Eugen Meindl
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Eugen Meindl
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File:Eugen Meindl.jpg
Eugen Meindl
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Born | Donaueschingen, Grand Duchy of Baden, German Empire |
16 July 1892
Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Munich, Bavaria, West Germany |
Allegiance | German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany |
Service/ |
Luftwaffe |
Years of service | 1912–1945 |
Rank | General der Fallschirmtruppe |
Commands held | II Fallschirmkorps |
Battles/wars | World War I
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Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords |
Eugen Meindl (16 July 1892 – 24 January 1951) was a highly decorated German Fallschirmjäger and general during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
Contents
Biography
Eugen Meindl was born in Donaueschingen. He served with the artillery from July 27, 1912. In World War I he commanded a platoon and later a battery and subsequently served as adjutant with the 67th Artillery Regiment and with the Artillery Commander, 52nd Corps.
Meindl served with various artillery units in the Reichswehr. Promoted to Hauptmann on August 1, 1924, he was assigned to the Reichwehr Ministry on September 14, 1926 and spent the ten years there before being promoted to Major.
On November 10, 1939 Oberstleutnant Meindl was named commander of the 112th Mountain Artillery Regiment in Graz. As an Oberst he led the “Meindl Group” and made his very first parachute jump at Narvik. His transfer to the Luftwaffe followed on November 28, 1940, even though he had been commander of the “Assault Regiment Meindl” of the parachute troops since August 9.
The airborne invasion of Crete saw Meindl jump near the Platanias Bridge, where he was shot through the chest. Major Edgar Stentzler led the regiment until Oberst Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke arrived.
On February 26, 1942 Generalmajor Meindl became commander of the newly formed Luftwaffe Division Meindl in Russia and on September 26 he took over XIII. Fliegerkorps (later I Luftwaffe Field Corps).
Meindl distinguished himself in the winter fighting in Russia, was named in the Wehrmachtbericht and on November 5, 1943 was promoted to commanding general of II Parachute Corps, which he led in the west on the invasion front and later at Cleves and in the Reichswald. Meindl’s corps fought with distinction at Goch and in the Wesel bridgehead. Meindl was taken prisoner and held until September 29, 1947. He died in Munich.
Awards
- Iron Cross (1914)
- Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
- Narvik Shield (10 November 1940)[2]
- Wound Badge (1939) in Black (25 October 1941)[2]
- Eastern Front Medal (9 August 1942)[2]
- "Kreta" Cuffband (25 May 1943)[2]
- German Cross in Gold on 27 July 1942 as Generalmajor in the Luftwaffen-Division "Meindl"[3]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
- Knight's Cross on 14 June 1941 as Generalmajor and commander Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment[4][5][Note 1]
- 564th Oak Leaves on 31 August 1944 as General der Fallschirmtruppe and commanding general of the II. Fallschirmkorps[6][7][8]
- 155th Swords on 8 May 1945 as General der Fallschirmtruppe and commanding general of the II. Fallschirmkorps[9][10][Note 2]
Wehrmachtbericht reference
Date | Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording | Direct English translation |
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Monday, 9 June 1941 | Die unter Führung von Generalmajor Meindl, Oberst Heidrich, Oberst Bräuer, Oberst Ramke und Oberst Sturm stehenden Fallschirmverbände schufen in harten Kämpfen die entscheidenden Voraussetzungen für die Eroberung von Kreta.[12] | The parachute units under the leadership of Major General Meindl, Colonel Heidrich, Colonel Bräuer, Colonel Ramke and Colonel Sturm, created in hard fighting, the crucial conditions for the conquest of Crete. |
Notes
- ↑ According to Scherzer as commander of Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment 1.[6]
- ↑ Eugen Meindl's nomination by the troop was approved by each of his commanding officers. However the nomination contains no final remark on the proceedings. Oberst Nicolaus von Below, Hitler's Luftwaffe adjutant, had sent a teleprinter message to the commanding general of the Fallschirmarmee Generaloberst Kurt Student, requesting a statement for this nomination. The copy of the teleprinter contains a note: resubmission "23 April 1945". It seems that the statement was never returned. The paperwork was not finalized by the end of the war. The Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) claims that the award was presented in accordance with the Dönitz-decree. This is illegal according to the Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) and lacks legal justification. The sequential number "155" was assigned by the AKCR. Fellgiebel assigned the presentation date. Meindl is mentioned on a list of the Oberbefehlshaber Nordwest for "Nominations and Bestowal of War Awards" from May 1945. This list, which was intended to be presented to Karl Dönitz, contained twelve names of pending nominations which had been submitted via the chain of command. Dönitz has never signed this list, most likely he has never even seen this list. The responsible personnel offices awarded or declined eight nominations from this list by the end of the war by, two remained unprocessed by the Heerespersonalamt (HPA—Army Personnel Office) and Luftwaffenpersonalamt (LPA — Luftwaffe Personnel Office) and two further were left ready for signing at the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht/Wehrmacht-Führungsstab (OKW/WFSt—Oberkommando der Wehrmacht/Wehrmacht-Führungsstab—leadership staff of the Army High Command).[11]
References
Citations
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Thomas 1998, p. 69.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Thomas & Wegmann 1986, p. 175.
- ↑ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 301.
- ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 306.
- ↑ Von Seemen 1976, p. 237.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Scherzer 2007, p. 534.
- ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 87.
- ↑ Von Seemen 1976, p. 48.
- ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 49.
- ↑ Von Seemen 1976, p. 20.
- ↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 159.
- ↑ Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 1, p. 555.
Bibliography
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External links
- Eugen Meindl @ Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939-45
- Eugen Meindl @ ISLAND FARM SPECIAL CAMP: XI POWS HELD AT BRIDGEND
Military offices | ||
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Preceded by
Oberst Walter Koch
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Commander of Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment 1 1 September 1940 – 21 May 1941 |
Succeeded by Oberst Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke |
Preceded by
Oberst Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke
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Commander of Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment 1 19 June 1941 – 26 February 1942 |
Succeeded by Luftwaffen-Division Meindl |
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles containing German-language text
- 1892 births
- 1951 deaths
- People from Donaueschingen
- People from the Grand Duchy of Baden
- German military personnel of World War I
- Generals of Parachute Troops
- Recipients of the Gold German Cross
- Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
- Knights Second Class of the Order of the Zähringer Lion
- Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class
- Knights 2nd class of the Albert Order
- Military personnel referenced in the Wehrmachtbericht
- Operation Overlord people