Carl Hilpert

Carl Hilpert
Born	12 September 1888 Nuremberg
Died	1 February 1947(1947-02-01)(aged 58) Moscow,Soviet Union
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army (Wehrmacht)
Years of service	1907–45
Rank	Generaloberst
Commands	LIX Corps XXIII Corps LIV Corps XXVI Corps I Army Corps 16th Army Army Group Courland
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Carl Hilpert(12 September 1888 – 1 February 1947) was a German general duringWorld War II.

When World War II broke out in September 1939, Hilpert became chief of the staff ofArmeeabteilung Aon 9 September 1939 under the command ofKurt von Hammerstein-Equord,who was tasked with securing the western border with Belgium and the Netherlands. After its dissolution on 3 October, the staff was used to form the South Border Section Command in Kraków, where Hilpert remained active, before taking up the post of chief of staff of the1st ArmyunderErwin von Witzlebenon 5 February 1940. With this association, Hilpert took part in theBattle of Franceand after its successful completion on 1 October 1940, he was promoted to lieutenant general. Since Erwin von Witzleben, who had been appointedGeneralfeldmarschall,now took overArmy Group D(from April 1941 alsoOberbefehlshaber West) in occupied France on 26 October 1940, Hilpert also succeeded him as the new Chief of Staff of the Army Group. Hilpert remained in this position for the next year and a half. After the daring BritishSt Nazaire Raidrevealed the poor state of western defences in March 1942, Hilpert was removed from this post and transferred to theFuhrerreserve.

On 26 June 1942, Hilpert became acting commander of theLIX Army Corpsand in July took over the command ofXXIII Corpswith which he fought against the SovietOperation Mars.On 20 January 1943, he became Commanding General ofLIV Corps,which was deployed under the 18th Army of Army Group North before Leningrad and was involved in heavy defensive battles duringOperation Iskra.In the following summer 1943 too, he proved himself in further defensive battles in theFifth Sinyavino Offensive,for which he was later awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 22 August 1943.

From 31 October 1943, he briefly commanded theXXVI Army Corpsoff Leningrad before taking overI Army Corpsin the area of the 16th Army fighting in the Newel area on 1 January 1944. As part of the Soviet winter offensive (Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive), Hilpert's troops got into heavy fighting, and Hilpert himself fell out. In July 1944, during the battles that followed the start of the Soviet summer offensiveOperation Bagration,Hilpert managed to break out of thePolotskFortress in heavy battles. For this achievement he received the oak leaves for the Knight's Cross on 8 August 1944.

During the last stages ofWorld War II,Hilpert commanded the German troops which had been surrounded by theRed Armyin theCourland Pocket.On 7 May 1945,Karl Dönitz,in his capacity as head of state, ordered Hilpert to surrenderArmy Group Courland.Hilpert was the army group's last commander-in-chief. Hilpert surrendered himself, his personal staff, and three divisions of theXXXVIII Corpsto Soviet MarshalLeonid Govorov.Hilpert sent the following message to his troops:

To all ranks! Marshal Govorod [sic] has agreed to a cease-fire beginning at 14:00 hours on 8 May. Troops to be informed immediately. White flags to be displayed. Commander expects loyal implementation of order, on which the fate of allCourlandtroops depends.

He was taken prisoner by the Soviets and later charged with war crimes. Found guilty and sentenced to death, he was executed in February 1947.

Command history

• Acting General Officer Commanding - LIX Corps - 1942
• General Officer Commanding -XXIII Corps- 1942 to 1943
• General Officer Commanding - LIV Corps - 1943
• General Officer Commanding - XXVI Corps - 1943
• General Officer Commanding -I Army Corps- 1 January to 20 January 1944
• General Officer Commanding - I Army Corps - 1 May to 1 August 1944
• Acting General Officer Commanding -16th Army,Eastern Front- 1944 to 1945
• Acting Commander-in-Chief -Army Group North,Eastern Front - 1945
• Acting Commander-in-Chief -Army Group Courland,Eastern Front - 1945
• General Officer Commanding - 16th Army, Eastern Front - 1945
• Commander-in-Chief - Army Group Courland, Eastern Front - 15 March to 8 May 1945
• Prisoner of war - 1945 to 1947

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross(1914) 2nd Class (7 October 1914) & 1st Class (18 October 1916)
• Clasp to the Iron Cross(1939) 2nd Class (20 April 1940) & 1st Class (16 June 1940)
• German Crossin Gold on 19 February 1943 asGeneral der Infanterieand commanding general of the XXIII Armeekorps
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 22 August 1943 asGeneral der Infanterieand commander of the LIV. Armeekorps
  • Oaks Leaves on 8 August 1944 asGeneral der Infanterieand commander of the I. Armeekorps

References

Bibliography

• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001).Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II[The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall.ISBN978-3-931533-45-8.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007).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[The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag.ISBN978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz (1997).Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K[The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag.ISBN978-3-7648-2299-6.