Egon von Neindorff

Egon von Neindorff
Egon von Neindorff, 1944
Born	12 September 1892 Koblenz
Died	15 April 1944 (aged 51) Tarnopol
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer (Army)
Rank	Major General
Commands held	216th Infantry-Division German garrison at Tarnopol
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords, April 1942 Silver Wound Badge, Feb 1944 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, April 1944
Relations	Egon von Neindorff (son)

Egon von Neindorff (12 September 1892 – 15 April 1944) was a major general awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves for his defense of the German garrison at Tarnopol.

First World War and interwar period

On 22 March 1911 Egon von Neindorff joined Jäger battalion 12, in which he served as a company commander in the First World War. At the end of the war he was transferred to the Reichswehr, Infantry regiment 10, and on 15 October 1935 to infantry regiment 102, of which he became company commander and a battalion commander. On 1 October 1936 Neindorff was promoted to lieutenant colonel and on 1 August 1939 to colonel.

Second World War

At the beginning of the Second World War, Neindorff was commanding officer of Infantry Regiment 456 at Döbeln. On 10 January 1940, he took over command of Infantry Regiment 433. From June 1941, after the end of the campaign in the West, Neindorff led his regiment into Russia. After being wounded and recovering, on July 1, 1942, Neindorff took command of Fortress Brigade 1 in Crete. From September 1942 he commanded the 189th Reserve Division, and on 1 December 1942 was promoted to major-general.

On 1 May 1943 Neindorff became commander of the 356th Infantry Division in Toulon, on 5 October 1943 he took over command of the 216th Infantry-Division in Orel, on 20 October 1943 he commanded the 137th Infantry division in Gomel, and from 16 December 1943 the 6th Infantry division south of Gomel. From 17 January 1944 Neindorff led the 36th Infantry division in Bobruisk.

On 22 January 1944 he became commander of the German garrison at Tarnopol. In March–April 1944, it was encircled by Soviet forces. Hitler had declared Tarnopol a fortified strong point, to be held to the last man. A German relief attempt was mounted 11 April, but fell short of its goal. Neindorff was killed in action on 15 April; organized resistance quickly collapsed. The garrison of about 4,600 was lost with only 55 men reaching German lines the next day.^[1]

For his actions at Tarnopol, on 4 April 1944 Neindorff was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross. On 17 April 1944, he was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Wound Badge (1914)
  • in Black
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (?)
  • 1st Class (2 April 1944)^[2]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 4 April 1944 as Generalmajor and commander of the garrison at Tarnopol^[3][4]
  • 457th Oak Leaves on 17 April 1944 as Generalmajor and combat commander of Tarnopol^[3][5]
• Mentioned twice in the Wehrmachtbericht on 2 April 1944 and 18 April 1944

References

Citations

1. Newton 2006, pp. 283-284.
2. Thomas 1998, p. 114.
3. Scherzer 2007, p. 564.
4. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 322.
5. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 82.

Bibliography

• 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.
• Lehrer, Steven (2002). Hitler Sites: A City-by-city Guidebook (Austria, Germany, France, United States). McFarland. p. 224. ISBN 0-7864-1045-0.
• Newton, Steven H. (2006). Hitler's Commander: Field Marshal Walter Model – Hitler's Favorite General. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo. ISBN 978-0-306-81399-3.
• 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 Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.

External links

• Lexikon der Wehrmacht. Personenregister. Neindorff, Egon von This website is maintained by Volksbund Deutscher Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V., a non-governmental charity that cares for German World War II military graves and the remains of Hitler's soldiers, both in Germany and in other parts of the world. See Hitler Sites: A City-by-city Guidebook (Austria, Germany, France, United States) for further detail.