Eberhardt Julius Georg Waldemar Bohnstedt, also sometimes spelt Eberhard, (22 July 1886 – 3 October 1957) was a German general and commander of the 7th Infantry Division in 1939. He is most well known for being the director of the

Military School A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by ...

from 1938 to 1939. He retired from military life in 1939. He was the older brother of

Wilhelm Bohnstedt Wilhelm Bohnstedt (5 October 1888 – 11 August 1947) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the 32nd Infantry Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Bohnstedt surre ...

Early life

Eberhardt Bohnstedt was born in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2 ...

, German Empire, on 22 July 1886. In 1905, he joined the German Army as a Lieutenant as a part of the 12th Grenadier Regiment.

World War I

Bohnstedt attended the War Academy from 1912 to 1914, and after which, he served in

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, ...

as a Hauptmann in the General Staff of the 242nd Infantry Division. He participated in the German spring offensive and the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Central Powers ...

Interwar period

Bohnstedt was allowed to continue service in 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 reshaped ...

following the war and served in the General Staff of the 3rd Division until 1923, when he was transferred to the 2nd Cavalry Division until 1924, the 12th Infantry Regiment until 1925, and then returned to the 3rd Division until 1929. In 1930, he transferred to the

6th Infantry Regiment The 6th Infantry Regiment ("Regulars") was formed 11 January 1812. Zachary Taylor, later the twelfth President of the United States, was a commander of the unit. The motto, "Regulars, By God!" derives from the Battle of Chippawa, in which Briti ...

and then to the 7th Infantry Regiment in 1932. He 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 tw ...

in 1935, but retired shortly after his promotion. On 24 April 1938, Bohnstedt came out of retirement and was appointed to be the director of the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

Maximiliano Hernández Martínez Maximiliano Hernández Martínez (20 October 1882 – 15 May 1966) was a Salvadoran military officer and politician who served as the president of El Salvador from 4 December 1931 to 28 August 1934 in an acting capacity and again in an officia ...

.Carmello 1976, p. 161Loveman and Davies 1997, p. 111Williams and Walter 1997, p. 25 In El Salvador, he was promoted to the rank of General. He helped contribute to the fascist sympathies being held by the

Salvadoran Army The Salvadoran Army ( Spanish: ''Ejército Salvadoreño'') is the land branch and largest of the Armed Forces of El Salvador. Conflicts The Football War The Football War (also called The Soccer War or 100-hours War) was a term coined by P ...

at the time, despite him being selected for his military expertise and not his political positions.Carmello 1976, p. 162 He resigned his position in early September 1939 due to pressure from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

on El Salvador to remove Germans and Italians from high ranking positions in their

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distin ...

.Carmello 1976, pp. 168–169Williams and Walter 1997, p. 51

World War II

He returned to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

and took command of the 7th Infantry Division from 30 September to 1 December 1939, after which he again retired from military life.

Personal life

Bohnstedt married a woman named Kate. He had a brother,

Wilhelm Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

, who commanded the 32nd Infantry Division during World War II and who was a fellow 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' ...

Death

Bohnstedt died in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, on 3 October 1957, at the age of 71. He is buried in the South Cemetery of Wiesbaden.

Military ranks

*Leutnant – 18 August 1905 *Fahnenjucker – 1 April 1909 *Oberleutnant – 18 February 1913 *Hauptmann – 12 December 1914 *Major – 1 February 1925 *Oberstleutnant – 1 February 1930 *Oberst – 1 October 1932 *

– 1 July 1935 *General – 24 April 1938 ()

Commands held

* 12th Grenadier Regiment * 242nd Infantry Division * 3rd Division * 2nd Cavalry Division * 12th Infantry Regiment *3rd Division *

* 7th Infantry Regiment *

of El Salvador * 7th Infantry Division

Awards and decorations

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 ...

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...

Knight's Cross of the

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern (german: Hausorden von 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 ...

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in French period, Napoleonic through German Confederation, post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was ...

Knight's Cross of the

Albert Order The Albert Order (german: link=no, Albrechts-Orden or Albrechtsorden) was created on 31 December 1850 by King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony to commemorate Albert III, Duke of Saxony (known as Albert the Bold). It was to be awarded to anyone w ...

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...

* Knight's Cross of the Military Merit Order

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bohnstedt, Eberhardt 1886 births 1957 deaths German Army personnel of World War I German Army officers of World War II Reichswehr personnel Salvadoran military personnel Military personnel from Kassel