Erwin Engelbrecht (12 November 1891 in ''Wildpark''

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

– 8 April 1964 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

) was a German military officer.

Career

In January 1939 Engelbrecht was promoted to General, in September 1942 to

General of the Artillery General of the Artillery is/was a general officer of artillery, and may be: *General of the Artillery (Germany) and Austria-Hungary * General of the Artillery (Imperial Russia) * General of the Artillery (Poland) *Feldzeugmeister (OF-8) of the Aust ...

. During 1939-1942 he was the commander of the 163rd Infantry Division (''Engelbrecht Division''); later he was assigned to special forces. On 9 April 1940, on board the German cruiser ''Blücher'', he led the staff of the forces designated to occupy

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

during the

invasion of Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. When the ship was sunk, he managed to swim ashore. Along with hundreds of other survivors, Engelbrecht was detained by Norwegian

guardsmen Guardsman is a rank used instead of private in some military units that serve as the official bodyguard of a sovereign or head of state. It is also used as a generic term for any member of a guards unit of any rank. Canada In the Canadian For ...

at a farm near

Drøbak Drøbak is a town and the centre of the municipality of Frogn, in Viken county, Norway. The city is located along the Oslofjord, and has 13,409 inhabitants. History Drøbak and Frogn was established as a parish on its own through a royal decree ...

for several hours before being abandoned by their captors. In 1941 his division was allowed to cross Sweden to join Finnish forces in the

Finnish invasion of East Karelia (1941) The Finnish invasion of East Karelia was a military campaign in 1941. It was part of the Continuation War. Finnish troops occupied East Karelia and held it until 1944. For over a month after the outbreak of the Continuation War, the Karelian Ar ...

, the only such large scale transit at the time. (See the transit of German troops through Scandinavia for details.) Engelbrecht took over the leadership of the ''Höheren Kommandos z.b.V. XXXIII'' in Trondheim on 15 June 1942, at the same time commander of Central Norway and was promoted to general of the artillery on 1 September 1942. On 23 January 1943 the Higher Command was renamed the XXXIII Army Corps and Engelbrecht remained in command. On 25 December 1943 he was forced to hand over his command to Lieutenant General Ludwig Wolff and was transferred to the Army's Führer Reserve. It was not until 13 September 1944 that he was re-called as leader of the newly formed ''Higher Command of Saarpfalz'', which, however, included only fortification and construction troops. Engelbrecht surrendered to the American troops in April 1945 and was released from captivity in 1947.
Engelbrecht was awarded the

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' ...

(Ritterkreuz).

Awards and decorations

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia e ...

(1914) ** 2nd Class (6 October 1914) ** 1st Class (31 May 1917) * Knight's Cross of the House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords (24 June 1918) *

Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (german: Das Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges 1914/1918), commonly, but incorrectly, known as the Hindenburg Cross or the German WWI Service Cross was established by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, Presiden ...

(18 January 1935) *

Clasp to the Iron Cross The Clasp to the Iron Cross (Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz) was a white metal medal clasp displayed on the uniforms of German Wehrmacht personnel who had been awarded the Iron Cross in World War I, and who again qualified for the decoration in Worl ...

(1939) ** 2nd Class ** 1st Class *

Eastern Front Medal The Eastern Medal (german: Ostmedaille), officially the Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal (german: Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42, links=no), was a military award of the ''Wehrmacht'' which was created by ordinance of Adolf Hi ...

(13 July 1942) * Order of the Cross of Liberty 1st Class with Swords (21 September 1941) *

on 9 May 1940 as Generalleutnant and commander of 163. Infanterie-Division

References

External links

Lexikon der Wehrmacht

military career
1891 births 1964 deaths People from the Province of Brandenburg German Army personnel of World War I Prussian Army personnel German Army generals of World War II Generals of Artillery (Wehrmacht) Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 1st Class World War II prisoners of war held by Norway Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Reichswehr personnel Military personnel from Potsdam Shipwreck survivors {{Germany-army-bio-stub