Nickname: Fritz
Date of birth: 15 October 1897 - Nettkow, Landkreis Grünberg, Silesia (German Empire)
Date of death: 30 November 1976 - Freudenstadt, Baden-Württemberg (West Germany)
Religion: Protestant
Parents: His father was a goods manager in the Nettkow area of Silesia. Information on his mother is not widely documented in public sources.
Siblings: No confirmed information on siblings is available in standard biographical records.
Spouse: Schulz married Margarete Teichmann on 10 June 1922. She died in 1945. He remarried Luitgard Kohlrausch on 16 October 1948. She died in 2015 at age 96 and is buried with him.
Children: Two daughters from his first marriage, born in 1923 and 1930 respectively. No further public details on their lives are available.
Promotions:
26th June 1916: Leutnant (promoted on 9th August 1916);
1st October 1919: Leutnant (effective from 1st October 1915);
1st August 1925: Oberleutnant (effective from 1st April 1925);
1st November 1931: Hauptmann;
1st January 1936: Major;
1st February 1939 Oberstleutnant (effective from 1st February 1938);
1st April 1941: Oberst;
1st July 1942: Generalmajor;
1st July 1943: Generalleutnant;
1st April 1944: General der Infanterie;
Career:
19th September 1914: Entered service as Kriegsfreiwilliger and was assigned to IR von der Goltz (7. Pommersches) Nr. 54 as Fahnenjunker;
26th June 1916: Leutnant in (3. Posensches) IR Nr. 58;
Grenzschutz Schlesien in 6. / Infanterie-Regiment 8, Glogau and later with the Reichswehr-Infanterie-Regiment 8;
11th March - 16th March 1919: Wehrkreisprüfung;
1st October 1920: Infanterie-Regiment 8;
1st October 1926: Adjutant III. / Infanterie-Regiment 8, Görlitz;
1st October 1930: Führergehilfenausbildung;
1932: Stab 4.Division, Dresden;
1st September 1933: Generalstab, RWM;
1st October 1934: Kompanie-Chef Infanterie-Reigment 30;
15th October 1935: Ia 23.Infanterie-Division;
1st October 1937 - 20th April 1940: Stab Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, Gruppenleiter II (Organisation) / Abteilung L / Wehrmachtführungsamt;
20th April 1940 - 24th April 1942: Chef des Generalstabes, XXXXIII.Armee-Korps;
12th May 1942 - 21th November 1942: Chef des Generalstabes, 11.Armee;
21sh November 1942 - 12th February 1943: Chef des Generalstabes, Heeresgruppe Don;
12th february 1943 - 1st March 1943: Chef des Generalstabs der Heeresgruppe Süd;
1st May 1943 - 1st December 1943: Kommandeur 28.Jäger-Division;
28th November 1943 - 1st January 1944: Kommandierender General (m.d.F.b.) III.Panzer-Korps;
8th February 1944 - 21nd March 1944: Kommandierender General LIX.Armee-Korps;
22nd March 1944 - 3rd July 1944: Kommandierender General (m.d.F.b. until 31st March 1944, then permanent from 1st April 1944) XXXXVI.Panzer-Korps;
25th July 1944 - 25th March 1945: Oberbefehlshaber 17.Armee;
5th April 1945 - 29th April 1945: Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgrupe G;
29th April 1945: send to Italy bu Generalfeldmarschall Kesselring;
30th April 1945: Oberbefehlshaber Südwest;
3rd May 1945 - 5th May 1945: Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe G;
6th May 1945 - 1946: Prisoner of War U.S. Army.
Awards and Decorations:
Eisernes Kreuz 1914 2. Klasse (2 June 1916)
Eisernes Kreuz 1914 1. Klasse (27 January 1918)
Verwundetenabzeichen 1918 in Schwarz
Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer 1914/1918 mit Schwertern (1934)
Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnungen 4. Bis 1. Klasse
Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz 2. Klasse 1939 (6 April 1940)
Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz 1. Klasse 1939 (14 June 1940)
Ostmedaille
Krimschild
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (29 March 1942) as Oberst im Generalstab and Chef des Generalstabes XXXXIII. Armeekorps, for defensive actions near Kaluga. In the harsh winter of 1941–1942, during the Soviet winter offensive near Kaluga southwest of Moscow, the XXXXIII. Armeekorps faced repeated heavy attacks from superior Red Army forces. As chief of staff, Schulz played a central role in planning and coordinating the corps’ defensive operations. Under extreme cold, supply shortages, and constant pressure, he helped organize flexible withdrawals, counterattacks, and the holding of key positions that prevented a complete breakthrough. His clear operational planning and tireless work in stabilizing the front contributed decisively to the corps’ ability to maintain cohesion and inflict significant losses on the attacking enemy. For these achievements in defensive leadership during the critical winter battles, he received the Ritterkreuz.
Orden Michaels des Tapferen III. Klasse (6 October 1942)
Mentioned in Wehrmachtbericht (14 March 1944)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #428 (20 March 1944) as Generalleutnant and Kommandierender General (mit der Führung beauftragt) III. Panzerkorps, for leadership near Cherkassy. In late 1943 and early 1944, during the intense defensive battles around Cherkassy (Korsun Pocket) on the southern sector of the Eastern Front, Schulz temporarily took acting command of the III. Panzerkorps. Soviet forces launched powerful assaults aimed at encircling and destroying German units in the pocket. Under his leadership, the corps conducted skillful mobile defense and counterattacks amid muddy terrain, limited fuel, and overwhelming enemy numbers. Schulz directed coordinated tank and infantry actions that helped relieve pressure on trapped forces, facilitated breakout attempts, and stabilized threatened sectors. His energetic personal leadership and tactical decisions enabled the corps to hold key ground longer than expected and extract valuable combat power despite the dire situation. These actions in the Cherkassy fighting earned him the Eichenlaub.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #135 (26 February 1945 as General der Infanterie and Oberbefehlshaber 17. Armee, for defense of Upper Silesia. In February 1945, as commander-in-chief of the 17. Armee within Heeresgruppe Mitte, Schulz directed the defense of the vital Upper Silesian industrial region. Following the Soviet breakthrough near Liegnitz during the Lower Silesian Offensive, massive Red Army forces threatened to overrun the area and its critical coal mines and factories. Schulz rapidly reorganized his depleted units, personally inspiring troops through example and energetic command. He established a new defensive line where repeated Soviet attacks were repelled with heavy enemy losses. Despite severe shortages of manpower, ammunition, and fuel, his forces conducted stubborn delaying actions and successful local counterattacks that slowed the Soviet advance and preserved part of the industrial heartland longer than anticipated. His capable leadership turned a potential collapse into an orderly defense that bought precious time for German operations elsewhere. For this outstanding performance in the Upper Silesian battles, he was awarded the Schwerter.
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Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Schulz, commonly known as Fritz Schulz, was a German general of infantry in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. Born on 15 October 1897 in Nettkow in the Province of Silesia within the Kingdom of Prussia, he rose through the ranks from a young volunteer in the First World War to one of the senior field commanders on the Eastern Front in the final desperate months of the conflict. Schulz demonstrated a combination of meticulous staff work and energetic frontline leadership that earned him rapid promotions and Germany's highest military decorations. He served continuously from 1914 until the collapse of the Third Reich in 1945, surviving the war to live quietly in West Germany until his death on 30 November 1976 in Freudenstadt, Baden-Württemberg.
Schulz entered military service on 19 September 1914 as a war volunteer and officer candidate with Infanterie-Regiment von der Goltz (7. Pommersches) Nr. 54. He transferred to (3. Posensches) Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 58, where he was commissioned as Leutnant in June 1916. During the First World War he fought on both the Western and Eastern fronts, suffering wounds that earned him the Wound Badge in Black. He received the Iron Cross Second Class in 1916 and First Class in 1918 for bravery under fire. After the armistice he participated in border defense duties in Silesia with Grenzschutz units and later joined the Reichswehr, serving with Infanterie-Regiment 8. His early career in the small professional army of the Weimar Republic included adjutant duties, general staff training, and various staff positions that prepared him for higher responsibilities.
In the years leading to the Second World War, Schulz advanced steadily through the ranks while holding key organizational and planning roles. He became Hauptmann in 1931, served as company commander in Infanterie-Regiment 30, and acted as first general staff officer of the 23. Infanterie-Division. By 1937 he had risen to Gruppenleiter for organization matters in the Wehrmachtführungsamt at the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht. Promoted to Major in 1936 and Oberstleutnant in 1939, he brought calm professionalism and thorough planning skills to increasingly demanding positions. When war broke out in 1939, his experience placed him in critical staff roles that shaped operations on multiple fronts.
Schulz first gained widespread recognition during the harsh winter battles of 1941-1942 on the central sector of the Eastern Front. As Oberst and chief of staff of the XXXXIII. Armeekorps, he coordinated defensive efforts near Kaluga southwest of Moscow against repeated Soviet winter offensives. Under conditions of extreme cold, frozen equipment, and severe supply shortages, the corps faced relentless attacks by superior Red Army forces attempting to shatter the German line. Schulz helped organize flexible withdrawals, timely counterattacks, and the stubborn defense of key strongpoints that prevented a decisive breakthrough. His clear operational planning and tireless coordination stabilized threatened sectors and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy, actions that directly contributed to the award of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 March 1942.
Later in the war Schulz transitioned from staff duties to direct field command, facing some of the most intense fighting of the Eastern campaign. In late 1943, as Generalleutnant, he took acting command of the III. Panzerkorps during the critical battles around Cherkassy in Ukraine. Soviet forces launched powerful assaults aimed at encircling German units in the Dnieper bend area, creating muddy quagmires that hampered movement while artillery and tank attacks pounded German positions. Under Schulz's leadership the corps conducted skillful mobile defense, launching localized armored counterthrusts that disrupted Soviet advances and bought time for threatened formations. His energetic direction helped maintain cohesion amid logistical strain and overwhelming enemy pressure in the prelude to the larger Korsun-Cherkassy pocket, earning him the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross on 20 March 1944 as the 428th recipient.
In the final year of the war Schulz rose to army-level command during the Soviet winter offensives of 1945. As General der Infanterie and commander-in-chief of the 17. Armee from July 1944, he was responsible for defending the vital Upper Silesian industrial region with its coal mines and factories essential to the German war effort. Following a major Soviet breakthrough near Liegnitz in February 1945, massive Red Army tank and infantry columns threatened to overrun the area in a rapid advance. Schulz rapidly reorganized depleted divisions, established new defensive lines, and personally inspired his exhausted troops through visible leadership and decisive orders. His forces repelled repeated Soviet attacks with determined resistance and local counterattacks, inflicting heavy casualties and slowing the enemy momentum despite critical shortages of men, ammunition, and fuel. These actions preserved parts of the industrial heartland longer than expected and demonstrated outstanding defensive skill, leading to the award of the Swords to the Knight's Cross on 26 February 1945 as the 135th recipient.
In the chaotic last weeks of the war Schulz briefly commanded higher formations, including Heeresgruppe G and temporary oversight of operations in southern Germany and Italy under Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring. Captured by American forces in May 1945, he spent time as a prisoner of war before his release in 1948. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he avoided public controversy or further military involvement in the postwar era. Schulz lived a private life in West Germany, remembered primarily by military historians for his progression from capable staff officer to resilient army commander in the most demanding defensive battles of the Eastern Front. His decorations and career reflect the heavy burdens placed on German generals in the later stages of the conflict.
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Source:
Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer: Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945.
Elite of the Third Reich by W.P. Fellgiebel and related Wehrmacht command studies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Schulz
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/34588/Schulz-Karl-Friedrich-Fritz-Wilhelm.htm
https://ww2gravestone.com/people/schulz-karl-friedrich-fritz-wilhelm/
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/
https://rk.balsi.de/
https://www.geni.com/
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
https://www.unithistories.com/
Archived Geocities material via web.archive.org (orion47)
https://grokipedia.com/
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