Gerhard Glokke (26 November 18845 June 1944) was a German general.

Life

Born in Posen, he joined the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

on 1 March 1903 as a

Fahnenjunker ''Fahnenjunker'' (short Fhj or FJ, en, officer cadet; ) is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was establis ...

in 2 Lower Silesian Infantry Regiment Number 47. He was promoted to lieutenant on 19 August 1903 and from March 1908 until the end of February 1911 was the

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-commission ...

of its 1st battalion. He entered the

Prussian Staff College The Prussian Staff College, also Prussian War College (german: Preußische Kriegsakademie) was the highest military facility of the Kingdom of Prussia to educate, train, and develop general staff officers. Location It originated with the ''Ak ...

as an

oberleutnant () is the highest lieutenant officer rank in the German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. Austria Germany In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Trans ...

on 1 October 1912 but had to leave early on the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After mobilisation Glokke was initially a regimental adjutant to Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiments Nr. 46, formed by his original regiment. This was followed by a spell as adjutant to 17. Ersatz-Infanterie-Brigade and 22. Landwehr-Infanterie-Brigade. He was promoted to

hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...

on 28 November 1914 and from 6 November 1915 to 28 November 1916 he served as the representative to the general staff for 3rd Landwehr Division. He also briefly commanded 2nd Battalion of "Keith" Infantry Regiment (1st Upper Silesian) Nr. 22 in February 1916 before joining the staff of the

Army of the Bug The Army of the Bug (german: Bugarmee / Armeeoberkommando Bug / A.O.K. Bug) was an Field army, army level command of the German Empire, German German Army (German Empire), Army in World War I named for the Bug River. It was formed against Russi ...

. On 21 December 1916 he became chief of staff to 107 Infantry Division. After fighting on the Eastern Front his division was sent to the Western Front in mid November 1917, where it remained until the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

. After the Armistice and his return to Germany, Glokke returned to the "King Louis III of Bavaria" Infantry Regiment (2nd Lower Silesian) Nr. 47. In July 1919 he became company-commander in the Reichswehr-Schützen-Regiment 9 of the Provisional Reichswehr. The official formation of the

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

on 1 January 1921 included the 8th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment, of which Glokke was a company commander. From 1 November 1922 to 30 April 1923 he served on the staff of the regiment's 2nd Battalion in

Liegnitz Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 a ...

. He then served on the staff of the commander of the garrison at Glogau before time in 6th (Prussian) Artillery Regiment (from 1 June 1923) and with the commanding officer's staff at

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

(from 30 September 1926). During this time he was also promoted to major on 1 May 1924 (with seniority from 1 June 1923) and became a lecturer in tactics and military history at the Artillery School in

Jüterbog Jüterbog () is a historic town in north-eastern Germany, in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg. It is on the Nuthe river at the northern slope of the Fläming hill range, about southwest of Berlin. History The Slavic settlement of ' ...

. On 1 April 1928 he joined Gruppenkommando 2's staff at

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

then on 1 March 1919 promoted to

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

. From 1 October 1929 he commanded 2nd Battalion of 18th Infantry Regiment in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

and two years later was put in command of 16th Infantry Regiment in

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...

. On 1 February 1932 he was promoted to

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 ...

, on 1 October 1933 made 'Kommandant (Wehrgau-Befehlshaber)' of Münster and on 1 October 1934 promoted to major general. When the Reichswehr was converted into the

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 previous ...

on 15 October 1935 he dropped his previous title and was instead listed as commander of 16th Infantry Division.

Georg Tessin Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: People * George (given name) * G ...

: ''Deutsche Verbände und Truppen 1918–1939.'' Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1974, , S. 229–230. He became the first divisional commander of the Wehrmacht and on 1 October 1936 was promoted to lieutenant general. He handed over his command to

Gotthard Heinrici Gotthard Fedor August Heinrici (25 December 1886 – 10 December 1971) was a German general during World War II. Heinrici is considered as the premier defensive expert of the ''Wehrmacht''. His final command was Army Group Vistula, formed from t ...

on 12 October 1937 and then was assigned to VI Army Corps. He was made the Corps commander in chief on 26 August 1939, as well as commander of Military Area VI (Münster). He reached his final rank 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 ...

on 1 September 1940, almost a year after the outbreak of the

Second World War 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 ...

, and granted seniority in that rank on 1 December the same year. He was awarded the German Cross in Silver on 1 August 1943 and died on 5 June 1944 in Münster. He was buried in the Münster-Lauheide forest cemetery.

Bibliography

Dermot Bradley Diarmaid () is a masculine given name in the Irish language, which has historically been anglicized as Jeremiah or Jeremy, names with which it is etymologically unrelated. Earlier forms of the name include Diarmit and Diarmuit. Variations of the ...

, Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: ''Die Generale der Heeres 1921–1945. Die militärischen Werdegänge der Generale, sowie der Ärzte, Vetrinäre, Intendanten, Richter und Ministerialbeamten im Generalsrang.'' Band 4: ''Fleck–Gyldenfeldt.'' Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1996, , S. 310–311.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glokke, Gerhard 1884 births category:1944 deaths German Army generals of World War II Generals of Infantry (Wehrmacht) Major generals of the Reichswehr German Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Poznań Recipients of the German Cross