Johannes Block (officer)

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Johannes Block (born November 17, 1894 in Büschdorf , † January 26, 1945 near Kielce , Poland ) was a German officer , most recently a general of the infantry in World War II .

Life

At the beginning of the First World War on August 13, 1914, Block joined the Prussian Army as a volunteer in the Mansfeld Field Artillery Regiment No. 75 . In mid-October 1914 he was assigned to the 1st artillery ammunition column of the IV Army Corps . From there, on February 15, 1915, he was transferred to the Fusilier Regiment "General-Feldmarschall Graf Blumenthal" (Magdeburgisches) No. 36 . Block was wounded on April 27, 1915 during the trench warfare in Flanders . After almost two months in the hospital , he joined the 1st Replacement Battalion of his regiment and was then transferred to the 2nd Replacement Battalion of the 1st Masurian Infantry Regiment No. 146 in mid-July 1915 . From September to November 1915 Block completed a Fahnenjunker course in Döberitz. At the beginning of December 1915 he was transferred back to the regiment on the Eastern Front , where he was first appointed ensign and promoted to lieutenant on May 11, 1916 . Block fell ill in mid-November 1915 and was unable to work for the next few months. It was not until March 1917 that he returned to the regiment's replacement battalion, from where he was transferred to Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208 in early May 1917. From May 20, 1917, Block acted as the leader of the 1st Battalion's Sturmabteilung. During the trench warfare off Verdun , Block was wounded on July 18, 1917 and, after hospitalization and recovery, returned to the 1st Masurian Infantry Regiment No. 146 on November 6, 1917. In the following years he was appointed leader of the mine throwing department of the 1st Battalion. From the beginning of June until another illness in mid-July 1918, Block was commanded as the head and instruction officer of a training course for Turkish troops in the Yıldırım Army Group . After his restoration, he was appointed from October 10, 1918 as adjutant of the 2nd battalion.

After the Armistice at Compiègne , Block was interned in Constantinople and started his journey home with the rest of his regiment at the end of January 1919. After the demobilization in Wilhelmshaven and the dissolution of the regiment, a volunteer rifle corps was formed. Block joined the Freikorps as an adjutant and was then transferred to the Reichswehr Rifle Regiment 40. On October 1, 1920, he was transferred to Infantry Regiment 2 . On September 21, 1923, Block was sent to the second course at the Infantry School in Munich. Here he took part in the march on the Feldherrnhalle in the Hitler putsch on November 9, 1923 . Because of this participation, Block later had to accept responsibility and was dismissed from the Reichswehr on May 31, 1924 .

After Hitler came to power, he was reactivated as a captain in the new Wehrmacht in 1934 . Promoted to lieutenant colonel on August 1, 1938 , he was appointed commander of the 202 infantry regiment on March 14, 1940, with which he took part in the western and eastern campaigns. Promoted to colonel on August 1, 1941 , he took over on May 15, 1942 with the command of the 294th Infantry Division and was appointed major general on September 1 and commander of this division on November 22. On January 1, 1943, he was promoted to lieutenant general . For the use of his troops in the defensive battles in the Krivoy Rog area , he was awarded the Knight's Cross with the Oak Leaves on November 22, 1943. On April 1, 1944, he took over the deputy leadership of the VIII. Army Corps and on April 25th that of the XIII. Army Corps . On June 5, he became the leader of the LVI. Panzer Corps commissioned and promoted to General of the Infantry on July 1, 1944 . On July 15, 1944, he was appointed Commanding General of the LVI. Panzer Corps deployed on the central section of the Eastern Front. After the start of the Soviet Vistula offensive in the Radom area, which was cut off in January 1945, General Block fell during the retreat fighting of his troops.

Awards

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 2: v. Blanckensee – v. Czettritz and Neuhauß. Biblio Publishing House. Osnabrück 1993. ISBN 3-7648-2424-7 . Pp. 16-18.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Ranking list of the German Imperial Army. Ed .: Reichswehr Ministry . Mittler & Sohn . Berlin 1930. p. 180.
  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. 225.
personal data
SURNAME Block, Johannes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer, most recently General of the Infantry in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH November 17, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Büschdorf near Halle (Saale)
DATE OF DEATH January 26, 1945
Place of death near Kielce , Poland