Karl Eibl

Karl Eibl (23 July 1891 – 21 January 1943) was an Austrian general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. He also served in World War 1 as an officer in the Austrian Landwehrregiment 21.[1]

Karl Eibl
Born	23 July 1891 Bad Goisern, Upper Austria, Austria-Hungary
Died	21 January 1943 (aged 51) Stalingrad, Soviet Union
Allegiance	Austria-Hungary (to 1918) First Austrian Republic (to 1938)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army (Wehrmacht)
Years of service	1914–43
Rank	General of the Infantry (posthumously)
Commands held	385th Infantry Division
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Eibl was killed north-west of Stalingrad on 21 January 1943, during the chaotic retreat forced by the Russian offensive, Operation Little Saturn, when Italian soldiers mistook his command vehicle for a Soviet armored car and blew it up with hand grenades.[2] There is a memorial monument dedicated to him in the city park of Krems, Austria

Awards

• Infantry Assault Badge[3]
• Wound Badge (1939) in Black[3]
• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (23 September 1939) & 1st Class (5 November 1939)[4]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross on 15 August 1940 as Oberstleutnant and commander of the III./Infanterie-Regiment 131[5]
  • Oak Leaves on 31 December 1941 as Oberst and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 132[5]
  • Swords on 19 December 1942 as Generalmajor and commander of 385. Infanterie-Division[5]

References

Citations

1. "Verordnungs-blatt des Königlich bayerischen Kriegsministeriums". 1916.
2. Mitcham 2007, p. 89.
3. Berger 1999, p. 68.
4. Thomas 1997, p. 148.
5. Scherzer 2007, p. 290.

Bibliography

• Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges [With Oak Leaves and Swords. The Highest Decorated Soldiers of the Second World War] (in German). Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-0-6.
• Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). Rommel's Desert Commanders — The Men Who Served the Desert Fox, North Africa, 1941–42. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0-8117-3510-9.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.