Arthur von Briesen

Arthur von Briesen (born September 26, 1891 in Metz ; † May 15, 1981 in Konstanz ) was a German major general in the Wehrmacht in World War II .

Life

After his education in the cadet corps, Briesen was transferred to the 2nd East Prussian Field Artillery Regiment No. 52 as a characterized ensign on March 24, 1909 . On October 18, 1909, he received the patent for his rank and was then promoted to lieutenant on August 22, 1910 . As such, Briesen was commanded to serve in the 2nd Royal Saxon Uhlan Regiment No. 18 in 1913 .

When the First World War broke out, he was transferred to this regiment, to which he belonged until 1916. Then Briesen was first orderly officer with the staff of the 40th Division (4th Royal Saxon) . On May 15, 1916, Briesen was promoted to lieutenant and from 1917 he held various staff assignments. First in the General Staff of the XIX. (II. Royal Saxon) Army Corps , then in the staff of the 53rd Reserve Division (3rd Royal Saxon) , in the General Staff of the XII. (I. Royal Saxon) Army Corps and most recently in the General Staff of the Army High Command 3 .

After the end of the war, Briesen resigned from military service as Rittmeister and joined the police. He came as a police lieutenant to the inspection of the Saxon state police . From May 1923 Briesen was head of the Dresden Horse Hundred . From June to the end of November 1933 he was employed as a Hundertschaftsführer and then he was transferred to the staff of the I. Department of the Dresden State Police. Four months later, Briesen was appointed commander of the mounted state police of Saxony.

On October 1, 1934, he joined the Reichswehr with the rank of major and was assigned to the Rostock infantry regiment . From April 1, he was with the leadership of the III. Battalion instructed. With the expansion of the army, his regiment became the 27th infantry regiment. Effective October 15, 1935, Briesen was appointed commander of the III. Battalion and shortly thereafter promoted to lieutenant colonel on December 1, 1935 . After his promotion to colonel on April 1, 1938 , Briesen was transferred to the regimental staff on November 10, 1938. On May 1, 1939 Briesen was appointed city ​​commander of Prague , an office which he held until 1944 and in which he was promoted to major general on October 1, 1942. He was then from February 15 to March 11, 1944 in the Führerreserve of the OKH and was then assigned to Army Group South as commander of the fixed Brody site . On May 2nd, 1944 he was assigned to the staff of the "Plenipotentiary General of the German Wehrmacht in Italy" of General of the Infantry Rudolf Toussaint for the purpose of briefing him in the business of a military commander. There was no further use there, as Briesen was already assigned to the military district commander in Bohemia and Moravia (Toussaint) on July 15, 1944. As of December 31, 1944, Briesen was back in the Führerreserve. He went into American captivity in Pilsen on May 8, 1945 , from which he was released on April 22, 1947.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class
• Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with swords
• Cross of honor for front fighters
• Wehrmacht service award, 1st class
• Austrian war commemorative medal with swords
• Hungarian World War II commemorative medal with swords
• Clasp for the Iron Cross, 2nd and 1st class
• War Merit Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class with swords

literature

• Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: The Generals of the Army 1921–1945. The military careers of the generals, as well as the doctors, veterinarians, intendants, judges and ministerial officials with the rank of general. Volume 2: v. Blanckensee – v. Czettritz and Neuhauß. Biblio Publishing House. Osnabrück 1993. ISBN 3-7648-2424-7 . Pp. 267-268.