Adolf Voigt

Adolf Voigt
Birth date	28 July 1889(1889-07-28)
Place of birth	Wiesbaden, Province of Hesse-Nassau, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date	1 January 1982 (aged 92)
Place of death	Wiesbaden, Hessen, West Germany
Place of burial	Wiesbaden North Cemetery
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army Reichswehr Heer
Years of service	1909–1945
Rank	Major General
Commands held	Kavallerie-Regiment 18 Infanterie-Regiment 524
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Operation Barbarossa
Awards	Iron Cross

Adolf Karl Johannes Voigt (28 July 1889 – 1 January 1982) was a German officer of the Prussian Army, the Imperial German Army, the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht, finally Major General in WWII.

Life

Voigt became commandant of the German city of Graudenz, which was liberated by the Wehrmacht on 3 September 1939. The city, now free of Polish occupation, was reintegrated into the German Reich as part of the Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia.

His gravestone shows him as "Hanns-Adolf Voigt". It is possible, he was born not as "Adolf Karl Johannes Voigt" (military files) but as "Karl Johannes Adolf Voigt" and at some time called himself Hanns (from Johannes) + Adolf = Hanns-Adolf, maybe to distinguish himself from his father Adolf.

Adolf attended primary school and Gymnasium in Wiesbaden from Easter 1896 to Easter 1908 and then Oberrealschule in Marburg. On 28 November 1909, he joined the Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 2 in Langensalza. The Jäger on horseback were units of the Prussian Army's light cavalry, specializing in reconnaissance, security, and combat on horseback. These units were considered "elite" troops of the light cavalry and played an important role in the First World War.

• 12 December 1909 Sworn-in
• August 1909 to April 1910 Commanded to riding school in Potsdam
• 16 June 1911 Commissioned in the 4th Squadron/Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 2
• 1 October 1913 to 30 June 1914 Commanded to the officer's riding school in Paderborn
• 2 August 1914 Deployed into the field with the Reserve-Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 2
  • further service with Deputy General Command VI Army Corps, Landwehr Cavalry Regiment No. 2, mobile replacement squadron of the Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 1, Landwehr Infantry Regiment No. 7, Reserve Dragoon Regiment No. 2, staff of the 3rd Landwehr Division, 22nd Reserve Division and Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 82
• 8 March 1918 Fallen ill, Reserve Military Hospital Wiesbaden
• 28 June 1918 Once again transferred to the staff of the 3rd Landwehr Division and appointed Gas Protection Officer
• 28 November 1918 Admitted to a Krankensammelstelle (medical collecting station) due to severe joint rheumatism
• 19 April 1919 Transferred from military hospital to the Replacement Squadron/Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 2
• 1 June 1919 Commanded to the II. Battalion/Cavalry School in Hannover as riding instructor
• 15 October 1919 Newly sworn-in
• 15 April 1920 Administratively transferred to the Reiter-Regiment 7 in Breslau but still commanded to the cavalry school in Hannover
• 10 July 1920 Received permission to marry
• 1 October 1921 Administratively commanded to the 13. (Preußisches) Reiter-Regiment but still commanded to the cavalry school in Hannover
• 1 May 1922 Relieved of his command at the cavalry school and transferred to the 1st Squadron/7. (Preußisches) Reiter-Regiment in Breslau
• 1 April 1924 Appointed commander of the 3rd Squadron/7. (Preußisches) Reiter-Regiment in Ohlau
• 1 April 1928 Transferred to the staff of the 7. (Preußisches) Reiter-Regiment in Breslau
• 19 May with effect from 1 June 1933 Transferred to the staff of the 16. Reiter-Regiment in Erfurt
• 6 October 1933 Received permission to marry
• 2 August 1934 Newly sworn-in
• 1 October 1934 Transferred to the staff of the Reiter-Regiment Fürstenwalde
  • 15 October 1935 renamed Kavallerie-Regiment 9
• 6 October 1936 Appointed commander of the I. (mounted) Battalion/Kavallerie-Regiment 9
  • 4 to 24 July 1937 granted leave for a trip to Finland, visiting his friend (they had served together at the Hanover Cavalry School) Colonel (later Major General) Horst Rössing (1891–1942) in Helsingfors, "military attaché to the Nordic countries" (Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden)
• 1 October 1937 Appointed commander of the Kavallerie-Regiment 18 in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt

WWII

• 28 August 1939 Appointed commander of the Infanterie-Ersatz-Regiment 35
  • The 35th Infantry Replacement Regiment was established on 26 August 1939 in Heilbronn, in Military District V. Initially, the 35th Infantry Replacement Regiment was subordinate to the Commander of Replacement Troops V. The regiment served as the replacement unit for the 35th Infantry Division.
• 8 November with effect from 10 November 1939 Appointed commandant of Graudenz, West Prussia, German Reich
• 18 October 1941 Appointed commander of the Infanterie-Regiment 524
  • The regiment with its reinforced infantry battalions was originally formed on 31 January 1940 in the Bruck area. From July 1940, the regiment, which was subordinate to the 297th Infantry Division, was deployed to Poland as an occupying force. During preparations for Operation Barbarossa, the regiment was transferred to the Bug River and advanced towards Kholm at the start of the campaign. In July, it was positioned in the combat zone near Zhytomyr, advanced via Uman to the Dmytro River as far as Cherkasy, and secured the area along the wide river when the Battle of Kiev began. Afterwards, the regiment fought its way via Poltava to Charkow (Kharkiv).
• 11 April 1942 Führerreserve (OKH)/Army High Command Leader Reserve; return to home in Stuttgart-Bad Canstatt
  • Colonel Voigt had fallen seriously ill in March 1942. The divisional surgeon of the 297th Infantry Division stated in writing on 2 April 1942: nervous exhaustion, chronic shoulder rheumatism, and pulmonary enlargement. Unable to command his regiment in action. A 28-day approved spa treatment in Bad Elster will not be sufficient to restore his health. He will likely remain only fit for garrison duty at home for an extended, initially unforeseeable period. Major Hans Parpart, commander of the I. Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment 131, had been delegated with the leadership of the Infanterie-Regiment 524 on 1 April 1942.
• 1 June 1942 Again appointed commandant of Graudenz
• 15 August 1944 Führerreserve (OKH)/Army High Command Leader Reserve
• 20 August 1944 Commanded to the Military Commander in France (MBF) for the purpose of instruction as a field commandant
  • 28 August 1944 this order was nullified (nicht wirksam geworden)
• 23 September 1944 Commanded to the Military District X (Hamburg)
• 30 January 1945 He was passed over for the planned promotion to lieutenant general because he was deemed medically unfit to be a division commander.
• 9 March 1945 Reserve Military Hospital V in Hamburg
  • It is assumed that he remained in the military hospital until the Wehrmacht's surrender. His military records show no further deployment. It is also impossible to determine whether, or for how long, he was a prisoner of war.

Family

Descent

Adold was the son of Geheimer Sanitätsrat Dr. med. Adolf Eduard Sebastian Voigt and his wife Ida Amalie Wilhelmine, née Frickhöffer. His father was a member of the Nassau Association for Natural History in Wiesbaden. They apparently spent their retirement in Munich (Pasing).

Marriages

On 26 July 1920 in Weimar, 1st Lieutenant Voigt married his fiancée Hilde Minna Boeckmann, daughter of Dr. phil. Otto Georg Adolf Boeckmann. The marriage remained childless and the couple divorced on 4 November 1925 (Oberlandesgericht Celle). On 14 November 1933 in Berlin, Major Voigt married Sophie Elisabeth, divorced Hedemann, née Garve, formerly married (∞ October 1919) to Paul Adolf Hedemann, director of the Deutsche Bank in Hannover.

Promotions

• 28 November 1909 Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
• 27 January 1910 Fahnenjunker-Gefreiter (Officer Candidate with Lance Corporal rank)
• 11 April 1910 Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier (Officer Candidate with Corporal/NCO/Junior Sergeant rank)
• 22 August 1910 Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 16 June 1911 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
• 18 August 1916 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
  • 1 July 1922 received Reichswehr Rank Seniority (RDA) from 18 August 1916 (29)
• 1 October 1923 Rittmeister (7)
• 1 August 1933 Major (8)

Wehrmacht

• 16 March 1936 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) with effect and RDA from 1 March 1936 (22)
• 30 September 1938 Oberst (Colonel) with effect and RDA from 1 October 1938 (2)
• 13 June 1942 Generalmajor (Major General) with effect and RDA from 1 July 1942 (3)

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 13 September 1914
  • 1st Class on 23 November 1916
• Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg on 19 November 1917
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords (FEK)
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 1st Class on 2 October 1936
• Hungarian World War Commemorative Medal (Ungarische Kriegs-Erinnerungs-Medaille) with Swords
• Bulgarian War Commemorative Medal 1915–1918 (Kriegserinnerungsmedaille 1915/1918) with Swords

WWII

• War Merit Cross (1939), 2nd Class with Swords on 24 December 1940
• Repetition Clasp 1939 to the Iron Cross 1914, 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 8 December 1941
  • 1st Class on 12 January 1942
• Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal

Sources

• German Federal Archives: BArch PERS 6/2009 and PERS 6/301197