Charles of Prager

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Karl Prager , from 1918 Knight of Prager (born October 23, 1875 in Warmensteinach , † January 31, 1959 in Horn ) was a German officer, most recently general of the infantry in World War II .

Life

family

Karl was the son of the Oberforstrate Heinrich Prager and his wife Ernestine, née Kroher. He married Friedl Spitzweg, née Horn, on March 16, 1922.

Military career

Prager graduated from the New Gymnasium in Bamberg in 1893 . He then joined the 11th Infantry Regiment "von der Tann" of the Bavarian Army on July 14, 1894 as a flag boy . From March 1st, 1895 to February 6th, 1896 he was sent to the Munich War School and then promoted to Second Lieutenant on February 27th . As such, Prager completed a pioneer training course in June 1899 and was assigned to the military shooting school in May 1900. On October 1, 1901, he was transferred to the Regensburg district command, where he was used as an adjutant . Subsequently, from October 1, 1903 to September 30, 1906, Prager was assigned to the War Academy , which pronounced him qualified for the general staff, the higher adjudicatory position and the departmental service. There he was promoted to first lieutenant on October 28, 1905 . After brief service in the troops, on October 1, 1907, Prager was assigned to the central office of the General Staff. This was followed by his command to the Great General Staff in Berlin until September 30, 1910 . In the meantime Prager had been promoted to captain on April 22, 1910 and at the same time transferred to the central office of the General Staff. From March 26, 1911 to January 22, 1913 he was then on the General Staff of the 1st Army Corps . Prager then worked on the General Staff of the Germersheim Fortress until March 18, 1914 , where he developed a new reinforcement design. He then returned to the troop service and took over the 10th Company in the 2nd Infantry Regiment "Crown Prince" .

First World War

He led this company after the outbreak of World War I in the battles near Badonviller and Cirey on the Western Front . Prager gave up the regiment on August 16, 1914 and was transferred to the General Staff of the 1st Army Corps. Here he experienced the battles for Saarburg - Metz and Nancy - Épinal as well as the Battle of the Somme . On October 23, 1914, he was transferred to the staff of the Quartermaster General at the Great Headquarters . On Christmas Eve , Prague became First General Staff Officer of the newly formed Prussian 79th Reserve Division . In this function he was promoted to major on January 11, 1915 , fought in the winter battle in Masuria and was wounded on February 8, 1915. After a stay in the hospital, Prager was assigned to the General Staff of the Ulm Governorate and on March 6, 1915, was appointed First General Staff Officer of the newly established Prussian 52nd Division . With her he was in position battles in the Artois from May 1915 and in the summer played a major role in the defensive successes in the Battle of the Somme . On August 3, 1916, Prager was removed from his position, transferred to the officers in a special position and assigned to the General Staff of the 6th Army . He was transferred there on August 14, 1916. Just fourteen days later, Prager joined the staff of the newly formed Army Group "Crown Prince Rupprecht" as a second general staff officer . After trench warfare in Artois and Flanders as well as on the Siegfried Front, Prager was promoted to First General Staff Officer on June 1, 1917. For his services during the spring battle at Arras , the Third Battle of Flanders and the tank battle at Cambrai , Prager was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order on November 30, 1917 . The personal nobility was associated with the award and, after being entered in the Bavarian nobility register, he was allowed to call himself Ritter von Prager. Wilhelm II honored his services during the fighting for Cambrai on December 23, 1917 with the award of the highest Prussian valor award, the order Pour le Mérite .

In 1918 Prager was involved in the fighting of the German spring offensive , the battles on the Lys and around the Kemmel , before he organized the return of the army group from the Antwerp-Maas position after the armistice at Compiègne .

Weimar Republic

After the demobilization , Prager was transferred to the central office of the General Staff at the beginning of February 1919 and in the middle of the month he was assigned to the headquarters in Kolberg as Bavarian military representative . On April 16, 1919, Prager was accepted into the Provisional Reichswehr and appointed Chief of the General Staff of Reichswehr Group Command 4. In this function he was involved in the suppression of the Munich Soviet Republic . On December 18, 1920, Prager was promoted to lieutenant colonel with senior service from October 1, 1920 and as such, on February 1, 1921 battalion commander in the 19th (Bavarian) Infantry Regiment . In the meantime, Prager was a member of the commission that drafted this law from 1920 until the Defense Act of March 23, 1921, which formed the legal basis for the Reichswehr.

From June 15, 1921 to March 31, 1922 he worked in the regimental staff and was then transferred to the Reichswehr Ministry in Berlin as head of the Army Training Department (T 4) . In this capacity he was promoted to colonel on July 1, 1922 . Prager then resigned on February 1, 1925, and became commander of the 19th (Bavarian) Infantry Regiment. After two years of service he gave up the regiment, was promoted to major general and appointed inspector of the infantry (In 2) in the Reichswehr Ministry. In the meantime, on February 1, 1929 Lieutenant General transported, Prague was January 31, 1931 presentation of the character adopted as a general of infantry from military service. After his departure, Prager was given the right to wear the general uniform of the 19th (Bavarian) Infantry Regiment.

Second World War

Before the start of World War II to put Prague on August 26, 1939 order of the army of the Wehrmacht . Until November 5, 1939 he served as the commanding general of the XXVII. Army Corps and then as Commanding General of the XXV. Army Corps. In this position, Prager was involved in the fighting on the Upper Rhine and received the patent for his rank on September 1, 1940 . On April 30, 1942, he was relieved of his post, transferred to the Führerreserve and his mobilization provision was finally lifted on June 30, 1942.

After the heavy air raid on Munich , Prager was bombed out in July 1944 and moved to Horn, where he died in 1959.

Awards

literature

  • Hanns Möller: History of the knights of the order pour le mérite in the world war. Volume II: MZ. Bernard & Graefe publishing house. Berlin 1935. pp. 144-145.
  • Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Christian Zweng: The knights of the order Pour le Mérite of the First World War. Volume 3: P-Z. Biblio Publishing House. Bissendorf 2011. ISBN 3-7648-2586-3 . Pp. 50-52.
  • Othmar Hackl : The Bavarian War Academy (1867-1914). CH Beck´sche publishing house bookstore. Munich 1989. ISBN 3-406-10490-8 . P. 544.
  • Rudolf von Kramer, Otto Freiherr von Waldenfels: VIRTUTI PRO PATRIA. The Royal Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order. Acts of War and Book of Honor 1914–1918. Self-published by the Royal Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order. Munich 1966. pp. 377-378.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eugen Brand: The first 25 years of the new grammar school Bamberg: (1890-1915) . Gärtner, Bamberg 1915, p. 25 ( digitized version ).
  2. ↑ Othmar Hackl : The Bavarian War Academy (1867-1914). CH Beck´sche publishing house bookstore. Munich 1989. ISBN 3-406-10490-8 . P. 544.
  3. ↑ Harold J. Gordon Jr .: The Reichswehr and the Weimar Republic. Defense Publishing House Bernard & Graefe. Frankfurt am Main 1959. p. 164
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres. Ed .: Reichswehr Ministry . Mittler & Sohn . Berlin 1924. p. 114.
personal data
SURNAME Prager, Karl von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Prager, Karl Ritter von; Prager, Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer, most recently General of the Infantry in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH October 23, 1875
PLACE OF BIRTH Warmensteinach
DATE OF DEATH January 31, 1959
Place of death horn