Date of birth:

November 18th, 1897 (Magdeburg/Saxony, Germany)

Date of death:

January 11th, 1978 (Lehnsahn/Schleswig-Holstein, Germany)

Nationality:

German

Promotions:
01.12.1925: Leutnant (110)
01.01.1929: Oberleutnant (7)
01.10.1934: Hauptmann (56)
01.12.1938: Major (67)
01.11.1941: Oberstleutnant (10)
21.01.1943: Oberst - RDA 01.08.1942 (9a)

Career:
01.05.1926: 3. Eskadron, Reiter-Regiment 4, Potsdam
01.05.1927: 2. Eskadron, Reiter-Regiment 4, Perleberg
01.05.1930: Ausbildungseskadron, Reiter-Regiment 4, Potsdam
01.05.1933: 4. Eskadron, Reiter-Regiment 4, Perleberg
01.02.1935: Reiter-Regiment 11, Gera
15.10.1935: Schützen-Regiment 3, Altengrabow
07.10.1936: Chef, 8. Kompanie, Schützen-Regiment 3, Eberswalde
00.05.1940-05.07.1942: Major, Kdr, II. Bataillon, Schützen-Regiment 3, 3. Panzer-Division - campaign in France
00.10.1941: Oberstleutnant, Kdr, Schützen-Regiment 3, 3. Panzer-Division
05.07.1942-31.03.1943: Oberstleutnant, Kdr, Panzergrenadier-Regiment 3
01.04.1943: Oberst, Kdr, Panzer-Brigade 102
00.00.1944: Oberst, Kommandeur, Panzertruppen, Wehrkreis III

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Period:

First World War (1914-1918)

Period:

First World War (1914-1918)

Period:

First World War (1914-1918)

Period:

First World War (1914-1918)

Awarded on:

1934

Awarded on:

1936

Awarded on:

1936

Awarded on:

1936

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

in bronze

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

1942

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Major

Unit:

Kommandeur, II. Bataillon, Schützen-Regiment 3, 3. Panzer-Division

Awarded on:

September 4th, 1940

Awarded for actions during the latter stages of the battle of France. On the evening of the 14.06.1940, his Bataillon (along with Panzer-Regiment 5) had reached a point approximately 15 km north of the city of St. Florentin. He received an order to capture the city along with its key bridges as soon as possible. Upon hearing favourable intelligence, he decided the best strategy was a coup de main, and sent out a reinforced Kompanie first. Intermingling with the fleeing refugees and French soldiers, they went unnoticed for some time, and when they were recognized they opened fire at close range. Despite the mass of vehicles and people that had clogged the roads, and Zimmermann himself being wounded in the course of the fighting, his soldiers were able to seize all the bridges intact and held them against counterattacks. The victory was a tremendous one, with Zimmermann’s Bataillon capturing 112 officers, 2,360 NCOs and enlisted men, over 500 vehicles (including 4 tanks and 4 armoured cars), 21 various artillery pieces and a depot with six million litres of fuel.

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Oberst (Colonel)

Unit:

Kdr, Panzergrenadier-Regiment 3, 3. Panzer-Division

Awarded on:

July 28th, 1943

• Photo 1:
• - VETERANS OF THE 3RD PANZER DIVISION, Armored Bears, Stackpole Books, 2012.
  - Die Ordensträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht (CD), VMD-Verlag GmbH, Osnabrück, 2002
  - Fellgiebel W.P., Elite of the Third Reich, The recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939-1945: A Reference, Helion & Company Limited, Solihull, 2003, ISBN 1-874622-46-9
  - Patzwall K., Scherzer V., Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941-1945, Geschichte und Inhaber Band II, Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt, 2001, ISBN 3-931533-45-X