... Bottcher and his twelve men ... killed more than 120 Japs."
Bottcher was awarded the battlefield commission of Captain
Captain (OF-2)
The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...
and his first Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
Medal. On December 20, Bottcher led a detachment of his men in an attack and that was within 20 yards of the enemy, when he stood up to draw the enemy fire upon himself so that his men could move forward. He was wounded twice and awarded a second Distinguished Service Cross Medal for his actions. He was sent to Australia, for treatment of his three wounds.
Final battle
Bottcher returned to his unit following the Battle of the Philippine SeaBattle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...
in June 1944, with the rank of Major. There he received the news that the US Government, by a special act of Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, had granted him U.S. citizenship. Bottcher's men had spent 43 days behind enemy lines during the Battle of Leyte
Battle of Leyte
The Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the invasion and conquest of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American and Filipino guerrilla forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fought against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines led by...
when, on December 30, 1944, a group of Japanese soldiers encountered Bottcher's men and attacked them with small arms fire and mortar rounds, one of which fell directly into Bottcher's position. The next day, Bottcher's men sent the following radio message: "Bottcher dead. Recon troop withdrawing west..." Captain (later Major) Dick Tucker, sent the following message to the news wires: "Major Herman Bottcher, veteran soldier in the fight against Fascism, hero of the battle of Buna and reconnaissance-troop commander, whose exploits had become legend among the men who were fighting the Pacific war, lay dead on a hill overlooking Silad Bay." Bottcher is buried in the Manila American Cemetery, Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
in Plot L Row 4 Grave 134.
Legacy
There is a memorial plaque at Buna today which is dedicated to Bottcher's role in the battle. Lloyd Joseph Knutson, from Tacoma, WashingtonTacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, is working on a project to honor Major Herman Bottcher. In 1945, Sgt. John Rossen wrote an eloquent poem that pays tribute to Bottcher and the sacrifice he made in his fight against fascism. This poem went on to inspire the artist Pierre Daura to create a painting that commemorates Bottcher and captures the tone of the poem which was anti-fascist. In this work, found in the Taubman Museum of Art's permanent collection, located in Roanoke, Virginia, a Filipino kneels beside Bottcher's grave, marked with a cross and his helmet and covered with a palm leaf, and looks toward Heaven. He clearly contemplates Bottcher's sacrifice as his eyes are closed. Rossen and Bottcher served together in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. Daura also fought in the Spanish Civil War against Franco, but he was not a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Presumably, it was during the Spanish Civil War that Rossen, Bottcher, and Daura became acquainted with one another.
In an article published in the Saturday Evening Post on August 13, 1949, Lieutenant-General Robert L. Eichelberger
Robert L. Eichelberger
Robert Lawrence Eichelberger was a general in the United States Army, who commanded the US Eighth Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II. His Army was among the very first to engage the Japanese in the Pacific Theater of Operations.-Pre-World War II service:Eichelberger was born...
(former commander in the Buna campaign
Battle of Buna-Gona
The Battle of Buna–Gona was a battle in the New Guinea campaign, a major part of the Pacific campaign of World War II. On 16 November 1942, Australian and United States forces attacked the main Japanese beachheads in New Guinea, at Buna, Sanananda and Gona. Both forces were riddled by disease and...
) wrote that "On my recommendation, the Allied commander commissioned Bottcher as a captain of infantry for bravery on the field of battle. He was one of the best Americans I have ever known.... His combat experience was extremely useful at Buna, and his patriotism as a new American was vigorous and determined." According to Eichelberger, Bottcher was "Buna's greatest hero."
Military decorations and awards
Among Major Bottcher's military decorations are the following:| Distinguished Service Cross Distinguished Service Cross (United States) The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree... with oak leaf cluster |
Silver Star Silver Star The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy.... |
Legion of Merit Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements... |
Purple Heart Purple Heart The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York... with 3 oak leaf clusters |
| Presidential Unit Citation Presidential Unit Citation (US) The Presidential Unit Citation, originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the Armed Forces of the United States and allies for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy on or after 7 December 1941... |
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal is a service decoration of the Second World War which was awarded to any member of the United States military who served in the Pacific Theater from 1941 to 1945 and was created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was... with two bronze service stars |
World War II Victory Medal World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a decoration of the United States military which was created by an act of Congress in July 1945. The decoration commemorates military service during World War II and is awarded to any member of the United States military, including members of the armed forces of... |
Philippine Liberation Medal Philippine Liberation Medal The Philippine Liberation Medal is a military award of the Republic of the Philippines which was created by an order of Commonwealth Army of the Philippines Headquarters on December 20, 1944... |
Badges:
Combat Infantryman BadgeCombat Infantryman BadgeThe Combat Infantryman Badge is the U.S. Army combat service recognition decoration awarded to soldiers—enlisted men and officers holding colonel rank or below, who personally fought in active ground combat while an assigned member of either an infantry or a Special Forces unit, of brigade size...
Foreign decorations
- Spanish Civil War Medal of the International Brigades
- Spanish Medal of Valour
See also
- 32nd Infantry Division