Ludwig Crüwell

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Ludwig Crüwell (left) with Fritz Bayerlein , North Africa, January 1942

Ludwig Crüwell (born March 20, 1892 in Dortmund , † September 25, 1958 in Essen ) was a German officer , most recently a general of the armored forces in World War II .

Life

Crüwell occurred on March 6, 1911 as a cadet in the Dragoon Regiment "King Charles I of Romania" (the first Hanoverian) no. 9 in Metz one. From October 1, 1911 to June 30, 1912 he was assigned to the Hersfeld War School, where he was appointed ensign on November 18, 1911 . After his return, he was promoted to lieutenant on August 18, 1912 .

When the First World War broke out , Crüwell and his regiment were deployed on the Western Front . After being promoted to first lieutenant on January 27, 1916, he served as regimental adjutant from September 17, 1916. At the same time he was in command from May 22 to October 19, 1917 to represent the 1st orderly officer of the 233rd Division. Furthermore, Crüwell was commanded at the same time from November 28, 1917 to January 6, 1918 as a company commander to Infantry Regiment No. 450. He was then referred to Artillery Commander 233. Released from his position as regimental adjutant on March 17, 1918, he was assigned to the staff of the 233rd Division and on May 3, 1918, transferred to the 19th Landwehr Infantry Brigade as an adjutant .

After the end of the war, Crüwell was initially transferred back to his regular regiment and taken over into the Reichswehr . There he held various staff positions. From October 1, 1928 to January 31, 1931 he was squadron chief in the 12th (Saxon) cavalry regiment . In the Wehrmacht , he first switched to anti-tank defense and finally to armored forces in 1938. At the beginning of the war in 1939 he was a colonel (since March 1, 1936) and department head in the Army General Staff.

As chief quartermaster of the 16th Army , Crüwell became major general on December 1, 1939 and took part in the French campaign. From August 1, 1940 to August 15, 1941 he was in command of the 11th Panzer Division , which he led in the Balkan campaign and with Operation Barbarossa . With effect from September 1, 1941 he was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed commanding general of the German Africa Corps, but was only able to take up command in October due to illness. On December 17, 1941 he was promoted to General of the Panzer Force.

In addition to Fritz Bayerlein , he often had heated discussions with Erwin Rommel . Especially against Rommel's counteroffensive on 24/25. November 1941 Bayerlein and Crüwell protested violently, as a result of which the German-Italian troops had to withdraw from Cyrenaica .

After returning from a two-month home leave, General Crüwell fell into British captivity near Gazala on May 29, 1942 , when his Fieseler Storch was shot down on a reconnaissance flight. Of 22 August 1942 to 16 June 1944 he was in Trent Park imprisoned, where he served as spokesman for the hitler loyal officers was, and then to a camp in the United States laid. He was released in April 1947.

After the war Crüwell was chairman of the "Association of Former Members of the German Africa Corps" and organized regular meetings in which thousands of veterans took part.

Awards

literature

  • Sönke Neitzel : bugged. German generals in British captivity 1942–1945 ; Berlin: Propylaen 2005. ISBN 3-54907261-9 (Edition of intercepted conversations in the prisoner of war camp [selection])
  • Dermot Bradley : The Generals of the Army 1921-1945 Volume 2 v. Blanckensee-v. Czettritz and Neuhauß , Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1993, ISBN 3-7648-2424-7 , pp. 480-482

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres , Ed .: Reichswehrministerium , Mittler & Sohn Verlag , Berlin 1925, p. 156
  2. ↑ 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. 263.
  3. ↑ The Wehrmacht High Command announces ... The German Wehrmacht Report, Volume 2 1942-1943 , Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1892, ISBN 3-7648-1282-6 , p. 148
personal data
SURNAME Crüwell, Ludwig
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer and general of the armored force
DATE OF BIRTH March 20, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH Dortmund
DATE OF DEATH September 25, 1958
Place of death eat