Rudolf Konrad

Rudolf Konrad (7 March 1891 – 10 June 1964) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who served as a corps commander. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and, by the end of the war, held the rank of General der Gebirgstruppe, (General of Mountain Troops).

Rudolf Konrad
Born	7 March 1891 Kulmbach
Died	10 June 1964 (aged 73) Munich
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army (Wehrmacht)
Years of service	1910–45
Rank	General der Gebirgstruppe
Commands held	7th Mountain Division XXXXIX Mountain Corps LXVIII Army Corps
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Life and career

Rudolf Konrad was born in Kulmbach in Northern Bavaria on 7 March 1891. He entered the German Army in July 1910 as an ensign. Joining a Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment in October 1912 as a Lieutenant, he served with them in World War I.

He remained in the Reichswehr after 1918, rising to command a Gebirgsjager (Mountain) Regiment from October 1935. Becoming a staff officer, in 1940 he became chief of staff of XVIII Corps, then of 2nd Army. He was then given a field command, first of 7th Mountain Division then, for most of the period from December 1941 to May 1944, of XXXXIX Mountain Corps on the Eastern Front.[1] He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in August 1942 for his command of this corps.[2] Finally, he commanded LXVIII Corps from early 1945 until the end of the war.[3]

In 1966 the Bundeswehr barracks in Bad Reichenhall was named 'General Konrad Barracks'. In August 2012 it was renamed 'Hochstaufen Barracks', Christian Schmidt the Federal Minister of Defence describing the previous name as outdated.[4]

Awards and decorations

As a General of Mountain Troops and commander of XXXXIX Mountain Corps Konrad received:

• mention in the Wehrmachtbericht (Armed Forces Report) of 27 July 1942 for his role in the capture of Bataisk, near Rostov;[5]
• the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 1 August 1942;[2]
• the German Cross in Gold on 23 February 1944.[6]

References

Citations

1. Lucas 1980, p. 214.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 220.
3. MacLean 2014, pp. 115–117.
4. "Das ist keine Revolution in Bad Reichenhall" (in German). BGLand24.de. 17 September 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
5. Wehrmacht 1985, pp. 220–221.
6. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 245.

Bibliography

• Wehrmacht (1985). Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 2 [The Wehrmacht Reports 1939–1945 Volume 2] (in German). Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag. ISBN 3423059443.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Lucas, James (1980). Alpine Elite: German Mountain Troops of World War II. Jane's Publishing. ISBN 0531037134.

• MacLean, French L. (2014). Unknown Generals - German Corps Commanders In World War II. Pickle Partners Publishing. ISBN 9781782895220.

• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.