The Generals of 1945

Discussions on the personalities of the Wehrmacht and of the organizations not covered in the other sections. Hosted by askropp and Frech.
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Re: The Generals of 1945

#31

Post by askropp » 20 Apr 2018, 19:13

Generale mit RDA vom 01.04.1945 (Teil 2)

Generalmajore
Werner von Hillebrandt
Bernhard Neßlinger
Kuno Dewitz
Karl Klockenbring
Erich Hampe
Wilhelm Nagel - Order Nr. 1278
Kaspar Völker
Martin Strahammer - Order Nr. 1005
Heinrich Hax - Order Nr. 1006
Theodor Kretschmer - Order Nr. 1006
Otto Schury - Order Nr. 1051
Heinrich Voigtsberger - Order Nr. 1004
Horst Niemack
Heinrich Baron von Behr - Order Nr. 1005
Karl Giese - Order Nr. 1102

Generalmajor (Kfp)
Paul von Mühlenfels

Generalmajor d.R.
Max Reinwald - Order Nr. 1005

This batch is a most challenging subject. We have definitely several GM who were obviously promoted, but did not find their way into the Generalskartei. Therefore, the unconfirmed claims cannot be dismissed offhandedly. I will deviate from my previous practice and adress each claim, confirmed or unconfirmed, in the order of seniority.

The senior possible candidate is Eugen-Alexander Lobach. Having been relegated to DAL S, he had been passed over for promotion in late 1944. It appears rather unlikely to me that he should have gotten a belated promotion in April 1945, as claimed by Bradley and Krug.

As described before, all the Obersten mit RDA vom 01.04.1941 (1) bis (32) standen zur planmäßigen Beförderung heran. First on the list was Wilhelm Jolas, whose unconfirmed claim can be found in Bradley (but not in Keilig's 1944/45 Rangliste). He is not in the Generalskartei, and his unit card (FzKdo XII) contains no promotion. Next in line was Josef Brüning. This time, Bradley's claim is supported by Keilig, but still the unit card (TrÜPl Munster) contains no promotion. Although Hillebrandt is in the Generalskartei, no promotion is recorded there, but an annotated list of participants of the 18. DFL shows it, and Keilig says it was also added to his Soldbuch. Now comes Neßlinger, who is listed by Keilig, but whose personal and unit card contain no promotion. But Dieter posted a photo from Sammlung Krug that seems to show him as GM (although the quality is poor and we know there were doctored portraits), and his obituary in the Ostpreußenblatt also calls him a general. Karl-Adolf von Bodecker is listed by Bradley (although mit RDA vom 20.04.1945) and Krug, while Keilig lists him as unconfirmed. No Karteikarte is known to me. Hubert Strohmaier is listed by Krug, although not by Keilig. Again, there is no Karteikarte. Documents or reports about his trial in Yugoslavia could maybe shed light on his status. Kurt Adam is listed only by Bradley. His Karteikarte does not mention any promotion. Alfred Heisig, listed by Bradley and Keilig, probably died in January (see here). There is no evidence of his promotion. In contrast, the promotion of Dewitz was added to his card in handwriting. Klockenbring is listed by Keilig and Bradley, although neither his personal nor his unit card (Höh Inf Offz 2) mentions a promotion. But the Soldatenjahrbuch calls him a general, and he is frequently mentioned as Kampfkommandant von Hameln in 1945. One source (Osnabrücker Mitteilungen from 1976) even quotes a Funkspruch to HGr H in which he is called "Generalmajor Klockenbrink". Rudolf Pühringer is mentioned in several Austrian books as a general, but not in Keilig's Rangliste. I did not find any Karteikarte of him. The same is true for Heinrich von Nordheim, listed as GM in LdW.

The majority of the officers who got a bevorzugte Beförderung to GM mit RDA vom 01.04.1945 are documented by their Karteikarten. Hampe is listed in an organizational chart of OKW from May 1945. Völker is only an Oberst on all Karteikarten, but Graveland posted a photograph that seems to show him as GM, and Bezborodova also lists him as a general. Mühlenfels is on a list of general officers compiled by the OKW for the Allied forces in May 1945. Paul Diesener is listed by Bradley as GM mit RDA vom 01.04.1945, but Keilig says he got an unconfirmed promotion mit RDA vom 20.04.1945. This is the date on which he would have been eligible for a planmäßige Beförderung, so if he was promoted, it should have been then. Erich Hempel is listed by Bradley and Krug, although not by Keilig. His unit card (Gen d Pi HGr E) shows no promotion. A photo posted by Chris44 shows that the headstone of Arthur Kopp, listed by Bradley as GM, gives his last rank as Oberst. Detlev Rudelsdorff is listed as unconfirmed by Keilig. While his gravestone also calls him a GM, his Karteikarten do not mention a promotion. Reinhard Ullrich was only on DAL S, which makes a promotion very unlikely. The promotion of Heinrich Plickert is claimed by LdW, but not by Keilig. I have no original info on him. And finally, Friedrich Warnecke, whose cards also list him only as an Oberst, was a junior Divisionsführer whose mediocre Beurteilungen make his promotion look unlikely once more.

If anybody has more info on the officers listed as unconfirmed, please let us know.
Last edited by askropp on 21 Apr 2018, 00:10, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: The Generals of 1945

#32

Post by graveland » 20 Apr 2018, 21:24

Thanks, askropp.


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Re: The Generals of 1945

#33

Post by Stauffenberg II » 21 Apr 2018, 09:47

Good job!

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Re: The Generals of 1945

#34

Post by askropp » 26 Apr 2018, 23:44

General mit RDA vom 05.04.1945

Generalfeldmarschall
Ferdinand Schörner

Promoted on 7 April.


General mit RDA vom 01.10.1944

General der Panzertruppe
Walther Wenck - Order Nr. 1280

Promoted on 07.04.1945 (ohne RDA) and RDA added on 13 April when he took over AOK 12. The intention was to make him senior to Max von Edelsheim who was to serve under him. An Ordnungsnummer was not added, but it should have been the (6).


General mit RDA vom 17.04.1945

Generalmajor
Hermann-Heinrich Behrend

It is not quite sure whether this was the RDA or only the Wirkung date. The actual promotion must have been even later (end of April or even May). As I noted here, he apparently never received the uniform and insignia of a general.
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Re: The Generals of 1945

#35

Post by askropp » 08 Jun 2018, 18:27

Generale mit RDA vom 20.04.1945 (Teil 1)

Generale
Heinrich Meyer-Buerdorf (Artillerie)
Eduard Crasemann (Artillerie) - Order Nr. 1264
Rudolf Hofmann (Infanterie)
Eberhard Kinzel (Infanterie) - Order Nr. 1230
Friedrich-August Schack (Infanterie)
Karl Thoholte (Artillerie)
Friedrich-Wilhelm Hauck (Infanterie) - Order Nr. 1283

August Winter was promoted to General der Gebirgstruppe during the first week of May. The dates of 1 May, 20 April and 30 January are variously found in connection with this promotion. As one of his Karteikarten and the Handliste der Generalstabsoffiziere indeed give 30 January and this cannot have been the actual or mit Wirkung date, I would assume the most likely possibility is "mit Wirkung vom 20.04.1945 und RDA vom 30.01.1945". The alleged promotion of Arthur Kullmer did probably not happen.
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Re: The Generals of 1945

#36

Post by askropp » 24 Jun 2018, 20:48

Generale mit RDA vom 20.04.1945 (Teil 2)

Generalleutnante
Hermann Winkler - Order Nr. 1256
Siegfried Ruff
Paul Wagner
Hans Henrici
Erwin Jollasse - Order Nr. 1259
Fritz Wentzell
Werner Marcks - Order Nr. 1270
Paul Reichelt - Order Nr. 1235
Helmut Staedke
Walter Denkert - Order Nr. 1255
Hermann Hölter - Order Nr. 1236
Otto Meyer
Karl Jank
Siegfried Verhein - Order Nr. 1257
Rudolf Holste
Alfred Hemmann - Order Nr. 1286
Otto-Hermann Brücker
Werner Ranck - Order Nr. 1285
Joachim-Friedrich Lang - Order Nr. 1258
Erich Reuter
Gerhard Engel - Order Nr. 1269
Arnold Burmeister

Ruff, Jank and Reuter are listed as GL in the last Stellenbesetzung from NARA T-78 R-39. Meyer is listed as GL in a Stellenbesetzung of the Dönitz government dated 20.05.1945 (found on "German Docs in Russia"). The Orderanweisung for Wagner was found in the PA of Meyer-Buerdorf. Henrici is listed as GL in a Gliederung of OKW (Süd) from May 1945. Lang was already dead when his promotion became effective.

I have no confirmation for the alleged promotions to GL of Wilhelm Hartmann, Dietrich von Müller and Kurt Freiherr von Mühlen, although Keilig says Mühlen's promotion was noted in his Soldbuch. Also according to Keilig, Rudolf von Tschudi and Egbert Picker were "promoted" by General Hans Schlemmer of LXXV. Armeekorps, who would not have been legally entitled to make such a promotion. A list of several officers with an alleged promotion date even after 20.04.1945 will be posted later.
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Re: The Generals of 1945

#37

Post by Stauffenberg II » 25 Jun 2018, 10:54

Dear Albert,

thanks for your hard and excellent work!

I agree with you on all of those many accounts. I am sure you will also address to Helmut Staedke who was Gen. Lt. too if I am right.

The only issue which I would consider quite skeptical is the alleged promo of Gen. Maj. Burmeister to Gen. Lt.

Burmeister, being promoted to Gen. Maj. 01.01.1945 (15) is frequently listed as Gen. Lt. 20.04.1945, so 11 weeks after his promo to Gen. Maj!!! I do not quite believe this and neither T-78 R-39 (frame 643) nor the card of the 25. Pz. Gren. Div. (T-78 R-896) mention a promo, too. In one of his both sets of Karteikarten (T-78 R-884) his promo is only listed as 20.4.1945 with "?" making the story quite questionable.

Cheers
Jürgen

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Re: The Generals of 1945

#38

Post by askropp » 25 Jun 2018, 14:48

I am sure you will also address Helmut Staedke
I listed Staedke above. Did you happen to overlook him, or is there something special about him?

Burmeister is also listed as GL in the same Stellenbesetzung as Meyer. I would assume that the question mark on his Karteikarte refers to the RDA, not the promotion itself. He was probably promoted in May, and the clerk may have been unsure whether his RDA was 20 April or 1 May (this RDA was apparently used, although it should have been not). Huebner, Natzmer and Tolsdorff, who became GL while Hitler was still living, were even junior to Burmeister. Another two officers who were peers of Burmeister as GM are said to have been promoted mit RDA vom 01.05.1945 (as I said, more on that later). So, yes, his promotion was extraordinary, but I believe it was possible and valid.

P.S. It was at least 16 weeks. :milwink:
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Re: The Generals of 1945

#39

Post by Stauffenberg II » 25 Jun 2018, 15:01

My mistake, I did not realize Staedke is included - it was already very late yesterday when I checked your post.

And yes agreed on 16 weeks :-)

Jürgen

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Re: The Generals of 1945

#40

Post by askropp » 30 Jul 2018, 01:23

Generale mit RDA vom 20.04.1945 (Teil 3)

Generalmajore (planmäßige Beförderungen)
Johannes Böhaimb - Order Nr. 964
Walter Vogel - Order Nr. 964
Walter Stud - Order Nr. 964
Erich Kohlhauer - Order Nr. 964

Unsurprisingly, this batch is the most difficult of all. All promotions issued after 20 April were (or should have been) backdated to this day, and of course it may well be that a valid promotion issued during the last days of the war or even during the short Dönitz reign did not make it into the records. Again, I will adress the known claims, confirmed or unconfirmed, in the order of seniority.

Our first candidate, Bruno Gerloch (mentioned in Bradley), would have been overdue for promotion in April 1945. As I explained here, he was probably a PoW since August 1944 and therefore NOT promoted to GM at any point. We then reach the Obersten mit RDA vom 01.04.1941 (33) bis (124), who were eligible for a planmäßige Beförderung. First on the list was Gustav Enke, who was ill and in the FR since September 1944. His promotion is claimed by Bradley, but cannot be confirmed by any original sources so far. The next four officers (listed above) are documented by their entries in the unit Kartei, but not with a personal card in the Generalskartei (note that this could mean further promotions went undocumented because the officers in question were not commanding any units in April 1945). Next in line was Siegfried von Blanckensee. Again, the evidence points strongly to the fact that he was not promoted. The next claim concerns Richard Bulcke, who is listed in Bradley, but not in any original sources. He was 64 years old and practically unassigned since May 1943. Paul Diesener is not only listed in Bradley, but also in Keilig (although as unconfirmed). Once more, I was not able to confirm this claim with an original document yet. And finally, we have Paul von Mayer, whose promotion was claimed by Krug. I have no original info on him either. (See below for Wilhelm Fox).

I will soon adress the numerous bevorzugte Beförderungen to GM mit RDA vom 20.04.1945.
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Re: The Generals of 1945

#41

Post by askropp » 04 Oct 2018, 11:22

I have discovered a claim by Rudolf Absolon that Oberst Wilhelm Fox got a RDA-Verbesserung to 01.04.1941 (124a) in January 1945. If so, he would have qualified for a planmäßige Beförderung on 20.04.1945 (until now, I believed his claim was referring to a bevorzugte Beförderung). But I have no original sources that confirm either this RDA-Verbesserung nor his alleged subsequent promotion to GM.
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Re: The Generals of 1945

#42

Post by askropp » 05 Oct 2018, 14:00

Allow me to make a short digression because I have now been able to check the semi-official "Nachtrag zur Dienstaltersliste" compiled by Rudolf Absolon in 1962. He claims that it is based "ausschließlich auf amtliche Quellen wie Personalveränderungen, -nachweise, -karteien und Fernschreiben des OKH/PA". Absolon also was the one who assigned missing Ordnungsnummern "nach den üblichen Grundsätzen". Nevertheless, I have already discovered several errors on the list, so we have to remain cautious.

After comparing my previous considerations in this thread with Absolon, the results are as follows:
1.) Full generals, RDA 01.01.1945 - identical
2.) Full generals, RDA 30.01.1945 - identical (including Winter, whose case will be adressed later)
3.) Full generals, RDA 01.03.1945 - identical, but with (allegedly original) Ordnungsnummern of 2-8
4.) General Jauer, RDA 15.03.1945 - Absolon (wrongly, IMO) assumes he had a RDA of 16 March
5.) Full generals, RDA 16.03.1945 - Absolon lists Jauer instead of Fangohr
6.) Full generals, RDA 01.04.1945 - identical, but with (allegedly original) Ordnungsnummern for Gareis (2) and Schwerin (3)
7.) Full generals, RDA 20.04.1945 - Absolon lists Fangohr instead of Hauck

We have documentary evidence showing that Hauck was indeed promoted. On Fangohr, his promotion was issued late (maybe mit Wirkung vom 20.04.1945), but an Orderanweisung shows that his RDA was 16.03.1945. In all those three cases (Jauer, Fangohr, Hauck), I would assume that Absolon was wrong.

8.) GL, RDA 01.01.1945 - identical
9.) GL, RDA 30.01.1945 - identical, but with (allegedly original) Ordnungsnummern for Junck (4a) and Bentivegni (6)
10.) GL, RDA 01.03.1945 - identical, but with (allegedly original) Ordnungsnummern of 2-7
11.) GL, RDA 16.03.1945 - Absolon does not list Polack and König, but (allegedly original) Ordnungsnummern for Mikosch (1) and Rintelen (2)
12.) GL, RDA 01.04.1945 - identical
13.) GL, RDA 20.04.1945 - Absolon does not list Winkler, Ruff, Henrici, Wentzell, Hölter, Meyer, Jank, Verhein, Lang and Reuter

My impression is that Absolon did either not have information on several last-minute promotions or considered them as unconfirmed.

As I said, Absolon assigned hypothetical Ordnungsnummern to each officer (he marked those with square brackets). I only noted those cases in which round brackets indicate "original" Ordnungsnummern, but I can't imagine where Absolon took them from. I don't trust them because one error will derail the whole count.

Soon more on the Generalmajore.
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Re: The Generals of 1945

#43

Post by askropp » 05 Oct 2018, 18:30

14.) GM, RDA 01.01.1945 - identical
15.) GM, RDA 30.01.1945 - Absolon gives (allegedly original) Ordnungsnummern for Conze (14a), Ahlfen (14b), Gonell (17a), Bechler (19a), Seidel (21a), Kirschner (21b), Bleckwenn (22a) and Weber (24a). More important, he also lists Jakwerth (6a) and Dahme (7a) as confirmed. Both were Nachschub officers for whom no Karteikarten are known to me. If anybody knows anything about them, please let me know!
16.) GM, RDA 01.03.1945 - Absolon gives (allegedly original) Ordnungsnummern for Boltenstern (2a), Knebel (8a), Kühl (10), Dempwolff (10a), Kurz (10b), Geißler (11), Haas (11a), Barde (12), Schulte-Heuthaus (13), Schmidt (14), Möckel (15), Laegeler (15a), Groeben (15b), Wulf (15c), Göbel (16), Demme (17), Müller-Hillebrand (17a), Lauchert (17b) and Ewert (18). Knebel is definitely wrong.
17.) GM, RDA 16.03.1945 - Consequently, Absolon does not list Knebel here (who was long dead anyway)
18.) GM, RDA 01.04.1945 - Absolon gives (allegedly original) Ordnungsnummern for Hillebrandt (3), Neßlinger (4), Dewitz (9), Klockenbring (10), Strahammer (14), Hax (15), Kretschmer (16), Voigtsberger (17) and Behr (18). He lists Jolas (1), Brüning (2), Bodecker (5), Strohmaier (6), Adam (7), Heisig (8), Pühringer (11) and Nordheim (12) as confirmed, but not Hampe and Völker.
19.) GM Behrend, RDA 17.04.1945 - identical
20.) GM, RDA 20.04.1945 (planmäßig) - Absolon lists Enke, Bulcke, Mayer and Fox as confirmed and gives (allegedly original) Ordnungsnummern of 1-8 for all officers.
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Re: The Generals of 1945

#44

Post by askropp » 07 Oct 2018, 12:21

Generale mit RDA vom 20.04.1945 (Teil 4)

Generalmajore (bevorzugte Beförderungen)
Hubert Ritter von Heigl
Emanuel von Kiliani - Order Nr. 1272
Robert Bader
Bruno Schatz - Order Nr. 1265
Georg Scholze - Order Nr. 1277
Hans Kohlsdorfer
Karl-Richard Koßmann - Order Nr. 1275
Rudolf Langhaeuser - Order Nr. 1262
Gerhard Lindner - Order Nr. 1268
Maximilian Roßkopf - Order Nr. 1284
Ernst Merk
Curt-Ulrich von Gersdorff
Rolf Scherenberg - Order Nr. 1276
Karl Klotz - Order Nr. 1238
Ivo-Thilo von Trotha - Order Nr. 1231
Friedrich Holzhäuer
Werner Neumann - Order Nr. 1267
Johann Steets - Order Nr. 1274
Max Lemke
Erhard Berner - Order Nr. 1271
Bernhard Ueberschär - Order Nr. 1261
Hinrich Warrelmann - Order Nr. 1266
Willy Langkeit - Order Nr. 1273
Ottomar Hansen
Josef Rauch - Order Nr. 1281
Ernst Biehler
Friedrich Drescher
Walter Scheunemann

Erich Bärenfänger

Generalmajor d.R.
Gerd von Below - Order Nr. 1279

And, of course, we have a whole bunch of unconfirmed claims listed below (note that none of those officers are listed by Absolon): Wilhelm Zuber, Siegfried Heine, Hellmuth Dorn, Volkmar Schöne, Theodor Pilling, Ottomar Babel, Carl Stollbrock, Gustav Tigör, Hans Meiser, Gustav Knabe, Lothar Berger, Max Stiotta (Edler von Hockenjos), Max Schirmeister, Werner Frotscher, Alfred Kuhnert, Dietrich Beelitz, Fritz von Arnim, Fritz Fullriede, Walter Drück, Horst von Usedom, Ernst Klasing, Fritz Poleck, Johannes Hölz, Franz Bäke (d.R.) and Helmuth von Ilsemann (z.V.)
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Re: The Generals of 1945

#45

Post by Stauffenberg II » 07 Oct 2018, 13:01

Thanks for the hard and excellent work.

Just want to share gravestone pics of Hellmuth Dorn:

https://ww2gravestone.com/people/dorn-hellmuth/

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