Emil Leeb

Emil Leeb
Leeb mid of picture, handshaking with Fritz Todt
Born	17 June 1881 Passau
Died	8 September 1969 Munich
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Years of service	1901–45
Rank	General
Commands held	Commander of Military District XI; Chief of the Heereswaffenamt
Battles/wars	First World War; Lorraine, Northern France, Galicia, Carpathia, Flanders, and Withdrawal from Northern France

Emil Leeb (17 June 1881 – 8 September 1969) was a Bavarian-German general who saw active service during both World Wars. His older brother, who became Field Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, had the knightly rank of "Ritter" and the nobiliary particle of "von", not by birth, but thanks to the conferment of the Bavarian Military Order of Max Joseph and a patent of nobility. Hence, the older brother had “von” between his names, but the younger brother did not.

Military career

Leeb entered Army service on 7 July 1901. After being promoted to Leutnant (junior lieutenant) on 9 March 1903 he served in the 4th Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment König (7 July 1901 – 2 June 1914). During this period he attended the War School in Munich, the Bavarian Artillery & Engineer School, and then the Bavarian War Academy. He was promoted to Oberleutnant (senior lieutenant) on 26 October 1911 and then to Hauptmann (captain) on 1 June 1915.

First World War

Several months before the outbreak of the First World War, Leeb became adjutant of the 1st Bavarian Reserve Field Artillery Regiment (2 June 1914 – 4 March 1915), then served as an adjutant for several months in the 10th Bavarian Infantry Division (4 March 1915 – 11 May 1915), before becoming its second General Staff officer (11 May 1915 – 1 June 1917). He was promoted to Hauptmann (Captain) on 1 June 1915. He then transferred to the General staff in the XVth Royal Bavarian Reserve Corps (13 August 1917 – 24 December 1917). After a brief posting to the staff of the Artillery Survey School at Wahn (12 November 1917 – 17 November 1917), he was assigned to the Army Artillery Firing School at Bitsch (24 December 1917 – 1 March 1918), before transferring back to the General Staff of the XVth Reserve Corps (1 March 1918 – 19 May 1918). Once again he was briefly detached to the staff of the Army Artillery Firing School at Bitsch (19 May 1918 – 22 August 1918) before transferring back into the General Staff of the XVth Reserve Corps (22 August 1918 – 5 October 1918). For the last month of the war he became the first General Staff Officer of the 2nd Bavarian Infantry Division (5 October 1918 – 1 January 1919), and participated in battles around Lorraine, Northern France, Galicia, the Carpathian Mountains, Flanders and the German withdrawal from Northern France.

Between Wars

Remaining in the down-sixed Reichswehr after the end of the war in November 1918, during 1919 Leeb served as a staff officer with the 4th Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment, the Detachment Hierl (Freikorps), the 24th Reichswehr Brigade, Niederwerfung des Spartacus Aufstandes in Bavaria, before a posting to the German War Ministry (1 October 1919 – 1 October 1921). He stabilized for a while at the 7th Artillery Regiment (1 October 1921 – 1 October 1924), before becoming a Tactics instructor at the War Academy (7th Division) in Munich (1924 -1 October 1928). A decade after his previous promotion, he became a Major on 1 February 1925. He returned to the 7th Artillery Regiment (1 October 1928 – 1 February 1929) before serving with the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Artillery Regiment (1 February 1929 – 1 October 1929). He then became commander of the Gebirgsart Abt und Beobachtungs Abt (Mountain Transport and Observation Squadron) in Landsberg (1 October 1929 – 1 April 1933). He was promoted to Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) on 1 December 1929. Just a few years later he was promoted to Oberst (Colonel) on 1 October 1932. He became a supply officer (Provision Matters) in the War Ministry (1 April 1933 – 1 April 1936), before promotion to Generalmajor (similar to a one-star Brigadier General in the U.S. Army) on 1 July 1935, and later was given command of the XV Division zuerst Warzburg [15th Infantry Division] (1 April 1936 – 1 April 1939) at Frankfurt-am-Main. After promotion to Generalleutnant in early 1937, he became Commanding General of XI Armeeskorps und Befehlshaber des Wehrkreises [XI Army Corps] (1 April 1939 – 16 April 1940) in Hanover, where he was responsible for recruiting, training, and mobilization. During this period he was promoted to General der Artillerie (1 April 1939) and also became commander of Military District XI (1 April 1939 – 31 August 1939).

Second World War

At the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939, Emil Leeb was the 30th most senior German general. He took part in the invasion of Poland, with his XI Corps attacking towards Warsaw. He initially reported to Reichenau of the Tenth Army, before his unit formed the left wing of Reichenau's drive towards Łódź. Later, his unit was transferred to Blaskowitz's Eighth Army in its drive from the east-central region of Germany into west-central Poland, before sweeping on towards Warsaw. On 15 April 1940, Leeb became Chief of the Heereswaffenamt (Army Ordnance Weapons Depot) at the War Ministry in Berlin (15 April 1940 – 1 January 1945). His predecessor had committed suicide because he was unable to properly supply the field units with ammunition. During this period, Leeb also served as an advisor to the Works Company for Weapons and Mechanical Engineering, which was directed by Herman Goering in Berlin (17 January 1941 – 29 December 1942), and he then served as a member of the Armaments Advisory Service (December 1942 - 1 May 1945). On 23 November 1943, Leeb escaped injury when his office in Berlin was bombed during an air raid. In late 1944, his section became part of Himmler's Replacement Army. Leeb retired on 1 May 1945, the day following Adolf Hitler's death. The war lasted barely a week longer, until Hitler’s successor, GrossAdmiral Dönitz, surrendered Germany to the Allies on 7 May.

References

• Sam Mitcham, Hitler’s Commanders, 2000
• The German Campaign in Poland, U.S. Dept. of the Army, Pamphlet No.20-555, Washington DC, 1956

External links

• Emil Leeb at the Lexicon der Wehrmacht