Erich Marcks
Encyclopedia
Erich Marcks was a German
general
of artillery
in World War II
.
, Marcks was the son of the German historian Erich Marcks. He began advanced studies in philosophy in Freiburg
in 1909. He broke off his studies after only three semesters and became a career officer of the German Army
in October 1910. In the early 1930s, he was assigned as the chief of public affairs for the armed forces minister. From 1932 until 1933 he served as the public affairs officer for chancellors Franz von Papen
and Kurt von Schleicher
.
During the 1940 Campaign in France
, while serving as chief of staff of the 18th Army, Marcks altered German plans so as to prevent the bombardment of the city of Bruges
and bombardment of bridges in Paris
, believing that the historical significance of these sites required their preservation, even in time of war. In 1940, Marcks worked on the initial invasion plans of the Soviet Union
. Taking part in Operation Barbarossa
, Marcks was seriously wounded in the Ukraine
on June 26, 1941 as the commander of the 101st Light Infantry
Division. This wounding resulted in the amputation of one of Marcks's legs. Two of Marcks's three sons were lost during the Russo-German War.
Subsequently, despite his disability, Marcks commanded the 337th Infantry Division in Paris
, the LXVI Army Corps at Clermont-Ferrand
, and the LXXXVII Army Corps in northern Brittany
before his final assignment.
In 1944, Marcks commanded the German LXXXIV Army Corps against the Allies' Normandy Invasion. He was one of the few Wehrmacht
generals who believed an invasion in Normandy was a serious possibility. The D-Day invasion took place on Marcks's 53rd birthday. His suspicions of the true intention of the Allies to land at Normandy, and his birthday, are dramatized in the film The Longest Day
. While on a daily round of troop unit inspections, Marcks was mortally wounded on June 12, 1944 by an Allied fighter-bomber attack near Hébécrevon (near Marigny), several kilometers northwest of Saint-Lô
.
Marcks was a holder of the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
of artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Biography
Born in SchönebergSchöneberg
Schöneberg is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg....
, Marcks was the son of the German historian Erich Marcks. He began advanced studies in philosophy in Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
in 1909. He broke off his studies after only three semesters and became a career officer of the German Army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
in October 1910. In the early 1930s, he was assigned as the chief of public affairs for the armed forces minister. From 1932 until 1933 he served as the public affairs officer for chancellors Franz von Papen
Franz von Papen
Lieutenant-Colonel Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen zu Köningen was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933–1934...
and Kurt von Schleicher
Kurt von Schleicher
Kurt von Schleicher was a German general and the last Chancellor of Germany during the era of the Weimar Republic. Seventeen months after his resignation, he was assassinated by order of his successor, Adolf Hitler, in the Night of the Long Knives....
.
During the 1940 Campaign in France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, while serving as chief of staff of the 18th Army, Marcks altered German plans so as to prevent the bombardment of the city of Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
and bombardment of bridges in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, believing that the historical significance of these sites required their preservation, even in time of war. In 1940, Marcks worked on the initial invasion plans of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Taking part in Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, Marcks was seriously wounded in the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
on June 26, 1941 as the commander of the 101st Light Infantry
Jäger (military)
Jäger is a term that was adopted in the Enlightenment era in German-speaking states and others influenced by German military practice to describe a kind of light infantry, and it has continued in that use since then....
Division. This wounding resulted in the amputation of one of Marcks's legs. Two of Marcks's three sons were lost during the Russo-German War.
Subsequently, despite his disability, Marcks commanded the 337th Infantry Division in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, the LXVI Army Corps at Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department...
, and the LXXXVII Army Corps in northern Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
before his final assignment.
In 1944, Marcks commanded the German LXXXIV Army Corps against the Allies' Normandy Invasion. He was one of the few Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
generals who believed an invasion in Normandy was a serious possibility. The D-Day invasion took place on Marcks's 53rd birthday. His suspicions of the true intention of the Allies to land at Normandy, and his birthday, are dramatized in the film The Longest Day
The Longest Day (film)
The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
. While on a daily round of troop unit inspections, Marcks was mortally wounded on June 12, 1944 by an Allied fighter-bomber attack near Hébécrevon (near Marigny), several kilometers northwest of Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
.
Marcks was a holder of the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves.
Awards
- Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
(1914) 2nd and 1st Class - Cross of HonorCross of HonorThe Cross of Honor, also known as the Honor Cross or, popularly, the Hindenburg Cross, was a commemorative medal inaugurated on July 13, 1934 by Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg for those soldiers of Imperial Germany who fought in World War I...
- Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung 4th to 2nd Classes
- Clasp to the Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
2nd and 1st Class - Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak LeavesKnight's Cross of the Iron CrossThe Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
- Knight's Cross (26 June 1941)
- Oak Leaves (24 June 1944) (posthumous)
- Mentioned in the WehrmachtberichtWehrmachtberichtThe Wehrmachtbericht was a daily radio report on the Großdeutscher Rundfunk of Nazi Germany, published by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht regarding the military situation on all fronts of World War II....
on 13 June 1944
Reference in the Wehrmachtbericht
| Date | Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording | Direct English translation |
|---|---|---|
| 14 June 1944 | Der kommandierende General eines Armeekorps, General der Artillerie Marcks, der tapferer Verteidiger der Halbinsel Cherbourg, fand bei den schweren Kämpfen in vorderster Linie der Heldentod. | The commanding general of an Army Corps, General der Artillerie Marcks, the brave defender of the Cherbourg Peninsula, found a hero's death in the heavy fighting at the front line. |
In popular culture
- In the 1962 film The Longest DayThe Longest Day (film)The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
, Erich Marcks was portrayed by the German actor Richard MünchRichard MünchRichard Heinrich Ludwig Münch , better known as Richard Münch, was a German actor, best known for portraying Alfred Jodl in Patton...
.
External links
Article Sources
- Das Deutsche Heer 1939-1945, Wolf Keilig, Part 211, Page 211. Bad Nauheim: Podzun Verlag, 1957.
- Biography of Marcks (in French)