__NOTOC__ Hermann Ritter von Speck (8 August 1888 – 15 June 1940) 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 ...

. Speck was killed by French machine gun fire on 15 June 1940 in Pont-sur-Yonne,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. After

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 ...

, Speck joined the Freikorps and participated in the suppression of the

German Revolution of 1918–1919 German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

in southern

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, Landshut,

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

, and

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. He later joined became a colonel in the Reichswehr. Jürgen Kraus: ''Handbuch der Verbände und Truppen des deutschen Heeres 1914–1918.'' Teil IX: ''Feldartillerie.'' Band 1. Verlag Militaria, Wien 2007, , S. 129. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 17 October 1940. In 2010, Jay Nordlinger spoke with von Speck's daughter, who claimed that the general deliberately sought death in battle: "According to his daughter, he wanted to die, and arranged to die. He felt he could not break his

oath Traditionally, an oath (from Old English, Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a utterance, statement of fact or a promise taken by a Sacred, sacrality as a sign of Truth, verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths ...

to the army — he could not

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

. And his Catholic faith prevented him from committing

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

— suicide straight out, you might say. So, he put himself in the line of fire. In his dying words, he did not say, 'Give my love to my family', or anything like that. He said, 'It had to be this way'.”

Awards and decorations

on 17 October 1940 as '' Generalleutnant'' and commander of XVIII. ArmeekorpsFellgiebel 2000, p. .

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Speck, Hermann Ritter Von 1888 births 1940 deaths 20th-century Freikorps personnel German Army generals of World War II Generals of Artillery (Wehrmacht) German Army personnel of World War I German Army personnel killed in World War II Military personnel from Munich Knights of the Military Order of Max Joseph Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Military personnel from the Kingdom of Bavaria Deaths by firearm in France Reichswehr personnel