Rudolf Lüters (May 10, 1883 – December 24, 1945) was a German

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

who served in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

He joined the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

on November 2, 1902 as

Fahnenjunker ''Fahnenjunker'' (short Fhj or FJ, ; ) is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was established by the ''Pre ...

and participated in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

where he was wounded twice, in September 1914 and in October 1915. During

, he was appointed commander of the 223rd infantry division on May 6, 1941, participating with this unit in the invasion of the Soviet Union until October 19. On November 1, 1942, he was appointed commander of German troops in the puppet

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

. He was promoted to General der Infanterie on February 1, 1943. He received the

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold on April 30, 1943 and became the first commander of the newly created XV Mountain Corps on August 25. He participated in numerous anti-partisan operations in

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, notably in the Case White and Case Black operations led by

Alexander Löhr Alexander Löhr (20 May 1885 – 26 February 1947) was an Austrian Air Force (1927–1938), Austrian Air Force commander during the 1930s and, after the Anschluss, annexation of Austria, he was a Luftwaffe commander. Löhr served in the Luftwaff ...

. On July 31, 1944, Lüters left the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

and retired. Captured by the Soviets at the end of the war, he died in detention in

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

on Christmas Eve 1945.

Sources

* Dermot Bradley: ''Die Generale des Heeres 1921–1945 Band 7 Knabe-Luz'', Biblio Verlag, Bissendorf 2004, , S. 651–652. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lüters, Rudolf 1883 births 1945 deaths Generals of Infantry (Wehrmacht) German people who died in Soviet detention German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union Military personnel from Darmstadt Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) German Army personnel of World War I German Army generals of World War II