Brief introduction of army colonel Walter Kr: the Germans committed suicide after defeat.

Walter Kr, male, 1890 was born in a military family in Hofstrassburg on February 27th. My father was a lieutenant in the German Reich and was later promoted to colonel. He was killed in the First World War. When Kr was a child, he studied in a public elementary school in Rastatt (Vorschule). At the age of 6, I transferred to Berlin to study at 1900. He committed suicide when Germany was defeated in 1945.

On April 1900, Kr entered the Karlsruhe Military Academy. Six years later, he transferred to the General Military Academy in richter, Berlin, and finally graduated with 1907. 1908, 19 was promoted to captain of the imperial army in March, and served in the 2nd Battalion of1kloc-0/0 "Caesar William I" Grenadier Corps. Many famous soldiers served with him in this battalion, including Major General Edeler von Davens, who was the chief of staff of the western armored forces who died in Normandy in 1944. 19 14 after the outbreak of world war I, Kr was appointed as the adjutant of the battalion and participated in the battle of the western front. During the war, he fought in Tyrol and Serbia successively. 19 17 was promoted to captain of the army in August and was injured twice. The second time was at 19 18, 10, 1 1. Because of his bravery, he won the Second Class and iron cross 1st class Medal, hohenzollern Knight Cross, Baden Lion Medal, mecklenburg and Saxony War Meritorious Cross and Black Wounded Medal.

After World War II, Kr became Battaillonskommandeur in the detachment in June 5438+the following year 10. This unit belonged to the famous westfalen Freedom Army at that time, also known as the Munster Volunteer Camp. Since then, he has been commanding the battalion in Ruhr and Kurland until 1920. Later, he was transferred to the 3rd Battalion of the 13 Guard Corps in paderborn as the company commander of the machine gun.

1920 12, Walter Kerr retired from the National Defence Force, joined an organization called "Eicher Rich" (named after its founder, George Eicher Rich, an official of the Forestry Department), and became its state leader (Landsführer) in westfalen, taking part in its battle with * * *. 192 1 year, he joined the famous "Stahlhelm" at that time. In the summer of the same year, he found a job as a clerk in the private bank of vogler in Haberstadt. After training, he successfully entered the local Imperial Bank until 1925. This year, he received agricultural training, and the next year, he was appointed as the director of an asset company in Brandenburg. At the same time, in the "helmet party", he also served as the highest group leader in Halber (Ortsgruppenleiter). 1923, 18 In May, Walter Kr married Gerhardt nee Richard, the daughter of Halber, the mayor of Statham, and they had a son and two daughters after marriage.

1930, Walter Kr was transferred to Austria by Imperial Bank to manage an asset in Carinthia. While working in Austria, he joined the Austrian "Emergency Force" in 1933 and 65438+February. On June 3rd of the following year, 65438, he began to work as an intern instructor (Au *** ilder), and in September, he was promoted to be the captain of the teaching flag. This month, he was transferred back to Germany and became an instructor in a training center in mecklenburg. On May 3rd, 1935, Kr was appointed Bataillonskommandeur of Dobric Infantry School and Lyle Infantry Regiment. /kloc-In May of 0/5, his superior Karl-Maria Demelhuber described in his report that Kr was an officer with a good professional education, which could well inspire the self-confidence of his subordinates. At the same time, felix steiner, commander of the German flag team, also said in an objective report that he was a simple officer, steady and tenacious. On April 30th of the same year, Kr also joined the SS, was awarded the rank of first-class assault battalion chief, and was appointed as the first commander of the second assault brigade of the second flag of the SS special mobile brigade. The battalion has just been established in Arausen.

1 936 65438+1October1,the second flag team of the SS special mobile brigade was officially renamed as the SS "Germania" flag team. On June 5438+ 10 of the following year, Kr left due to illness. Five months later, he handed over the command of the brigade to Herbert Gilles, and became the instructor director of the SS Tultz Military Academy, responsible for the technical guidance of the military academy. June 65438+10, served as a senior staff officer in the SS "German" flag team for one month. Later, he became the commander of the Fourth Brigade of the Flag Team.

1938 1 1 year 1 October 1 day, Walter Kerr became the leader of the newly established SS Standarte z.b.v The flag team was adapted from the 4 th Brigade of the abolished "German" flag team and belonged to 165438+From June 4th to June 9th, Kr received regiment training in Dobric Infantry School. The following year, 65438+1October 30th, he was promoted to captain of the SS. 1940 65438+ 10/month 1, was promoted to the captain of the SS division and served as the first operational director of the SS "Police" Division. In June of the same year, 65438+1 October1,Kr was transferred to the SS as the infantry director.

1 941April 10, Walter Kr took over from Karl Dehmel huber as the brigade commander of1ss brigade (motorized) until his resignation in may. On April 20, Kr was promoted to captain of the SS brigade and major general of the Waffen SS. Four months later, he succeeded Arthur Murver Stedt, who was killed in the battle, and became the commander of the "police" division of the Waffen-SS. Later, he commanded the division to fight against the Soviet army near Leningrad. In June 5438+February 65438+March of the same year, he was awarded the Knights Iron Cross for his meritorious service. After that, he once again returned to the second observation bureau of the SS General Command (responsible for infantry affairs) as the director. 1942 1.30, promoted to captain of the SS area and lieutenant general of the Armed SS.

1943 In April, due to the injury of Herbert Waal, the division commander of the SS Imperial Panzergrenadier Division, Walter Kerr was ordered to rush to the front of the Soviet Union to replace Kurt Brasack, the temporary acting division commander. Subsequently, he commanded the "Imperial" Division to attend the cruel Kursk Congress. During the campaign, Kr was responsible for leading the division to attack the Soviet 1 and the 2nd defensive position between Belgorod and Tomarov Card. Bad weather and the enemy's strong fortifications made the Imperial Division's attack extremely difficult. While the attack was going on, Kr realized the danger facing his division's flank with his keen intuition. He immediately made corresponding changes, finally successfully solved the crisis on the flank, and laid the foundation for the troops to finally break through the enemy's two defense lines. The victory of this attack is mainly attributed to Walter Kerr's caution in studying the battle map. In addition, his calmness in the face of danger and his decisiveness as a commander also have a profound impact on people.

1943 On August 22nd, Walter Kerr received a personal letter from Himmler, the national leader of the SS. According to this letter, since Kruger's wife inherited her predecessor's Jewish descent in the 65,438+06 century, their daughter Elizabeth was not allowed to marry Fritz Klingen Berg, a knight of the Imperial Division, although Mrs. Kr was also a member of the Nazi Party's women's organization. Himmler promised in the letter that Kr's position would not be affected, and persuaded him to refuse his daughter's marriage on the grounds of "inappropriate age" as a father.

1943 65438+In early February, Walter Kerr stepped down as a teacher and left the Soviet front to serve in the reserve. Although he was originally planned to be the commander of the 4th SS Panzer Corps in June 5438 +065438+10, he did not take office as scheduled due to the cancellation of the formation of the Corps in August. From the second year of 1 year to March of1year, Kr served as the commander of the reserve team at the headquarters of the SS. Later, he served as the commander of the newly established armed SS "Oriental" group army. On June 2 1 of the same year, he was promoted for the last time: Deputy Commander of the SS and General of the Armed SS.

On June 30th, the formation of the 4th SS Panzer Corps, which was once put on hold, was finally completed. Walter Kerr became commander of the army on July 25th. This division is mainly composed of Latvian volunteers, and its combat effectiveness is very strong. Since then, the army has been fighting on the Eastern Front and was finally oppressed by the Soviet Union in Kurland Peninsula. 1945 1 day in the third stage of defensive operations in Kurland peninsula, Kr fully demonstrated his firm and accurate judgment ability and commanded the 4th Army to successfully resist the attack of superior Soviet forces. This surprising victory in the defensive war led to the Soviet Union's failure to solve the German clique in Kurland Peninsula until the end of the war. After the battle, 16 German commander General Carl Hilbert praised Kr's leadership in his report and applied for the Iron Cross of Double Sword Oak Knight. 1945 65438+1October1day, Walter Kr became the 20th winner of the Iron Cross Medal of Double Sword Oak Knight.

1On May 8, 945, Germany declared its unconditional surrender. At this time, General Carl Hilbert, commander-in-chief of the German cluster in Kurland Peninsula, also ordered all troops to surrender to the Soviet Union. Walter Kr plans to flee to East Prussia on foot with some SS personnel. They don't sleep during the day and go out at night to avoid the pursuit of the Soviet Union. However, on May 22nd, when Kr and his party were resting in the forest on the border between East Prussia and Lithuania, they were discovered by the Soviet patrol. In order to avoid being captured, 55-year-old Walter Kr immediately committed suicide with his sidearm.

Born in a military family, Walter Kr is a highly cultivated, intelligent and far-sighted commander. He participated in most large-scale battles on the Eastern Front and was considered as the best defense expert on the Soviet battlefield. Arthur West Gailis, a Latvian military officer who served under Kr, described him as always keeping a cool head and being very pragmatic militarily and politically. Kr is also very gentle to his foreign volunteers and always thinks of them, so he won the love of his subordinates, especially those foreign volunteers, and was affectionately nicknamed "Ohm". In addition, it is worth mentioning that Friedrich Wilhelm Kr, Walter Kr's youngest brother, was also an official in the SS. He also committed suicide during the German defeat in 1945.