Karl Allmendinger

Karl Allmendinger
Birth date	3 February 1891
Place of birth	Abtsgmünd, Oberamt Aalen, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire
Death date	2 October 1965 (1965-10-03) (aged 74)
Place of death	Ellwangen, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Royal Bavarian Army Army of Württemberg Imperial German Army Freikorps Reichswehr Heer
Years of service	1910–1945
Rank	General of the Infantry
Commands held	5th Infantry Division V Army Corps 17th Army
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Relations	∞ 1921 Irene Hundert

Karl Maria Blasius Allmendinger (3 February 1891 – 2 October 1965) was a German officer, finally General of the Infantry of the Wehrmacht and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves in World War II. He was a POW of the Americans from 16 May 1945 to 22 December 1947.

Life

General Allmendinger and, in the background, Colonel Walter Jost

Official performance review from April 1944

Dr. Guido Allmendinger, Karl's younger brother

Karl attended elementary school in Abtsgmünd, then Latin school in Rottenburg am Neckar and Gymnasium in Stuttgart (learning French and Polish) where he achieved his Abitur at Easter 1910. While still a student at the University of Munich, where he enrolled in spring 1910 after graduating, he joined the Royal Bavarian Infantry Life Guard Regiment (Königlich Bayerisches Infanterie-Leib-Regiment) of the Bavarian Army as a one-year volunteer on 1 October 1910 to complete his compulsory military service. On 7 October 1910, he was sworn-in. At that time, it was possible to continue the studies.

On 30 September 1911, he was released to the reserve as a non-commissioned officer. From 1 October 1911 to 28 January 1912, he was assigned to the Munich Landwehr District and continued his studies until, at the end of the 3rd semester, he decided to leave university and pursue a career as an officer. On 29 February 1912, he joined the Fusilier Regiment "Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, King of Hungary" (4th Württemberg) No. 122 of the Württemberg Army in Heilbronn as an officer candidate. In January 1913, he was commissioned in the 11th Company and was later transferred to the 10th Company.

• 7 August 1914 Into the field with the 10th Company/III. Battalion/Füsilier-Regiment "Kaiser Franz Josef von Österreich, König von Ungarn" (4. Württembergisches) Nr. 122
  • 6:50 a.m. III. Battalion, 9:50 p.m. Regimental Staff and Machine Gun Company; 8 August, 12:50 a.m. I. Battalion
• 8 August 1914 Arrival and unloading in Fortress Königsmachern near Diedenhofen, Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen
• 22 August 1914 Appointed adjutant of the III. Battalion
  • first skirmishes at the Western Front; skirmish near Romain: III. Battalion in street fighting in Gorzy with the 51st Brigade
  • 23 August: III. Battalion in skirmishes near Montigny
• 9 September 1914 Fallen seriously ill; military hospital
• 18 October 1914 Transferred to the Replacement Battalion/Füsilier-Regiment "Kaiser Franz Josef von Österreich, König von Ungarn" (4. Württembergisches) Nr. 122
• 3 November 1914 Transferred to the 11th Company/Füsilier-Regiment "Kaiser Franz Josef von Österreich, König von Ungarn" (4. Württembergisches) Nr. 122 at the front
• 4 November 1914 Wounded (shot in the left leg); military hospital
• 18 January 1915 Transferred to the Replacement Battalion/Füsilier-Regiment "Kaiser Franz Josef von Österreich, König von Ungarn" (4. Württembergisches) Nr. 122
• 15 April 1915 Transferred to the 11th Company/Füsilier-Regiment "Kaiser Franz Josef von Österreich, König von Ungarn" (4. Württembergisches) Nr. 122 at the front and appointed company leader
• 22 June 1915 Commanded to the regimental staff
  • 11 to 16 September 1916 delegated with the leadership of the III. Battalion
  • 23 July to 27 August 1916 appointed deputy regimental adjutant
• 4 January 1917 Appointed regimental adjutant
• 11 November 1918 Armistice and march back home
• 4 January 1919 Arrival in Heilbronn
• 24 February 1919 Joined the Württembergische Freiwilligen-Abteilung (Freikorps) under Otto Haas and appointed adjutant of the 1st Württemberg Volunteer Regiment under Hans Freiherr Seutter von Lötzen, subordinated to the Gruppenkommando West
• 5 July 1919 Transferred to the Württemberg Jäger Battalion 26 as adjutant
  • between mid- and late-July 1919, the Württemberg Jäger Battalions No. 13 and No. 26 would form the Reichswehr-Schützen-Regiment 26 in Stuttgart
  • 18 October 1919 Newly sworn-in
• 1 October 1920 Appointed adjutant of the I. (Jäger) Battalion/Reichswehr-Schützen-Regiment 25 in Ludwigsburg (the renamed Reichswehr-Schützen-Regiment 26)
• 1 January 1921 Appointed adjutant of the III. (Jäger) Battalion in Ludwigsburg (shortly later Ulm) of the 13. (Württembergisches) Infanterie-Regiment (the renamed Reichswehr-Schützen-Regiment 25)
• 15 September with effect from 1 October 1923 Transferred to the 18. Reiter-Regiment in Stuttgart-Cannstatt and commanded to the Military District Command V
• 1 October 1924 Transferred to the 12th (Machine Gun) Company/III. Battalion/13. (Württembergisches) Infanterie-Regiment in Ulm
• 7 March 1925 Appointed welfare officer in the staff of the I. Battalion/13. (Württembergisches) Infanterie-Regiment in Stuttgart
• 1 October 1925 Transferred to the Army Statistical Department (T 3) in the Reichswehr Ministry (RWM) in Berlin
• 1 October 1926 Transferred to the 4th Squadron in Münster of the 15. (Preußisches) Reiter-Regiment in Paderborn, subordinated to the 3. Kavallerie-Division
• 12 March with effect from 1 April 1928 Transferred back to the Army Statistical Department (T 3) in the Reichswehr Ministry (RWM) in Berlin
• 12 May to 18 May 1928 Detached to military exercises of the the Lithuanian Army at Kauen
  • 17 June 1929 commanded to the Finish Army
• 1 October 1929 Appointed commander of the 5th Company/II. Battalion/1. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment in Tilsit
  • 24 September to 30 September 1930 participation in the Lithuanian military exercises
• 1 October 1932 Transferred to the Army Training Department (T 4) in the Reichswehr Ministry (RWM) in Berlin and ordered to wear the uniform of general staff officers
  • 2 August 1934 newly sworn-in
• 10 July with effect from 15 August 1934 Transferred to the general staff of the 1. Division in Königsberg under Walther von Brauchitsch
  • During the expansion of the Reichswehr in October 1934, the staff formed the General Command of the I. Army Corps, initially still under the cover designation "Commander in Military District I".

Wehrmacht

• 16 March 1935 Still with the general staff of the I. Army Corps in Königsberg
• 12 October 1937 Appointed commander of the Infanterie-Regiment 35 in Tübingen as successor to Carl Hilpert
• 5 November with effect from 10 November 1938 Appointed head of the 10th Department (also responsible for matters of national defense) of the Army General Staff, the central planning and command organization within the Army High Command (OKH)
• 6 October 1939 Appointed Chief of the General Staff of the V. Army Corps in Stuttgart
  • In this capacity, he then participated in the Western Campaign.
• 20 October with effect from 25 October 1940 Appointed commander of the 5. Infanterie-Division
  • November 1941 renamed 5th Light Infantry Division
    • The 5th Light Infantry Division was formed in November 1941 in France from the remnants of the 5th Infantry Division, which had been severely depleted on the Eastern Front. The division was equipped with mountain warfare equipment; Infantry Regiment 14 was transferred to the 78th Infantry Division, and the two remaining infantry regiments were converted into light infantry (Jäger) regiments. On 6 July 1942, the division was renamed the 5th Jäger Division.
• 5 January 1943 Führerreserve (OKH)/Army High Command Leader Reserve; Walter Jost took over the 5th Jäger Division.
• 1 July 1943 Appointed Commanding General of the V. Army Corps
  • He led this corps in the Kuban bridgehead and in Crimea. On 9 May 1944, after heavy Russian attacks, Allmendinger received permission to evacuate the fortress of Sevastopol.
• 1 May 1944 Delegated with the leadership of the 17th Army
• 25 July 1944 Führerreserve (OKH)/Army High Command Leader Reserve; General Karl Friedrich "Fritz" Wilhelm Schulz took over the 17th Army.
  • Due to health reasons, General Allmendinger did not receive any further commands during the course of the war.

Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves

On the 22 June 1941, Generalmajor Allmendinger personally led his 5th Infantry Division through a difficult attack near Lazdijai. He managed to re-energize the attack and ultimately bring about the capture of both Lazdijai and the commanding hill nearby. He subsequently led the division’s advance detachment (Vorausabteilung) as it strove to capitalize on this success, and under his personal leadership it managed to establish an important bridgehead over the Niemen river at Seirijai. The creation of this bridgehead was of great operational importance for the German 9th Army, and Allmendinger would be recognized for his achievement with the award of the Knight’s Cross.

It is 22 June 1941: The 5th Infantry Division is on the move! The 5th Anti-Tank Battalion is combined with the 5th Pionier Column and elements of the 5th Signals Battalion, and they advance to break through the lines at the Neman River. The troops fight their way through Lithuania to the encirclement battles of Białystok and Grodno. They continue through Belarus and via Vitebsk to the Battle of Smolensk. Four weeks later, the division commander, Major General Allmendinger, is awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, personally handed-out by the Commander-in-Chief of the 9th Army, Generaloberst Adolf Strauß.

Lieutenant General Allmendinger was awarded the Oak Leaves for the successes of his division during the German offensive Operation “Michael” (27 September to 9 October 1942). The goal of this operation was to broaden the German corridor to Demyansk. In the resultant combat, Allmendinger displayed outstanding leadership, and his division was heavily involved in the encirclement and destruction of strong Soviet forces southeast of Lake Ilmen.

Family

Karl was the son of Catholic Carl Borromäus Allmendinger (1863–1946), teacher, popular writer (pseudonym Felix Nabor) of patriotic, historical and Christian novels as well as composer, and his wife (∞ Bopfingen 1890) Rosa, née Kappes (d. 1945). He had four younger siblings, two brothers, including Guido, and two sisters, including Cäcilia (1892–1989; married Höchstetter), who continued her father's work and also wrote Christian novels. In 1910, the family relocated to Pasing near München (incorporated into Munich in 1938). Later, the parents returned to Württemberg and both would die in Adelmannsfelden near Ellwangen.

Guido Allmendinger

Karl's younger brother, Dr. rer. pol. Guido Allmendinger (b. 4 May 1893 in Abtsgmünd), studied economics as well as political science and joined the Füsilier-Regiment "Kaiser Franz Josef von Österreich, König von Ungarn" (4. Württembergisches) Nr. 122 for WWI as an officer candidate. He was commissioned as an active 2nd Lieutenant on 17 November 1916. After the war, he returned to his studies (Universität Erlangen), achieving his doctorate in 1923 with the dissertation Die Hauptprobleme der deutschen Außenhandelskontrolle, dargestellt an Hand der Nürnberger Bleistiftsindustrie. In c. 1934, he rejoined the military and, as Captain, would become company commander in the Panzerabwehr-Abteilung 5 in Villingen. As a Major, he would become commander of the Gebirgs-Panzerabwehr-Abteilung 48 in Graz. Dr. Allmendinger would finish the war as an Oberst (Colonel). He was also the author of books and articles, for example: Kraftfahr-Lexikon – Ein Merkbuch für die Soldaten aller motorisierten Einheiten (1937), Panzertaktiken, in "Die Kraftfahrkampftruppe", June 1938 (later also translated in French and English), Der Dienstunterricht im Heere – Ausgabe für den Panzerabwehrschützen (1938, again 1939 and 1940), and Der Dienstunterricht im Heere – Ausgabe für den Panzerjäger (1941).

Marriage

On 11 October 1921 in Ulm, 1st Lieutenant Allmendinger married his Protestant fiancée Irene Hundert (b. 2 July 1900), daughter of Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Richard Hundert (1869–1926) and his wife (∞ 1899) Clara, née Risch (1872–1952). They would have two daughters:

• Helga (b. 25 February 1926 in Berlin)
• Ingrid (b. 28 April 1931 in Insterburg)

Promotions

• 1 October 1910 Einjährig-Freiwilliger (one-year volunteer)
• 1 April 1911 Gefreiter (Private E-2/Lance Corporal)
• 1 July 1911 Unteroffizier (NCO/Corporal/Junior Sergeant)
• 29 January 1912 Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
• 22 April 1912 Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 27 January 1913 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant) with Patent from 29 January 1911
• 18 April 1916 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
  • 1 July 1922 received Reichswehr Rank Seniority (RDA) from 18 April 1916 (14)
• 25 January 1923 Hauptmann (Captain) with effect from 1 January 1923
  • 1 October 1923 renamed Rittmeister
  • 1 October 1924 renamed Hauptmann
  • 1 October 1926 renamed Rittmeister
  • 1 April 1928 renamed Hauptmann
• 1 February 1932 Major with Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 February 1931 (25a)
• 1 July 1934 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) with RDA from 1 July 1934 (14)

Wehrmacht

• 2 August 1936 Oberst (Colonel) with effect and RDA from 1 August 1936 (23)
• 19 July 1940 Generalmajor (Major General) with effect and RDA from 1 August 1940 (3)
• 15 July 1942 Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) with effect and RDA from 1 August 1942 (3)
• 10 March 1943 General der Infanterie (General of the Infantry) with effect and RDA from 1 April 1943 (2)

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 30 September 1914
  • 1st Class on 24 November 1916
• Austrian Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class with the War Decoration (ÖM3K) on 3 July 1915
• Württemberg Military Merit Order, Knight’s Cross (WMV3/WM3) on 9 December 1916
• Friedrich Order, Knight's Cross 2nd Class with Swords (WF3b⚔) on 24 April 1918
• Wound Badge (1918) in Black on 22 December 1918
• Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, 3rd Class (Commander's Cross)
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords on 18 January 1935
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 1st Class (25-year Service Cross) on 2 October 1936
• Repetition Clasp 1939 to the Iron Cross 1914, 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 20 September 1939
  • 1st Class on 21 May 1940
• Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal on 27 July 1942
• Order of the Cross of Liberty (Finland), 1st Class with Swords on 29 March 1943
• Order of Michael the Brave (Romania), 3rd Class on 12 July 1944
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 17 July 1941 as Major General and Commander of the 5. Infanterie-Division/V. Armeekorps/9. Armee/Heeresgruppe Mitte
  • 153rd Oak Leaves on 13 December 1942 as Lieutenant General and Commander of the 5. Jäger-Division/II. Armeekorps/16. Armee/Heeresgruppe Nord

Not documented / controversial

• One or more references by name in the Wehrmacht Report (Namentliche Nennung im Wehrmachtbericht)
• Crimea Shield (Krimschild)
• Kuban Shield (Kubanschild)

Gallery

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Sources

• German Federal Archives: BArch PERS 6/68 and PERS 6/299314