The Befehlshaber rückwärtiges Heeresgebiet Süd was formed on 5 July 1941 by renaming the staff of Befehlshaber rückwärtiges Heeresgebiet 103. It was redesignated Kommandierender General der Sicherungstruppen und Befehlshaber im Heeresgebiet Süd on 1 April 1942.

"Berück" was the official term/abbreviation for these units.

Commanders

General der Infanterie z.V. Karl von Roques (5 July 1941 – 27 Oct 1941) (1)
General der Infanterie Erich Friderici (27 Oct 1941 – 10 Jan 1942) [stellvertretend / acting]
General der Infanterie z.V. Karl von Roques (10 Jan 1942 – 1 Apr 1942)

Footnotes

1. Karl von Roques was the cousin of Franz von Roques, who had the post of a „Berück“ (Nord), too.
Karl von Roques retired from the Luftwaffe on 30 June 1939 with the rank of char. General der Flakartillerie. On 1 December 1939 he was placed at the disposal of the Army (Heer), with the status of “z.V.” (= zur Verfügung). On 1 July 1941 finally he was promoted to the rank of General der Infanterie z.V. (by that his Lw rank was renamed to the equivalent Heer rank).
Karl von Roques was sentenced to 20 Years imprisonment for numerous War Crimes in the so-called "OKW-Prozess" on 28 October 1948. He died in the "Kriegsverbrechergefängnis Nr. 1" in Landberg/Lech / Bavaria on 24 December 1949 after an operation. Some sources indicate that he died in Nürnberg while in a hospital there.

Sources used

Research by Shawn Bohannon

Reference Material on this unit

Jörn Hasenclever - Die Befehlshaber der rückwärtigen Heeresgebiete in den besetzten Gebieten der Sowjetunion 1941-1943: Max von Schenckendorff, Karl von Roques, Franz von Roques, Erich Friderici und die deutsche Besatzungpolitik (Verlang Schöningh, Paderborn 2009)
Dieter Pohl - Die Herrschaft der Wehrmacht: Deutsche Militärbesatzung und einheimische Bevölkerung in der Sowjetunion 1941-1944 (Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2008)