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

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), 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. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Life and career

Born 23 June 1886 in Glatz (modern

Kłodzko Kłodzko (; ; ; ) is a historic town in south-western Poland, in the region of Lower Silesia. It is situated in the centre of the Kłodzko Valley, on the Eastern Neisse (Nysa Kłodzka) river. Kłodzko is the seat of Kłodzko County (and of the ru ...

, Poland, then in German

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) 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 8, ...

), in a family of long Silesian ancestry. In 1904 he joined the Prussian Army and initially served with the

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

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

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 two years of Nazi Germany. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

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 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's rise to power, Schubert's career was fast-tracked. In April 1936 he was promoted to the rank of major general 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, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

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 ...

, 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 (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

of 1940. Shortly before the start of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, 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) General of the Infantry (, abbr. ) is ...

and his corps was relocated to

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. 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 ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

-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 () of Detmold (region), Detmold and the L ...

, Germany.

Awards and decorations

on 17 September 1941 as ''

General der Infanterie 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 Impe ...

'' 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 Military personnel 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