Konrad Ludwig Benno Haase (29 August 1888 – 25 January 1963) 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 ...

. He is primarily known for being in command of the 302nd Infantry Division when it successfully defended against the

Dieppe Raid Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was an Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a regiment o ...

Early career

Haase joined the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...

as an artillery officer cadet in 1908, gaining his commission as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

a year later. 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 ...

brought promotion to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and an Iron Cross 1st Class, but he was not one of the select few officers who were retained in the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

’s new army, restricted to 100,000 men under the terms of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

. Haase became a police officer in 1919, becoming Dresden’s chief of police five years later. He was recalled to Army service in

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

’s new

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 ...

in 1935 as a regimental commander. In late 1939, Haase was assigned to command the 164th Infantry Division while it was being formed in Germany. He was given command of the short-lived 365th Division in late 1940 for Polish occupation duties, by which time he had been promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. He was consequently recommended for another divisional command. On 12 November 1940, he transferred to 302nd Infantry Division to serve as its commanding officer during its creation in north eastern Germany. He received his final promotion to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

(''Generalleutnant'') on New Year’s Day 1942, and was simultaneously awarded the War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords.

Dieppe Raid

302nd Infantry Division command

The 302nd Division was raised in November 1940.

During the raid

The German forces defending against the Dieppe Raid were part of the LXXXI Corps under General der Panzertruppen Adolf Kuntzen, in turn a part of the Fifteenth Army commanded by

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German ''Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East Germany, East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. ...

Curt Haase Curt Haase (15 December 1881 – 9 February 1943) was a German general (''Generaloberst'') in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He commanded the III Corps during the Invasion of Poland and France. He later commanded the 15th Army in German-occ ...

. The 302nd Infantry Division under Konrad Haase garrisoned Dieppe, 50 miles of coastline on either side of the town, and the area around the port; this was the unit that would defend against the raid. Division commander Konrad Haase was not related to army commander Curt Haase. To differentiate them, the German troops nicknamed Konrad "der kleine Haase" and Curt "der grosse Haase", which translate as "the little Haase" and "the big Haase" respectively.

Aftermath

After his success in defeating

Operation Jubilee Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was an Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a regiment ...

during the Dieppe raid, Haase was congratulated in person by

OB West ''Oberbefehlshaber West'' (German: initials OB West), German for "high commander in the West") was the overall commander of the ''Westheer'', the German armed forces on the Western Front during World War II. It was directly subordinate to the Obe ...

, Field Marshal

Gerd von Rundstedt Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt (12 December 1875 – 24 February 1953) was a German field marshal in the '' Heer'' (Army) of Nazi Germany during World War II. Born into a Prussian family with a long military tradition, Rundstedt entered th ...

and awarded a clasp to his Iron Cross 1st Class.

Later life

When 302nd Division was upgraded and moved to the Eastern front, Haase was removed from command and spent the rest of the war in staff positions in the Soviet Union, France and Italy. He was taken prisoner at the end of the war and was released in 1947. He died in 1963 in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

References

* ''Dieppe août 1942''. * Campbell, John P. (1993). ''Dieppe Revisited: A Documentary Investigation''. Routledge. 1888 births 1963 deaths German Army personnel of World War I Major generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 2nd class Recipients of the German Cross Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class {{DEFAULTSORT:Haase, Konrad