Kurt von Greiff

Grave of the Greiff family in the old cemetery in Ludwigsburg

Kurt von Greiff (born February 24, 1876 in Stuttgart , † March 6, 1945 in Isny im Allgäu ) was a German officer , most recently a general of the infantry in World War II .

Life

origin

Kurt was the son of the Württemberg lieutenant general Heinrich Eugen von Greiff (1844–1912).

Military career

On July 1, 1894, Greiff joined the infantry regiment "Grand Duke Friedrich von Baden" (8th Württembergisches) No. 126 of the Württemberg army as a flag junior . Here he was promoted to second lieutenant on October 18, 1895 and from 1899 was used as adjutant of the 2nd battalion. From October 1903 to July 1906 Greiff was assigned to the Prussian War Academy for further training and then returned to his regiment in Strasbourg as a prime lieutenant . In March 1907 he was assigned to the General Staff in Berlin. On March 24, 1909, Greiff was transferred there with his promotion to captain and was subsequently used as adjutant to the chief quartermaster . From October 1, 1910 until his transfer on February 25, 1912 as a company commander to Ludwigsburg in the infantry regiment "Alt-Württemberg" (3rd Württembergisches) No. 121 , Greiff was the first general staff officer in the staff of XVII. Army Corps . Following this, he switched back to staff service on April 6, 1914 and was appointed First General Staff Officer of the 34th Division .

First World War

He also held this position when the First World War broke out . With his division , Greiff passed in the association of XVI. Army Corps crossed the border into France and took part in the Battle of Longwy-Longuyon from August 22nd to 27th, 1914. Subsequently, the major formation advanced further to France after the German retreat in the Argonne in the trench warfare move. There, on November 28, 1914, Greiff was promoted to major . In mid-October 1915 he left the division and became First General Staff Officer of the VI. Reserve Corps . The corps was under the command of General der Infanterie Goßler and was at that point in position in front of Verdun . During the battle that began on February 21, 1916 , it fought mainly for the Height 304 and the Dead Man. In mid-May the corps was withdrawn from the heavy and loss-making battles, and after several weeks of recovery and refreshment, it was transferred to the Somme in early July 1916 . In the battle there it fought until the end of the month, then moved into position near Lille and was briefly used again in September 1916 in the battle of the Somme. It was then moved to Vimy and fought in the Battle of Arras in April / May 1917 . After the fighting Greiff was briefly from 20 May to 11 June 1917 First General Staff Officer of the Guards Reserve Corps and was then in the same function for the Artois standing 6th Army added. After six months, he was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the XXV on December 24, 1917 . Reserve Corps assigned to the 7th Army at the Ailette . For the duration of the Great Battle in France , the corps was part of the 18th Army from March 23, 1918 , enforced the crossing over the Somme with its divisions and advanced as far as Montdidier . After the failure of the German offensive, the corps took part in the battle of Soissons and Reims . It succeeded in storming the Chemin des Dames , as well as the pursuit of the enemy between Oise and Aisne over the Vesle to the Marne .

For the planning and implementation of these operations, Greiff was awarded the highest Prussian valor award on June 9, 1918, the Order Pour le Mérite . Greiff had already been awarded both classes of the Iron Cross , the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with swords and the Bavarian Military Merit Order IV class with swords. The Württemberg King Wilhelm II recognized his achievements by being awarded the Cross of Honor of the Württemberg Crown with Swords and the Knight's Cross First Class of the Order of Frederick .

After the offensive, the corps was engaged in heavy defensive battles between Soissons and Reims and Greiff led the troops back behind the Vesle until the beginning of August. In the middle of the month the corps was transferred to Army Department C in Upper Alsace for two months and then fought with the 3rd Army in Champagne until the armistice was reached .

Reichswehr

After the end of the war and his return home, Greiff was reassigned to the General Staff on December 18, 1918, and from there on October 1, 1919, as General Staff Officer of Military District Command III in the Provisional Reichswehr . He stayed here even after being converted to the 3rd division and was promoted to lieutenant colonel with RDA on October 1, 1920 . As a colonel , Greiff joined the staff of the 13th (Württergisches) Infantry Regiment on October 1, 1923 and was finally appointed regiment commander on April 1, 1925. In this function, Greiff was also state commander of Württemberg from October 1, 1926 . In the meantime promoted to major general on November 1, 1927 , he gave up the regiment on February 28, 1928 and was appointed inspector of the weapons schools (In 1) in the Reichswehr Ministry. In this position, Greiff was directly subordinate to the Chief of Army Command Wilhelm Heye . Eventually he was promoted to lieutenant general on June 1, 1929 and retired from active service on September 30, 1929.

Wehrmacht

On August 27, 1939, the so-called Tannenberg Day, Greiff was given the character of General of the Infantry.

Just one day later, Greiff was made available to the army of the Wehrmacht and named Korück 592. After the beginning of World War II, his office was renamed Oberfeldkommandantur 592 on December 7, 1939. On March 10, 1940, he was appointed commander of the Higher Command z. b. V. XXXXV and Greiff received the patent for his rank on September 1, 1940 . At the same time he was from November 13, 1940 to January 15, 1941 on behalf of the Commanding General of III. Army Corps . On April 14, 1942, Greiff was finally transferred to the Führerreserve and his mobilization provision was repealed on August 31, 1942.

Greiff is buried in the old cemetery in Ludwigsburg.

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 4: Fleck – Gyldenfeldt. Biblio Publishing House. Osnabrück 1999. ISBN 3-7648-2488-3 . Pp. 410-411.
• Hanns Möller: History of the knights of the order pour le mérite in the world war. Volume I .: A-L. Bernard & Graefe publishing house. Berlin 1935. pp. 400-402.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Konrad Ernst von Goßler : Memories of the Great War. The VI. Dedicated to reserve corps. Verlag Wilh. Gottl. Grain. Breslau 1919. p. 64.
2. ↑ Ranking list of the German Imperial Army. Ed .: Reichswehr Ministry . Mittler & Sohn publishing house . Berlin 1924. p. 115.