Hans von Salmuth
Encyclopedia
Hans Eberhard Kurt von Salmuth (11 November 1888 - 1 January 1962) was a German
general during World War II
. A lifelong professional soldier, he served his country as a junior officer in World War I
, a staff officer in the inter-war period and early World War II, and an army level commander. General von Salmuth commanded several different armies on the Eastern Front
and his final command was the Fifteenth Army
in France
during and shortly after the D-Day invasion. After the war he spent five years in prison for war crimes
.
, Alsace-Lorraine
, into a Prussia
n military family, he joined the German Army on 19 September 1907. He served in the First World War
. By the war's end, he had reached the rank of captain (hauptmann).
He stayed in the army after the war. He was promoted to colonel on 1 May 1934 and served as chief of staff of II Corps from 1934 to 1937. On 1 August 1937 he was promoted to brigadier-general. He was assigned Chief of Staff to 1st Army Group Command. In 1938 he was assigned as Chief of Staff for the Second Army
. He was promoted to the rank of major-general on 1 August 1939.
, and served in "Case White" (Fall Weiss), the successful invasion of Poland
.
von Salmuth continued as Chief of Staff to General von Bock, when the latter was given command of Army Group B
for the next big operation, "Case Yellow" (Fall Gelb), the invasion of Belgium and France
, in May 1940. After the crushing defeat of the Allies
in Case Yellow and the surrender of France
, von Salmuth was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
on 19 July 1940. On 1 August 1940, he was promoted to lieutenant-general (general der infanterie).
In 1941, von Salmuth was assigned to the Eastern Front
. On 10 May, he was given command of the XXX Corps. Von Salmuth participated in Operation Barbarossa
and saw service in the Crimea
. The XXX Corps under the command of General von Salmuth successfully took part in the Battle of Sevastopol
.
In 1942, he was made acting commander of the Seventeenth Army (20 April 1942 to 1 June 1942). For a short time, 6 June 1942 to 15 July 1942, he was assigned command of the Fourth Army
, replacing the former commander, Gotthard Heinrici
, who went on leave. In mid July 1942, he was made commander of the Second Army
.
von Salmuth was promoted to full general (generaloberst, literally "colonel-general", the second highest World War II-era German officer rank, the highest being generalfeldmarschall), in January 1943. On 3 February 1943, he turned over command of the Second Army to General Walter Weiss, and was again given command of the Fourth Army while Gotthard Heinrici went on leave, this time until July 1943.
General von Salmuth was then re-assigned from the Eastern Front, and sent to France, where in August 1943 he was given command of the important Fifteenth Army
stationed in the Pas-de-Calais area of France. The Pas-de-Calais area was that part of the Atlantic Wall
believed by Adolf Hitler
to be where the Allies
would choose for the D-Day invasion, and Fifteenth Army was given 17 divisions, the largest contingent of any German army-sized formation on the Western Front
. The Allies did everything in their power to encourage Hitler in his mistaken belief (see Operation Bodyguard
) as they had picked Normandy
as the site of the invasion, an area defended by the smaller German Seventh Army
.
Hans von Salmuth wrote this anecdote in his diary about the morning of the D-Day invasion, 6 June 1944:
The HQ of the 15th Army is today a museum, in Tourcoing
(France, near Lille
).
Von Salmuth was relieved of his command by Hitler, in late August 1944, following the disintegration of the German front line, after the Allied breakout from Normandy (Operation Cobra
), and roughly about the same time as the liberation of Paris
. He was replaced by General Gustav-Adolf von Zangen
. Hans von Salmuth was given no further commands in the war, which for Germany ended approximately nine months later, in May 1945.
until 1948, when he was one of 185 defendants prosecuted in the Nuremberg Military Tribunals under Allied Control Council
(ACC) Law No. 10. Von Salmuth was tried in the High Command Trial
and found guilty of war crimes against prisoners of war and enemy belligerents, and crimes against humanity involving civilians in occupied countries and was sentenced to twenty years in prison. However, he was released early after serving only five years, in 1953. He died in Heidelberg
, West Germany
, in 1962. He was buried in the Nordfriedhof cemetery located in Wiesbaden, Germany.
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 during 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...
. A lifelong professional soldier, he served his country as a junior officer in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, a staff officer in the inter-war period and early World War II, and an army level commander. General von Salmuth commanded several different armies on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
and his final command was the Fifteenth Army
German Fifteenth Army
The 15th Army was a World War II field army.The 15th Army was activated on January 15, 1941 with General Curt Haase in command. First seeing service in France, the army was involved in the protection of the Channel coast from a possible Allied invasion...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
during and shortly after the D-Day invasion. After the war he spent five years in prison for war crimes
War crimes of the Wehrmacht
War crimes of the Wehrmacht were those carried out by the German armed forces during World War II. While the principal perpetrators of the Holocaust amongst German armed forces were the Nazi German 'political' armies , the regular armed forces represented by the Wehrmacht committed war crimes of...
.
Early life, the First World War and the inter-war period
Born in MetzMetz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
, Alsace-Lorraine
Alsace-Lorraine
The Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine was a territory created by the German Empire in 1871 after it annexed most of Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War. The Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River and east...
, into a Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n military family, he joined the German Army on 19 September 1907. He served in the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. By the war's end, he had reached the rank of captain (hauptmann).
He stayed in the army after the war. He was promoted to colonel on 1 May 1934 and served as chief of staff of II Corps from 1934 to 1937. On 1 August 1937 he was promoted to brigadier-general. He was assigned Chief of Staff to 1st Army Group Command. In 1938 he was assigned as Chief of Staff for the Second Army
German Second Army
The 2nd Army was a World War I and World War II field army.-First World War:The 2nd Army during World War I, fought on the Western Front and took part in the Schlieffen Plan offensive against France and Belgium in August 1914...
. He was promoted to the rank of major-general on 1 August 1939.
The Second World War
In 1939 he was Chief of Staff for Army Group North, commanded by General Fedor von BockFedor von Bock
Fedor von Bock was a German Generalfeldmarshall who served in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. As a leader who lectured his soldiers about the honor of dying for the German Fatherland, he was nicknamed "Der Sterber"...
, and served in "Case White" (Fall Weiss), the successful invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
.
von Salmuth continued as Chief of Staff to General von Bock, when the latter was given command of Army Group B
Army Group B
Army Group B was the name of three different German Army Groups that saw action during World War II.-Battle for France:The first was involved in the Western Campaign in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands which was to be aimed to conquer the Maas bridges after the German airborne actions in Rotterdam...
for the next big operation, "Case Yellow" (Fall Gelb), the invasion of Belgium and 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...
, in May 1940. After the crushing defeat of the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
in Case Yellow and the surrender of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, von Salmuth was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The 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....
on 19 July 1940. On 1 August 1940, he was promoted to lieutenant-general (general der infanterie).
In 1941, von Salmuth was assigned to the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
. On 10 May, he was given command of the XXX Corps. Von Salmuth participated 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...
and saw service in the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
. The XXX Corps under the command of General von Salmuth successfully took part in the Battle of Sevastopol
Battle of Sevastopol
The Siege of Sevastopol took place on the Eastern Front of the Second World War. The campaign was fought by the Axis powers of Germany, Romania and Italy against the Soviet Union for control of Sevastopol, a port in Crimea on the Black Sea. On 22 June 1941 the Axis invaded the Soviet Union under...
.
In 1942, he was made acting commander of the Seventeenth Army (20 April 1942 to 1 June 1942). For a short time, 6 June 1942 to 15 July 1942, he was assigned command of the Fourth Army
German Fourth Army
The 4th Army was a field army of Imperial Germany during World War I and of the Wehrmacht during World War II-World War I:At the outset of war, the Fourth Army, with the Fifth Army, formed the center of the German armies on the Western Front, moving through Luxembourg and Belgium in support of the...
, replacing the former commander, Gotthard Heinrici
Gotthard Heinrici
Gotthard Heinrici was a general in the German Army during World War II.-Personal life:Heinrici's was born in Gumbinnen , East Prussia, on Christmas Day, 1886, to Paul Heinrici, a local Lutheran minister of the Prussian Church, and his wife Gisela, née von Rauchhaupt, who was of recent Jewish descent...
, who went on leave. In mid July 1942, he was made commander of the Second Army
German Second Army
The 2nd Army was a World War I and World War II field army.-First World War:The 2nd Army during World War I, fought on the Western Front and took part in the Schlieffen Plan offensive against France and Belgium in August 1914...
.
von Salmuth was promoted to full general (generaloberst, literally "colonel-general", the second highest World War II-era German officer rank, the highest being generalfeldmarschall), in January 1943. On 3 February 1943, he turned over command of the Second Army to General Walter Weiss, and was again given command of the Fourth Army while Gotthard Heinrici went on leave, this time until July 1943.
General von Salmuth was then re-assigned from the Eastern Front, and sent to France, where in August 1943 he was given command of the important Fifteenth Army
German Fifteenth Army
The 15th Army was a World War II field army.The 15th Army was activated on January 15, 1941 with General Curt Haase in command. First seeing service in France, the army was involved in the protection of the Channel coast from a possible Allied invasion...
stationed in the Pas-de-Calais area of France. The Pas-de-Calais area was that part of the Atlantic Wall
Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain.-History:On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40...
believed by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
to be where the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
would choose for the D-Day invasion, and Fifteenth Army was given 17 divisions, the largest contingent of any German army-sized formation on the Western Front
Western Front (World War II)
The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and West Germany. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale ground combat operations...
. The Allies did everything in their power to encourage Hitler in his mistaken belief (see Operation Bodyguard
Operation Bodyguard
Operation Bodyguard was the code name for a World War II military deception employed by the Allied nations during the build up to the 1944 invasion of north-western Europe. The aim of the operation was to mislead the German high command as to the exact date and location of the invasion...
) as they had picked Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
as the site of the invasion, an area defended by the smaller German Seventh Army
German Seventh Army
The 7th Army was a World War I and World War II field army of the German land forces.-Origins:The 7th Army was activated in Stuttgart on August 25, 1939 with General Friedrich Dollmann in command. At the outbreak of the war, the 7th Army defended the German border and manned the Westwall in the...
.
Hans von Salmuth wrote this anecdote in his diary about the morning of the D-Day invasion, 6 June 1944:
- "At 6 A.M., since it had been daylight for an hour and a half, I had my Chief of Staff telephone Seventh Army again to ask if the enemy had landed anywhere yet. The reply was, ‘Fleets of troop transports and warships big and small are lying at various points offshore, with masses of landing craft. But so far no landing has yet taken place.’ Thereupon I went back to sleep with a calm mind, after telling my Chief of Staff ‘—So their invasion has miscarried already!"
The HQ of the 15th Army is today a museum, in Tourcoing
Tourcoing
Tourcoing is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Nord.Tourcoing is situated near the cities of Lille and Roubaix and the Belgian border.-Main sights:...
(France, near Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
).
Von Salmuth was relieved of his command by Hitler, in late August 1944, following the disintegration of the German front line, after the Allied breakout from Normandy (Operation Cobra
Operation Cobra
Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the First United States Army seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy Campaign of World War II...
), and roughly about the same time as the liberation of Paris
Liberation of Paris
The Liberation of Paris took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the surrender of the occupying German garrison on August 25th. It could be regarded by some as the last battle in the Battle for Normandy, though that really ended with the crushing of the Wehrmacht forces between the...
. He was replaced by General Gustav-Adolf von Zangen
Gustav-Adolf von Zangen
Gustav-Adolf von Zangen was a German general and the commander of the German 15th Army in the Netherlands in 1944 during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves...
. Hans von Salmuth was given no further commands in the war, which for Germany ended approximately nine months later, in May 1945.
After World War II, Nuremberg trials, and retirement
After the war, von Salmuth was held as a prisoner of warPrisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
until 1948, when he was one of 185 defendants prosecuted in the Nuremberg Military Tribunals under Allied Control Council
Allied Control Council
The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority, known in the German language as the Alliierter Kontrollrat and also referred to as the Four Powers , was a military occupation governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany after the end of World War II in Europe...
(ACC) Law No. 10. Von Salmuth was tried in the High Command Trial
High Command Trial
The High Command Trial was the last of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Nuremberg after the end of World War II. These twelve trials were all held before U.S...
and found guilty of war crimes against prisoners of war and enemy belligerents, and crimes against humanity involving civilians in occupied countries and was sentenced to twenty years in prison. However, he was released early after serving only five years, in 1953. He died in Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, in 1962. He was buried in the Nordfriedhof cemetery located in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Date of rank
(U.S. equivalent officer rank in parenthesis)- Oberst - (Colonel) - 1 May 1934
- Generalmajor - (Brigadier-General) - 1 August 1937
- Generalleutnant - (Major-General) - 1 August 1939
- General der Infanterie - (Lieutenant-General) - 1 August 1940
- Generaloberst - (General) - 1 January 1943
Staff positions
- Chief of Staff, II Corps - 1934 - 1937
- Chief of Staff, 1st Army Group Command - 1937 - 1939
- Chief of Staff, Army Group North - 1939
- Chief of Staff, Army Group B - 1939 - 1941
Commissions
- XXX Corps - 10 May 1941 - 27 December 1941
- Seventeenth Army - 20 April 1942 - 1 June 1942
- Fourth Army - 6 June 1942 - 15 July 1942
- Second Army - 15 July 1942 - 3 February 1943
- Fourth Army - c.CircaCirca , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
June 1943 - 31 July 1943 - Fifteenth Army - 1 August 1943 - 25 August 1944
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....
, von Salmuth was portrayed by the noted German actor Ernst SchröderErnst Schröder (actor)Ernst Schröder was a popular German theatre, film and TV actor.-Life:Born in Herne, Schröder began his acting career at the nearby Bochum Theatre in 1934, under the legendary director Saladin Schmitt. He worked there until 1936, also working as Assistant Director and Stage Designer...
.