Karl Wilhelm Specht
Karl Wilhelm Specht (born May 22, 1894 in Herdecke ; † December 3, 1953 in POW camp 5110/48 Woikowo near Iwanowo , Soviet Union ) was a German officer , most recently a general of the infantry in World War II .
Life
In 1914 he joined the King Infantry Regiment (6th Lothringisches) No. 145 as a lieutenant and fought with it on the Western Front after the outbreak of the First World War . At the end of the war he was first lieutenant (since August 18, 1917) and adjutant in the grenadier regiment "King Friedrich Wilhelm II." (1st Silesian) No. 10 and was then accepted into the Reichswehr . There he initially served as an adjutant in the 10th (Saxon) Infantry Regiment , was promoted to captain on April 1, 1925 , and from 1926 on as chief of the 10th company. At the same time as his promotion to lieutenant colonel on October 1, 1936, he took over the 1st battalion of the 110th Infantry Regiment in Heidelberg.
Promoted to colonel shortly before the start of World War II , he led the 55th Infantry Regiment in the western campaign and at the beginning of the war against the Soviet Union . For the fighting in the Gomel area and around Chernigov he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in September 1941, and the Oak Leaves for his achievements in the attack on Moscow in January 1942 . Promoted to major general in August 1942 , he became commander of the Döberitz infantry school . A year later he was promoted to lieutenant general, on December 1, 1943, appointed inspector of the General Inspectorate of Military Education and Training, and finally, on March 1, 1944, with the establishment of the new central office, inspector general of junior management.
When the assassination attempt on Hitler on July 20, 1944 failed, he refused to participate in the uprising that evening. In August 1944, Specht was also a member of the Court of Honor , which examined the involvement of officers in the attack on Hitler and handed suspects over to the People's Court for trial.
On December 1, 1944, Specht was promoted to General of the Infantry . As such he became the commanding general of the deputy general command of the XX. Army Corps appointed. He also became the commander of the military district XX, based in Danzig . On March 16, 1945 he was appointed (last) commanding general of the Corps Hela Peninsula . When the war ended he fell into Soviet captivity in 5110/48 Woikowo POW camp , the consequences of which he died 1953rd He was buried in a general cemetery in Cherntsy.
He was a member of the RSC Corps Albingia.
Awards
- Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class
- Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with swords
- Prussian rescue medal on ribbon
- Wound badge (1918) in black
- Clasp for the Iron Cross, 2nd and 1st class
-
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves
- Knight's Cross on September 8, 1941
- Oak leaves on January 16, 1942 (62nd award)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Reinhard Stumpf : The Wehrmacht Elite. Structure of rank and origin of the German generals and admirals 1933–1945. (Military history studies). Harald Boldt Verlag. Boppard am Rhein 1982. ISBN 3-7646-1815-9 . P. 186.
- ↑ Cherntsy German Soldiers Cementary, Ivanovo area. ( Memento of the original from March 19, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ CORPS - das Magazin (Deutsche Corpszeitung), 110 year, issue 1/2008, p. 25
- ↑ a b c d Reichswehr Ministry (Ed.): Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres. ES Mittler & Sohn . Berlin 1930. p. 166.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Woodpecker, Karl Wilhelm |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German officer, most recently General of the Infantry in World War II |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 22, 1894 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Herdecke |
| DATE OF DEATH | 3rd December 1953 |
| Place of death | POW camp 5110/48 Woikowo in Tschernzy, Soviet Union |