Karl Decker (30 November 1897 – 21 April 1945) was a 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 ...
of
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 ...
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 ...
who committed suicide in the
Ruhr Pocket on 21 April 1945. He was a recipient of the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
Military career
Karl Decker was born on 30 November 1897 as son to an officer in
Borntin in
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
. He joined the military service on 3 August 1914 and first saw action in
East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
. He was promoted to an officer candidate for bravery before the enemy and also 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 est ...
(1914) 2nd Class. Decker was again promoted in 1915 to ''Leutnant'' and shortly afterwards received the Iron Cross 1st Class. That same year, he fought in Poland, Russia and Courland (now
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
) He then served as ''
Zugführer'' (platoon leader) of a
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
unit after he was transferred to the ''Feldkriegsschule'' of the German 8th Army in 1916. He was transferred to the Western Front in the spring of 1917 and fought in the
Battle of Lys where his division suffered heavy casualties. He then held the position of battalion adjutant. During 1918, he was assigned to the Infantry School in
Döberitz as a weapons instructor.
After the capitulation of the
German Empire
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 hereditary ...
, Decker was accepted into 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 ...
in 1920 and served with the 29th Reserve ''Jäger'' Regiment, the 5th ''Jäger'' Regiment and the 6th cavalry Regiment. He was promoted to ''
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 ...
'' and ''
Rittmeister'' during these assignments. As a
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
, he was transferred to the
staff of the 5th Cavalry Regiment together with
Horst Niemack
__NOTOC__
Horst Niemack (10 March 1909 – 7 April 1992) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Niemack later took command of the Panzer Le ...
. Shortly afterwards, he was reassigned again, this time to the 38th Armoured Detachment in
Mühlhausen
Mühlhausen () is a city in the north-west of Thuringia, Germany, north of Niederdorla, the country's geographical centre, north-west of Erfurt, east of Kassel and south-east of Göttingen.
Mühlhausen was first mentioned in 967 and bec ...
. He later became the commanding officer of this unit.
This unit was subordinated to the
2nd Panzer division
The 2nd Panzer Division ( en, 2nd Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army, the Heer, during World War II.
Created as one of the original three German tank divisions in 1935, it was stationed in Austria after the Anschluss an ...
during 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 ...
and fought under the command of Decker near
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
and the
Jablonka Pass. 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 ...
, Decker commanded a battalion of the 3rd Panzer regiment in the 2nd Panzer division. This unit fought at the
Maas, near
Sedan,
Saint-Quentin and
Abbeville.
In
Balkans Campaign, his regiment fought in
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, northern
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, occupied
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
and crossed the
Corinth Canal. Decker was put in command of 3rd Panzer regiment before
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 ...
began. In the spring of 1942, he was transferred to the staff of the
9th Army. In April 1943, he appointed commander of the
5th Panzer Division. He received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross on 4 May 1944 and promoted to
Generalleutnant.
Decker was appointed commander of 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 ...
that was attached to the
3rd Panzer Army
The 3rd Panzer Army (german: 3. Panzerarmee) was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 3rd Panzer Group on 1 January 1942.
3rd Panzer Group
The 3rd Panzer Group (german: Panzergruppe 3) was formed on 16 November ...
and promoted to ''General der Panzertruppe'' on 1 January 1945. After his unit was relocated to the Western Front, his corps fought the Americans at
Uelzen and in the
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
. Here the
5th Panzer Army
5th Panzer Army (german: 5. Panzerarmee) was the name of two different German armoured formations during World War II. The first of these was formed in 1942, during the North African campaign and surrendered to the Allies at Tunis in 1943. The a ...
was subordinated to
Army Group B. Decker committed suicide on 21 April 1945 after the defeat and encirclement of the Army Group in the
Ruhr Pocket in April.
Awards
*
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 est ...
(1914) 2nd Class (22 June 1915) & 1st Class (1 November 1916)
*
Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg (20 December 1917)
*
Wehrmacht Long Service Award 2nd Class (2 October 1936) & 1st Class (3 August 1939)
*
Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (27 September 1939) & 1st Class (20 November 1939)
*
Wound Badge
The Wound Badge (german: Verwundetenabzeichen) was a German military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was first awarded to soldiers of the German Army who were wounded during World War I. Between th ...
(1939) in Black (26 June 1940)
*
Eastern Front Medal (15 July 1942)
*
Panzer Badge in Bronze (2 November 1943)
*
German Cross in Gold on 1 August 1942 as ''
Oberst'' in the Panzer-Regiment 3
*
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
** Knight's Cross on 13 June 1941 and ''
Oberstleutnant'' and commander of the I./Panzer-Regiment 3
** Oak Leaves on 4 May 1944 as ''
Generalmajor
is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries.
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...
'' and commander of the 5. Panzer-Division
** Swords on 26 April 1945 (
posthumous) as ''
General der Panzertruppe
General der Panzertruppe () was a General of the branch OF8 rank of the German Army, introduced in 1935. A ''General der Panzertruppe'' was a Lieutenant General, above Major General (Generalleutnant), commanding a Panzer corps.
Rank and ran ...
'' and commanding general of the XXXIX. Panzerkorps
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Decker, Karl
1897 births
1945 deaths
People from Szczecinek County
People from the Province of Pomerania
Generals of Panzer Troops
German Army personnel of World War I
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 with Oak Leaves and Swords
German military personnel who committed suicide
Reichswehr personnel