Hans Feige (10 November 1880 – 17 September 1953) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

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 ...

in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

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 ...

Career

Feige joined the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

in 1900. During World War I he served mainly in

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military ...

positions of various formations. He was wounded twice in the war and received several awards like both classes of the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

. After the war he joined the

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, rega ...

until he was accepted into 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 ...

. Here again he mostly served in staff positions and was promoted to

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-s ...

on 1 October 1931 and to

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...

2 years later. On 1 October 1933 he took command of the 1st Cavalry Division, which was disbanded in 1935. He successively entered retirement in 1935, as

. At the onset of World War II he was recalled into active service and took over command of the XXXVI Corps in May 1940. His unit subsequently participated in the

Fall 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 World ...

in the Lorraine region. The corps was then transferred to Norway. In preparation for

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 ...

the corps moved into central

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

. When the German offensive was launched on 22 June 1941, his unit was together with the Finnish III Corps tasked to recapture

Salla Salla (''Kuolajärvi'' until 1936) ( smn, Kyelijävri) is a municipality of Finland, located in Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The nearby settlement of ...

and cut Murmansk off from the rest of Russia by advancing eastwards during Operation Arctic Fox. Although Salla was recaptured, the advance of his ill-equipped forces stalled soon. Feige was pressured by von Falkenhorst, commander of Army Norway, to continue the offensive, which met with little results. The offensive was finally called off on 17 September 1941. In November he was withdrawn from his command and replaced by

Karl Weisenberger __NOTOC__ Karl Weisenberger (29 September 1890 – 28 March 1952) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Awards * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 June 1940 ...

as commander of XXXVI Corps. He subsequently was placed into the ''

Führerreserve The (“Leaders Reserve” or "Reserve for Leaders") was set up in the German Armed Forces during World War II in 1939 as a pool of temporarily unoccupied high-ranking military officers awaiting new assignments. The various military branches an ...

'' and never took over an active command again. As result of this inactivity he finally retired on 30 June 1942.

Awards and decorations

of 1914, 1st and 2nd class *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in Gold * Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

with swords

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Feige, Hans 1880 births 1953 deaths Military personnel from Königsberg German Army generals of World War II Generals of Infantry (Wehrmacht) Prussian Army personnel German Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Hanseatic Cross (Lübeck) Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class 20th-century Freikorps personnel Lieutenant generals of the Reichswehr