Kurt Herzog (General)

Kurt Herzog (born March 27, 1889 in Quedlinburg ; † May 8, 1948 in Vorkuta camp , Soviet Union ) was a German artillery general in World War II .

Life

On March 30, 1907, Herzog joined the 8th Field Artillery Regiment No. 78 of the Saxon Army in Wurzen as a flag junior . While he was assigned to the Glogau War School from October 1, 1907 to June 28, 1908, he was made an ensign on November 1, 1907 . This was followed on August 14, 1908 with a patent from February 14, 1907, his promotion to lieutenant . As such, he was assigned to the Dresden Military Riding Institute from October 1909 to the end of August 1910 and to the Hanover Military Riding Institute from October 1911 to the end of August 1913 .

When the First World War broke out , Herzog was transferred to the replacement division of his regiment. From there he came three weeks later to the Reserve Field Artillery Regiment No. 53 , where Herzog was initially used as a department adjutant and court officer. In association with the 53rd Reserve Division (3rd Royal Saxon) he took on the formation of the regiment from September 10, 1914 a. a. in the Battle of the Yser and the following trench warfare. In mid-May 1915, Lieutenant Duke became battery leader. In this function he distinguished himself during the autumn battle in the Champagne in his section near Ripont by several exploratory patrols carried out under difficult conditions. For these services, Herzog was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of St. Henry on March 17, 1916 . After the Battle of the Somme and the ensuing position battles in the Artois and Champagne , the Duke , who was now promoted to captain , moved his regiment to the Eastern Front in November 1916 . There he was commanded from the end of January 1917 to the end of April 1917 as part of the 3rd exchange course for Field Howitzer Regiment 54 at the kuk Korps Hoffmann . After his return to his regiment, he acted as deputy leader of Division II. This function changed several times over the next few months to his job as battery operator. November 3, 1917 to Sept. 19, 1918 Duke was then adjutant of the artillery commander no. 152 . Then he was commanded for training in the general staff service with the 24th Reserve Division (2nd Royal Saxon) .

Herzog stayed here after the end of the war until January 3, 1919. He was briefly transferred back to his regular regiment and, after demobilization in February 1919, he was assigned to the Central Department of the Saxon General Staff and the Saxon Ministry of Military Affairs. From there, on September 22, 1919, he was transferred to the international law department of the Reichswehr Ministry . In May and June 1921, Herzog was assigned to the 7th (Bavarian) News Department and the 19th (Bavarian) Infantry Regiment for one month each . From October 1, 1921 to November 30, 1923, Herzog then served as the battery chief in the 4th Artillery Regiment and was subsequently in the same position in the 8th Battery of the III until September 30, 1927. Division of the 3rd (Prussian) Artillery Regiment in Jüterbog . Herzog was then a teacher at the Infantry School in Dresden until March 31, 1932 and was promoted to major on April 1, 1929 in this role . He then returned to Jüterbog and was commander of the III. Division of the 3rd (Prussian) Artillery Regiment appointed. On September 1, 1933 he became a lieutenant colonel . With the first expansion of the Reichswehr on October 1, 1934, Herzog took over the newly formed Halberstadt Artillery Regiment, which was later renamed Artillery Regiment 13 and Artillery Regiment 31. As a colonel (since July 1, 1935), on March 1, 1938, he was appointed Artillery Commander I of the 1st Infantry Division in Insterburg .

Shortly before the beginning of the Second World War, Herzog was given command of the replacement troops of the 1st Infantry Division as major general . A month later he was appointed Artillery Commander 108. As the war continued, Herzog was commander of the 291st Infantry Division from February 6, 1940 to June 10, 1942 . After his promotion to general of the artillery on July 1, 1942, he acted as commanding general of the XXXVIII. Army Corps. As commanding general of the XXXVIII. With the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht on May 8, 1945 , Herzog's armored corps in the Kurlandkessel was taken prisoner by the Soviets .

He died in the gulag near Vorkuta.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class
• Knight's Cross 1st Class of the Order of Albrecht with swords and crown
• Hanseatic Cross Hamburg
• Friedrich Cross
• Austrian Military Merit Cross III. Class with war decorations
• Clasp for the Iron Cross, 2nd and 1st class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves
  • Knight's Cross on October 18, 1941
  • Oak leaves on January 12, 1945 (694th award)

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 5: v. Haack-Hitzfeld. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1999, ISBN 3-7648-2538-3 , pp. 364-366.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Royal Saxon Military St. Heinrichs Order 1736–1918. An honor sheet of the Saxon Army. Wilhelm and Bertha von Baensch Foundation, Dresden 1937, p. 317.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Ranking list of the German Imperial Army. Ed .: Reichswehr Ministry . Mittler & Sohn Verlag , Berlin 1924, p. 148.
3. ↑ 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. 387.