__NOTOC__ Karl Hans Maximilian von Le Suire (8 November 1898 – 18 June 1954) 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 ...

who commanded the

XXXXIX Mountain Corps XXXXIX Mountain Corps was a mountain corps of the German Army during World War II that participated in the invasion of Yugoslavia. In June 1941, it participated in Operation Barbarossa as part of Army Group South. It fought in the Battle of Uma ...

. He was responsible for the

Massacre of Kalavryta The Kalavryta massacre ( el, Σφαγή των Καλαβρύτων), or the Holocaust of Kalavryta (), was the near-extermination of the male population and the total destruction of the town of Kalavryta, Axis-occupied Greece, by the 117th J ...

, in Greece.

Life and career

Karl von Le Suire was born on 8 November 1898 in

Unterwössen Unterwössen is a municipality in the district of Traunstein in Bavaria, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, ...

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...

. After entering the German Army in December 1916, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Bavarian infantry and served on the Western Front. He continued in the army after 1918. Von Le Suire held a number of staff appointments in the early part of World War II, including Chief of Staff of Gebirgs Corps Norway. He was then given command of the 99th Gebirgsjager Regiment. This was followed by command of the 46th Infantry Division in February 1943 and the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

-based 117th Jäger Division in May 1943. In November 1943, while commanded by von Le Suire, the 117th Jäger Division began a mission named ''Unternehmen Kalavryta'' (Operation Kalavryta), intending to encircle Greek guerrilla fighters in the mountainous area surrounding Kalavryta. During the operations, some German soldiers were killed and 77 of them, who were taken prisoners, were executed by the Greek guerrillas. On 10 December 1943 von Le Suire signed the order for the German division to "level the locations Mazeika and Kalavryta". In total, more than 1,200 civilians were killed during the reprisal operations. About 1,000 houses were looted and burned and more than 2,000 sheep and other large domestic animals were seized by the Germans. The event is known as the

. From August 1944 von Le Suire commanded the

, and was still in command when he surrendered to Soviet troops in May 1945. He died in Soviet captivity on 18 June 1954 in a prisoner of war camp at

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

Awards and decorations

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 (28 March 1918) & 1st Class (19 December 1921) *

Clasp to the Iron Cross The Clasp to the Iron Cross (Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz) was a white metal medal clasp displayed on the uniforms of German Wehrmacht personnel who had been awarded the Iron Cross in World War I, and who again qualified for the decoration in World W ...

(1939) 2nd Class (13 September 1939) & 1st Class (13 September 1939) *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in Gold (25 April 1942) *

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 26 November 1944 as ''

General der Gebirgstruppe General der Gebirgstruppe (Literally: General of the Mountain Troops) was a category of German Army three-star, a new example of the traditional German 'General der' rank introduced by the Wehrmacht in 1940, comparable to the NATO grade OF- ...

'' and commander of XXXXIX. Gebirgskorps

References

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Citations

External links

Crimes of the German Wehrmacht
{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Suire, Karl Von 1898 births 1954 deaths German mass murderers People from the Kingdom of Bavaria People from Traunstein (district) Generals of Mountain 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 Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 1st Class German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union German people who died in Soviet detention Military personnel from Bavaria Bavarian nobility 20th-century Freikorps personnel Nazi war criminals

Life and career

Awards and decorations

See also

References

Citations

External links