__NOTOC__ Gottfried von Erdmannsdorff (25 April 1893 – 30 January 1946) was a German general during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was convicted by a Soviet military tribunal for war crimes at the

Minsk Trial The Minsk Trial was a war crimes trial held in front of a Soviet military tribunal in 1946 in Minsk, the capital of Soviet Belarus. Defendants included German military, police, and SS officials who were responsible for implementing the occupation ...

and executed in 1946.

Fortress Mogilev

On 27 June 1944 Soviet troops managed to push forward and make a deep breakthrough north of

Mogilev Mogilev (russian: Могилёв, Mogilyov, ; yi, מאָלעוו, Molev, ) or Mahilyow ( be, Магілёў, Mahilioŭ, ) is a city in eastern Belarus, on the Dnieper River, about from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from the bor ...

by crossing the

Dnieper River } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...

over a bridge at Trebuchi. The 4th Army dispatched a message to General Erdmannsdorff that

be held as a "fortified position" and ordered him to hold the town until the very last man. The 4th Army retreated the

XXXIX Panzer Corps The XXXIX Panzer Corps (german: XXXIX.Panzerkorps, also previously designated the ''XXXIX.Armeekorps (mot)'') was a German panzer corps which saw action on the Western and Eastern Fronts during World War II. Operational history The Corps whose ...

and the XII Army Corps a full 21km west of Mogilev, leaving the town to its fate against the overwhelming Soviet attacks. Later in the evening General Erdmannsdorff reported that German forces had been weakened and the Soviets had started to reach the edge of the city. Only 2 hours and 40 minutes later General Erdmannsdorff stated that the only part of the city still under his control was the city center and hand to hand combat was starting to take place. The last radio message that was received from Mogilev was at 11 O'clock in the evening and it was Lieutenant General

Rudolf Bamler Rudolf Bamler (6 May 1896 – 13 March 1972) was a German general during World War II. Although Bamler was a member of the Nazi Party he would later serve as a leading member of the East German security forces. Early life Bamler was born in Oster ...

the commanding officer of the 12th Infantry Division requesting that Captain Opke of Artillery Regiment 12 should receive the Oak leaves of the Knights Cross for "outstanding military exploits".

Minsk Trial

After the Soviet troops defeated "Fortress Mogilev" General Erdmannsdorff was captured by Soviet troops. He was tried by a Soviet tribunal (the

) for crimes committed in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

along with 18 other defendants, 14 of whom, including Erdmannsdorff, were sentenced to death on 29 January 1946. The officers were hanged in public (with over 100,000 civilian spectators) in the horse racing venue of Minsk, on 30 January 1946. He was the younger brother of

General der Infanterie General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imper ...

Werner von Erdmannsdorff __NOTOC__ Werner von Erdmannsdorff (27 July 1891 – 5 June 1945) was a general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He was married to Helene ''née'' von Tschirsky und Bögendorff (18 ...

.Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, ''Adelige Häuser A'' Band XXVII, Band 132 der Gesamtreihe, C. A. Starke Verlag, Limburg (Lahn) 2003, p. 318–319

Awards and decorations

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' ...

on 20 March 1942 as ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

'' and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 171Fellgiebel 2000, p. 147.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Erdmannsdorff, Gottfried Von 1893 births 1946 deaths People from Kamenz People from the Kingdom of Saxony Major generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) German Army personnel of World War I Reichswehr personnel Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union Executed people from Saxony Executed military leaders Military personnel from Saxony 20th-century Freikorps personnel Nazis executed by the Soviet Union by hanging People executed for war crimes