Albrecht Schubert (23 June 1886 – 26 November 1966) was a German general during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Life and career

Born 23 June 1886 in Glatz (modern Kłodzko, Poland, then in German

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. S ...

), in a family of long Silesian ancestry. In 1904 he joined the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

and initially served with the

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...

-based 2nd 'Prinz Louis von Preussen' Infantry Regiment. By the time of the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

he rose to the rank of lieutenant.Pietrucha, p. 1 Promoted to the rank of captain in 1914, during the war he served with the 1st Grenadier Regiment, 21st Reserve Brigade, 4th Landwehr Division, 11th Infantry Division and as a staff officer in the 202nd Infantry Division. After the war he remained within the

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshape ...

and served in Stettin in the 2nd Division, and then in the 8th 'Prussian' Infantry Regiment. Promoted to major in 1926, to lieutenant colonel in 1931 and to full colonel in 1933. Three years later he became the commanding officer of the 12th Infantry Regiment. Following

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

's rise to power, Schubert's career was fast-tracked. In April 1936 he was promoted to the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

and already in March 1938 he became a lieutenant general. The following month he became the commanding officer of the 44th Infantry Division, with which he took part in the initial stages of

. During the joint Nazi and Soviet

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...

in 1939 his unit took part in the fights as part of the 14th Army. After the end of hostilities in October 1939 he was temporarily withdrawn to the personal reserve of the

OKH The (; abbreviated OKH) was the high command of the Army of Nazi Germany. It was founded in 1935 as part of Adolf Hitler's rearmament of Germany. OKH was ''de facto'' the most important unit within the German war planning until the defeat at ...

, but was soon reinstated to active service as a provisional commanding officer of the XXIII Army Corps, with which he took part in the

battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second Wor ...

of 1940. Shortly before the start of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

, Schubert was promoted to the rank of

General of the Infantry General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imp ...

and his corps was relocated to

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

. In September 1941 he was awarded the

(Ritterkreuz). In May 1942 he temporarily commanded the entire 9th Army, but was again withdrawn from active service in the summer of that year. It was not until the following year that he was given the command over the

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

-based XI Army Corps. Until the end of World War II he served on various staff positions in Vienna, away from the front. Schubert survived the war and died 26 November 1966 in

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...

, Germany.

Awards and decorations

on 17 September 1941 as '' General der Infanterie'' and commander of XXIII. Armeekorps

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schubert, Albrecht 1886 births 1966 deaths German Army generals of World War II Generals of Infantry (Wehrmacht) German Army personnel of World War I People from Kłodzko People from the Province of Silesia Prussian Army personnel Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Reichswehr personnel