Baptist kneel
Baptist Knieß , (born April 17, 1885 in Grünstadt , † November 10, 1956 in Munich ) was a German officer , most recently general of the infantry in World War II .
Life
Bavarian Army
Knieß joined the Bavarian Army as an ensign on July 8, 1906 and became a professional soldier . On March 9, 1908, he was promoted to lieutenant in the 5th Infantry Regiment "Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig von Hessen" . Kniess took part in the First World War; on November 30, 1914 he was promoted to first lieutenant and on December 18, 1915 to captain . For his war service he was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross , the Order of Military Merit IV Class with Swords and Crown, and the Hessian Medal of Bravery .
Weimar Republic
After the war changed Knieß shortly in a volunteer corps , in the formation of the transition army he came from there to the Reichswehr Rifle Regiment 41. Then he was transferred to the 19th (Bavarian) Infantry Regiment . Here he worked as a company commander , from the spring of 1924 in the 4th (MG) company of the unit in Munich . From 1925 he found use in the staff of the 1st Battalion of the regiment. On April 1, 1928 he came to the commandant's office in Borkum, where he was promoted to major on December 1, 1928 . In May 1930 he was transferred as such to the 21st (Bavarian) Infantry Regiment in Erlangen , where he acted as commander of the training battalion.
time of the nationalsocialism
On April 1, 1933, Kniess was appointed lieutenant colonel , and on April 1, 1934, he was transferred to the staff of the commandant of Regensburg . In the Wehrmacht (since March 16, 1935) the professional advancement continued. He became a colonel on April 19, 1935 , and on October 1, 1935, he was promoted to commander of the 63rd Infantry Regiment in Ingolstadt . On June 1, 1938, the man from Palatinate was appointed major general and on April 1, 1939, he took over the post of Landwehr commander in Heilbronn . During the mobilization on August 26, 1939, Knieß advanced to the command of the 215th Infantry Division (Upper Rhine / Saarpfalz). With this he took up positions in the west at the beginning of the Second World War and then led them into the French campaign in the spring of 1940. He was awarded both repeat clasps for his earlier Iron Crosses. On July 1, 1940, he was promoted to lieutenant general , he and his division remained in France as an occupying force. At the end of 1941, the 215th Infantry Division was deployed in northern Russia, again under the leadership of Kniess. On August 3, 1942, he was awarded the Winter Battle in the East medal and the German Cross in Gold for personal bravery . On November 12, 1942, Kniess gave up his command of the 215th Infantry Division.
Promoted to General of the Infantry on December 1, 1942, he now served as Commanding General of the LXVI. Reserve Corps in Clermont-Ferrand . At the beginning of April 1943 he was renamed his staff to the commanding general of the "General Command Knieß". On May 10, 1943, he moved to the Führerreserve and took over the LXVI again in mid-June 1943. Reserve corps as commanding general. On September 7, 1943, Kniess was commissioned to set up the leadership group of the Southern France staff. In October 1943 he was appointed commanding general of the "Kniess Corps". By renaming his unit, he became the commanding general of the LXXXV on July 10, 1944. Army Corps. In March 1945 he commanded German troops who tried in vain to stop the American Operation Undertone .
At the end of March 1945 he gave up his command and was reassigned to the Führerreserve.
post war period
In May 1945 Kniess was taken prisoner of war , from which he was released in July 1947 and from then on lived in retirement in Munich. He died there in 1956.
literature
- Samuel W. Mitcham : Panzers in winter: Hitler's army and the Battle of the Bulge , USA, 2006, ISBN 0-275-97115-5 ; Scan of the section on General Knieß
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres , Ed .: Reichswehrministerium , Mittler & Sohn Verlag, Berlin 1930, p. 126
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kneel, Baptist |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German officer, most recently General of the Infantry in World War II |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 17, 1885 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Grünstadt |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 10, 1956 |
| Place of death | Munich |