Friedrich-Carl von Steinkeller

Friedrich-Carl von Steinkeller (born March 28, 1896 in Deutsch Krone , † October 19, 1981 in Hanover ) came from an old Mecklenburg-Pomeranian noble family and was a German officer, most recently major general in World War II .

resume

Under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel stone cellar in 1940 was commander of the motorcycle-Protect -Bataillons 7 of the 7th Panzer Division . In 1942 he was awarded the German Cross in Gold . He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in command of the 1 st Panzer Division's motorcycle rifle battalion, and from 1943 commander of the 7th Panzer Grenadier regiment in the 10th Panzer Division . In the same year he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . From April 1944 he was in command of the Feldherrnhalle division , and two months later Steinkeller was promoted to major general.

“On the afternoon of June 26th (sc. 1944, as part of Operation Bagration ) Major General von Steinkeller received from the XII. AK (Lieutenant General Vinzenz Müller ) the following order: 'Troops make their way west! Divisions are fired! ' This order caused immense confusion on the entire front of the 4th Army . Von Steinkeller, realizing the catastrophic consequences of this order, decided to withdraw his division as rearguard on both sides of the Mogilew - Minsk road in sections and fighting. On the evening of June 26th von Steinkeller also met General Martinek and reported his decision to him. The Panzer Grenadier Division "Feldherrnhalle" now, of its own free will, covered the drainage of the remaining German formations flowing back on the road to Minsk. This dramatic, sacrificial struggle began the moment the men remaining from 9th Company of GR 689 dashed south to reach Bobruisk , wondering why the Russians had not yet passed them south. That this was not the case was thanks to this one German division! "

On July 8, 1944 , he was taken prisoner by the Soviets , from which he returned to Hanover eleven years later, on October 9, 1955 .

Steinkeller signed the appeal by the 17 generals and the appeal to the people and armed forces by 50 German generals.

Remarks

1. ^ Samuel W. Mitcham Jr .: Rommel's lieutenants, the men who served the Desert Fox, France, 1940 . Praeger Security International in Westport CT / London 2007, ISBN 0-275-99185-7 , p. 107ff
2. ^ Franz Kurowski : The Army Group Center. 28 German divisions in the hail of fire of the Soviet summer offensive in 1944. Vitebsk-Bobruisk-Minsk , Podzun-Pallas, Wölfersheim 2001, p. 91
3. ↑ Bodo Scheurig: Free Germany - the National Committee and the Federation of German Officers in the Soviet Union 1943–45 . Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 1984, ISBN 3-462-01620-2 , p. 254, p. 261 ( text online at pkgodzik.de ; PDF; 53 kB)

literature

• Franz Kurowski : The Army Group Center. 28 German divisions in the hail of fire in the 1944 Soviet summer offensive. Vitebsk-Bobruisk-Minsk , Podzun-Pallas, Wölfersheim 2001, ISBN 3-7909-0748-0 .