Hans von Ahlfen
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Hans von Ahlfen (born February 20, 1897 in Berlin ; † September 11, 1966 in Oberndorf am Neckar ) was a German major general who gained notoriety at the end of World War II for defending the fortress of Breslau . After the war he worked as an author of various articles and books.
Life
Early years of service
Ahlfen joined the Prussian Army's Pioneer Replacement Battalion No. 2 as a volunteer on August 17, 1914 at the beginning of the First World War . On October 20, 1914 he was transferred to the 2nd Company of the Pomeranian Pioneer Battalion No. 2 in the field and promoted to lieutenant on March 22, 1915 with a patent from November 12, 1914 . In the following years he acted as an adjutant to the commander of the pioneers in the high command of the " Southern Army ", the " Bug Army " and from August 1, 1916 to the General of the Pioneers 10 . After a few other brief posts from February 1918, Ahlfen came on April 15, 1918 to the commander of the armored trains of the Baltic Sea Division .
Ahlfen remained the leader of various armored trains (No. 21, 30, 44) until the spring of 1921 and was accepted into the Reichswehr as a professional soldier . This was followed by a series of assignments to some companies and to the infantry school in Munich . Between October 1, 1922 and December 31, 1928 he was used again in the 2nd (Prussian) Pioneer Battalion, only briefly interrupted by his transfer to the 5th (Prussian) Cavalry Regiment (1923-25). During this time Ahlfen was in command of the staff of the 2nd Division for the training of assistant leaders . Then Ahlfen got to know the senior staff work as adjutant to the senior engineer officer in Group Command 1 by the end of February 1932. During this period he was promoted to captain on March 1, 1931. This was followed by further training at the pioneer school and assignments as a company commander in the 5th Pioneer Battalion and in the Pioneer Battalion Münden (named after the city of Hann. Münden , then renamed Pionier Battalion 9). From August 1, 1935 to the end of August 1937, Ahlfen worked as a teacher at the War Academy and was now a major (promotion on January 1, 1936) in the Reich Ministry of War on September 1, 1937 , particularly as a group leader in the inspection of the pioneers .
Second World War
At the beginning of the Second World War , Ahlfen initially performed a similar activity, including on the staff of the General of the Pioneers and fortresses with the Commander- in -Chief of the Army . From July 1, 1940, he took over command of the Pioneer Battalion 40 (motorized) and from January 5, 1942 over the Pioneer Regimental Staff 617 (motorized). Shortly afterwards, on February 1st, Ahlfen was appointed colonel . From July 30, 1942 to July 1, 1943 he was used in the General Staff of Army Group Don , before he was used as a pioneer leader in the Army High Command in Norway until October 5, 1944 . During the Soviet operation Bagration , Ahlfen only briefly commanded the pioneers of the 9th Army from July 27 to September 16, 1944 under the general of the armored troop Nikolaus von Vormann . In October 1944 Ahlfen was transferred to the Führerreserve , but at the same time took part in a course to become a division commander. As early as November 16, 1944, he commanded the Ahlfen blocking unit in Army Group Don and the Pioneer Brigade 70.
After his promotion to major general on January 30, 1945, Ahlfen was appointed commander of the Breslau Fortress (February 2, 1945). Major General Johannes Krause was originally intended for this post, but since he was ill, General Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner Ahlfen installed. The city was surrounded by the Red Army on February 15, 1945 . During the defense, however, Gauleiter Karl Hanke acquired extensive skills and eventually fell out with Ahlfen. Hanke intervened directly with Hitler and succeeded in replacing Ahlfen. On March 8, 1945, the infantry general Hermann Niehoff , who had flown in, took command. After a few weeks without being used, Ahlfen was given the post of General of the Pioneers in Army Group B on March 25, 1945 . On April 17, 1945 he was taken prisoner by the Western Allies, from which he was released on June 30, 1947.
Post-war author
After the war Ahlfen worked as an author of various books. During his time as a teacher at the War Academy, he had already written a military textbook “Service with the Pioneers” (Detke Verlag, Leipzig 1937). Now, from the early 1950s, he published further theoretical writings on pioneering. Outside of the military department, von Ahlfen became known for his books on the battles for Breslau . He dealt with this topic for the first time in 1956 in an essay entitled “The Struggle of Fortress Breslau” in the Wehrwissenschaftliche Rundschau . A year later he published his portrayal of the struggles in the book "The Struggle of Fortress Breslau" (Verlag Ernst Siegfried Mittler, 1957). Over the next few years he continued to deal with this topic together with Hermann Niehoff, his successor as the fortress commander of Breslau. In 1959 they jointly published the book “So fought Breslau” (Verlag Graefe und Unzer, 1959), which was a great commercial success, and which was followed by a second expanded edition just a year later. In the following volume “Kampf um Schlesien” (Verlag Graefe und Unzer, 1961), Ahlfen looked again at the larger context of the 1945 operations.
Ahlfen died on September 11, 1966 in Oberndorf am Neckar .
References
Web links
- Literature by and about Hans von Ahlfen in the catalog of the German National Library
literature
- Dermot Bradley (Ed.): 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 1: Abberger – Bitthorn. Biblio Publishing House. Osnabrück 1993. ISBN 3-7648-2423-9 . Pp. 25-26.
Individual evidence
- ^ Leadership and Pioneers , in: Wehrwissenschaftliche Rundschau , 2 (1952), Issue 11, pp. 542–546; Frictions in Pioneer Operations - Causes, Consequences, Measures to Overcome , in: Allgemeine Schweizerische Militärzeitschrift , 9 (1954), pp. 652–667; Nachtausbildung der Pioneers , in: Wehrkunde , 2 (1955), pp. 50–53; Pioneer tasks , in: Wehrkunde , 9 (1956), pp. 441–449; Major pioneering questions of the 20th century from the perspective of the German Army , in: Wehrkunde , 9 (1957), pp. 478–486; From camouflage to camouflaging and deceiving , in: Pioniere , 3 (1964), p. 107ff; Remagen 1945 - The accident at the Remagen bridge on March 7th , 1945 , in: Pioneers 7 (1965), issue 1, pp. 2–12
- ↑ The fight of the fortress Breslau , in: Wehrwissenschaftliche Rundschau , 6 (1956), issue 1, pp. 20–39
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ahlfen, Hans von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German major general |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 20, 1897 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 11, 1966 |
| Place of death | Oberndorf am Neckar |