Oskar Eckholt

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Oskar Eckholt (born November 4, 1894 in Essen-Freisenbruch , † August 12, 1982 in Bielefeld - Theesen ) was a German major general in the Wehrmacht during World War II .

Life

First World War

Eckholt entered the Thuringian Foot Artillery Regiment No. 18 on March 9, 1914 as an officer candidate , where he was promoted to Fahnenjunker NCO on August 1, 1914 and with whom he went to the Western Front a few days later . On December 4, 1914 he was promoted to ensign and on February 3, 1915 to lieutenant ; During this time he served twice briefly with the staff of the regiment (August 11 to 15 and August 23 to October 22, 1914) in order to receive the necessary officer training. From April 4, 1915 to April 5, 1916 he was platoon leader in the Reserve Foot Artillery Regiment No. 18. From May to August 1916 he served in quick succession with the Landwehr Infantry Regiment No. 38, was in command of Field Aviation Department 55 and finally came to the staff of the 14th Landwehr Division as a picture officer . In November and December 1916 he was deputy battery chief in the Reserve Foot Artillery Regiment No. 18. In August and September 1917 he briefly commanded a battery in the Foot Artillery Regiment No. 22. On October 18, 1918 he was promoted to lieutenant . After the end of the war he was transferred to the replacement division of the foot artillery regiment No. 18 on December 13, 1918 and then removed from the army on February 28, 1919 . During the war he was awarded the Iron Cross, 2nd and 1st class.

Wehrmacht and World War II

In April 1934 Eckholt was called up for a course with the infantry training staff at the Döberitz military training area , then on September 1, 1934, he was accepted into the Reichswehr with the rank of captain and assigned to the staff of the 6th Artillery Regiment in Minden . On October 1, 1934, he became battery chief in the same regiment, and on October 6, 1936, he became battery chief in Artillery Regiment 26. On January 1, 1938 he was promoted to major and on November 1 of the same year he was appointed commander of the fourth division of the Artillery Regiment 211, which was transferred to the Artillery Regiment 236 on January 1, 1940, as the IV. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on March 1, 1941 , appointed commander of the IVth Division of Artillery Regiment 251 on January 1, 1942, awarded the German Cross in Gold on May 18, 1942 , and colonel on September 1, 1942 promoted. On February 1, 1943, he became the commander of the 178 Artillery Regiment of the 78th Sturm Division , and on April 9, 1943, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross .

On November 1, 1943, he was the leader of reserve of OKH placed where it to 14 December at 8 participated November 16 division leader training course. On December 18, 1943, he was transferred to Army Group Center , where he changed to the staff of the 291st Infantry Division on January 5, 1944 and took over the leadership of this division ten days later as the successor to Lieutenant General Werner Göritz . On March 25, 1944, his division became part of the LIX. Army Corps ( General of the Infantry Kurt von der Chevallerie ), with the entire 1st Panzer Army under General of the Panzer Force Hans-Valentin Hube, surrounded by Soviet troops near Kamjanez-Podilskyj in southwestern Ukraine . Habe's army was then able to free itself from the encirclement in the Kamenez-Podolski kettle battle with around 200,000 men in a wandering kettle until April 6th . During this breakout, Eckholt was promoted to major general on April 1st and at the same time appointed commander of the division. His division was then reintegrated into the defensive front northeast of Lemberg . On July 12, 1944, just before the start of the Soviet Lviv-Sandomierz operation , Eckholt was so badly wounded near Lopatyn that he spent the rest of the war in various hospitals , transferred to the Führer Reserve . He was taken prisoner in the US in May 1945 in the military hospital in Heiligenstadt ( Thuringia ), from which he was released on May 23, 1947.

literature

  • Dermot Bradley , 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 3: Dahlmann – Fitzlaff. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1994, ISBN 3-7648-2443-3 , pp. 269-270.
  • Fritz Vetter: The 78th Infantry and Storm Division 1938–1945. Positioning - arming - missions - soldiers. Dörfler Verlag, Eggolsheim, 2004, ISBN 3895551821 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearer 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. 287.
  2. ↑ a b c Samuel W. Mitcham: German Order of Battle: 291st-999th Infantry divisions, named infantry divisions, and special divisions in World War II . Stackpole Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8117-3437-0 , pp. 2 ( google.de [accessed on May 4, 2019]).
  3. ↑ Encirclement of a Panzer Army Near Kamenets-Podolskiy (Chapter 6 from Operations of Encircled Forces: German Experiences in Russia , United States Department of the Army, Washington, 1952)
  4. ^ Samuel W. Mitcham , Jr .: The German Defeat in the East: 1944-45. Paperback, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA., 2007, ISBN 0-8117-3371-8 , pp. 76, 94
personal data
SURNAME Eckholt, Oskar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer and knight's cross bearer, most recently major general
DATE OF BIRTH November 4, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Essen-Freisenbruch
DATE OF DEATH August 12, 1982
Place of death Theesen