Karl-Wilhelm Specht

Karl-Wilhelm Specht
Born	22 May 1894 Herdecke
Died	3 December 1953 (aged 59) Woikowo Prisoner-of-war camp near Moscow
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1914–45
Rank	General der Infanterie
Commands held	Infanterie-Regiment 55
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Operation Barbarossa Battle of Białystok–Minsk Battle of Smolensk (1941) Battle of Moscow East Prussian Offensive
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Karl-Wilhelm Specht (22 May 1894 – 3 December 1953) was a highly decorated General der Infanterie in the Wehrmacht during World War II who served on the Army Honour Court after the 20 July Plot. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He also served on the "Court of Military Honour," a drumhead court-martial that expelled many of the officers involved in the 20 July Plot from the Army before handing them over to the People's Court. Karl-Wilhelm Specht was captured by Soviet troops at the end of the war and died on 3 December 1953.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (22 January 1915)^[1]
  • 1st Class (28 April 1917)^[1]
• Wound Badge (1914)
  • in Black
• Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (21 December 1939)^[1]
  • 1st Class (9 June 1940)^[1]
• Wound Badge (1939)
  • in Silver
• Eastern Front Medal
• Infantry Assault Badge
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 8 September 1941 as Oberst and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 55^[2]
  • 60th Oak Leaves on 16 January 1942 as Oberst and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 55^[3]

References

Citations

1. Thomas 1998, p. 333.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 328.
3. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 52.

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.

External links

• Lexikon der Wehrmacht
• Karl-Wilhelm Specht @ Axis Biographical Research at the Wayback Machine (archived November 17, 2010)