Franz Griesbach

Franz Griesbach (born December 21, 1892 in Brück ; † September 24, 1984 in Lage ) was a German officer, most recently major general in World War II and a teacher.

Life

As the second born with a total of three siblings, his father was lock master Johann Friedrich Franz Griesbach. After attending elementary school in Putlitz , Westprignitz, he learned from 1907 to 1910 in the preparation facility in Genthin . There he studied at the teacher training college until 1913 and graduated with the first teacher examination.

Griesbach joined the infantry regiment "Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia" (2nd Magdeburgisches) No. 27 on April 1, 1914 as a one-year volunteer . With the outbreak of the First World War he came to the front with his regiment and was promoted to lieutenant in the reserve on August 23, 1916 . In the course of the war he was gas poisoned and wounded four times and buried once.

After the end of the war he left the army and passed the second teacher examination in 1920. He then worked as a teacher in the province of Saxony . His brother Georg Erich (1902–1943) also worked as a teacher.

In 1936 he was reactivated and taken over into the Wehrmacht . After his staff training in Koenigsbrück in 1940 he commanded the Infantry Replacement Battalion 467 as a major in August 1940. In the further course of the war he served in Infantry Regiment 391 and Infantry Regiment 399 of the 170th Infantry Division . As a colonel and commander of the 399 Infantry Regiment, he was awarded the Oak Leaves of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in May 1943 for his services in the Second Ladoga Battle off Leningrad . On February 15, 1944, Griesbach was commissioned to lead the 170th Infantry Division and was seriously wounded just one day later. At the end of April 1945 he was still in the military hospital in Brandenburg an der Havel in Soviet captivity , from which he was released on October 21, 1949.

Awards

Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class
Wound badge (1939) in gold
Clasp for the Iron Cross, 2nd and 1st class
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves and swords
- Knight's Cross on March 14, 1942
- Oak leaves on May 17, 1943 (242nd award)
- Swords on March 6, 1944 (53rd award)
Infantry assault badge in silver
Cross of honor for front fighters
Wehrmacht service award IV class
War Merit Cross 2nd class with swords
Medal Winter Battle in the East 1941/42
Crimean shield

literature

John Kreutzmann, City of Genthin: A Not Everyday History Book, 1995, p. 107f.

Web links

Franz Griesbach in the Magdeburg Biographical Lexicon

Individual evidence

^ University of Magdeburg - biography of Georg Erich Griesbach
↑ Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 1939-1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 348.

personal data
SURNAME	Griesbach, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German officer, most recently major general in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH	December 21, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH	Bridge
DATE OF DEATH	September 24, 1984
Place of death	Location (lip)

[1] University of Magdeburg - biography of Georg Erich Griesbach

[Scherzer-2] Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 1939-1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 348.