Karl Sauter

Karl Sauter
Karl Sauter
	;
Birth name	Karl Wilhelm Julius Sauter
Birth date	16 May 1870
Place of birth	Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg
Death date	11 March 1959 (aged 88)
Place of death	West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire; Weimar Republic; National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Army of Württemberg ; Imperial German Army; Reichswehr ; Heer
Years of service	1889–1920; 1940–1941
Rank	Generalmajor z. V.
Battles/wars	World War I ; World War II
Awards	Iron Cross
Relations	∞ 4 June 1904 Marta Sauter

Karl Wilhelm Julius Sauter (originally written Carl; 16 May 1870 – 11 March 1959) was a German officer since 1890, finally Generalmajor z. V. of the Wehrmacht in World War II. After the war, living in Tübingen, he was denazified in 1948 and categorized a Mitläufer and ordered to pay the administration fee of 20 Deutsche Mark.^[1]

Career (chronology)

Karl Sauter, decorations (Wehrpaß 1940).jpg

Boarding school (Gymnasium; Internat)
1885 Cadet Corps in Oranienstein
1886 Königliche Preußische Hauptkadettenanstalt (Royal Prussian Main Cadet Institute) in Groß-Lichterfelde
23/25 March 1889 Charakter als Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
- joined the Infanterie-Regiment „Kaiser Wilhelm, König von Preußen“ (2. Württembergisches) Nr. 120 of the Army of Württemberg, subordinated to the Prussian Army
October/November 1889 Portepeefähnrich
20 September 1890 Sekondeleutnant (2nd Lieutenant); date of patent
- 1892 to 1896 Adjutant
20 July 1898 Premierleutnant (1st Lieutenant)^[2]
- 14 September 1900 to 9 March 1904 commanded (kommandiert) to the Prussian Great General Staff (Großer Generalstab)
11 September 1903 Hauptmann^[3]
- March 1904 Company Commander of the 11. Kompanie/Grenadier-Regiment „König Karl“ (5. Württembergisches) Nr. 123 in Ulm
- 1909 General Staff Officer of the 27th Infantry Division
22 March 1910 Major^[4]
- 1 October 1911 Prussian Great General Staff (once again)
- September 1912 Commander of the 2nd battalion/Füsilier-Regiment „Kaiser Franz Josef von Österreich, König von Ungarn“ (4. Württembergisches) Nr. 122 in Bad Mergentheim
  - Summer 1913 He took part in the airship exercises in Cologne as an observation officer.
- October 1914 to June 1915 1st General Staff Officer in the 26th Reserve Corps (XXVI. Reserve-Korps)
15 February 1915 Oberstleutnant; date according to Rangliste 1917,^[5] the Wehrpaß states 25 February 1917
- 1 July 1915 to 26 February 1916 Commander of the Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 122 near Arras, France on the Western Front
27 February to 25 June 1916 Chef des Generalstabs der Etappen-Inspektion Falkenhausen
- June 1916 Chief of the General Staff of the 26th Reserve Corps (XXVI. Reserve-Korps)
  - In the first three years of the war, Sauter was mainly deployed in Flanders (including Poelkapelle, Langemarck), in Lorraine (including St. Julien, Longwy), in Champagne (including near Reims) and on the Somme.
- September 1917 Chief of the General Staff of the Antwerp Governorate (Chef des Generalstabs des Gouvernements Antwerpen)
22 March 1918 Oberst (Colonel)^[6]
- 27 August 1918 Commander of the 14. Infanterie-Brigade
- February 1919 Liaison officer of the Württemberg Ministry of War at the OHL in Kolberg
- 15 January 1920 retired with pension and the right to wear the uniform of the general staff (Wehrpaß, p. 13)
6 October 1920 Charakter als Generalmajor a. D.

Interwar period

1920 to 1940 Generalmajor a. D. Sauter became a successful businessman and company owner (Firma Sauter in Mergentheim/Wertheim). Sauter wrote numerous (lecture) manuscripts on current and military policy topics during his military service, but above all after leaving the army. Sauter also undertook extensive trips to numerous European and non-European countries. He was also a member of the Deutscher Offizier-Bund e. V.
1 May 1933 Member of the NSDAP; he was also a member of the NS-Volkswohlfahrt
1934 Member of the Kyffhäuser-Bund

Wehrmacht

29 May 1940 Charakter als Generalmajor z. V. with effect from 1 June 1940
- 29 May 1940 Placed at the disposal of the army on this day with effect from 1 June 1940^[7]
- 3 June 1940 Karl Sauter began his service with the Wehrbezirkskommando Stuttgart II.
- 11 June 1940 Generalmajor Sauter reported to the Höheres Kommando z. b. V. XXXIII (as of official war diary entrance) on the left wing of the 7th Army (AOK 7) in the area between Strasbourg and the Swiss border. He was now responsible for the French and British POW camps of the Höheres Kommando under General der Kavallerie Georg Brandt and the XXV. Armeekorps under General der Infanterie Karl Ritter von Prager as well as the Lager Besançon (after 16 June 1940).^[8]
- 26 June 1940 to 19 August 1940 Arbeitsstab Sauter (task force) now subordinated to the 7th Army (AOK 7); tasked with the planning of POW camps in France.
- 20 August 1940 to 16 September 1940 Kommandant of the Kriegsgefangenen-Bezirks XI (Elsaß)
- 17 September 1940 Kommandant of the Kriegsgefangenen-Bezirks XI Bordeaux (Kriegsgefangenen-Bezirks-Kommandant M)
- 12 November 1940 Severly sick, treated and transferred back to the Reich
- 15 November 1940 Arrival at the Reserve-Lazarett I in Stuttgart
- 31 December 1940 Führerreserve (OKH)
- 31 January 1941 Cancellation of mobilization use
  - originally issued on 13 January 1941 backdated to 31 December 1940, but shortly afterwards extended to the end of January 1941
- 12 February 1941 Released from the Reserve-Lazarett (reserve military hospital)
- 26 October 1943 At disposal status with effect from 31 December 1943 lifted (z. V. Stellung aufgehoben)

Family

Karl was the son of Karl von Sauter (b. 18 June 1839 in Aalen; d. 28 July 1902 in Stuttgart)^[9] and his wife Marie, née Breymayer. His mother died only eight days after his birth.^[10] He was sent to his maternal grandparents in Dettingen/Urach where he was raised until he was 6 years old, when he returned to his father in Stuttgart (Urbanstraße 6), who had married again. His father was an architect, became district building inspector (Bezirksbauinspektor) in 1871, chief building officer in 1882 and royal director of construction at the treasury (Königlicher Baudirektor im Finanzministerium) in 1901. He provided the plans for numerous public buildings in Württemberg and did the preparatory work for the new building of the Stuttgart State Trades Museum, today's House of Economics in Baden-Württemberg. He was honorary member of the Württembergischer Verein für Baukunde in Stuttgart. Father Karl was an honorary citizen of the city of Freudenstadt and the municipality of Unterreichenbach. In 1892, King Wilhelm II awarded him the Knight's Cross of Honor of the Order of the Württemberg Crown and raised to the personal (not ereditary) nobility, therefore only he was made a von Sauter.

Marriage

Karl and his wife Marta, who received the Charlottenkreuz ("Charlotte Cross") for her war efforts in February 1917, were living separated (getrennt) as of 1940 during WWII, as his Wehrpaß shows. It can be assumed that they had children, but this remains unproven.

Awards and decorations

Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille) on 22 March 1897
China Commemorative Medal (China-Denkmünze) in Steel for non-combatants on 31 December 1901
Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class (PRAO4) on 17 September 1909
Knight's Cross First Class of the Friedrich Order on 25 February 1910 (WF3a)
Württemberg Long Service Cross for 25 years (Württembergisches Dienstehrenzeichen I. Klasse) on 30 May 1914
Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
- EK II on 21 October 1914
- EK I on 14 November 1914
Knight's Cross of the Württemberg Military Order of Merit on 8 December 1914 (WMV3)
Baden Order of the Zähringer Lion (Orden vom Zähringer Löwen), Knight's Cross 1st Class with Swords (BZ3a⚔) on 11 February 1915
- date of Urkunde, although Wehrpaß shows 12 February 1915
Saxe-Meiningen Cross for Merit in War (Sachsen-Meiningisches Ehrenkreuz für Verdienst im Kriege) on 21 July 1915
- date of Urkunde, although Wehrpaß shows 18 May 1915
Saxon Albrechts-Orden, Officer's Cross with Swords (SA3⚔) on 18 November 1915^[11]
Württemberg Order of the Crown (Ehrenkreuz des Ordens der Württembergischen Krone), Honour Cross with Swords (WK2c⚔) on 19 November 1915
Bavarian Military Merit Order (Königlich Bayerischer Militärverdienstorden, III. Klasse mit Schwertern und mit der Krone), 3rd Class with Crown and Swords (BMV3mKr⚔) on 5 August 1916
House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross with Swords (HOH3⚔) on 1 October 1916
Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg (Hamburgisches Hanseatenkreuz; HH) on 17 December 1916
- date of Urkunde 19 December 1916
Commander 2nd Class of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order (Herzoglich Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden) with Swords (HSEH2b⚔/HSH2b⚔) on 1 September 1917^[12]
Bavarian Military Merit Order, Officer's Cross with Swords (BMVO⚔/BMV.O⚔) on 13 August 1918
Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer on 1 August 1935
Kyffhaeuser Medal of Honour (Kyffhäuser-Ehrenzeichen des Nationalsozialistischen Reichskriegerbundes), 2nd Class on 7 April 1937