Hans Oschmann

Hans Oschmann (24 December 1894, Schöneberg – 14 November 1944, at Faimbe) was a German Army general and signals officer, who was involved in the early command of the German signal intelligence organization (German Defense Ministry) and would later become director of the cipher unit at the Reichswehrministerium Chiffrierabteilung, later the (General der Nachrichtenaufklärung) between 1932 and 1934. He was the son of General Albert Oschmann, who was considered an expert of motor transportation and field transportation within the operational theater.

During his command, Oschmann created three additional fixed intercept stations, bringing the number to ten. He also ran the Cipher and Monitoring service, , that was created in 1921, to collect and decipher passive intelligence, that operated within and part of German Defense Ministry, . Due to the number of ministerial cipher bureaus that were proliferating in the defense ministry, Oschmann saw a need for a central agency, independent from the Abwehr, that would collect and decipher operational intelligence and pushed for the new agency and achieve independence from the German Defense Ministry, which eventually came about. This new agency was called the Intercept Control Station (HLS) (German: Horchleitstelle) and was created sometime in 1933/34. That organisation would eventually become the General der Nachrichtenaufklärung.

Life

Oschmann married Ute Aschenborn on 1 December 1919 and had two children.

Military career In 1913, Oschmann joined the Royal Prussian Army as an ensign, . He was posted to the telegraph battalion No. 1 and was promoted to second lieutenant on 6 August 1914. On 18 April 1918 he was promoted to first lieutenant . On 1 February 1944, he was then appointed commander of the 286th Security Division. During Operation Bagration General Oschmann was slightly wounded during an air attack near Byerazino on 30 June 1944. The unit was eventually subordinated to Lieutenant General Friedrich-Georg Eberhardt in August 1944. In September 1944, after a leave of absence in the Führerreserve, he was appointed commander of the 338th Infantry Division in France, as successor to Lieutenant-General René de l'Homme de Courbière.

On 14 November 1944, he was ambushed while investigating in a French position between Bretigney and Faimbe, while with Lieutenant-General Friedrich-August Schack, who escaped the position. He was posthumously promoted to lieutenant general on 1 November 1944.