Karl Strecker
Karl Strecker (20 September 1884 – 10 April 1973) was a German general during World War II who commanded several army corps on the Eastern Front. A career military and police professional, he fought in World War I and then served in the paramilitary Security Police of the Weimar Republic. Strecker welcomed the rise of Hitler and found favor with the regime, earning rapid promotions in the armed forces of Nazi Germany, the Wehrmacht. Strecker commanded the German Army's XI Army Corps in the Battle of Stalingrad and was the last German general to surrender his command in the city. He spent twelve years in Soviet captivity before being released in 1955. Early life and World War I He was born in Radmannsdorf, West Prussia to a Prussian Army officer. A lifelong and devoted evangelical Christian, Strecker wanted to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and become a priest but the financial hardship that followed his father's suicide forced him to instead attend a state-funded mil ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Trzebiełuch
Trzebiełuch is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Stolno, within Chełmno County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It lies north-east of Stolno, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Stolno, east of Chełmno, and north of Toruń. It is located in Chełmno Land within the historic region of Pomerania. Transport The Polish National roads in Poland, National road 55 passes through the village, and the A1 autostrada (Poland), A1 motorway runs nearby, east of the village. Notable residents *Karl Strecker (1884-1973), Wehrmacht general References Villages in Chełmno County {{Chełmno-geo-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Knight's Cross Of The Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight's Cross was awarded for a wide range of reasons and across all ranks, from a senior commander for skilled leadership of his troops in battle to a low-ranking soldier for a single act of military valour. Presentations were made to members of the three military branches of the : the (army), the (navy) and the (air force), as well as the , the Reich Labour Service and the (German People storm militia), along with personnel from other Axis powers. The award was instituted on 1 September 1939, at the onset of the German invasion of Poland. The award was created to replace the many older merit and bravery neck awards of the German Empire. A higher grade, the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross, was instituted in 1940. In 1941, two higher grades ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Battle Of Tannenberg
The Battle of Tannenberg, also known as the Second Battle of Tannenberg, was fought between Russia and Germany between 26 and 30 August 1914, the first month of World War I. The battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russian Second Army and the suicide of its commanding general, Alexander Samsonov. A series of follow-up battles ( First Masurian Lakes) destroyed most of the First Army as well and kept the Russians off balance until the spring of 1915. The battle is particularly notable for fast rail movements by the German Eighth Army, enabling them to concentrate against each of the two Russian armies in turn, first delaying the First Army and then destroying the Second before once again turning on the First days later. It is also notable for the failure of the Russians to encode their radio messages, broadcasting their daily marching orders in the clear, which allowed the Germans to make their movements with the confidence they would not be flanked. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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8th Army (German Empire)
The 8th Army (german: 8. Armee / Armeeoberkommando 8 / A.O.K. 8) was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It was formed on mobilization in August 1914 from the I Army Inspectorate. The army was dissolved on 29 September 1915, but reformed on 30 December 1915. It was finally disbanded in 1919 during demobilization after the war. History On mobilisation in August 1914, the 8th Army Headquarters was formed in Posen to command troops stationed in East Prussia to defend against the expected Russian attack, Plan XIX. Initially, the Army commanded the following formations: Concerned by the defeat at Gumbinnen and the continued advance of the Russian Second Army from the south, Prittwitz ordered a retreat to the Vistula, effectively abandoning East Prussia. When he heard of this, Helmuth von Moltke, the German Army Chief of Staff, recalled Prittwitz and his deputy to Berlin. They were replaced by Paul von Hindenburg, called out of retirement, with Erich Lude ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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XX Corps (German Empire)
The XX Army Corps / XX AK (german: XX. Armee-Korps) was a corps level command of the German Army before and during World War I. As the German Army expanded in the later part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century, the XX Army Corps was set up on 1 October 1912 in Allenstein as the ''Generalkommando'' ( headquarters) for the southern part of East Prussia. It took over command of 37th Division from I Corps and the newly formed 41st Division. General der Artillerie Friedrich von Scholtz, former commander of 21st Division, took command. It was assigned to the I Army Inspectorate. which became the 8th Army at the start of the First World War. XX Corps served on the Eastern Front from the start of the war. In September 1915, the corps was upgraded to form ''Armee-Gruppe'' Scholtz, later ''Armee-Abteilung'' Scholtz, as part of the Army of the Niemen. It was reformed from Armee-Abteilung D in September 1918. It was dissolved after the war. Peacetime organ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Adjutant
Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commissioned officer rank similar to a staff sergeant or warrant officer but is not equivalent to the role or appointment of an adjutant. An adjutant general is commander of an army's administrative services. Etymology Adjutant comes from the Latin ''adiutāns'', present participle of the verb ''adiūtāre'', frequentative form of ''adiuvāre'' 'to help'; the Romans actually used ''adiūtor'' for the noun. Military and paramilitary appointment In various uniformed hierarchies, the term is used for number of functions, but generally as a principal aide to a commanding officer. A regimental adjutant, garrison adjutant etc. is a staff officer who assists the commanding officer of a regiment, battalion or garrison in the details of regimental, g ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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41st Division (German Empire)
The 41st Division (''41. Division'') was a unit of the Prussian/German Army. It was established on October 1, 1912, in Deutsch Eylau (now Iława, Poland). The division was subordinated in peacetime to the XX Army Corps (''XX. Armeekorps''). The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. It was mainly recruited in the Prussian province of West Prussia. Pre-World War I organization The organization of the 37th Division in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I, was as follows: *72. Infanterie-Brigade **Infanterie-Regiment von Grolmann (1. Posensches) Nr. 18 **Infanterie-Regiment Freiherr Hiller von Gaertringen (4. Posensches) Nr. 59 *74. Infanterie-Brigade **5. Westpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 148 **Deutsch Ordens-Infanterie-Regiment (1. Elsässisches) Nr. 152 *41. Kavallerie-Brigade **Kürassier-Regiment Herzog Friedrich Eugen von Württemberg (Westpreußisches) Nr. 5 **Ulanen-Regiment von Schmidt (1. Pommersc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Junker
Junker ( da, Junker, german: Junker, nl, Jonkheer, en, Yunker, no, Junker, sv, Junker ka, იუნკერი (Iunkeri)) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German ''Juncherre'', meaning "young nobleman"Duden; Meaning of Junker, in German/ref> or otherwise "young lord" (derivation of ''jung'' and ''Herr''). The term is traditionally used throughout the German-speaking, Dutch-speaking and Scandinavian-speaking parts of Europe. It was also used in the Russian Empire due to Baltic German influence, up until the Russian Revolution. The term is currently still in use by the Georgian Defense Forces for student officers of the National Defence Academy. Honorific title In Brandenburg, the ''Junker'' was originally one of the members of the higher ''Edelfrei'' ( immediate) nobility without or before the accolade. It evolved to a general denotation of a young or lesser noble, sometimes politically insignificant, understood as "country squire". Martin Luther disguised h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Koszalin
Koszalin (pronounced ; csb, Kòszalëno; formerly german: Köslin, ) is a city in northwestern Poland, in Western Pomerania. It is located south of the Baltic Sea coast, and intersected by the river Dzierżęcinka. Koszalin is also a county-status city and capital of Koszalin County of West Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999. Previously, it was a capital of Koszalin Voivodeship (other), Koszalin Voivodeship (1950–1998). The current mayor of Koszalin is Piotr Jedliński. History Middle Ages According to the Medieval Wielkopolska Chronicle, Chronicle of Greater Poland (''Kronika Wielkopolska'') Koszalin was one of the Pomeranians (Slavic tribe), Pomeranian cities captured and subjugated by Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth of Poland in 1107 (other towns included Kołobrzeg, Kamień Pomorski, Kamień and Wolin). Afterwards, in the 12th century the area became part of the House of Griffin, Griffin-ruled Duchy of Pomerania, a vassal state of Kingdom of Poland (1025-1385), Pol ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Evangelical Church In Germany
The Evangelical Church in Germany (german: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated EKD) is a federation of twenty Lutheranism, Lutheran, Continental Reformed church, Reformed (Calvinism, Calvinist) and united and uniting churches, United (e.g. Prussian Union of churches, Prussian Union) Protestantism, Protestant Landeskirche, regional churches and Christian denomination, denominations in Germany, which collectively encompasses the vast majority of Protestants in that country. In 2020, the EKD had a membership of 20,236,000 members, or 24.3% of the German population. It constitutes List of the largest Protestant churches, one of the largest national Protestant bodies in the world. Church offices managing the federation are located in Herrenhausen, Hannover-Herrenhausen, Lower Saxony. Many of its members consider themselves Lutherans. Historically, the first formal attempt to unify German Protestantism occurred during the Weimar Republic era in the form of the German Evangeli ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previously used term and was the manifestation of the Nazi regime's efforts to rearm Germany to a greater extent than the Treaty of Versailles permitted. After the Nazi rise to power in 1933, one of Adolf Hitler's most overt and audacious moves was to establish the ''Wehrmacht'', a modern offensively-capable armed force, fulfilling the Nazi régime's long-term goals of regaining lost territory as well as gaining new territory and dominating its neighbours. This required the reinstatement of conscription and massive investment and defense spending on the arms industry. The ''Wehrmacht'' formed the heart of Germany's politico-military power. In the early part of the Second World War, the ''Wehrmacht'' employed combined arms tactics (close-cover ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a dictatorship. Under Hitler's rule, Germany quickly became a totalitarian state where nearly all aspects of life were controlled by the government. The Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", alluded to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the earlier Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which Hitler and the Nazis referred to as the Thousand-Year Reich, ended in May 1945 after just 12 years when the Allies defeated Germany, ending World War II in Europe. On 30 January 1933, Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany, the head of gove ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |