Generalleutnant Eugen König (Eugen Koenig)

PW NO: B22402

RANK: Generalleutnant

CAPTURED: Wuppertal, Germany

DATE: 18 April 1945

PERSONAL
DATE OF BIRTH: 19 September 1896

PLACE OF BIRTH: Trier

DATE OF DEATH: 8 April 1985

PLACE OF DEATH: Birburg/Eifel

NATIONALITY: German

RELIGION: Roman Catholic

OCCUPATION: Regular Soldier

HEIGHT: 6'1"

WEIGHT: 164 lbs

HAIR COLOUR: Dark Brown

EYE COLOUR: Blue

NEXT OF KIN: Katharina Koenig, (French Zone)

Promotions:

War Volunteer: 19 June 1915
Leutnant der Reserve: 12 July 1917
Oberleutnant der Reserve: 1 December 1936
Hauptmann: 1 August 1937
Major (E = Supplemental): 1 September 1940 (Active Officer on 1 September 1941)
Oberstleutnant: 1 July 1942
Oberst: 1 March 1943
Generalmajor: 1 September 1944
Generalleutnant: 16 March 1945

Commands & Assignments:

19 June 1915: Entered the Army as a War Volunteer in the 7. Rheinisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr.69.
1917: Platoon Leader, Adjutant of the II. Battalion and Company Leader in Infantry Regiment 189.
27 September 1918-18 November 1919: Prisoner of war in British captivity.
1920: Separated from the Army.
1 March 1920: Assistant in the government in Tier.
1 April 1920: Civil Supernumerary in the government in Tier.
1 October 1924: Civil Servant in the Bitburg District Administration Office.
1 February 1937: Operinspektor in the Sangerhausen District Administration Office.
1 May 1937: Returned to the Army and appointed the Adjutant of the Training Leader of Darmstadt.
1 September 1939: Regimental Adjutant of Infantry Regiment 352 of the 246th Infantry Division. [Commanded by Generalleutnant Erich Denecke, the 246th Infantry Division served in the Saarpfalz as a component of the 1st Army during the early months of World War II. After border defense duties under the 7th Army on the Upper Rhine during the first five months of 1940, the division returned to the control of Generaloberst Erwin von Witzleben’s 1st Army facing the French Maginot Line in Lorraine. Manning the West Wall fortifications (“Siegfried Line”), the 1st Army remained on the defensive during the first phase of the German invasion of the Low Countries and France. On 14 June 1940, the 1st Army finally went over to the offensive in Operation “Tiger” and attacked the Maginot Line between St. Avold and Saarbrücken achieving penetrations in several locations. The next day, the three divisions of Generalleutnant Alfred Boehm-Tettelbach’s Higher Command XXXVII, including the 246th Infantry Division, moved up as a reserve in the wake of the 1st Army’s advance through the Maginot Line into the Vosges. Operating in conjunction with the adjacent 7th Army (General der Artillerie Friedrich Dollmann) and Panzer Group Guderian (General der Panzertruppe Heinz Guderian) sweeping down from the northeast, the 1st Army helped encircle over 400,000 troops of the French 2nd Army Group in Alsace-Lorraine. Following the armistice, the division remained in France as part of the occupation force. In February 1942, the 246th Infantry Division transferred to the Eastern Front where it saw action in Russia at Rshew and Byeloye under Army Group Center.[1]]
Although the effective dates are unknown, König held the following commands and duty positions from 1940-1943:

Decorations & Awards (included):

Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross: 1 August 1942, Major, Leader of Infantry Regiment 352.
Oakleaves (No. 318): 4 November 1943, Oberst, Commander of Infantry Regiment 451.
Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class (1914): 9 July 1920.
Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class (1914): 30 November 1916.
1939 Bar to the Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class: 9 September 1940.
1939 Bar to the Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class: 19 June 1940.
Cross of Honor for Combatants 1914-1918
Armed Forces Long Service Awards
Infantry Assault Badge in Silver
Wound Badge in Black – World War I award

The 91st Air Landing Division in Normandy

Stationed on the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy, France, the 91st Air Landing Division served as a component of the LXXXIV Army Corps and faced the American D-Day landings on 6 June 1944.[4] In the early morning hours of D‑Day, paratroops of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division ambushed and killed Generalleutnant Wilhelm Falley, the division commander, while he was driving back to his command post at Pont-l’Abbé from a cancelled war game at Rennes. Later that day, Oberst Bernhard Klosterkemper, the commander of Grenadier-Regiment 920 of the 243rd Infantry Division, assumed temporary leadership of the division pending Oberst König’s arrival four days later.

With the drop of the U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions into its quartering and assembly areas, the 91st Air Landing Division could not mount an effective counterattack in the direction of Ste-Mère-Église. Suffering about 3,000 casualties by D+4 and plagued by a shortage of artillery ammunition, König’s division, augmented by Oberst Klosterkemper’s regiment, had difficulty covering its broad front and was reduced to a purely defensive role holding the line Carentan—Le Ham.

While serving under Battle Group “Hellmich,” the 91st Air Landing Division was fragmented and rendered combat ineffective when the U.S. VII Corps cut the Cotentin peninsula in half (isolating the port of Cherbourg) on the night of 17 June 1944.[5] Along with other battered and under strength units, those elements of the 91st Air Landing Division that avoided being cut off later served under Group “König.” On 10 August 1944, the 91st Air Landing Division was formally dissolved while König’s division staff oversaw the building of defensive positions. Luftwaffe Oberstleutnant Dr. jur. Dr. rer. pol. Friedrich-August Freiherr von der Heydte, the commander of the 6th Fallschirmjäger-Regiment, later described the fate of the division (his regiment operated alongside the 91st Air Landing Division early in the Normandy campaign):

The division was decimated during the first three days of the invasion; its remnants were for the time being attached to other divisions or withdrawn. The division staff was employed as a special assignments staff for the purpose of reconnoitering and preparing defensive positions behind the invasion front.

General der Panzertruppe Leo Freiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg, the Commander-in-Chief of Panzer Group West, later commended König’s performance as commander of the 91st Air Landing Division in Normandy: “The newly organized division, which had not yet been fully trained and equipped, performed well owing to the energetic leadership of Generalmajor König.”

Sources:

Blumentritt, Günther; Keitel, Wilhelm; Jodl, Alfred; Warlimont, Walter; Freiherr von Lüttwitz, Heinrich; et al. Fighting the Invasion: The German Army at D-Day. David C. Isby, editor. Greenhill Books, London, United Kingdom, 2000.
Bradley, Dermot; et al. Die Generale des Heeres, 1921-1945, Band 7 (Knabe-Luz). Biblio Verlag, Bissendorf, Germany, 2004.
Guderian, Heinz; Kraemer, Fritz; Ziegelmann, Fritz; Freiherr von Lüttwitz, Heinrich; et al. Fighting in Normandy: The German Army from D-Day to Villers-Bocage. David C. Isby, editor. Greenhill Books, London, United Kingdom, 2001.
Harrison, Gordon A. Cross-Channel Attack – The United States Army in World War II: The European Theater of Operations. Washington D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1951.
Nafziger, George F. German Order of Battle World War II—Volume V: German Infantry Divisions Nos. 300-999, Named Divisions, and Corps Detachments. Privately published 1st edition, West Chester, Ohio, 1994.
Taylor, Telford. The March of Conquest: The German Victories in Western Europe, 1940. Simon and Schuster, Inc., New York, New York, 1958.
German Army Kriegsgliederung (Order of Battle), 1 September 1939-30 April 1945.

[1] On 13 December 1941, Generalleutnant Maximilian Siry assumed command of the 246th Infantry Division. The former commander, Generalleutnant Erich Denecke, was later held as prisoner of war at Island Farm Special Camp 11 until his release in October 1947.

[2] General der Infanterie Gustav-Adolf von Zangen commanded the 15th Army from 25 August 1944 until his capture in the Ruhr pocket on 17 April 1945. SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer und Panzer Generaloberst der Waffen-SS Josef “Sepp” Dietrich commanded the 6th (SS) Panzer Army from 14 September 1944-8 May 1945.

[3] General der Panzertruppe Hasso von Manteuffel commanded the 5th Panzer Army from 10 September 1944-9 March 1945. After being succeeded by Generaloberst Josef Harpe, he transferred to the Eastern Front where he took command of the 3rd Panzer Army. Among other prisoner of war camps, General der Panzertruppe von Manteuffel was held at Island Farm Special Camp 11 after the war.

[4] The one-legged General der Artillerie Erich Marcks served as the Commanding General of the LXXXIV Army Corps in Normandy. He was killed in action on 12 June 1944 when an Allied fighter-bomber attacked his staff car near St. Lô.

[5] Generalleutnant Heinz Hellmich commanded the 243rd Infantry Division in Normandy and was the senior German officer of the Cotentin garrison. On 17 June 1944, he was killed in action near Canville by an Allied air attack. Two days earlier, the German forces in the Cotentin peninsula were organized into two battle groups: Battle Group “Hellmich” (77th Infantry Division and 91st Air Landing Division) and Battle Group “Schlieben” (243rd and 709th Infantry Divisions). Generalleutnant Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben commanded the 709th Infantry Division in Normandy. On 23 June 1944, he was also named Commandant of Fortress Cherbourg and surrendered to U.S. forces three days later. Generalleutnant von Schlieben was later held as prisoner of war at Island Farm Special Camp 11 until his release in October 1947.