Friedrich Dollmann | |
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Born | 2 February 1882 |
Died | 28 June 1944 | (aged 62)
Place of birth | Würzburg |
Place of death | France |
Buried at |
Cimetière militaire allemand de Champigny-St. André Block 3—row 13—grave 1090 |
Allegiance |
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Service/branch |
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Rank | Generaloberst |
Commands held | Seventh Army |
Battles/wars |
World War I World War II |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
Friedrich Dollmann (February 2, 1882 - June 28,[1][2] 1944) was a German general during World War II, most notably serving during the early phases of the D-Day Invasion.
Born in 1882, Dollmann remained in the Reichswehr following service in World War I eventually commanding Mobilization District Wehrkreis IV by 1936. Promoted to generaloberst shortly after the start of World War II, Dollmann was given command of the German Seventh Army which he led during the six-week campaign against France. Assigned to occupation duty, Dollmann remained in France overseeing the defense of Brittany and Normandy in 1944. Expecting the Allied invasion in early June, Dollmann lowered the alert conditions after worsening weather conditions on June 4. Attending a map exercise during June 5–6, his command in Normandy took much of the early casualties during the initial Allied assault. Dollmann would continue to resist the Allied attack until his death on June 28, 1944, after learning he was going to be court martialed because of the fall of Cherbourg. Sources are not conclusive about the way Dollmann died, some sources speak of a heart attack, others claim that he committed suicide[1][3] by taking poison.[2] He was succeeded by SS-Obergruppenführer Paul Hausser.
Awards[]
- Iron Cross (1914)
- 2nd Class (18 September 1914)
- 1st Class (21 February 1916)
- Bavarian Prinz-Regent-Luitpold Jubiläums-Medaille mit der Krone (1905)
- Military Merit Order (Bavaria) IV. Class with Swords (16 November 1914)
- Cross of Honor (21 December 1934)
- Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung IV. to I. Class
- Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class (11 December 1939)
- 1st Class (10 March 1940)
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knight's Cross on 24 June 1940 as General der Artillerie and commander in chief of the 7. Armee[4][5]
- 518th Oak Leaves on 1 July 1944 as Generaloberst and commander-in-chief of the 7. Armee[5][6]
References[]
- Citations
- Bibliography
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) (in German). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 – Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtsteile [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]. Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
- Harrison, George A., Cross-Channel Attack. The United States Army in World War II: The European Theater of Operations, 1951. Reprint, Washington, D.C., 1970.
- Ryan, Cornelius. The Longest Day, New York, 1949.
- Scherzer, Veit (2007) (in German). 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]. Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
- Thomas, Franz (1997) (in German). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K]. Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.
External links[]
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