Fritz Schlieper was a German military officer who served during 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...

 and 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...

, eventually gaining the rank of Generalleutnant.

Biography

Fritz Schlieper was born 4 August 1892 in Koldromb

Kreis Znin

Kreis Znin was a Kreis in the northern administrative government region of Bromberg, in the Prussian province of Posen, from 1887-1919. Its capital was Znin .- History :...

, Posen

Province of Posen

The Province of Posen was a province of Prussia from 1848–1918 and as such part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The area was about 29,000 km2....

. In 1911 he joined the German Army

German Army (German Empire)

The German Army was the name given the combined land forces of the German Empire, also known as the National Army , Imperial Army or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German Bundeswehr...

. After the First World War Schlieper continued to serve in the Weimar Republic

Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...

's Reichswehr

Reichswehr

The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....

, and when the Weimar Republic was replaced by Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 he remained in the Heer

Heer (1935-1945)

The Heer was the Army land forces component of the German armed forces from 1935 to 1945, the latter also included the Navy and the Air Force...

 component of the 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:...

, and from 1935 to 1939 commanded the 17th Artillery Regiment. In 1939 he was promoted to Generalmajor and served as Chief of Staff for Military District XIII and, during the Invasion of Poland, served as the Chief of Staff for Frontier Sector Center. From 1939 to 1940 he was also the Quartermaster for the 18th Army.

During 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...

 he commanded the 45th Infantry Division

45th Infantry Division (Germany)

With the annexation in 1936 of Austria by Nazi Germany, what was once the 4th Austrian Division was incorporated into the Wehrmacht and re-designated the 45.Infanterie-Division...

 in one of the initial battles, the Defense of Brest Fortress

Defense of Brest Fortress

The defence of Brest Fortress took place 22–30 June 1941. It was one of the first battles of Operation Barbarossa. The Brest Fortress was defended by the Red Army against the Wehrmacht, held out longer than expected, and became a symbol of Soviet resistance during the Second World War...

. For his part in these battles he would be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

The 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...

. In 1942 he was transferred to Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

 to command German occupying forces there. From 1944 until the war's end, he was the Chief of Special Staff II. After the war, Schlieper lived in Nürnberg til his death on 4 June 1977.

Awards

• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
  Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
  The 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...
  
   on 27 December 1941 as Generalmajor and commander of the 45. Infanterie-Division
  45th Infantry Division (Germany)
  With the annexation in 1936 of Austria by Nazi Germany, what was once the 4th Austrian Division was incorporated into the Wehrmacht and re-designated the 45.Infanterie-Division...