Kurt Albrecht (1889)

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Kurt Albrecht
Albrecht, Kurt.jpg
Birth date 24 February 1889(1889-02-24)
Place of birth Dahme, Kreis Jüterbog-Luckenwalde, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date 17 March 1959 (aged 70) or
2 September 1968 (aged 79)
Place of death Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
Allegiance  German Empire
 National Socialist Germany
Service/branch Iron Cross of the Luftstreitkräfte.png Imperial German Army
Balkenkreuz.jpg Heer
Years of service 1914–1918
1937(?)–1945
Rank Oberst of the Reserves
Commands held Grenadier-Regiment 408
Grenadier-Regiment 948
359. Infanterie-Division
Battles/wars World War I

World War II

Awards German Cross in Gold
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Kurt Albrecht (b. 24 February 1889; d. 17 March 1959 or, according to the latest information, 2 September 1968) was a German officer of the Imperial German Army and the Wehrmacht, finally Oberst d. R. (colonel) and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in World War II.

Life

It is reported, that Albrecht joined the Prussian Army on 1 October 1911, but that is not verified. It can be assumed, although, because of the age, that he studied at university after his Abitur and completed his mandatory military service as a one-year volunteer (Einjährig-Freiwilliger) from 1911 to 1912. He took part in WWI, was drafted as Vizefeldwebel and officer candidate (Offizieranwärter), was wounded wounded as a Leutnant der Reserve (since 24 December 1914) in December 1914/January 1915 serving in the 8th company/Infanterie-Regiment "von Courbière" (2. Posensches) Nr. 19 from Görlitz. He later served in the Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 329 on the Eastern Front (in March 1918 transferred to the Western Front), which was disbanded in December 1918.

Albrecht joined the reserves of the Wehrmacht, the exact date (presumably between 1934 and 1937) is not known. He worked as a Vermessungsingenieur (surveyor) and was Vermessungsrat (surveyor council) and Katasteramts-Direktor in Hirschberg/Riesengebirge/Silesia (Katasteramt Hirschberg II since 1 June 1921, Leiter and therefore manager [official director as Hans Fischer, born 4 July 1884] of the combined Katasteramt Hirschberg from 1 September 1937 until 1939), living in Hirschberg-Cunnersdorf (Gerhart-Hauptmann-Straße 4), later owning the house with the address Hermann-Stehr-Straße 10.

At the beginning of World War Two, he was mobilized as commander of the 2nd Company/Infanterie-Regiment 83/28. Infanterie-Division and took part in the Poland Campaign. In 1940, he became leader, later commander of the I. Bataillon/Infanterie-Regiment 83 and took part in the Western Campaign and the Eastern Campaign. Severely wounded, he was put into the Führerreserve on 6 May 1942. On 5 June 1942, Albrecht returned as commander of the I. Bataillon, was named leader of the Regiments-Kampfgruppe on 22 June 1942 and returned once again as commander of the I. Bataillon in September 1942. On 1 July 1942, the Infanterie-Regiment 83 had been renamed to "Jäger-Regiment 83", the division was renamed "28. Jäger-Division".

On 18 November 1942, Albrecht was submitted for the Knight's Cross as commander of his battalion, which was not granted. Instead, on 3 December 1942, he received a Certificate of Recognition of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army for the battalion's defensive successes at Ssinjawino on 4 September 1942. On 6 December 1942, he became commander of Grenadier-Regiment 408 of the 121. Infanterie-Division and was later named commander of the new Grenadier-Regiment 948 (established December 1943) as part of the 359. Infanterie-Division, which fought at first under the command of the 4. Panzerarmee on the Eastern Front.

As such, Albrecht was again submitted for the Knight's Cross on 9 September 1944, which was rejected again, instead receiving the Ehrenblattspange. In mid-January 1945, the 359th Infantry Division attacked north east of the Nida to halt the enemy's advance. However, the rate of advance of the Soviet Red Army could only be slowed down a little and so the units of the division had to withdraw to the west. On 24 January 1945, the enemy north of Zator (west of Kraków) was thrown back across the Vistula in two places, but the division's combat groups withdrew to a new Hauptkampflinie (HKL) the next day, repelling Soviet encirclement attempts, and numerous enemy tanks were destroyed. In the battles for Zator, Colonel Albrecht, at the head of his regiment, distinguished himself through personal bravery, for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross on 28 February 1945. The award was presented to him, once again wounded, by the division commander, Generalleutnant Karl Hermann Arndt.

From 10 to 14 March 1945, the division, then with the support of parts of the 20th Panzer Division, fought heavy defensive battles. The front line coming from the south, eastern and northern edge of Jordansmühl - Steinberg - Silinghain - NE edge of the town of Zobten - course of the Schwarzwasser - NE exit of Strehlitz - northern exit of Frauenhain - Galgenberg - NE edge of Domanze - Freudenthal - Konradswaldau - Saarau could be maintained and changed until no more at the end of the war. On 22 April 1945, the division commander, Generalleutnant Arndt - nicknamed "Knochen-Karl" - left the division to take over the leadership of the XXXIX. Panzerkorps on 25 April 1945 in the Altmark and on the Elbe. The commander of the Grenadier-Regiment 948, Colonel Kurt Albrecht, who had been Arndt's deputy in the division, took over the leadership of the division. From 7 May 1945, he led the division, as part of the 17. Armee, near Nachod across the Czech border to Hauptmannsdorf near Braunau (Bohemia) and announced the surrender order there. After laying down or destroying all weapons, the division went into Russian captivity with a few exceptions.

Promotions (Wehrmacht)

  • 24.12.1914 Leutnant d. R.
  • 8.6.1937 Hauptmann d. R. with effect from 1.7.1937 (rank seniority or RDA from 1.2.1929)
    • another sources states 8 June 1938; he took part in Reserveübungen of the Infanterie-Regiment 83 with headquarters in Hirschberg/Schlesien.
  • 25.4.1941 Major d. R. with effect from 1.4.1941 (rank seniority or RDA from 1.4.1941)
  • 9.6.1943 Oberstleutnant d. R. with effect from 1.7.1943 (rank seniority or RDA from 1.7.1943)
  • 10.3.1944 Oberst d. R. with effect from 1.2.1944 (rank seniority or RDA from 1.2.1944)

Awards and decorations

Further reading

  • Franz Thomas / Günter Wegmann: Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945, Teil III: "Infanterie", Band 1: A–Be, Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1987 (in German)
  • Walther-Peer Fellgiebel: Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile (in German), Podzun-Pallas, Wölfersheim 2000, ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6
    • English: The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches, expanded edition, 2000
  • Klaus D. Patzwall / Veit Scherzer: Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941–1945 Geschichte und Inhaber, Band II (in German), Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt 2001, ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8
  • Veit Scherzer: Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 – Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German), Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag, Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Thomas and Wegman 1987, p. 34.
  2. ↑ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 13.
  3. ↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 189.
  4. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 114.
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