__NOTOC__ Otto Lancelle (27 March 1885 – 3 July 1941) 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 ...

and a recipient of both the

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...

and

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' ...

, the highest military awards of

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 ...

and

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 ...

, respectively. Lancelle was killed by a sniper on 3 July 1941 at the Krāslava Bridgehead on the Daugava near Krāslava, Latvia. He was the first German general, who was killed in (''de facto'') Soviet territory after the attack on the Soviet Union. He was posthumously promoted to Generalleutnant and awarded the Knight's Cross. Lancelle was first buried next to the Krāslava Lutheran Church, and later reinterred in

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the O ...

. The Polish town of Rzgów was renamed ''Lancellenstätt'' in his honor by the occupiers from 1943 to 1945. A memorial marker on the site of his death was installed by his son Kraft in July 1994, which was removed by authorities in November 2022.

Awards and decorations

(9 October 1918)Scherzer 2007, p. 490. *

on 27 July 1941 (posthumously) 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 121. Infanterie-Division

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lancelle, Otto 1885 births 1941 deaths People from Xanten Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) German Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German Army personnel killed in World War II People from the Rhine Province Sturmabteilung officers Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Deaths by firearm in the Soviet Union Military personnel from North Rhine-Westphalia