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Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben (30 October 1894 – 18 June 1964) was a German general in the
In April 1943, he took command of the 18th Panzer Division which was deployed on the Eastern Front and was disbanded after the 
The unit was used for occupation duties in France. The division was on the Normandy coast when the invasion took place, and thus fought in the early days of the Battle of Normandy, quickly becoming trapped in the Cotentin. As U.S. forces sealed off the Peninsula, the remnants of the Division fell back on Cherbourg.
On 23 June 1944, Schlieben was appointed Commandant of Cherbourg, which the German high Command had designated as a 'fortress'. Three days later von Schlieben and over 800 other troops surrendered to Major General Manton S. Eddy the Commander of the U.S. 9th Infantry Division. He was held at Trent Park before he was transferred to
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 previo ...
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 opposing ...
.
Biography
Schlieben joined the Prussian Army in August 1914 and served duringWorld 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 ...
. He served as a regimental commander with the 1st Panzer Division during the Battle of France in 1940. He then served as a Brigade Commander with the 4th Panzer Division
The 4th Panzer Division ( en, 4th Tank Division) was an armored division in the Army of Nazi Germany.
In World War II, it participated in the 1939 invasion of Poland, the 1940 invasion of France, and the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. It ...
on the Eastern Front, from June 1942. The division was destroyed by February 1943 during the Battle of Stalingrad. Schlieben then commanded the 208th Infantry Division remaining on the Eastern Front.
In April 1943, he took command of the 18th Panzer Division which was deployed on the Eastern Front and was disbanded after the Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history ...
. In December 1943, he was assigned the command of the 709th Static Infantry Division based in Normandy, France.
The unit was used for occupation duties in France. The division was on the Normandy coast when the invasion took place, and thus fought in the early days of the Battle of Normandy, quickly becoming trapped in the Cotentin. As U.S. forces sealed off the Peninsula, the remnants of the Division fell back on Cherbourg.
On 23 June 1944, Schlieben was appointed Commandant of Cherbourg, which the German high Command had designated as a 'fortress'. Three days later von Schlieben and over 800 other troops surrendered to Major General Manton S. Eddy the Commander of the U.S. 9th Infantry Division. He was held at Trent Park before he was transferred to Island Farm
Island Farm, also called Camp 198, was a prisoner of war camp on the outskirts of the town of Bridgend, South Wales. It hosted a number of Axis prisoners, mainly German, and was the scene of the largest escape attempt by German POWs in Britain ...
on 9 August 1945. He was released on 7 October 1947. Schlieben died on 18 June 1964 in Gießen
Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...
.
Sources
* Gordon A.Harrison, ''Cross Channel Attack'' * Jorge Rosado & Chris Bishop, ''German Wehrmacht Panzer Divisions'' * John Keegan, ''Six Armies in Normandy'' * '' De Wervelwind'' 3(22) June–July 1944 - Dutch war time propaganda newspaper {{DEFAULTSORT:Schlieben, Karl-Wilhelm Von 1894 births 1964 deaths People from Eisenach German Army personnel of World War I Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) German nobility Von Schlieben family German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States 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 People from Saxe-Eisenach Military personnel from Thuringia