Theodor von Sponeck (

Offenburg Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the ad ...

, 24 January 1896 –

Heidenheim an der Brenz Heidenheim an der Brenz, or just Heidenheim (; Swabian: ''Hoidna'' or ''Hoirna''), is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is located near the border with Bavaria, approximately 17 km south of Aalen and 33 km north of ...

, 13 June 1982) 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 ...

Biography

Von Sponeck was born into a noble family in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

. He fought as a lieutenant in 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 ...

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 ...

.
At the start of World War II, he served as First General Staff Officer of the XV Army Corps. As commander of the 11th Motorized Infantry Regiment, he fought in France, the Balkans and the Soviet Union, until he was wounded on 1 November 1941.
After his recovery in September 1942, he received command of the 90th Light Infantry Division in Northern Africa, and was promoted to

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 ...

on 1 November. During the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

in October/November 1942, Sponeck and his division were several times successfully deployed at weak points, until he had to retreat to the Fuka position, which was executed in an orderly way. After the

Tunisian Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. The ...

, Sponeck had to capitulate with the rest of his division on 12 May 1943 and was taken prisoner of war by the British. He had just been promoted to

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...

. He was released in 1947.

Sources

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sponeck, Theodor Graf von 1896 births 1982 deaths Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) German Army personnel of World War I German prisoners of war in World War II Military personnel from Baden-Württemberg People from Offenburg