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Wilhelm Schmalz
__NOTOC__ Wilhelm Schmalz (1 March 1901 – 14 March 1983) was a German general (Generalleutnant) in the Wehrmacht during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Schmalz surrendered to the American troops in May 1945. Schmalz was tried and acquitted of war crimes by a court in Rome on 12 July 1950. This included the Civitella in Val di Chiana massacre on 29 June 1944 where 146 civilians were murdered by soldiers of the Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Göring. . Awards and decorations * Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (14 September 1939) & 1st Class (16 October 1939)Thomas 1998, p. 262. * German Cross in Gold on 8 February 1942 as '' Major'' in Kradschützen-Bataillon 59 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves ** Knight's Cross on 28 November 1940 as ''Major'' and commander of I./Kavallerie-Schützen-Regiment 11 ** 358th Oak Leaves on 23 December 1943 as ''Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field offic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landsberg, Saxony-Anhalt
Landsberg is a town in the Saalekreis in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Geography The town is located between the cities of Halle, about in the southwest, Leipzig, about in the southeast, and Bitterfeld-Wolfen, about in the north. Located in the Leipzig Bay of the North German Plain, Landsberg lies within the larger Leipzig-Halle agglomeration in the Central German Metropolitan Region. The municipal area immediately borders the independent city of Halle in the southwest and the Nordsachsen district of Saxony in the southeast. After several incorporations in recent years, it currently comprises 11 localities (''Ortschaften''):Hauptsatzung der Stadt Landsberg January 2020. * |
Operation Diadem
Operation Diadem, also referred to as the Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino or, in Canada, the Battle of the Liri Valley, was an offensive operation undertaken by the Allies of World War II (U.S. Fifth Army and British Eighth Army) in May 1944, as part of the Italian Campaign of World War II. ''Diadem'' was supported by air attacks called Operation Strangle. The opposing force was the German 10th Army. The object of ''Diadem'' was to break the German defenses on the Gustav Line (the western half of the Winter Line) and open up the Liri Valley, the main route to Rome. General Sir Harold Alexander, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies in Italy, planned ''Diadem'' to coordinate roughly with the invasion of Normandy, so that German forces would be tied down in Italy, and could not be redeployed to France. Four corps were employed in the attack. From right to left these were the Polish II Corps and the British XIII Corps, of the Eighth Army, and the French Corps (including Morocca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ground Assault Badge Of The Luftwaffe
The Ground Assault Badge of the Luftwaffe (german: Erdkampfabzeichen der Luftwaffe) was a World War II German military decoration awarded to Luftwaffe personnel for achievement in ground combat. It was instituted on 31 March 1942 by the commander-in-chief () Hermann Göring. The badge, designed by the graphic and textile artist Sigmund von Weech (1888-1982), features an oak leaf wreath with at its apex a Luftwaffe eagle, grasping a swastika, flying above a storm cloud, from which a centered positioned lightning bolt strikes trough ground. The general criteria for its presentation was the participation in three separate combat operations on separate days. Luftwaffe soldiers who had already been awarded combat recognition badges of the ''Heer'' (German Army), such as the General Assault Badge or the Infantry Assault Badge The Infantry Assault Badge () was a German military decoration awarded to Waffen-SS and ''Wehrmacht Heer'' soldiers during the Second World War. This decorat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Front Medal
The Eastern Medal (german: Ostmedaille), officially the Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal (german: Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42, links=no), was a military award of the ''Wehrmacht'' which was created by ordinance of Adolf Hitler on 26 May 1942. The Eastern Medal was awarded to any member of the ''Wehrmacht'' and ''Waffen-SS'' "in recognition of experience in the struggle against the Bolshevik enemy and the Russian winter within the period from to ." It was also awarded posthumously to any service member who died in the line of duty within the Soviet Union. It was wryly called the ''Frozen Meat Medal'' or the "Order of the Frozen Flesh" (german: Gefrierfleischorden). Criteria ''Wehrmacht'' personnel qualified for the Eastern Medal after a minimum of 14 days in active combat; 30 air combat sorties; 60 days continuous of service in a combat zone; being wounded or suffering a "frozen limb", severe enough to warrant the issue of a Wound Badge, and it could be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia established it on 17 March 1813 during the Napoleonic Wars (EK 1813). The award was backdated to the birthday (10 March) of his late wife, Queen Louise. Louise was the first person to receive this decoration (posthumously). Recommissioned Iron Cross was also awarded during the Franco-Prussian War (EK 1870), World War I (EK 1914), and World War II (EK 1939). During the 1930s and World War II, the Nazi regime superimposed a swastika on the traditional medal. The Iron Cross was usually a military decoration only, though there were instances awarded to civilians for performing military functions, including Hanna Reitsch, who received the Iron Cross, 2nd class, and Iron Cross, 1st Class, and Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg, who receiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Civitella In Val Di Chiana Massacre
Civitella, a diminutive of ''Civita'' ("city"), is the name of over a dozen towns in Italy: ''Comuni'' * Civitella Alfedena, in the province of L'Aquila * Civitella Casanova, in the province of Pescara * Civitella d'Agliano, in the province of Viterbo * Civitella del Tronto, in the province of Teramo * Civitella di Romagna, in the province of Forlì-Cesena * Civitella in Val di Chiana, in the province of Arezzo * Civitella Messer Raimondo, in the province of Chieti * Civitella Paganico, in the province of Grosseto * Civitella Roveto, in the province of L'Aquila * Civitella San Paolo, in the province of Rome ''Frazioni'' * Civitella Benazzone, of Perugia in the province of Perugia * Civitella Cesi, of Blera in the province of Viterbo * Civitella del Lago, of Baschi in the province of Terni * Civitella Licinio, of Cusano Mutri in the province of Benevento * Civitella Marittima, of Civitella Paganico in the province of Grosseto ; Localities * Civitella (Casacalenda), a locality ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
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- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knight's Cross Of The Iron Cross With Oak Leaves
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] |
Battle Of Bautzen (1945)
The Battle of Bautzen (or Battle of Budziszyn, April 1945) was one of the last battles of the Eastern Front during World War II. It was fought on the extreme southern flank of the Spremberg-Torgau Offensive, seeing days of pitched street fighting between forces of the Polish Second Army under elements of the Soviet 52nd Army and 5th Guards Army on one side and elements of German Army Group Center in the form of the remnants of the 4th Panzer and 17th armies on the other. The battle took place during Ivan Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front's push toward Berlin, which was part of the larger Soviet Berlin Offensive. The battle was fought in the town of Bautzen ( hsb, Budyšin) ( pl, Budziszyn) and the rural areas to the northeast situated primarily along the Bautzen–Niesky line. Major combat began on 21 April 1945 and continued until 26 April, although isolated engagements continued to take place until 30 April. The Polish Second Army under Karol Świerczewski suffered heavy lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heiligenbeil Pocket
The Heiligenbeil Pocket or Heiligenbeil Cauldron (german: Kessel von Heiligenbeil) was the site of a major encirclement battle on the Eastern Front during the closing weeks of World War II, in which the Wehrmacht's 4th Army was almost entirely destroyed during the Soviet Braunsberg Offensive Operation (13–22 March 1945). The pocket was located near Heiligenbeil in East Prussia in eastern Germany (now Mamonovo, Kaliningrad Oblast), and the battle, part of a broader Soviet offensive into the region of East Prussia, lasted from 26 January until 29 March 1945. Attack on East Prussia The Red Army's East Prussian Operation commenced on 13 January 1945 with the objective of rolling up the substantial German defences in East Prussia and cutting off the provincial capital of Königsberg. The Soviet forces were opposed by the German Army Group Centre, including the Fourth Army, under the command of General Friedrich Hossbach. While the 3rd Belorussian Front initially met strong r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
