Bio of Generaloberst Curt Haase

 

Curt Haase (15 December 1881 – 9 February 1943) was a German general (Generaloberst) in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He commanded the III Corps during the Invasion of Poland and France. He later commanded the 15th Army in German-occupied France from January 1941 to November 1942. 

In 1901 Haase joined the 4th Württemberg Field Artillery Regiment No. 65 of the Württemberg Army in Ludwigsburg and was promoted to the rank of leutnant in 1902. In 1905 he was an adjutant of the 1st Division and eventually achieved the rank of lieutenant in 1910. From 1911 to 1914 Haase commanded a training regiment in the Prussian Staff College. At the outbreak of the First World War Haase commanded a company. He was promoted to captain in 1914 and served in various staff positions for the rest of the war. After the war, Haase joined the Reichswehr. 

Haase became commander of III Corps on 16 November 1938. At the beginning of World War II, he commanded the III Corps in the Invasion of Poland and the Battle of France. On 15 May 1940 Haase's corps broke through the French defensive positions at Charleville-Mézières, for which he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 8 June 1940. Haase was promoted to Generaloberst on 19 July 1940 and in mid-November 1940, he was relieved of his command and reassigned to the Führer-Reserve. 

On 4 June 1941 he attended the funeral of German Emperor Wilhelm II at Doorn Manor in the Netherlands as a representative of the Oberkommando des Heeres.

From early 1941 to December 1942 he commanded the 15th Army deployed in France, during that period the army was tasked with the protection of the Channel coast from a possible Allied invasion. He was transferred again to the Führer-Reserve for the remainder of his career and died on 9 February 1943 at the age of 61 of heart disease. 

Awards
- Ritterkreuz: am 08.06.1940 als General der Artillerie und Kommandierender General des III. Armee-Korps
- RK des Kgl. Preuss. Hausordens von Hohenzollern mit Schwertern
- RK des Kgl. Württembg. Militär-Verdienstorden
- 1914 EK I
- 1914 EK II
- RK I. Klasse des Kgl. Sächs. Albrechts-Ordens mit Schwertern
- RK I. Klasse des Kgl. Württembg. Friedrichs-Ordens mit Schwertern
- RK II. Klasse des Grossherzoglich Badischen Ordens vom Zähringer Löwen mit Schwertern und Eichenlaub
- Hamburgisches Hanseatenkreuz
- Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer
- Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung IV. bis I. Klasse
- Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 13.03.1938
- Spange zum EK I
- Spange zum EK II

Source :
Denis Daum photo collection
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curt_Haase
http://www.geocities.ws/orion47.geo/WEHRMACHT/HEER/Generaloberst/HAASE_CURT.html