Date of birth:

August 20th, 1899 (Krefeld/Rhine Province, Germany)

Date of death:

December 26th, 1981 (Viersen, Krefeld am Rhein, Germany)

Nationality:

German (1933-1945, Third Reich)

Career:
05.1942: Chef 15. (Sturmgeschütz) / Artillerie-Regiment 227;
summer 1943 - November 1944: Kommandeur Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung / Brigade 200 (Feld).

German engineer and artillery officer who served during the First and Second World Wars. He was born and raised in Krefeld. A mechanical engineer by training, he is best known as being the primary person responsible for taking obsolete captured British and French vehicles and refurbishing and redesigning them into useful instruments for the German army. With his engineering and organizational skills, he converted the Hotchkiss plant on the outskirts of Paris into a vehicle modification and fabrication center. He used the vehicles to mobilize German guns, rocket launchers and mortars. Working with Alkett, steel shielding was shipped from Germany to armour the vehicles. The men from his artillery command did the metal work and conversion on 1,800 recovered vehicles.

During the winter of 1943-44 Becker's work focused on equipping the 21st Panzer Division. He used the tracked carriages of French light tanks to mobilize the 7.5 cm Pak 40 anti-tank gun and the 10.5 cm leFH 18 howitzer. Becker had the tank turrets removed, mounted the guns upon the chassis and placed steel plates around the crew compartment to give them some measure of protection. The vehicles were formed into a fire support unit, the Sturmgeschütz Abteilung 200. Becker was made the commander of this motorized assault gun battalion, and led the unit during the battles of Normandy. Some of Becker's unit escaped the encirclement at Falaise and they retreated across France and into Belgium. Becker was captured in Alsace on the French/German border in December 1944.

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• Photo 1: Igor Poul
• - PATZWALL, K. & SCHERZER, V., Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941-1945, Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt, 2001.
  - Axis History Biographical Research via Axis History Forum
  - Die Träger des Deutschen Kreuzes