Eugen Meindl
Eugen Meindl | |
|---|---|
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves | |
| Children | Wilhelm Meindl |
Eugen Meindl (16 July 1892 – 24 January 1951) was a German paratroop general in the
Life and career
Born in 1892, Eugen Meindl enlisted in the army in 1912 and served during World War I. Meindl served with various artillery units in the Reichswehr, the post-war armed forces of the Weimar Republic, and subsequently in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. In November 1938, Meindl was named commander of the 112th Mountain Artillery Regiment in Graz. Promoted to Oberst, he led the "Meindl Group" and made his very first parachute jump at Narvik. He transferred to the Luftwaffe in November 1940.
During the airborne invasion of Crete, Meindl jumped near the Platanias Bridge, where he was shot in the chest and seriously wounded. In February 1942, Meindl, now a Generalmajor, became commander of the newly formed Luftwaffe Division 'Meindl' in the Soviet Union. In September he took over the 13th Air Corps (later I Luftwaffe Field Corps).
In 1943, he was promoted to commanding general of the
Awards
- Iron Cross (1914) 1st Class (17 January 1916) and 2nd Class (18 July 1915)[4]
- Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 1st Class (10 June 1940) and 2nd Class (22 October 1939)[4]
- Narvik Shield (10 November 1940)[citation needed]
- Wound Badge (1939) in Black (25 October 1941)[citation needed]
- Eastern Front Medal (9 August 1942)[citation needed]
- German Cross in Gold on 27 July 1942 as Generalmajor in the Luftwaffen-Division "Meindl"[5]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
- Knight's Cross on 14 June 1941 as Generalmajor and commander Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment[6]
- 564th Oak Leaves on 31 August 1944 as General der Fallschirmtruppe and commanding general of the II. Fallschirmkorps[6]
Nomination for Swords to Knight's Cross
In April 1945, Meindl was nominated for Swords to the Knight's Cross; the nomination by the troop was approved by each of his commanding officers. However, the nomination contains no final remark on the proceedings. Oberst
Meindl is mentioned on a list of the Oberbefehlshaber Nordwest for "Nominations and Bestowal of War Awards" from May 1945. This list, which was intended to be presented to
References
- ^ Saunders 2008, pp. 151–153.
- ^ Foreign Military Studies 1944, B094.
- ^ Foreign Military Studies 1945, B327.
- ^ a b Thomas 1998, p. 69.
- ^ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 301.
- ^ a b Scherzer 2007, p. 534.
- ^ a b Scherzer 2007, p. 159.
Sources
- Foreign Military Studies (FMS) Program of the Historical Division, United States Army, Europe, "General der Fallschirmtruppen Eugen Meindl", II Parachute Corps: Part III, Rhineland (15 Sep 1944 to 21 Mar 1945) (PDF), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), B093 – via Sturmpanzer.com
- FMS Program of the Historical Division, United States Army, Europe, II Parachute Corps (10 Mar.-10 May 1945), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), B327 — via Sturmpanzer.com's FMS index
- Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
- Saunders, Tim (2008). Nijmegen: U.S. 82nd Airborne Division – 1944. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781783461141. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
- Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
- Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
