Viktor von Schwedler

Leopold Thomas Alexander Viktor von Schwedler (born January 18, 1885 in St. Goarshausen , † October 30, 1954 in Freiburg im Breisgau ) was a German officer , most recently a general of the infantry and commanding general of an army corps and a military district in World War II .

Life

After his cadet training, Schwedler joined the infantry regiment "Prince Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau" (1st Magdeburg) No. 26 of the Prussian Army on February 27, 1904 as an ensign . In this regiment he was promoted to lieutenant on January 27, 1905 with a patent from June 22, 1903 . He was then employed as a first lieutenant in the 2nd Nassau Infantry Regiment No. 88 and transferred to the General Staff before the outbreak of World War I. After various posts in the General Staff, he was promoted to captain on November 28, 1914 . For his achievements he received both classes of the Iron Cross , the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords, the Hessian Medal of Bravery , the Reussian Honor Cross III. Class with swords and with a crown and the Austrian Military Merit Cross III. Class with war decorations.

After the war he was employed in the general staff of the 3rd Cavalry Division in Kassel . From this he was transferred to the staff of the military district command V. In autumn 1921 he worked as a general staff officer at Group Command 2 in Kassel, and was promoted to major on June 1, 1923. In 1924 he was given command of the 13th (mine thrower) company in the 15th Infantry Regiment in Kassel. In 1925 he was transferred to the General Staff of Infantry Leader III in Potsdam . He was transferred to the Reichswehr Ministry in Berlin on February 1, 1926, where he was employed in the Army Personnel Office. His next assignment was as commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 9th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment in Berlin-Lichterfelde , where he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on February 1, 1929 .

After Schwedler was appointed Chief of Staff of the 3rd Division on February 1, 1931 and promoted to Colonel on February 1, 1932 , he returned to the Ministry of Defense on October 1, 1933. There he became head of the Army Personnel Office and on October 1, 1934 Major General , later Lieutenant General . As a result of the Blomberg-Fritsch crisis , Schwedler was relieved of his post. He was promoted to General of the Infantry on February 1, 1938. At the beginning of February 1938, he became Commanding General of the IV Army Corps and Commander in Military District IV .

Second World War

With the IV Army Corps, Schwedler was deployed in the attack on Poland , where he received both clips of the Iron Cross. In the spring of 1940 his corps was used in the western campaign , where he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on June 29, 1940 for the achievements of his corps .

After its general command was initially used as an occupation force in the west, it was used in the summer of 1941 at the beginning of the Russian campaign in the attack on southern Russia.

After he was replaced by General der Pioneers Erwin Jaenecke during the Battle of Stalingrad , he was transferred to the Führer Reserve in October 1942 . On March 1, 1943, he was appointed the commanding general of the Deputy General Command IV Army Corps in Dresden , so Schwedler was again commander of Military District IV. On January 31, 1945, he had to relinquish his command and was not given any new duties until the end of the war.

Schwedler was a legal knight of the Order of St. John .

literature

Samuel W. Mitcham , Gene Mueller: Hitler's Commanders , Scarborough House, London 1992, ISBN 0-8128-4014-3 .

Individual evidence

↑ Reichswehr Ministry (Ed.): Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres. ES Mittler & Sohn . Berlin 1930. p. 116.
↑ Reinhard Stumpf : The Wehrmacht Elite. Structure of rank and origin of the German generals and admirals 1933–1945. (Military history studies). Harald Boldt Verlag. Boppard am Rhein 1982. ISBN 3-7646-1815-9 . P. 304.
↑ 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. 696.

personal data
SURNAME	Schwedler, Viktor von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Schwedler, Leopold Thomas Alexander Viktor von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German officer, most recently General of the Infantry in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH	January 18, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH	St. Goarshausen
DATE OF DEATH	October 30, 1954
Place of death	Freiburg in Breisgau

[Rangliste-1] Reichswehr Ministry (Ed.): Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres. ES Mittler & Sohn . Berlin 1930. p. 116.

[2] Reinhard Stumpf : The Wehrmacht Elite. Structure of rank and origin of the German generals and admirals 1933–1945. (Military history studies). Harald Boldt Verlag. Boppard am Rhein 1982. ISBN 3-7646-1815-9 . P. 304.

[Scherzer-3] 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. 696.