Kurt Schmidt

Kurt Schmidt
Birth name	Kurt Erich Heinrich Schmidt
Birth date	9 April 1891(1891-04-09)
Place of birth	Frankfurt am Main, Province of Hesse-Nassau, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date	⚔ 3 March 1945 (aged 53)
Place of death	Aalsmeer, Netherlands
Resting place	Ysselsteyn German War Cemetery (Block CT, Row 7, Grave 154), Netherlands (re-interred)
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army Reichswehr Heer
Years of service	1910–1945
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	74th Infantry Regiment Infantry Replacement Regiment 216 702. Infanterie-Division Division No. 526
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Iron Cross Hanseatic Cross Wound Badge War Merit Cross
Relations	∞ 1918 Dagmar Wendling

Kurt Erich Heinrich Schmidt (9 April 1891 – 3 March 1945) was a German officer, finally Lieutenant General of the Wehrmacht and divisional commander in World War Two.

Life

Kurt attended elementary school near Frankfurt and then, after the family had relocated due to the transfer of the father to Berlin, Gymnasium in Groß-Lichterfelde from 1900 to Easter 1903. He then attended the Royal Prussian Cadet Institute in Naumburg until Easter 1906 and finally the Main Cadet Institute (Hauptkadettenanstalt in Groß-Lichterfelde) near Berlin until February 1910 where he achieved his Abitur. On 3 March 1910, he joined the Infanterie-Regiment "Graf Werder" (4. Rheinisches) Nr. 30 of the Prussian Army. He was sworn-in on 14 March 1910, was commanded to war school in Kassel from 2 June 1910 to 15 February 1911 and was commissioned on 20 March 1911.

In WWI, he served with his regiment, then, after he had recovered from his wound, as of 2 November 1914 with the 2nd Replacement Machine Gun Company of the XVI. Army Corps, then with the Field Machine Gun Platoon No. 34, Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 216, Reserve Jäger Battalion No. 18, Jäger Regiment No. 5, Replacement Jäger Battalion No. 6 and 1st Replacement Machine Gun Company of the IX. Army Corps. On 4 September 1917, he returned to the Reserve Jäger Battalion No. 18 as leader of the 3rd Company until he was severely wounded on 29 October 1917. On 20 February 1918, he was again transferred to the 1st Replacement Machine Gun Company of the IX. Army Corps and on 15 July 1918, he was commanded to the rifle factory in Danzig for almost one year.

Wounds

• 22 August 1914: 10 weeks in the Bensheim Reserve Military Hospital
  • Shrapnel, left lower leg
• 29 October 1917: Almost four months in the Association Military Hospital (Vereins-Lazarett) at the Augsburg Municipal Hospital
  • A hand grenade had shattered his right leg. He returned to light duty at the end of February 1918, but never to the front again. He had received the Wound Badge in Black in 1918, but since it was later determined that this wound would significantly limit his military service in the future, he was awarded the Silver Wound Badge in 1924 in exchange for the black one.

Reichswehr and Wehrmacht

On 13 June 1919, he was appointed leader of the 2nd Machine Gun Company of the Danziger Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 128 which would soon become the 3rd Machine Gun Company of the Reichswehr-Infanterie-Regiment 34. Between 17 November 1919 and 1929, he was company commander in four different regiments. On 1 July 1929, he was transferred to the staff of the 5th Division and was later commanded to the 15th Infantry Regiment in Kassel and on 1 May 1933 back to the staff of the 5th Division. On 1 October 1934, he was appointed commander of the II. Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment Gießen (renamed Infanterie-Regiment 36 on 15 October 1935). On 6 October 1936, he was appointed commander of the new II. Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment 105 in Trier.

On 12 October 1937, He was appointed commander of Infanterie-Regiment 74 in Hameln, subordinated to the 19. Infanterie-Division. He was succeeded by Gustav Schmidt on 25 September 1939. On 24 October 1939, he was appointed commander of the Infantry Replacement Regiment 216. On 6 May 1940, he was commanded to the Army High Command (OKH) and on 9 May 1940 was appointed Field Commandant 579. On 15 November 1940, he was appointed commandant of Luxembourg.

Schmidt was the commander of the 702nd Infantry Division in Norway from 4 September 1941 to 1 September 1943. During his time in Norway he was promoted to Generalleutnant, the highest rank he would hold. On 15 March 1944, he was appointed commander of the Division No. 526. With this division, he was then deployed in the Aachen area, the Rhineland-Palatinate, and the Netherlands. In September 1944, following the reorganization of his division, he was appointed commander of the new 526th Reserve Division. However, the formation was cancelled, and the units were distributed among front-line units. His staff was used as the command staff. In the autumn of 1944, the staff was then used, again as Division No. 526, within the 5th Panzer Army. From 10 December 1944, the staff, now known as Divisional Staff for Special Use (z. b. V.) 526, was deployed with the 1st Army in the West.

Death

Generalleutnant Kurt Schmidt was killed in action on 3 March 1945 in Aalsmeer. He was first buried at the Nieuwe Oosterbegraafplaats in Amsterdam but later re-interred at the Ysselsteyn German War Cemetery (de), not far away from the grave of Major General Friedrich Kussin, the commandant of the town of Arnhem, who was ambushed, killed and scalped on 17 September 1944 by British paratroopers.

Family

Kurt was the son of Senior and Privy Postal Councillor Wilhelm Schmidt (d. 1 February 1934) and his wife Charlotte, née von Schlichting. Kurt's father was most recently Department Director at the Berlin Higher Postal Directorate The family resided in Groß-Lichterfelde, which was incorporated into Berlin in 1920.

Marriage

On 15 October 1918, Captain Schmidt was granted permission to marry, on 22 October 1918 in Graudenz, he married his fiancée Dagmar Wendling (b. 31 December 1896), daughter of Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Wendling. They would have three sons:

• Günter Werner Helmut (b. 24 September 1919 in Danzig; d. 21 July 1988 in Antwerp), 1st Lieutenant and submarine hunter of the Kriegsmarine in WWII
• Gerhard Josef Egon (b. 19 March 1921 in Göttingen), 1st Lieutenant of the Heer in WWII, ⚔ on 6 February 1945 at the Futa Pass (Italy) on the Green Line (Gothic Line)
• Heinz (b. 11 January 1923 in Celle)

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Promotions

• 3 March 1910 Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 20 March 1911 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant) with Patent from 24 June 1909 (21)
• 18 June 1915 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
• 20 June 1918 Hauptmann (Captain)
• 1 April 1931 Major (14)
• 1 September 1934 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) with Rank Seniority (RDA) from the same day (1)
• 16 March 1937 Oberst (Colonel) with effect and RDA from 1 March 1937 (5)
• 17 January 1941 Generalmajor (Major General) with effect and RDA from 1 February 1941 (1)
• 16 November 1942 Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) with effect and RDA from 1 October 1942 (14)

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 22 March 1915
  • 1st Class on 29 April 1919
• Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg (HH) on 7 March 1917
• Wound Badge (1918) in Black and Mattweiß (Silver)
  • Black in 1918
  • Silver on 29 January 1924
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords on 8 February 1935
• Hungarian World War Commemorative Medal (Ungarische Kriegs-Erinnerungs-Medaille) with Swords and Helmet on 13 July 1935
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 1st Class (25-year Service Cross) on 2 October 1936
• War Merit Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class with Swords
  • 2nd Class on 10 February 1941
  • 1st Class on 1 September 1942

Sources

• German Federal Archives: BArch PERS 6/911 and PERS 6/300822