Hartwig von Ludwiger
Hartwig von Ludwiger (29 June 1895 – 3 or 5 May 1947) was a German general in the
World War I and interwar period
Hartwig von Ludwiger was born in
After the capitulation of the German Empire in 1918, he was retained in the Reichswehr. During the early 1920s, he took part in the suppression of the Silesian Uprisings.[3] He was promoted to Oberleutnant in July 1925 and Hauptmann in 1930. He served in various infantry regiments, and as part of the military mobilization following Adolf Hitler's rise to power, he was named commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 28th Infantry Regiment in 1936, with the rank of Major.[3]
World War II
France and Soviet Union
On 1 March 1940, Ludwiger was appointed commander of the 83rd Infantry Regiment of the
Yugoslavia
Ludwiger was posted as commander of the
Ludwiger was quite active in the anti-
Of course, Ludwiger didn't quit his activities concerning the suppression of partisans. But with chances of extermination of the partisan forces themselves being slim, in the meanwhile Ludwiger launched a terror campaign against the civilian population.
Greece
Upon completion of Operation Black, 104th Jäger Division was ordered to move to Western
After the
Ludwiger was promoted to
With the permanent destruction of the villages in all the areas they passed from, but mainly with the decisive burning of the communistic centre of Karpenisi, the partisans were deprived from numerous possible shelters.[11]
Ludwiger and the surviving elements of his division, which had suffered heavy casualties in the Balkans, were captured towards the end of the war.
Trial and conviction
After being held in a
Found guilty of the charges, he was sentenced to death on 1 April 1947.[citation needed] He was executed in a prison at Belgrade; The exact date varies according to the source - possibly on 3 or 5 May, and less plausibly on 25 April.[Notes 2][1]
Awards
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 15 July 1941 as Oberstleutnant and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 83[12]
- 163rd Oak Leaves on 23 December 1942 as Oberst and commander of Jäger-Regiment 83[12]
Notes
- ^ "Massacres and atrocities of WWII".
Almost unknown outside of Italy, this event ranks with the Katyn massacre as one of the darkest episodes of the war" also "The German 11th Battalion of Jäger-Regiment 98 of the 1st Gebirgs (Mountain) Division, commanded by Major Harald von Hirschfeld, arrived on the island and soon Stukas were bombing the Italian positions
- ^ In H. F. Meyer's Blutiges Edelweiß, citing the study Zur Geschichte der deutschen Kriegsgefangenen des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Die deutschen Kriegsgefangenen in Jugoslawien 1949-1953 by German historian Kurt W. Böhme, the date of the execution is 3 May, and by firing squad. According to Walther-Peer Fellgiebel (p. 57), Ludwiger was "hanged" on 5 May. Like other German officers executed in Yugoslavia after World War II, the exact place and way of execution is obscure.
References
- ^ a b c d Meyer (vol.2), p. 301.
- ^ a b c d e f Angolia, John R. & Roger, James Bender, p. 148
- ^ a b c d e f g Meyer (vol.1), p. 399.
- ^ Meyer, p. 401
- ^ Meyer (vol.1), p. 400.
- ^ a b Meyer (vol.1), p. 401.
- ^ a b Meyer (vol. 2), p. 402.
- ^ a b Meyer (vol.1), pp. 402-403.
- ^ Meyer (vol.1), pp. 403-404.
- ^ Meyer (vol.1), pp. 404-405.
- ^ a b Meyer (vol.2), p. 244.
- ^ a b Scherzer 2007, p. 517.
Sources
- Angolia, John R.; Roger, James Bender (1981). On the field of honor: a history of the Knight's Cross bearers (volume 2).
- ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. "Elite of the Third Reich:The Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939-1945: A Reference", Helion and Company Limited 2003
- Meyer, Hermann Frank (2009). Blutiges Edelweiß: Die 1. Gebirgs-division im zweiten Weltkrieg (vol. 1) (in Greek). ISBN 978-960-05-1423-0.
- Meyer, Hermann Frank (2009). Blutiges Edelweiß: Die 1. Gebirgs-division im zweiten Weltkrieg (vol. 2) (in Greek). ISBN 978-960-05-1425-4.
- 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.
