Lothar Fritsch

Lothar Fritsch (born June 19, 1871 in Ratibor ; † October 5, 1951 in Schlehdorf ) was a German officer , most recently a general of the infantry and SS group leader .

Life

On February 27, 1890, Fritsch joined the 4th Lower Silesian Infantry Regiment No. 51 of the Prussian Army as a flag junior . After his promotion to secondary lieutenant on August 22, 1891, he was used as a company officer and was assigned to serve in the Silesian Pioneer Battalion No. 6 and from September 1, 1899 as an adjutant to the Wohlau district command. With his promotion to first lieutenant on November 16, 1899, he was transferred to the Kulm Infantry Regiment No. 141 , where Fritsch served in the 5th Company for the next few years. From October 16, 1904 to May 17, 1907 he was adjutant at the commandant's office of the military training group . Then promoted to captain and transferred back to the Kulmer Infantry Regiment No. 141, he was used as chief of the 7th and later the 1st company. On March 22, 1913, Fritsch was transferred to Goldap in the infantry regiment "Graf Dönhoff" (7th East Prussian) No. 44 , where he was given command of the 8th Company. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Wilhelm II's reign , Fritsch was awarded the Order of the Red Eagle, IV class, for his services in troop leadership in June 1913 .

First World War

With the outbreak of World War I , his regiment was used in the border guards in East Prussia . On August 11, 1914, Fritsch was seriously wounded in a skirmish with Russian troops near Mierunsken . Promoted to major on August 19, 1914, during his stay in the hospital , after his recovery on October 20, 1914, he took over the 2nd Battalion. In November Fritsch fought at Tolmingkehmen and Gawaiten , where he was wounded again, but remained with the troops. During the fighting on the Gumbinnen - Lötzen line , Fritsch was entrusted with the management of his regiment for two weeks from November 15, 1914. In February 1915, Fritsch fought with his association in the winter battle in Masuria and then in the "Gallwitz" army division in northern Poland. Nearly all of his staff were taken prisoner at Ziomek . Only Fritsch and an orderly officer were able to evade capture. When the counterattack was initiated, the village was recaptured and four Russian officers and 93 men were brought in as prisoners of war. Fritsch was wounded a third time during these fighting. In the subsequent position battles between Omulew and Orzyc again wounded, had to give up his command and Fritsch was after prolonged hospital stay until January 1916. fit for duty. At the beginning of February he took over his battalion, but had to surrender it shortly afterwards because his old wound had broken open again. In mid-April 1916 he came to the replacement battalion of his regiment and after his complete recovery he was transferred as commander of the III. Battalions for the 6th Pomeranian Infantry Regiment No. 49 . At that time the regiment was engaged in heavy fighting on the western front in front of Verdun . At the same time, from mid-August 1916, Fritsch was repeatedly entrusted with the management of the regiment. On February 7, 1917, he was finally appointed commander of Infantry Regiment No. 357. In the 199th Division he took part in the trench warfare on the Somme , the spring battle at Arras and from the beginning of June 1917 in the Battle of Flanders . During the fighting north of Passendale , Fritsch suffered his fifth wound from a shrapnel on his head. He stayed with the Reserve Battalion and took over the regiment on December 10th. After trench warfare in Flanders, his regiment took part in the German spring offensive at the end of March 1918 . For storming the Marrières forest and the heights of Maurepas, Fritsch was awarded the highest Prussian bravery award, the Order Pour le Mérite , on May 6, 1918 .

After his sixth wound, which he sustained in July 1918 west of Reims from a shrapnel on his right knee, he received the gold wound badge . After a three-week stay in the Rethel field hospital , he took over his regiment again during the trench warfare on the Vesle . In the last months of the war, Fritsch and his association were involved in permanent defensive battles. a. in Champagne and east of the Aisne near Vouziers .

Weimar Republic

After the Compiègne armistice , Fritsch marched back home with the remnants of his regiment. In Deutsch Krone , the demobilization and subsequent dissolution of the association took place from the beginning of January 1919 via the processing office of the infantry regiment “Prince Moritz von Anhalt-Dessau” (5th Pomeranian) No. 42 . As a battalion commander, Fritsch then joined the Volunteer Infantry Regiment No. 450 of the 117th Division , active in the Upper Silesia Border Guard . With the formation of the Provisional Reichswehr , his battalion was added to the Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 64. Fritsch continued to work as battalion commander, was then transferred to the Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 16 and promoted to lieutenant colonel on November 30, 1920 with seniority from October 1, 1920 . The battalion under his command was absorbed into Infantry Regiment 3 and Fritsch was a staff officer at the regimental staff until March 31, 1921 . Then he was in command of Marienburg until the end of 1921 and returned to the 3rd Infantry Regiment on January 1, 1922, when he was promoted to colonel . On April 1, 1923 he was transferred to Schweidnitz , where Fritsch took over command of the 7th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment . In this position promoted to major general on November 1, 1926 , he was appointed Infantry Leader VI in Hanover on April 1, 1927 . On 31 January 1929 Fritsch was awarded the character as a lieutenant general retired from active service.

National Socialism

After his departure, Fritsch worked as president of the Hanoverian Provincial Warrior Association and later became the juggler leader of the juggler association "Northwest". Already made available to the army of the Wehrmacht on July 1, 1938 , he remained without mobilization use. On August 27, 1939, the so-called Tannenberg Day, Fritsch was given the character of General of the Infantry. His zV position was canceled on April 30, 1943.

He joined the SS (SS-No .: 279.973) and was promoted to SS Brigade Leader on April 20, 1940 and SS Group Leader on November 9, 1942 . From January 30, 1942 he was on the staff of the SS Upper Section "North Sea" and from November 9, 1944 on the staff of the SS Upper Section "South". Fritsch was a member of the NSDAP ( membership number 4.060.819).

literature

• Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: 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 1996. ISBN 3-7648-2488-3 . Pp. 111-112.
• Hanns Möller: History of the knights of the order pour le mérite in the world war. Volume 1: A-L. Bernard & Graefe publishing house. Berlin 1935. pp. 341-343.

Web links

• Lothar Fritsch on www.dws-xip.pl

Individual evidence

1. ^ Military weekly paper . No. 78/80 of June 16, 1913. pp. 1823-1824.
2. ^ Jürgen Kraus : Handbook of the associations and troops of the German army 1914-1918. Part VI: Infantry. Volume 2: Reserve and Landwehr Regiments. Publishing house Militaria. Vienna 2012. ISBN 978-3-902526-52-6 . P. 316.