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Battle Of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, beginning when Nazi Germany and its Axis allies attacked and became locked in a protracted struggle with the Soviet Union for control over the Soviet city of Stalingrad (now known as Volgograd) in southern Russia. The battle was characterized by fierce close-quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians in aerial raids; the battle epitomized urban warfare, being the single largest and costliest urban battle in military history. It was the bloodiest and fiercest battle of the entirety of World War II—and arguably in all of human history—as both sides suffered tremendous casualties amidst ferocious fighting in and around the city. The battle is commonly regarded as the turning point in the European theatre of World War II, as Germany ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the European Axis powers and Allies of World War II, Allies, including the Soviet Union (USSR) and Polish Armed Forces in the East, Poland. It encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltic states, Baltics), and Southeast Europe (Balkans), and lasted from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945. Of the estimated World War II casualties, 70–85 million deaths attributed to World War II, around 30 million occurred on the Eastern Front, including 9 million children. The Eastern Front was decisive in determining the outcome in the European theatre of World War II, European theatre of operations in World War II, eventually serving as the main reason for the defeat of Nazi Germany and the Axis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Light Transport Brigade (Independent State Of Croatia)
The Light Transport Brigade (, ) was a military unit of the Independent State of Croatia's Croatian Home Guard which fought alongside the Royal Italian Army on the Eastern Front. It was attached to the 3rd Cavalry Division of the 8th Italian Army, which was in turn subordinate to the German Army Group B. The legion was composed of about 1,215 volunteers divided into 3 Infantry Companies, 1 Machine-Gun Company, 1 (81mm) Mortar Company and 1 (65mm) Artillery Battery. The unit was formed by Italian request in July 1941, after a meeting between Italian General Antonio Oxilio, delivering a letter from the Italian High Command, and Poglavnik Ante Pavelić. However, it remained in the Independent State of Croatia until December when it was finally moved to Italy. Upon completion of their training the unit was visited by Croatian field marshal Slavko Kvaternik in early 1941. By 16 April 1942 it arrived on the Eastern Front. It fought until December 1942 when it was destroyed by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viktor Von Schwedler
Viktor von Schwedler (18 January 1885 – 30 October 1954) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany who commanded an army corps and a military district during World War II. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Schwedler was made commanding general of the IV. Army Corps following the Blomberg-Fritsch Affair of 1938. He was transferred to the '' Führerreserve'' in October 1942. On 1 March 1943 he was appointed commanding general of the 4th Military District in Dresden a position he held until 31 January 1945. He was still responsible for the measures after the bombing of Dresden on 13 February and 15 February 1945. Early life and WW1 Viktor von Schwedler was born on 18 January 1885 in Sankt Goarshausen. His father was an army officer. Viktor followed in his father's footsteps and after studying in various military schools, he joined the Imperial German army in early 1904 as a non-commissioned officer candidate. The following year, he became an officer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudolf Veiel
Rudolf Veiel (10 December 1883 – 19 March 1956) was a German general ('' General der Panzertruppe'') during World War II. Career Veiel joined the army 1904, and was commissioned as an officer in 1905, serving in the Württemberg cavalry during World War I. After the war, Veiel was a member of the Freikorps in Württemberg (1919). From October 1920, he served in the ''Reichswehr''. In 1938 he was given command of the 2nd Panzer Division. Veiel was promoted to oberst in 1933, a ''Generalmajor'' in January 1937, and a ''Generalleutnant'' in 1938. In the early stages of World War II, Veiel commanded the division during the Invasion of Poland in 1939, the Battle of France in 1940, Operation Marita, invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece, and Operation Barbarossa in 1941. On 3 June 1940, Veiel was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. From 1 April 1942 to 28 September 1942, after the German defeat in the Battle of Moscow, Veiel was promoted to full general ('' General der Pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermann Hoth
Hermann Hoth (12 April 1885 – 25 January 1971) was a German army commander, war criminal, and author. He served as a high-ranking panzer commander in the Wehrmacht during World War II, playing a prominent role in the Battle of France and on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front. Contemporaries and later historians consider Hoth one of the most talented armoured warfare commanders of the war. He was a strong believer in Nazism, and units under his command committed several war crimes including the murder of Prisoner of war, prisoners of war and civilians. Born in Prussia, Hoth embarked on a career as a military officer early in his youth. After graduating from the Preußische Hauptkadettenanstalt, Royal Prussian Military Academy, he slowly rose in the ranks of the Imperial German Army. Hoth mainly served in various staff positions in World War I, and after the conflict's conclusion continued to do so in the Reichswehr, armed forces of the newly formed Weimar Republic. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4th Panzer Army
The 4th Panzer Army (), operating as Panzer Group 4 () from its formation on 15 February 1941 to 1 January 1942, was a German panzer formation during World War II. As a key armoured component of the Wehrmacht, the army took part in the crucial battles of the German-Soviet war of 1941–45, including Operation Barbarossa, the Battle of Moscow, the Battle of Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk, and the 1943 Battle of Kiev. The army was destroyed during the Battle of Stalingrad, but later reconstituted. Formation and preparations for Operation Barbarossa As part of the German High Command's preparations for Operation Barbarossa, Generaloberst Erich Hoepner was appointed to command the 4th Panzer Group in February 1941. It was to drive toward Leningrad as part of Army Group North under Wilhelm von Leeb. On 30 March 1941, Hitler delivered a speech to about two hundred senior Wehrmacht officers where he laid out his plans for an ideological war of annihilation (''Vernichtungskrieg'') ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke
Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke (11 March 1913 – 23 March 1944) was a German Luftwaffe pilot during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 162 enemy aircraft shot down in 732 combat missions. He claimed the majority of his victories over the Eastern Front, and 25 over the Western Front, including four four-engined bombers. Born in Schrimm in the Province of Posen, Wilcke volunteered for military service in the ''Reichswehr'' of Nazi Germany in 1934. Initially serving in the '' Heer'' (Army), he transferred to the Luftwaffe (Air Force) in 1935. Following flight training, he was posted to ''Jagdgeschwader'' "Richthofen" (Fighter Wing "Richthofen") in April 1936. After an assignment as fighter pilot instructor he volunteered for service with the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War in early 1939. After his return from Spain, he was appointed ''Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader) of the 7. '' Staffel'' (7th squadron) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walther Von Seydlitz-Kurzbach
Walther Kurt von Seydlitz-Kurzbach (; 22 August 1888 – 28 April 1976) was a German general during World War II who commanded the LI Army Corps during the Battle of Stalingrad. At the end of the battle, he gave his officers freedom of action and was relieved of command. He assisted the Soviet Union as a prisoner-of-war as one of the leaders of the National Committee for a Free Germany formed mostly of the German prisoners of war in the USSR. After the war, he was convicted by the Soviets of war crimes. In 1996, he was posthumously pardoned by Russia. Early life Seydlitz-Kurzbach was born in Hamburg, Germany, into the noble Prussian . Military career During , he served on both fronts as an officer. During the Weimar Republic, he remained a professional officer in the Reichswehr. From 1940 to 1942, he commanded the 12th Infantry Division of the German Army. When the division was encircled in the Demyansk Pocket, Seydlitz was responsible for breaking the Soviet cordon and ena ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans-Valentin Hube
Hans-Valentin Hube (29 October 1890 – 21 April 1944) was a German general during World War II who commanded armoured forces in the invasions of Poland, France and the Soviet Union. In the course of the war, Hube led the 16th Infantry Division, the XIV Panzer Corps and the 1st Panzer Army, rising to the rank of . He died in an air crash on 21 April 1944. Early career Hans-Valentin Robert Friedrich Hube was born on 29 October 1890, in Naumburg an der Saale, German Empire to Margarete and Richard Hube. Hube volunteered for military service in the Prussian Army in 1909, and served during World War I where he saw action during the Race to the Sea, and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class and the Knight's Cross of the House Order of Hohenzollern. He had an arm amputated as a result of injuries sustained at the battle of Verdun. In 1918, following the end of the war which ended with the German Empire's defeat and subsequent collapse, Hube briefly served with the right-wing Fre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karl Strecker
Karl Strecker (20 September 1884 – 10 April 1973) was a German general during World War II who commanded several army corps on the Eastern Front. A career military and police professional, he fought in World War I and then served in the paramilitary Security Police of the Weimar Republic. Strecker welcomed the rise of Hitler and found favor with the regime, earning rapid promotions in the armed forces of Nazi Germany, the Wehrmacht. Strecker commanded the German Army's XI Army Corps in the Battle of Stalingrad and was the last German general to surrender his command in the city. He spent twelve years in Soviet captivity before being released in 1955. Early life and World War I He was born in Radmannsdorf, West Prussia to a Prussian Army officer. A lifelong and devoted evangelical Christian, Strecker wanted to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and become a priest but the financial hardship that followed his father's suicide forced him to instead attend a state-funded m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Heitz
Walter Heitz (8 December 1878 – 9 February 1944) was a German general (''Generaloberst'') in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He served as President of the Reichskriegsgericht, Reich Military Court and commanded part of the 6th Army (Wehrmacht), 6th Army in the Battle of Stalingrad. A decorated World War I officer and supporter of Nazism, Heitz advanced rapidly under the Third Reich. In 1936, he became the president of the Reich Military Court. At the age of 60, Heitz took command of the VIII Army Corps (Wehrmacht), VIII Army Corps and participated in the Invasion of Poland, the Battle of France and Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Heitz continued to command the VIII Army Corps as part of the 6th Army (Wehrmacht), 6th Army in the Battle of Stalingrad. The 6th Army was encircled within the city after Operation Uranus, the Soviet counter-offensive in Stalingrad, and eventually destroyed. Heitz surrendered the central pocket of German forces in Stalingrad o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Friedrich Paulus
Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 – 1 February 1957) was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) during World War II who is best known for his surrender of the German 6th Army (Wehrmacht), 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad (July 1942 to February 1943). The battle ended in disaster for the ''Wehrmacht'' when Soviet forces encircled the Germans within the city, leading to the ultimate death or capture of most of the 265,000-strong 6th Army, their Axis powers, Axis allies, and Hiwi (volunteer), collaborators. Paulus fought in World War I and saw action in Western Front (World War I), France and the Balkans Campaign (World War I), Balkans. He was considered a promising officer; by the time World War II broke out, he had been promoted to major general. Paulus took part in the Invasion of Poland, invasions of Poland and the Battle of France, Low Countries, after which he was named deputy chief of the Oberkommando des Heeres, German Army General Staff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
