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Johannes Streich (16 April 1891 – 20 August 1977) was a German general in 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 previo ...
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 opposing ...
who commanded the
5th Light Division The 21st Panzer Division was a German armoured division best known for its role in the battles of the North African Campaign from 1941–1943 during World War II when it was one of the two armoured divisions making up the Deutsches Afrikakorps ...
during the early stages of the North African Campaign. Sacked for his poor performance during the Siege of Tobruk, he later briefly commanded the 16th Motorised Infantry Division during the advance on Moscow. A veteran of
World War I 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 ...
, he was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.


Early life

Born in Augustenburg on 16 April 1891, Streich joined the army of
Imperial Germany The German Empire (), Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditar ...
as an ''Fahnen-junker'' (officer cadet) in 1911 after completing his schooling. He was commissioned into the 2nd Railroad Regiment, stationed at Berlin-Schöneberg and operating the
Royal Prussian Military Railway The Royal Prussian Military Railway (German: ''Königlich Preußische Militär-Eisenbahn''), also called the ''Königliche Militär-Eisenbahn'' (Royal Military Railway, KME), was a Prussian state railway, operated by the army, between Schöneberg ...
, as a ''
leutnant () is the lowest Junior officer rank in the armed forces the German-speaking of Germany (Bundeswehr), Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High Ge ...
'' (second lieutenant) two years later. During World War I, he served on both the
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
and Eastern Fronts and was awarded the
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 es ...
, both 1st and 2nd classes. He ended the war as an '' oberleutnant'' (first lieutenant) and company commander.


Interwar period

Streich was retained in the postwar ''
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 reshape ...
'' (Imperial Defence) and, having developed an interest in motorized warfare, in 1921 was based in Hannover as a commander of motor transport company. 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 ...
'' (captain) two years later. By 1930 he was an advisor in the Army Ordnance Office and played a role in the development of armoured vehicles including the
Panzer I The Panzer I was a light tank produced in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Its name is short for ( German for " armored fighting vehicle mark I"), abbreviated as . The tank's official German ordnance inventory designation was '' Sd.Kfz. 10 ...
tank. He took command of 15th Panzer Regiment in 1935, having been promoted ''
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 Swedi ...
'' (lieutenant colonel). His new command was part of 8th Panzer Brigade, 5th Panzer Division, and was part of the force that occupied the Sudetenland in 1938. As a regimental commander, Streich had difficult relationships with two of his battalion commanders. By early 1939, tensions had escalated to the point where Streich's divisional commander had to resolve the situation by moving the two junior officers to new roles with other units.


World War II

Streich's 15th Panzer Regiment played only a minor role in the
Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
but was more prominent in the Battle of France the following year. It was involved in the encirclement of French forces at Lille and then the
Battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk (french: Bataille de Dunkerque, link=no) was fought around the French port of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle of France on t ...
. After the British evacuation, the regiment made for the Seine and then onto Rouen. At one stage, Streich had a dispute with '' Generalmajor'' Erwin Rommel, whose 7th Panzer Division was operating nearby, over some bridging equipment. His regiment ended the French campaign near the Spanish border having made 20,000 French and British soldiers prisoners of war. He would be awarded the Knight's Cross for his regiment's capture of
Veules-les-Roses Veules-les-Roses () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography Veules-les-Roses is a tourism and farming village situated on the coast of the English Channel in the Pays de Caux, some sout ...
while it was in the process of being evacuated. Streich's panzers overran the town during a night attack and captured thousands of prisoners including two brigade commanders and the French division commander Général Durant. In early 1941, Streich was given command of the 5th Panzer Brigade,
4th Panzer Division The 4th Panzer Division ( en, 4th Tank Division) was an armored division in the Army of Nazi Germany. In World War II, it participated in the 1939 invasion of Poland, the 1940 invasion of France, and the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. It ...
. Shortly afterwards he was promoted to ''generalmajor'' and was appointed commander of the
5th Light Division The 21st Panzer Division was a German armoured division best known for its role in the battles of the North African Campaign from 1941–1943 during World War II when it was one of the two armoured divisions making up the Deutsches Afrikakorps ...
.


North Africa

The 5th Light Division was still in the process of being formed and was only activated on 18 February 1941. Shortly afterwards it was dispatched to Libya to join the newly formed
Afrika Korps The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...
, commanded by Rommel, now a ''
generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...
''. Although Streich arrived in the country in late February, his division was not complete until the following month. From 31 March, it was involved in Operation ''Sonnenblume'' (Operation Sunflower) and Streich's forces largely destroyed the British 2nd Armoured Division. Nonetheless, Rommel was not impressed with his leadership, considering him too cautious and slow in his advance. When Streich opposed orders to attack the town of
Mechili Mechili ( ar, المخيلي) is a small village in Cyrenaica, Libya and the site of a former Turkish fort. It is nearly east of Benghazi and west of Timimi. Geography Because of its location in the desert, Mechili suffered in the past from is ...
on 7 April on the grounds his division was not prepared, Rommel accused him of cowardice. The accusation was retracted when Streich threatened to return his Knight's Cross. As the advance moved onto
Tobruk Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near ...
, Streich continued to be conservative with the use of his forces and Rommel grew increasingly frustrated after attacks mounted on Tobruk on 12 and 13 April failed. Given a final chance to capture the port in early May, Streich failed again and Rommel relieved him of his command. Streich returned to Germany and ''
Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German ''Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. The rank was ...
'' Franz Halder, the head of the ''
Oberkommando des Heeres The (; abbreviated OKH) was the high command of the Army of Nazi Germany. It was founded in 1935 as part of Adolf Hitler's rearmament of Germany. OKH was ''de facto'' the most important unit within the German war planning until the defeat at ...
'' (OKH) and an acquaintance from his time at the Army Ordnance Office, soon found him a new assignment on the Eastern Front.


Eastern Front

Originally a commander of a battle group during
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
, Streich was soon given command of the 16th Motorised Infantry Division when its commanding officer, ''Generalleutnant'' Sigfrid Henrici, fell ill. At the time, it was engaged in the Battle of Kiev before being transferred to ''Generaloberst''
Heinz Guderian Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German general during World War II who, after the war, became a successful memoirist. An early pioneer and advocate of the "blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in th ...
's
2nd Panzer Army The 2nd Panzer Army (german: 2. Panzerarmee) was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 2nd Panzer Group on October 5, 1941. Organisation Panzer Group Guderian (german: Panzergruppe Guderian) was formed on 5 June 19 ...
to participate in the advance on Moscow. He was soon criticised by Guderian for the division's slow pace and when Henrici recovered his health and resumed command of the division in November 1941, Streich was returned to Germany.


Later life

After his return to Berlin, Streich was without a post for seven months until Halder made him inspector of mobile troops for OKH. This was not a significant role and nor was his following appointment, commander of Recruiting Area Breslau, in June 1943. He received a promotion to ''generalleutnant'' in October 1943. He was able to avoid the encirclement of Breslau by the Soviet Army in February 1945 and made his way to Berlin where he was made commander of that city's Recruiting Area. He evaded the Soviet Army when they captured Berlin and was able to surrender to the Allies in the west. Held as a prisoner of war for three years, he later lived in
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
and died there on 20 August 1977.


Notes

Footnotes Citations


References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Streich, Johannes 1891 births 1977 deaths Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) German Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German prisoners of war in World War II People from the Province of Schleswig-Holstein People from Sønderborg Municipality People from Augustenborg, Denmark