__NOTOC__ Curt Badinski (17 May 1890 – 27 February 1966) was a German general in the

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

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 ...

who held several divisional commands. He reached the rank of ''

Generalleutnant () is the German-language 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 ...

'' and 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 ...

. Badinski was captured by British forces in August 1944 in the

Falaise Pocket The Falaise pocket or battle of the Falaise pocket (; 12–21 August 1944) was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. Allied forces formed a pocket around Falaise, Calvados, in which German Army Group B, c ...

Family

Curt Rudolf Theodor Badinski was born on 17 May 1890 in

Grebenstein Grebenstein (; ) is a town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 16 km northwest of Kassel on the German Timber-Frame Road. In 1762 it was the scene of a skirmish between British and French troops during the Seven Year ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

as the son of Eduard Badinski (1854-1937), a royal Prussian forestry official, and Hedwig, ''née'' Leusentin (1865-1948). He was married on 9 May 1923 in

Ratzeburg Ratzeburg (; Low German: ''Ratzborg'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by Ratzeburger See, four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the distri ...

to Ilse, ''née'' König. They had one daughter and two sons.German Federal Archives, Personalakte von Curt Badinski, BArch PERS 6/423

Military career

After graduating from the City Gymnasium in

Stettin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...

in 1908, Badinski spent a year at an officer candidate preparatory institution in Berlin. He entered the Prussian Army on 15 January 1910 as a ''

Fahnenjunker ''Fahnenjunker'' (short Fhj or FJ, ; ) is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was established by the ''Pre ...

'' (officer candidate) in the 9th Lauenburg Jäger Battalion (''Lauenburgisches Jäger Bataillon Nr. 9'') in

. After being promoted to ''Fähnrich'' and attending the War School (''Kriegsschule'') in Potsdam, he was commissioned as a ''Leutnant'' (lieutenant) on 16 June 1911 and served as a platoon leader in the battalion. After 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 ...

in August 1914, Badinski deployed with his battalion, part of the 17th Infantry Division, in the invasion of neutral

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, where he participated in the

Battle of Liège The Battle of Liège (5–16 August 1914) was the opening engagement of the German invasion of Belgium and the first battle of the First World War. The city of Liège was protected by a ring of modern fortresses, one of several fortified cities ...

and the

Battle of Mons The Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force (World War I), British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in the First World War. It was a subsidiary action of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the Allies of World W ...

as a machine gun platoon leader. On 26 August 1914, he took command of the battalion's machine gun company and on 10 February 1915, he was named battalion adjutant. On 29 June 1915, he was seriously wounded by shrapnel and hospitalized in

Saarburg Saarburg (, ) is a city of the Trier-Saarburg district, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the banks of the river Saar in the hilly country a few kilometers upstream from the Saar's junction with the Moselle. Now known as a touris ...

. After recuperating, he was initially assigned to the battalion's replacement (''Ersatz'') unit before returning to the battalion in the field on 4 January 1916. Badinski led a Grand Tattoo (''

Großer Zapfenstreich The ("Grand Tattoo", "Beating Retreat") is a military ceremony performed in Germany and Austria. It is similar to the military tattoo ceremony performed in English-speaking countries, and is the most important ceremonial act executed by the Ger ...

'') at the

Palace of Laeken The Palace of Laeken or Castle of Laeken (; ; ) is the official residence of the King and Queen of the Belgians and the Belgian royal family. It lies in the Brussels-Capital Region, north of the city centre, in Laeken (part of the City of ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

in commemoration of the Kaiser's birthday on 27 January 1916. He was promoted to ''

Oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...

'' on 18 August 1916 and on 5 November 1916 was given command of the newly-formed 2nd Machine Gun Company of the 9th Jäger Battalion. At the end of 1916, Badinski was transferred to the

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germa ...

. From 15 January to 5 April 1917, Badinski served as the staff machine gun officer (''Maschinengewehr-Offizier beim Stabe'') on the staff of the 302nd Infantry Division and then until 28 April 1917 as leader of the bicycle company (''Radfahr-Kompanie'') of the 9th Jäger Battalion. He was then transferred to the 22nd Infantry Brigade as brigade adjutant. In mid-May 1918, Badinski attended the commander's course of the 11th Army. On 8 August 191, he was commanded to the Special Purpose General Command 62 (''Generalkommando z.b.V. 62''), a corps-level command, to serve as the 3rd general staff officer (Ic). From 10 September 1918 to 20 October 1918, he was commanded to the "Group Staff General Wehl" (''Gruppenstab General Wehl'') as operations officer (Ia). After the end of World War I, Badinski was carried over into 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 ...

, where he served in various infantry regiments. From 1 October 1920 to 31 October 1926, he served in the Reichswehr's 6th Infantry Regiment and was promoted to ''

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

'' on 1 October 1923. On 1 November 1926, he was transferred to the 2nd Infantry Regiment. While garrisoned in

Allenstein Olsztyn ( , ) is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents Olsztyn is the largest city ...

and Ortelsburg, Badinski prepared the official wartime history of his battalion, the ''Erinnerungsblätter des Jäger-Feld-Bataillons Nr. 9. Weltkrieg 1914–1918.'' This was published by the ''Lauenburgische Heimatverlag'' in Ratzeburg in two volumes, appearing in 1932 and 1933. On 1 October 1932, he was transferred to the 1st Artillery Regiment and commanded to the staff of Group Command 1 (''Gruppenkommando 1'') until 1 July 1933, when he was commanded to the Infantry School. He was promoted to ''Major'' on 1 August 1933 and in 1935 was on the staff of the War School in Dresden. On 1 March 1936, he was promoted to ''

Oberstleutnant () (English: Lieutenant Colonel) is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, ...

'' (lieutenant colonel), and later that year named commander of the 1st Battalion of the 16th Infantry Regiment (''Infanterie-Regiment 16''). He was promoted to ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...

'' (colonel) on 1 August 1938. At the start of

, Badinski took command of the 489th Infantry Regiment (''Infanterie-Regiment 489'') and led the regiment 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 the invasion of the Soviet Union.German Federal Archives, Generalskartei von Curt Badinski, BArch PERS 6/299352 On 17 January 1942, he assumed temporary command of the 23rd Infantry Division, and with his promotion to ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

'' on 1 February 1942 was named division commander. On 10 July 1942, he was transferred to 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 ...

'' (Leaders Reserve), and on 1 September 1942, he took command of the 269th Infantry Division. On 1 March 1943, he was promoted to ''

''. On 10 December 1943, he was named commander of the 276th Infantry Division, newly formed in November 1943 in southwest France. In the battle of the

on 21 August 1944, Badinski fell into Allied captivity Captured by Sgt A White and members of 12 Platoon 8th battalion The Rifle Brigade. Source BBC ‘Antiques Roadshow’ VE Day Special (Series 48 Ep. 1). He was released from captivity on 21 June 1947.

Decorations and awards

* Kingdom of Prussia: **

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 ...

2nd Class (18 September 1914) **

1st Class (27 January 1917) ** Royal

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern ( or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various versions of the order were crosses an ...

, Knight's Cross with Swords (22 November 1918) * Kingdom of Bavaria: Military Merit Order 4th Class with Swords (17 October 1914) * Free and Hanseatic City of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Hanseatic Cross The Hanseatic Cross () was a military decoration of the three Hanseatic city-states of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were members of the German Empire during World War I. Each republic established its own version of the cross, but the design ...

(10 July 1916) *

Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen ( ; ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the House of Wettin, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernestine Duchy of Saxe-Gotha ...

: Cross for Merit in War (5 June 1917) *

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

Wound Badge The Wound Badge () was a German military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was first awarded to soldiers of the Imperial German Army, German Army who were wounded during World War I. Between the worl ...

(1918) in black (5 March 1918) *

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

: Military Merit Cross 3rd Class with War Decoration (15 July 1918) *

Kingdom of Bulgaria The Tsardom of Bulgaria (), also known as the Third Bulgarian Tsardom (), usually known in English as the Kingdom of Bulgaria, or simply Bulgaria, was a constitutional monarchy in Southeastern Europe, which was established on , when the Bulgaria ...

: Military

Order of Bravery The Order of Bravery () is a Bulgarian order which existed during the Kingdom of Bulgaria and currently exists in the Republic of Bulgaria. It was the second highest in the Kingdom of Bulgaria and is the fourth highest in the Republic of Bulgaria ...

, 4th Class, 2nd Grade (10 August 1917) *

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

: War Medal (4 July 1917) *

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

: ** Honor Cross of the World War 1914/1918 for Combatants (26 January 1935) **

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a List of military decorations of the Third Reich, military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March 1936, Adolf ...

, 4th to 1st Class (2 October 1936) ** 1939

Clasp to the Iron Cross Clasp, clasper or CLASP may refer to: * Book clasp, fastener for a book cover * Folding clasp, a device used to close a watch strap * Lobster clasp, fastener for jewellery * Wrist clasp, a dressing accessory * Medal bar, an element in militar ...

2nd Class (29 June 1940) ** 1939

1st Class (18 July 1940) **

on 11 October 1941Veit Scherzer: ''Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945. Die Inhaber des Eisernen Kreuzes von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündete Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchivs.'' 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militär-Verlag, Ranis/Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2, p. 198. **

Eastern Front Medal The Eastern Medal (), officially the Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal (), was a military award of the ''Wehrmacht'' which was created by ordinance of Adolf Hitler on 26 May 1942. The Eastern Medal was awarded to any member of the ''W ...

(14 August 1942)

Works

* ''Aus großer Zeit. Erinnerungsblätter des Jäger-Feld-Bataillons Nr.9. Weltkrieg 1914–1918.'' Bd. 1, Lauenburgischer Heimatverlag, Ratzeburg 1932. * ''Aus großer Zeit. Erinnerungsblätter des Jäger-Feld-Bataillons Nr.9. Weltkrieg 1914–1918.'' Bd. 2, Lauenburgischer Heimatverlag, Ratzeburg 1933.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * Dermot Bradley (Ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: ''Die Generale des Heeres 1921–1945. Die militärischen Werdegänge der Generale, sowie der Ärzte, Veterinäre, Intendanten, Richter und Ministerialbeamten im Generalsrang.'' Band 1: ''Abberger–Bitthorn.'' Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1993, ISBN 3-7648-2423-9, pp. 153–155. {{DEFAULTSORT:Badinski, Curt 1890 births 1966 deaths People from Grebenstein Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) German Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States Military personnel from Hesse-Nassau Military personnel from Hesse