Kurt Oppenländer

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Kurt Oppenländer (born February 11, 1892 in Ulm , † March 17, 1947 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen ) was a German officer and commander of the 305th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) , most recently in the rank of lieutenant general .

Life

Kurt Oppenländer began his military career in 1911 as a flag junior in the infantry regiment "Grand Duke Friedrich von Baden" (8th Württembergisches) No. 126 . In 1912 he was after a successful visit to a military academy to lieutenant promoted. Before the First World War , Oppenländer served for some time in the infantry regiment "Alt-Württemberg" (3rd Württembergisches) No. 121 . During the war he acted as platoon leader and was promoted to first lieutenant in 1916 . In the summer of 1916 he was the leader of the Sturm -teilung in the 26th Division under Lieutenant General Wilhelm Karl von Urach on the Western Front . In July 1917 he was already on the regimental staff of the 3rd Württemberg Infantry Regiment "Alt-Württemberg" No. 121 and later in December 1917 deputy commander of the 2nd Battalion. The station followed in 1918 as deputy regimental adjutant of the 3rd Württemberg Infantry Regiment "Alt-Württemberg" No. 121. During the First World War, Oppenländer suffered several wounds.

At the end of the war he served from 1919 as a first lieutenant in the Reichswehr- Rifle Regiment 25 of the Reichsheer . A year later he was accepted as an adjutant battalion in the 13th (Württemberg) Infantry Regiment and remained in this position for several years. On November 1, 1922, he was promoted to captain and 18 days later he married Elsa Kiefer. In 1924 he had the rank of company commander of the 7th company of the 13th Infantry Regiment in Ludwigsburg , four years later he led the 12th MG company of the regiment in Ulm on the Danube and was promoted to major in April 1933 , then to the Döberitz infantry training staff moved. In 1935, the Reichswehr associations unmasked and were officially expanded to become the Wehrmacht . On October 15, 1935, he was appointed commander of MG Battalion 4 at the Münsingen military training area . In the same year Oppenländer received the rank of lieutenant colonel and three years later that of colonel .

At the time of the general mobilization of the Wehrmacht in the summer of 1939, Oppenländer received command of the 460 Infantry Regiment and was dispatched to positions on the western front in the first year of the war. In the spring of 1940 his regiment fought in the division of the 260th Infantry Division in France. In October 1940 he moved to the command of the 420 Infantry Regiment of the 125th Infantry Division . With this association he took part in the Balkan campaign in spring 1941. In the summer of 1941, the 420 Infantry Regiment, together with the division association of the 125th Infantry Division, was ordered to southern Russia . On September 12, 1941, Oppenländer was seriously wounded by shrapnel, but was able to stay with the regiment for some time. On October 1, 1941, he was promoted to major general and a little later he was awarded the Commander-in-Chief of the Army . Due to a serious illness, he had to hand over his command to his successor in October 1941 and was transferred to the Freiburg hospital. After his release he was transferred to the Führerreserve . For his bravery in combat, he was subsequently awarded the German Cross in Gold on January 14, 1942 .

In mid-April 1942 Oppenländer was entrusted with command of the 305th Infantry Division . Chief of Staff of this division was from Austria originating Ritterkreuzträger and subsequent resistance fighters i colonel. G. Heinrich Kodré . With this he marched to the southern section of the eastern front. On July 25, 1942 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . His division did not enter the Stalingrad Battle as a fresh reserve until October 1942 and fought mainly in the area of ​​the tractor factory and the “Barricades” gun factory . On November 1, 1942, due to a serious illness, he had to give up his command and was transferred to the "Führerreserve" of Military District  V. According to another version, Major General Oppenländer got into a massive conflict with Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach on November 11, 1942 due to the heavy losses during Operation Hubertus . Oppenländer demanded that the operation be stopped immediately, but this was no longer possible due to the “ Fuehrer's order ”. Oppenländer was relieved of his command and replaced by Bernhard Steinmetz , Chief of Staff of the VIII Army Corps .

Oppenländer did not live to see the encirclement and surrender of the 6th Army in Stalingrad, various stations led him to the reserve hospital in Badenweiler and Freiburg. On August 1, 1943, he was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed commander of Krakow . In June 1944 he was given command of the 198th Infantry Division , but had to be relieved in August 1944 due to physical and mental exhaustion and reassigned to the Führer Reserve. He was treated again in the Badenweiler reserve hospital. In the autumn of 1944 he drew attention to himself by disrupting an NSF event while he was heavily drunk and was then brought into action for degrading military strength , which was discontinued in mid-February 1945. At the beginning of March 1945, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel sentenced him to 7 days of room arrest. On June 30, 1945, he was to be released from the army without a license to wear a uniform .

Shortly before the end of the Second World War, he was taken prisoner by the US and died there.

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ flamesofwar.com
  2. ↑ a b c d Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres , Ed .: Reichswehrministerium , Mittler & Sohn Verlag, Berlin 1930, p. 136
  3. ↑ a b c 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. 578.
personal data
SURNAME Oppenländer, Kurt
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer, commander of the 305th Infantry Division
DATE OF BIRTH February 11, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH Ulm
DATE OF DEATH March 17, 1947
Place of death Garmisch-Partenkirchen