| Hans Reidar Holtermann | |
|---|---|
Holtermann as an oberst in 1945 |
|
| Nickname | "Majoren" (English: the Major)[1] |
| Born | 20 October 1895 Sokndal, Rogaland |
| Died | 25 October 1966 (aged 71) Bærum, Akershus |
| Allegiance | Norway |
| Service/branch | Norwegian Army |
| Years of service | 1917–1962 |
| Rank | Generalmajor (Major General) of the Norwegian Army |
| Commands held |
Commander of:
|
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | War Cross with sword[2][3] Knight, First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav[2][4][5] Norwegian Military Journal's[6] Silver Medal[4] Norwegian Athletic Society Medal[7] in Gold[4] Légion d'honneur[2][4] Knight 1st Class - Order of the Sword[2][4] |
| Other work | Economist Office manager (1940–1942) |
Hans Reidar Holtermann (born 20 October 1895 in Sokndal,[8] died 25 November 1966 in Bærum) was a Norwegian military officer. Holtermann is best known as the commander of Hegra Fortress during the Battle of Hegra Fortress in the Norwegian Campaign of 1940.
During the inter-war years Holtermann attended military college in both Norway and France.[2]
After the war he continued his military service, among other missions commanding the Independent Norwegian Brigade Group in Germany in 1949–1950.[9]
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Holtermann was the son of the district physician Sven Ruud Holtermann (1854–1916).[10] He served in Sokndal, and Hans Reidar Holtermann grew up there.[2] He was a nephew of architect Ove Bjelke Holtermann and a grandnephew of architect Peter Høier Holtermann.[10]
Holtermann started his military career at Officer's School, and in 1917 graduated from the Norwegian Military Academy with the rank of premierløytnant (First Lieutenant)[4] and from Military College in 1919.[11]
Thereafter he graduated from the Royal Frederick University in 1923 with a degree in economics.[4][11]
After leaving university Holtermann went to France. There he attended the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr in France for three years from 1924 to 1926.[2][11]
After completing his general staff training Holtermann served as Chief of staff for the Inspector General of the Norwegian Army's Field artillery, achieving the rank of kaptein in 1930.[4] In 1937 he became a major[4] and second in command of Artillery Regiment no. 3 in Trondheim. He held this position until the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940.
As the German Gruppe 2 broke through the Norwegian coastal forts defending Trondheim major Holtermann was ordered to take part in the mobilisation of Artillery Regiment no. 3 at Værnes. As the Germans advanced on this important army camp it became impossible to complete the mobilisation there and Holtermann sought out a new and more secure location to organize the troops. The choice fell on Ingstadkleiva Fort near the village of Hegra in Stjørdal – a fort placed in reserve in 1926, but still largely intact and defensible. The mountain border fort was soon to become internationally known as Hegra Fortress.
At Hegra Holtermann organised an improvised force of 250 soldiers and one female volunteer auxiliary with the intention to resist the invaders until effective support could arrive from elsewhere. As the tide of war developed unfavorably for the Norwegian forces in the south of Norway major Holtermann made it his main mission to hold the fort until the expected allied thrust from the north reached his area of operation. From its strategic location Hegra Fortress could have played an important role as a junction for the allied offensive. Holtermann also proposed plans to attempt to bombard the German airfields near Trondheim. However, since the artillery pieces at the fortress were intended to fire eastwards towards Sweden, not westwards towards Trondheim, the guns at Holtermann's disposal could not reach the German held air strips. Attempts were made by the besieged garrison to acquire the tools needed to reconfigure the fixed artillery pieces, but without success. For twenty-five days Holtermann and his small force held out under continuous artillery and Luftwaffe bombardment in what became known as the Battle of Hegra Fortress. In the end the fortress' significance consisted mostly of serving as a moral booster for the Norwegian population in a time of mostly bad news. At 0515hrs on 5 May 1940, after resisting a steadily tightening siege for nearly a month, Holtermann met the commander of the local German forces and surrendered his troops as the last commander in the south of Norway.
After the surrender at Hegra Holtermann and his soldiers marched into captivity at Berkåk. At Berkåk the Norwegians were set at work to repair road damage caused during fighting several weeks earlier. The time the defenders of Hegra spent as POWs varied somewhat, with the first being released as soon as 17 May 1940. Another group was let go on 22 May and the final few, including Holtermann, set free on 2 June.
Following his release in June 1940 Holtermann did not resign and accept the German occupation of his homeland but quickly became active in the fledgling Norwegian resistance movement. While officially spending the years 1940–1942 working as an office manager for Orkla Metall at Orkanger Holtermann continued resisting the Germans by being secretly active in the resistance movement. In 1942 his illegal activities were finally uncovered by the Germans and he was forced to flee across the border into neutral Sweden.[1][2]
From Sweden Holtermann made his way to the United Kingdom where, in 1943, he assumed the rank of Oberst (Colonel) and took command of the Norwegian Army in exile's main unit – the Norwegian Brigade in Scotland. In 1944 Holtermann was transferred to lead District Command Trøndelag and returned to Sweden where he took part in Norwegian preparations for the coming liberation of Norway. After the German surrender in Norway on 8 May 1945 Oberst Holtermann led District Command Trøndelag over the border from Sweden on 10 May, together with two reinforced battalions of 2,570 Norwegian police troops, and took part in the disarmament and internment of the German occupation forces.[2][12]
After the war Holtermann spent the first five years in Norway. He first commanded the army artillery in 1946–1948, leading the rebuilding of that Combat Arm in terms of training, methods and materiel.[13] Holtermann then moved on to command the army in North Norway (1949–1950). From 1 November 1950 to 30 April 1952[14] Holtermann, now with the rank of generalmajor (Major General), took part in the occupation of Germany as the penultimate commander of the Independent Norwegian Brigade Group in Germany.[9] After returning home once more Holtermann spent his last years in the active army as Army Staff Commander and Commander of Allied Land Forces in Southern Norway before leaving the army in 1956. Instead of entering retirement Holtermann worked on as the leader of the Norwegian Civil Defence forces between 1956 and 1962.[2]
In the post-war years Holtermann received numerous medals and orders from both Norway and abroad, the most prestigious being the War Cross with sword (awarded in 1942)[5] and the title of Knight, First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav (awarded in 1956). When Generalmajor Holtermann died in 1966 after just four years of retirement he was given a state funeral on 1 December 1966.[15]
In the citation to the award of the War Cross with sword to Hans Reidar Holtermann the Norwegian Army High Command wrote: