citations Citations awarded to an eventual General der Artillerie

[hucks216]

One item I was able to tick off the collecting bucket list this year was acquiring a prelim RK citation. I would have been happy for an example to anyone, but to have obtained the citation for a significant General was more than I expected.

The RK & Gold Wound Badge citations are for eventual General der Artillerie Erich Marcks. In 1940 he was tasked with drawing up a draft proposal for what would become Operation Barbarossa and during Op Barbarossa he commanded 101.leichte Infanterie-Division which was part of 17.Armee in Heeresgruppe Süd. On 26th June 1941 he was severely wounded which resulted in him having his left leg amputated.

 

 

 

It was during this period that he was awarded the Knights Cross. It was awarded for the performance of his division during the opening days of Barbarossa, especially the crossing of the San river northeast of Przemysl and the subsequent battle against a Soviet bunker line at Medyka.

 

 

 

During the period of his recovery, he commanded first 337.Infanterie-Division and then LXXXVII.Armeekorps which were both based in France.
On 1st August 1943 he was placed in command of LXXXIV.Armeekorps that was responsible for what would become the D-Day sector.

 

 

Marcks was one of the few senior officers who believed that an invasion in Normandy was a possibility and upon the Allies landing ordered a counterattack which ultimately failed.
Here he is in the film The Longest Day, played by the German actor Richard Münch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6YnMaNTx30

 

On 12th June 1944 while touring the front northwest of Saint-Lô, his staff car came under attack from Allied aircraft and Marcks was hit by a 20mm shell. Despite his driver dragging him to a ditch, the injury was too severe and Marcks died of blood loss. He was posthumously awarded the Knights Cross with Oakleaves and now lies buried in the cemetery at Marigny - Block 2, Row 38, Grave 1478.

The following documents and clippings are from his files in the Bundesarchiv (PERS 6/300187 & PERS 6/269)