__NOTOC__ Carl Hilpert (12 September 1888 – 1 February 1947) 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 ...

. When World War II broke out in September 1939, Hilpert became chief of the staff of ''Armeeabteilung A'' on 9 September 1939 under the command of Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord, who was tasked with securing the western border with Belgium and the Netherlands. After its dissolution on 3 October, the staff was used to form the South Border Section Command in Kraków, where Hilpert remained active, before taking up the post of chief of staff of the 1st Army under Erwin von Witzleben on 5 February 1940. With this association, Hilpert 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 ...

and after its successful completion on 1 October 1940, he was promoted to lieutenant general. Since Erwin von Witzleben, who had been appointed

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (; from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire, (''Reichsgeneralfeldmarsch ...

, now took over

Army Group D Army Group D () was a German Army Group which saw action during World War II. Army Group D was formed on 26 October 1940 in France, its initial cadre coming from the disbanded Army Group C. On 15 April 1941, the status of Army Group D was upgr ...

(from April 1941 also

Oberbefehlshaber West ''Oberbefehlshaber West'' (German language, German: initialism, initials ''OB West'') (German: "Commander-in-Chief n theWest") was the overall commander of the ''Westheer'', the German armed forces on the Western Front (WWII), Western Front dur ...

) in occupied France on 26 October 1940, Hilpert also succeeded him as the new Chief of Staff of the Army Group. Hilpert remained in this position for the next year and a half. After the daring British

St Nazaire Raid The St Nazaire Raid or Operation Chariot was a British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Louis Joubert Lock, Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German occupation of France during World War II, German-occupied France during the Second ...

revealed the poor state of western defences in March 1942, Hilpert was removed from this post and transferred to the Führerreserve. On 26 June 1942, Hilpert became acting commander of the LIX Army Corps and in July took over the command of XXIII Corps with which he fought against the Soviet

Operation Mars Operation Mars (Russian: Операция «Марс»), also known as the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive Operation (Russian: Вторая Ржевско-Сычёвская наступательная операция), was the codename f ...

. On 20 January 1943, he became Commanding General of LIV Corps, which was deployed under the 18th Army of Army Group North before Leningrad and was involved in major defensive battles during

Operation Iskra Operation Iskra (), a Soviet military operation in January 1943 during World War II, aimed to break the Wehrmacht's siege of Leningrad. Planning for the operation began shortly after the failure of the Sinyavino Offensive (1942), Sinyavino Offe ...

. In the following summer 1943 too, he proved himself in further defensive battles in the Fifth Sinyavino Offensive, for which he was later awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 22 August 1943. From 31 October 1943, he briefly commanded the XXVI Army Corps off Leningrad before taking over I Army Corps in the area of the 16th Army fighting in the Newel area on 1 January 1944. As part of the Soviet winter offensive ( Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive), Hilpert's troops got into heavy fighting, and Hilpert himself fell out. In July 1944, during the battles that followed the start of the Soviet summer offensive

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration () was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (), a military campaign fought between 22 June and 19 August 1944 in Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Byelorussia in the Eastern ...

, Hilpert's men fought their way out of the

Polotsk Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a pop ...

Fortress. For this achievement he received the oak leaves for the Knight's Cross on 8 August 1944. During the last stages of

, Hilpert commanded the German troops which had been surrounded by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

in the

Courland Pocket The Courland Pocket was a Pocket (military), pocket located on the Courland Peninsula in Latvia on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 9 October 1944 to 10 May 1945. Army Group North of the ''Wehrmacht'' were ...

. On 7 May 1945,

Karl Dönitz Karl Dönitz (; 16 September 1891 – 24 December 1980) was a German grand admiral and convicted war criminal who, following Adolf Hitler's Death of Adolf Hitler, suicide, succeeded him as head of state of Nazi Germany during the Second World ...

, in his capacity as head of state, ordered Hilpert to surrender

Army Group Courland Army Group Courland () was a Nazi Germany, German Army Group on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front. It was created from remnants of the Army Group North, blockade, isolated in the Courland Peninsula by the advancing Soviet Army for ...

. Hilpert was the army group's last commander-in-chief. Hilpert surrendered himself, his personal staff, and three divisions of the XXXVIII Corps to Soviet Marshal

Leonid Govorov Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov (; – 19 March 1955) was a Soviet Union, Soviet military commander. Trained as an artillery officer, he joined the Red Army in 1920. He graduated from several Soviet military academies, including the Military Aca ...

. Hilpert sent the following message to his troops: He was taken prisoner by the Soviets and died in custody in 1947.

Command history

* Acting General Officer Commanding - LIX Corps - 1942 * General Officer Commanding - XXIII Corps - 1942 to 1943 * General Officer Commanding - LIV Corps - 1943 * General Officer Commanding - XXVI Corps - 1943 * General Officer Commanding - I Army Corps - 1 January to 20 January 1944 * General Officer Commanding - I Army Corps - 1 May to 1 August 1944 * Acting General Officer Commanding - 16th Army, Eastern Front - 1944 to 1945 * Acting Commander-in-Chief -

Army Group North Army Group North () was the name of three separate army groups of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Its rear area operations were organized by the Army Group North Rear Area. The first Army Group North was deployed during the invasion of Pol ...

, Eastern Front - 1945 * Acting Commander-in-Chief -

, Eastern Front - 1945 * General Officer Commanding - 16th Army, Eastern Front - 1945 * Commander-in-Chief - Army Group Courland, Eastern Front - 15 March to 8 May 1945 * Prisoner of war - 1945 to 1947

Awards and decorations

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1914) 2nd Class (7 October 1914) & 1st Class (18 October 1916)Thomas 1997, p. 280. * Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (20 April 1940) & 1st Class (16 June 1940) *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), 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 repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold on 19 February 1943 as '' General der Infanterie'' and commanding general of the XXIII ArmeekorpsPatzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 186. *

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves 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 lower in precedence than the Grand C ...

** Knight's Cross on 22 August 1943 as ''General der Infanterie'' and commander of the LIV. ArmeekorpsScherzer 2007, p. 391. ** Oaks Leaves on 8 August 1944 as ''General der Infanterie'' and commander of the I. Armeekorps

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hilpert, Carl 1888 births 1947 deaths Colonel generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Military personnel from the Kingdom of Bavaria Military personnel from Nuremberg German Army personnel of World War I German people who died in Soviet detention 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 with Oak Leaves German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union