German artillery formed the backbone of Wehrmacht fire support throughout the Second World War, remaining the primary cause of battlefield casualties despite the popular focus on Panzers and aircraft. At the outbreak of hostilities each Infanterie-Division fielded an Artillerie-Regiment consisting of three leichte Abteilungen equipped with the 10,5 cm leFH 18 light field howitzer and one schwere Abteilung armed with the 15 cm sFH 18 heavy field howitzer, for a total of thirty-six light and twelve heavy pieces. These guns, horse-drawn in most formations, provided the continuous barrage needed to break enemy resistance during the Polish campaign of 1939 and the rapid advances through France in 1940. On the Eastern Front from 1941 onward the same Artillerie-Regimenter faced immense challenges of distance, mud and extreme cold; batteries under the command of an Oberst or Oberstleutnant were frequently attached to individual Infanterie-Regimenter for close support, while Heeresartillerie units of the general headquarters pool reinforced critical sectors with additional 10 cm Kanone 18 and 21 cm Mörser 18 batteries. During the defensive battles around Voronezh in 1942 and the subsequent retreat to the Dnjepr, General der Artillerie Ernst-Eberhard Hell, commanding the VII. Armee-Korps, concentrated the fire of several Artillerie-Abteilungen to destroy nearly one thousand Soviet tanks and break through successive encirclements. In Normandy in 1944 Heeresküstenartillerie-Regimenter such as the 1261 under Oberst Gerhard Treipel and independent Abteilungen under Majore employed a mixture of German leFH 18, captured French and Soviet pieces to shell the invasion beaches for days after D-Day. Although outranged by certain Soviet guns and increasingly short of ammunition and prime movers, the crews of the Artillerie-Regimenter continued to deliver devastating concentrations until the final collapse in 1945, demonstrating the enduring tactical importance of well-directed field howitzer fire in both offensive Blitzkrieg and prolonged defensive warfare.
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General der Artillerie Maximilian de Angelis (1889-1974) was born on 2 October 1889 in Budapest in the Austro-Hungarian Empire as the son of a k.u.k. officer and began his military career after attending the Theresianische Militärakademie in Wiener Neustadt, being commissioned Leutnant in the k.u.k. Feldkanonenregiment 42 in 1908; he served with distinction in the First World War as an artillery officer and Generalstabsoffizier, rising to Hauptmann, and after the war continued in the Austrian Bundesheer, attaining the ranks of Major, Oberstleutnant and Oberst while teaching at military schools and holding staff positions. Following the Anschluss in March 1938 he was promoted to Generalmajor and integrated into the Wehrmacht, later becoming Artilleriekommandeur XV; at the outbreak of the Second World War he took command of the 76. Infanterie-Division, which he led in the Westfeldzug, earning the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 13 May 1940 and I. Klasse on 1 June 1940, and was promoted Generalleutnant on 1 August 1940. On the Eastern Front from 1941 his division advanced from Romania through Jassy, Tiraspol and Krementschug toward Artemowsk, and it was for his resolute defence that prevented a Soviet breakthrough toward Artemowsk on 18 January 1942 while serving as Generalleutnant and Kommandeur of the 76. Infanterie-Division that he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 9 February 1942. Shortly thereafter, on 26 January 1942, he assumed temporary command of the XXXXIV. Armeekorps and on 1 March 1942 was promoted to General der Artillerie and confirmed as its Kommandierender General; under his leadership the corps forced the crossing of the Donez river in the summer of 1942, conducted a relentless pursuit of retreating Soviet forces deep into the western Caucasus as far as the approaches to Tuapse, and later played a decisive role in holding the Kuban bridgehead against numerically superior enemy forces, achievements for which he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz as the 323rd recipient on 12 November 1943 while still commanding the XXXXIV. Armeekorps. He subsequently held temporary and permanent command of the 6. Armee and from July 1944 served as Oberbefehlshaber of the 2. Panzerarmee in the Balkans until the end of the war; among his further decorations were the Militärorden Michael der Tapfere III. Klasse awarded on 19 September 1941 and the Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42. Captured by American forces in May 1945, he was later extradited to Yugoslavia and then the Soviet Union, sentenced for war crimes, and released only in 1955, thereafter living in Germany and Austria until his death in Graz on 6 December 1974.
General der Artillerie Maximilian Fretter-Pico (1892-1984) was born on 6 February 1892 in Karlsruhe and entered the Imperial German Army on 20 September 1910 as a Fahnenjunker in the Feldartillerie-Regiment „Großherzog“ (1. Badisches) Nr. 14. He served throughout the First World War, rising to Hauptmann by October 1918, and remained in the Reichswehr after the war. Promoted to Oberst in 1937 and Generalmajor on 1 March 1941, he assumed command of the 97. leichte Infanterie-Division in April 1941. On 31 August 1941, during the advance in the East, the division’s objective was a bridgehead around Bezuly; Fretter-Pico personally accompanied the foremost infantry waves, reached the objective, and then independently ordered a further thrust to seize the commanding heights at Pidgora despite open flanks. The heights were taken by nightfall, enabling the rapid exploitation of the success, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 26 December 1941. He then took command of the XXX. Armeekorps, was promoted to Generalleutnant in February 1942 and to General der Artillerie on 1 June 1942, becoming its Kommandierender General. Awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 19 September 1942, he distinguished himself through flexible and determined leadership in the winter battles of 1942/43 between the Don and Donez, the defensive fighting near Izyum in summer 1943, and the prevention of Soviet breakthrough attempts southwest of Dnepropetrovsk in November and December 1943. On 5 December 1943 he smashed a major Soviet offensive with seven rifle divisions and a tank corps by means of a bold nocturnal counterattack, and on 19 December he again halted a breakthrough attempt with a daring counterstroke of his own; for these achievements he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 16 January 1944 as the 368th recipient. He later commanded the 6. Armee and the Armeegruppe Fretter-Pico before ending the war as Befehlshaber of Wehrkreis IX. Captured by American forces in April 1945 and released in 1947, he died on 4 April 1984 in Kreuth am Tegernsee at the rank of General der Artillerie.
General der Artillerie Walter Hartmann (1891-1977) was born on 23 July 1891 in Mülheim an der Ruhr and entered the Saxon Army on 1 October 1910 as Fahnenjunker in the 1. Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 12. Promoted to Leutnant in 1912 and Oberleutnant in 1916, he served on the Eastern Front in the First World War, earning both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz and other decorations before being taken into the Reichswehr as Hauptmann in 1921. Rising through the ranks as Major in 1932, Oberstleutnant in 1936 and Oberst in 1938, he commanded Artillerie-Regiment 24 in the Polish and Western campaigns. Appointed Artilleriekommandeur 140 in November 1940, he took part in the invasion of the Soviet Union. On 15 July 1941, while directing artillery fire from the foremost line under intense enemy fire to support the breakthrough of the 100. (leichte) Infanterie-Division through the Stalin Line at Koserowka, he was severely wounded and lost his left arm and left leg. For this decisive action he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 10 August 1941 as Oberst and Artilleriekommandeur 140, followed by promotion to Generalmajor on 1 October 1941. After a long recovery he returned to duty at his own request, commanding Division z.b.V. 407 and later the 390. Feldausbildungs-Division, and was promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 February 1943. From April 1943 he led the 87. Infanterie-Division in the Welish sector. Despite his double amputation he personally directed counterattacks to seal Soviet penetrations in September 1943, for which he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 30 November 1943 as Generalleutnant and Kommandeur of the 87. Infanterie-Division. Promoted to General der Artillerie on 1 May 1944, he commanded the XXXXIX. Gebirgs-Armeekorps in Crimea before taking over the VIII. Armeekorps on 1 September 1944. For his energetic leadership in holding the Oder front from Cosel to Oppeln against strong Soviet assaults in January and February 1945 through repeated local counterthrusts, he received the Schwerter to the Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub on 18 March 1945 as General der Artillerie and Kommandierender General of the VIII. Armeekorps. He briefly commanded the XXIV. Panzerkorps in April 1945, entered American captivity at the end of the war and was released in 1947. Hartmann died in Hameln on 11 March 1977.
General der Artillerie Robert Martinek (1889-1944) was born on 2 February 1889 in Gratzen, Bohemia, into the family of a brewmaster and entered the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1907 after training at the artillery cadet school in Vienna, receiving promotion to Leutnant in 1910, Oberleutnant in 1914, and Hauptmann in 1917 for distinguished service on the Russian and Italian fronts during the First World War. After the war he continued in the Austrian Bundesheer, rising to Oberst and serving as commandant of the artillery schools and later as Artillerie-Inspekteur before the Anschluss transferred him into the Wehrmacht. In November 1941, as Generalmajor and Kommandeur of the 267. Infanterie-Division, he earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 26 December 1941 for decisive actions near Hewelowo on 12–13 December: personally organizing a new defensive front under intense pressure, fighting alongside his troops, and blocking a Soviet breakthrough toward Rusa that threatened the southern flank and rear of the IX. Armee-Korps, thereby gaining critical time for a German counterattack that forced the enemy to pause operations for at least forty-eight hours. Promoted to Generalleutnant, he briefly led the 7. Gebirgs-Division and directed heavy artillery concentrations during the siege of Sevastopol as Höherer Artilleriekommandeur z.b.V. of the 11. Armee. On 1 December 1942 he assumed command of the XXXIX. Panzerkorps, becoming General der Artillerie on 1 January 1943 and receiving the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 21 March 1943. For his skillful conduct of prolonged defensive battles in the Newel–Orsha–Mogilev sector during the winter of 1943–44, in which his expert employment of artillery repeatedly frustrated superior Soviet forces, he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 10 February 1944 as the 388th recipient. Named in the Wehrmachtbericht for these successes, Martinek was killed on 28 June 1944 near the Beresina by a Soviet air attack while leading his corps during the opening phase of Operation Bagration.
General der Artillerie Rudolf Freiherr von Roman (1893-1970) was born on 19 November 1893 in Bayreuth and died on 18 February 1970 in Schernau near Dettelbach. He entered the Bavarian Army as Fahnenjunker on 1 August 1912 in the 6. Feldartillerie-Regiment and was promoted to Leutnant on 1 August 1914. During the First World War he served on the Western Front, earning both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz and the Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz. After the war he joined a Freikorps before transferring to the Reichswehr and later the Wehrmacht, where he was promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 August 1936 and to Oberst on 1 March 1939. From 1937 he worked in the Oberkommando des Heeres in artillery matters, briefly commanding the Artillerie-Regiment 10 during the invasion of Poland in September 1939, and later serving as Artillerie-Kommandeur 3. Promoted to Generalmajor on 1 September 1941, he assumed command of the 35. Infanterie-Division on 1 December 1941. On 13 December 1941, after the withdrawal from the Istra position, he remained with the covering force at Gorki to direct the defence personally; under his leadership the troops repelled multiple Soviet attacks including tanks, destroyed five hostile tanks, and withdrew in good order that evening, thereby securing the safe extraction of most of the force together with light artillery and anti-tank guns and enabling the V. Armee-Korps to fall back orderly to the Seestra position. For this action he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 19 February 1942 as Generalmajor and Kommandeur of the 35. Infanterie-Division. On 10 September 1942 he took command of the XX. Armeekorps, being promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 October and to General der Artillerie on 1 November 1942. He retained command of the corps through the heavy defensive fighting around Gomel in September 1943, for which he was awarded the Eichenlaub (313th award) to the Ritterkreuz on 28 October 1943 as General der Artillerie and Kommandierender General of the XX. Armeekorps. He continued to lead the corps until early 1945, briefly commanded the LXIV. Armeekorps, was captured by American forces in May 1945 and released in June 1947.
General der Artillerie Wilhelm Stemmermann (1888-1944) was born on 23 October 1888 in Rastatt in the Grand Duchy of Baden and entered military service on 26 June 1908 as a Fahnenjunker in the Badisches Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr. 14, receiving promotion to Leutnant the following year before serving as an artillery officer throughout the First World War, during which he earned both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz and the Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz after being wounded. Retained in the Reichswehr after the war, he advanced steadily through the ranks, becoming Oberstleutnant on 1 February 1934, Oberst on 1 March 1936, and serving as Chef des Generalstabes of the XIII. Armeekorps from October 1937; he was promoted to Generalmajor on 1 August 1939 and participated in the Polish campaign and the Western campaign in that staff role, earning the Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz both second and first class in September 1939. In early 1941 he assumed command of the newly formed 296. Infanterie-Division, leading it during the opening stages of Unternehmen Barbarossa with the 17. Armee toward Lemberg, and was promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 August 1941; for his divisional leadership he received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 11 January 1942 before being placed in the Führerreserve after a wound. Elevated to General der Artillerie on 1 December 1942, he took command of the XI. Armeekorps on 5 December 1943. In late January 1944, when Soviet forces of the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts closed the ring around German units southwest of Cherkassy, creating the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket, Stemmermann, as senior officer, assumed overall command of the trapped formations, known as Gruppe Stemmermann, comprising elements of the XI. and XXXXII. Armeekorps. For his skillful direction of defensive operations southwest of Kremenchuk in the preceding months and his resolute leadership of the encircled troops from the pocket’s formation on 28 January, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 7 February 1944 as Kommandierender General of the XI. Armeekorps. As the pocket contracted under relentless pressure, shortages of food, ammunition and medical supplies mounted, and relief efforts by the III. Panzerkorps faltered in the mud and snow; on 16 February Field Marshal von Manstein authorized the breakout with the password “Freedom” toward Lysyanka. Stemmermann organized the assault columns and personally remained with the rearguard of roughly 6,500 men from the 57. and 88. Infanterie-Divisionen while Generalleutnant Lieb directed the main breakthrough group. During the final stages of the desperate night escape across the Gniloy Tikich, his staff car was struck by a Soviet antitank gun near Potschapinzy on 18 February 1944, killing him at the age of fifty-five; that same day he was posthumously awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (399th award) in recognition of his masterful holding of the pocket and the determined advance toward the relieving forces until the moment of his death.
General der Artillerie Siegfried Thomaschki (1894-1967) was born on 20 March 1894 in Miswalde, East Prussia, as the third child of Protestant pastor Paul Thomaschki and Elisabeth née Schucht. After graduating from the Collegium Fridericianum he entered the Imperial German Army on 4 March 1913 as Fahnenjunker in the 2. Ostpreußisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 52, was commissioned Leutnant in 1914 and served throughout the First World War as battery officer and adjutant, earning the Iron Cross Second and First Class while being wounded three times. Remaining in the Reichswehr he advanced through artillery staff and command posts, becoming Oberst and commander of Artillerie-Regiment 3 by 1939. He led the regiment in the Polish and French campaigns, then as Artillerie-Kommandeur 123 on the northern sector of the Eastern Front, receiving the German Cross in Gold. On 26 January 1942 he assumed command of the 11. Infanterie-Division, being promoted Generalmajor on 1 March 1942. Under his leadership the division stubbornly defended the Kirishi bridgehead on the east bank of the Volkhov River, a narrow foothold only four kilometres wide and two kilometres deep, against 154 Soviet assaults between 5 June and 5 September 1942; this epic defence, later nicknamed the “Verdun of the North,” earned him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 1 November 1942. Further masterful defensive fighting around Sinyavino in July–August 1942, during which the division was again mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht, led to the award of the Eichenlaub on 11 September 1943 while he was Generalleutnant and still commander of the 11. Infanterie-Division. He subsequently served as Höherer Artillerie-Kommandeur 303, briefly commanded Kampfgruppe Thomaschki, and from December 1944 led the X. Armeekorps in the Courland Pocket, rising to General der Artillerie on 1 March 1945. He surrendered to Soviet forces on 8 May 1945, was convicted as a war criminal and held until 1955. Thomaschki died on 31 May 1967 in Bad Neuenahr.
General der Artillerie Helmuth Weidling (1891-1955) was born on 2 November 1891 in Halberstadt and entered military service in 1911 with the Feldartillerie-Regiment „von Peucker“ (1. Schlesisches) Nr. 6 in Breslau, later serving with Luftschiffer units before returning to artillery duties as an observer and battery commander during the First World War, where he earned both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz; remaining in the Reichswehr after 1918, he advanced through successive promotions to Leutnant on 10 August 1912, Hauptmann on 1 June 1922, Major on 10 June 1932, Oberstleutnant on 1 September 1935 and Oberst on 1 March 1938, commanding units such as Artillerie-Regiment 56 and Artillerie-Regiment 20 before becoming Artilleriekommandeur 128 with the XXXX. Panzerkorps during the campaigns in Poland and France. On the Eastern Front he took command of the 86. Infanterie-Division in early 1942, receiving promotion to Generalmajor on 1 February 1942 and the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 23 June 1942; as Kommandeur of this division within the 9. Armee he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 15 January 1943 for his successful defensive leadership during the winter fighting west of Rzhev in late 1942, particularly the early December actions in which Soviet forces attempted a surprise advance through difficult forested terrain toward Burzeva, only for Weidling’s innovative tactics to clear the woods, restore the line and recapture ground northward as far as the village of Karskaya, thereby turning the local battle in the Germans’ favour. Promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 January 1943 and to General der Artillerie on 1 January 1944, he assumed command of the XXXXI. Panzerkorps on 20 October 1943 and received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 22 February 1944 for the outstanding leadership of his Korps in the hard defensive fighting near Kritschev and Retschiza, between the Pripet marshes and the Berezina river; further distinction followed with the Schwerter on 28 November 1944 for later operations in East Prussia and along the Narew. After brief periods in the Führerreserve and command of the LVI. Panzerkorps, Weidling was appointed Kampfkommandant of the Berlin Defence Area on 23 April 1945, organising the final defence of the city until he ordered the cessation of hostilities and surrendered to Soviet forces on 2 May 1945; sentenced in 1952 to twenty-five years’ imprisonment for war crimes, he died of a heart attack on 17 November 1955 while still in custody at Vladimir.
Source :
https://www.junobeach.org/canada-in-wwii/articles/artillery/german-artillery/
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