__NOTOC__ Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben (30 October 1894 – 18 June 1964) 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 previous ...

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 ...

Biography

Schlieben 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 ...

in August 1914 and served during

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 served as a regimental commander with the 1st Panzer Division during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

in 1940. He then served as a Brigade Commander with the

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 ...

on the Eastern Front, from June 1942. The division was destroyed by February 1943 during the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...

. Schlieben then commanded the 208th Infantry Division remaining on the Eastern Front. Courrier de l'air cherbourg liberee

In April 1943, he took command of the

18th Panzer Division The 18th Panzer Division (german: 18. Panzer-Division) was a German World War II armoured division that fought on the Eastern Front from 1941 until its disbandment in 1943. Formation The 18th Panzer Division was formed on 26 October 1940 at ...

which was deployed on the Eastern Front and was disbanded after the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history. ...

. In December 1943, he was assigned the command of the 709th Static Infantry Division based in Normandy, France. Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2005-0136, Trent Park Camp, deutsche Offiziere

Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2005-0136, Trent Park Camp, deutsche Offiziere

The unit was used for occupation duties in France. The division was on the Normandy coast when the invasion took place, and thus fought in the early days of the Battle of Normandy, quickly becoming trapped in the Cotentin. As U.S. forces sealed off the Peninsula, the remnants of the Division fell back on Cherbourg. On 23 June 1944, Schlieben was appointed Commandant of

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

, which the German high Command had designated as a 'fortress'. Three days later von Schlieben and over 800 other troops surrendered to Major General Manton S. Eddy the Commander of the

U.S. 9th Infantry Division The 9th Infantry Division ("Old Reliables") is an inactive infantry division of the United States Army. It was created as the 9th Division during World War I, but never deployed overseas. In later years, it would become an important unit of the U ...

. He was held at

Trent Park Trent Park is an English country house, together with its former extensive grounds, in north London. The original great house and a number of statues and other structures located within the grounds (such as the Orangery) are Grade II listed b ...

before he was transferred to

Island Farm Island Farm, also called Camp 198, was a prisoner of war camp on the outskirts of the town of Bridgend, South Wales. It hosted a number of Axis prisoners, mainly German, and was the scene of the largest escape attempt by German POWs in Britain d ...

on 9 August 1945. He was released on 7 October 1947. Schlieben died on 18 June 1964 in

Gießen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...

Sources

* Gordon A.Harrison, ''Cross Channel Attack'' * Jorge Rosado & Chris Bishop, ''German Wehrmacht Panzer Divisions'' * John Keegan, ''Six Armies in Normandy'' * '' De Wervelwind'' 3(22) June–July 1944 - Dutch war time propaganda newspaper {{DEFAULTSORT:Schlieben, Karl-Wilhelm Von 1894 births 1964 deaths People from Eisenach German Army personnel of World War I Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) German nobility Von Schlieben family German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States 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 People from Saxe-Eisenach Military personnel from Thuringia