Lothar Rendulic

Information about Lothar Rendulic

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Lothar Rendulic.


Lothar Rendulic (November 23, 1887 – January 18, 1971) was an Austrian Colonel General in the German Wehrmacht during WWII.

Biography

Early years

Rendulic was born in Wiener Neustadt, Austria to a Croatian family (Croatian spelling of the surname is Rendulić). He entered the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1910 and served during World War I.

Rendulic joined the Austrian Nazi Party in 1932. He joined the diplomatic corps and served as military attaché in London and Paris from 1933 to 1935. Rendulic was retired from diplomatic duty in 1936 because his early membership in the Nazi Party was considered undesirable for a diplomat.

World War II

Rendulic was recalled into the Wehrmacht in 1938. By 1940, he was serving as the Acting General Officer commanding the 14th Division. From 1940 to 1942, he served as the General Officer commanding the 52nd Division. From 1942 to 1943, he served as the General Officer commanding the XXXV Corps. But, by 1943, Lothar Redulic was being held in reserve.

Yugoslavia

From 1943 to 1944, Rendulic served as the General Officer commanding the 2nd Panzer Army in Yugoslavia. In early 1944, German dictator Adolf Hitler ordered him to devise a plan to capture the Yugoslav partisan leader Josip Broz Tito (Tito). Subsequently the Raid on Drvar was launched on May 25, 1944. German paratroopers stormed partisan headquarters in Drvar (western Bosnia) looking for Tito. They nearly succeeded in capturing him but missed.

Finland and Norway

From 1944 to 1945, Rendulic served as the General Officer commanding the 20th Mountain Army. In June of 1944, he was named commander of German troops stationed in Finland and Norway. After the start of the Lapland War, Rendulic ordered the Finnish city of Rovaniemi to be burned as a revenge for Finns who had completed a separate peace with the Soviet Union. He also carried out orders to conduct a scorched-earth campaign when the Germans withdrew from northern Norway, with the result that hardly a building was left standing and the population was left without food or shelter.

The Eastern Front

In 1945, Rendulic served as the Commander in Chief of Army Group Courland (Heeresgruppe Kurland) on the Eastern Front. By this point, Army Group Courland was completely cut off in the Courland Pocket. Later in the same year, Rendulic briefly served as Commander in Chief of Army Group North (Heeresgruppe Nord), again as the Commander in Chief of Army Group Courland, and as Commander in Chief of Army Group South (Heeresgruppe Sud). Army Group Courland was located in what was left of Latvia, Army Group North was located in northern Germany, and Army Group South (re-named Army Group Ostmark) was located in Austria and Czechoslovakia.

In May of 1945, during the Prague Offensive, Lothar Rendulic surrendered as the Commander in Chief of Army Group Ostmark (Heeresgruppe Ostmark).

Imprisonment and death

Rendulic was sentenced to 20 years in prison as part of the Hostage Trials held from 1947 to 1948. He was so sentenced because of his alleged involvement in Wehrmacht attacks on civilians in Yugoslavia and because of crimes committed due to his direct orders during Lapland War. In 1951, Rendulic's sentence was reduced to 10 years.

After his release, Lothar Rendulic worked as an author. He did this for the remaining 20 years of his life. He died in Eferding, Austria, on January 18, 1971.

Awards

  • Iron Cross (Eisernes Kreuz} 2nd Class and 1st Class (2. und 1. Klasse)
  • Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) with Oak Leaves and Swords (mit Eichenlaub und Schwerter)
  • Ritterkreuz (March 6, 1942)
  • Eichenlaub (August 15, 1943)
  • Schwerter (January 18, 1945)

References

  • Berger, Florian, Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Selbstverlag Florian Berger, 2006. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.

See also

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
Generalleutnant Peter Weyer		Commander of 14. Infanterie-Division
June 15, 1940 - October 6, 1940		Succeeded by
Generalleutnant Friedrich Fürst
Preceded by
Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model		Commander of 2. Panzer-Armee
August 14, 1943 - June 24, 1944		Succeeded by
General der Infanterie Franz Böhme
Preceded by
none		Commander of Army Group Courland
January 15, 1945-January 27, 1945		Succeeded by
General Heinrich von Vietinghoff
Preceded by
General Heinrich von Vietinghoff		Commander of Army Group Courland
March 10, 1945-March 25, 1945		Succeeded by
General Carl Hilpert


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