Friedrich Mieth

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Friedrich Mieth (born June 4, 1888 in Eberswalde ; † August 29, 1944 near Vutcani , Romania ) was a German officer , most recently General of the Infantry in World War II .

Life

On March 26, 1906, Mieth joined the Prussian army as a flag junior in Jäger Battalion No. 2 . He became a lieutenant on August 16, 1907, and his officer's license was dated February 14, 1906. He took part in the First World War on the Western Front, in Romania and in the Turkish army. He performed well and became a company commander. He was wounded at least once. Later he was employed as a staff officer.

In 1919 he was accepted into the Reichswehr . He was now employed in the General Staff and worked in the Reichswehr Ministry . In 1928 he was promoted to major and lieutenant colonel on March 1, 1933. Since March 1, 1935, he was promoted to colonel and on October 6, 1936, he took over the leadership of the 27th Infantry Regiment in Rostock . On April 1, 1938 he was promoted to major general and chief of staff of the XII. Army Corps .

At the beginning of the Second World War in early September 1939 he was appointed Chief of Staff of the 1st Army in the West ( seat war ). In February 1940 he served as first senior quartermaster in the Army General Staff and was involved in planning the western campaign . After the French campaign, he was appointed coordinator of the Armistice Commission in Compiegne on June 25, 1940.

On March 1, 1940, Mieth was promoted to lieutenant general. He tried to get a position as a commander and on December 10, 1940 he took over the leadership of the 112th Infantry Division . From July 1941, he took the bandage in the second Army on Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union in part. The division took part in the Battle of Kiev and in October 1941 advanced into the area south of Tula . In the battle for Moscow and the subsequent withdrawal, the 112th Infantry Division suffered heavy losses. After that, the division was used in a section of the front without major fighting.

November 24th, 1942 Mieth was due to the encirclement of the 6th Army in Stalingrad by Field Marshal Erich von Manstein the commander of the Rear Army area and leaders of security troops in Army Group Don appointed. Instead of securing the rear army area, he had to fight with his security units and hastily assembled alarm units against attacking Soviet troops. On New Year's Day 1943 he commanded the 336th Infantry Division , remnants of the 7th Air Force Field Division and four alarm units with an approximate regimental strength at the time. As a result, he commanded constantly changing associations. In the spring of 1943 he took over the command of the "Mieth" corps named after him in the section of the Hollidt Army Department .

On April 20, 1943 he was promoted to general of the infantry. On July 20, 1943, the corps was renamed "Mieth" as IV. Army Corps after the actual IV. Army Corps ceased to exist at the Battle of Stalingrad. Mieth was now the commanding general . In the spring of 1944 his corps fought in the section of the 6th Army with Army Group South Ukraine and had to fight its way back to Romania. After the major attack by the 2nd Ukrainian Front on August 20 on the Prut , his corps was encircled in the Battle of Jassy and later completely destroyed.

Mieth died on the morning of August 29 when the remnants of the 79th Infantry Division , followed by other units and stragglers, crossed the river Bârlad near the village of Vutcani under enemy artillery and mortar fire and attacked a Soviet position that was attacking the fleeing troops Blocked way. Mieth himself was at the forefront of the pioneers in close combat. Due to conflicting reports, it is unclear whether he was killed by a Soviet bullet or whether he died of a heart attack.

According to other sources, he died of a heart attack on September 2nd.

Assessment of Mieth by historians

Mieth was considered an “apolitical” soldier, although critical remarks have been passed down from him. In view of the excesses of violence on the part of the SS in occupied Poland, he said to officers of his staff who had been specially summoned for this purpose that the SS had "defiled the honor of the Wehrmacht by their activities in the east".

According to historians Samuel W. Mitcham and Gene Mueller, Mieth was a tall officer with great moral courage. Mitcham wrote of Mieth: “Rather, he was one of many solid, reliable, highly competent German generals who fought very skillfully against great opposition for a cause he did not believe in and for a Führer and a regime he did not love but for a country he loved. "

Awards

Mention of Mieths in the Wehrmacht report on February 18, 1944 and June 8, 1944.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfgang Keilig: The Generals of the Army 1939-1945 . Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, Friedberg 1983, p. 227
  2. ↑ a b c d e Samuel W. Mitcham, Gene Mueller: Hitler's Commanders , Scarborough House, London 1992, Mieth Biographie p. 62 f.
  3. ^ Samuel W. Mitcham, Gene Mueller: Hitler's commanders: officers of the Wehrmacht, the Luftwaffe, the Kriegsmarine, and the Waffen-SS . Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham 2012, ISBN 978-1-4422-1153-7 . Pp. 58-59.
  4. ^ Hans Kissel: "The catastrophe in Romania 1944, contributions to defense research, Volume V / VI", Wehr und Wissen Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Darmstadt 1964, p. 131.
  5. ↑ Klaus-Jürgen Müller: On the history and content of Himmler's speech to the senior generals on March 13, 1940 in Koblenz. In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte. Volume 18 (1970) Issue 1.
  6. ^ Samuel W. Mitcham, Gene Mueller: Hitler's commanders: officers of the Wehrmacht, the Luftwaffe, the Kriegsmarine, and the Waffen-SS . Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham 2012, ISBN 978-1-4422-1153-7 . Pp. 66-67.
  7. ↑ 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 .
  8. ↑ The reports of the High Command of the Wehrmacht. Volume V, Verlag für Wehrwissenschaften, Munich 2004. ISBN 3-89340-063-X , p. 56 u. 169
personal data
SURNAME Mieth, Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer, most recently general of the infantry
DATE OF BIRTH June 4, 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH Eberswalde
DATE OF DEATH September 2, 1944
Place of death Jassy , Romania