SOME OF THE PRISONERS HELD AT
SPECIAL CAMP 11

Reproduction:
Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand, Berlin

NAME: General der Infanterie z.V. Alexander von Falkenhausen

PW NO:       
RANK:          General der Infanterie z.V.
CAPTURED:  Pragser Wildsee
DATE:            Unknown

PERSONAL
DATE OF BIRTH:      29 October 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH:    Blumentahl/Kreis Neiße/Schlesien
DATE OF DEATH:     31 July 1966
PLACE OF DEATH:   Nassau/Lahn
NATIONALITY:         German
RELIGION:
OCCUPATION:          Regular Soldier
HEIGHT:
WEIGHT:
NEXT OF KIN:

Promotions:

  • Sekondeleutnant: 13 March 1897 (renamed Leutnant on 1 January 1899)
  • Oberleutnant: 18 May 1907
  • Charakter als Hauptmann: 19 November 1909
  • Hauptmann: 22 March 1910
  • Major: 22 March 1915
  • Turkish Oberstleutnant: 27 June 1916
  • Oberstleutnant: 18 December 1920 (without RDA)
  • Oberstleutnant: 1 February 1922 (RDA 1 October 1920)
  • Oberst: 1 April 1924
  • Generalmajor: 1 April 1928
  • Generalleutnant: 1 October 1929
  • Charakter als General der Infanterie: 8 March 1934
  • General der Infanterie z.V.: 1 September 1940

Commands & Assignments:

  • 13 March 1897: Entered the Army as a Sekondeleutnant in Oldenburgisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr.91.
  • 1900-1901: Served in the 3. Ostasiatisches [East Asian] Infanterie-Regiment of the German Expeditionary Corps during the Boxer Rebellion in China.
  • 1902: Adjutant of the II. Battalion of Infantry Regiment 91.
  • 1 October 1904-20 July 1907: Detached to the War Academy.
  • 1 April 1908: Detached to the Great General Staff.
  • 22 March 1910: Aggregated into the Great General Staff.
  • 1 April 1910: Transferred into the Great General Staff.
  • 22 March 1912: Military Attaché at the Embassy in Tokyo, Japan.
  • 23 October 1914: General Staff Officer of the 89th Reserve Infantry Division.
  • 26 November 1914: General Staff Officer of the 31st Infantry Division.
  • 9 May 1916: Detached to the German Military Mission in Turkey.
  • 29 May 1916: Chief of the General Staff of the Rear Staging Area Inspectorate of the Turkish 2nd Army.
  • 1 January 1917: Inspector of the Rear Staging Area Inspectorate of the Turkish 2nd Army.
  • 26 March 1917: Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Army Group Caucasus.
  • 11 July 1917: Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish 7th Army. [On 19 September 1918, British General Sir Edmund H.H. Allenby’s Egyptian Expeditionary Force launched a spectacular offensive against the Turkish Forces in Palestine commanded by German General der Kavallerie (also Turkish Field Marshal) Otto Liman von Sanders, with the opening of the Battle of Meggido. General Allenby’s forces tore through and then annihilated the bulk of the Turkish 8th Army (General Djevad Pasha) along the Mediterranean coast while simultaneous attacks against the adjacent Turkish 7th Army (General Mustapha Kemal – later Kemal Atatürk and President of Turkey) led to that army’s envelopment and virtual destruction. The remnants of General Kemal’s army and the neighboring Turkish 4th Army (General Ahmed Djemal Pasha) retreated along the Jordan River Valley while being incessantly pursued and attacked by Allenby’s cavalry and the Royal Air Force. In the meantime, Arab forces in the north led by Lieutenant-Colonel T.E. Lawrence cut Turkish lines of communications and captured Deraa. After taking Damascus on the 1st of October, General Allenby’s forces pursued the Turks to Aleppo capturing the city on 25 October 1918. Five days later, Turkey bowed out of the war and concluded an armistice with the Allies. Note: Future General der Panzertruppe Heinrich Eberbach and inmate of Special Camp 11 at Bridgend, served as a liaison officer in the Turkish 8th Army in Palestine. On 23 September 1918, Leutnant Eberbach was captured by the British while commanding the rearguard of the retreating Turkish Army.]
  • 1 October 1918: Delegated with the post of the German Military Plenipotentiary in Constantinople, Turkey.
  • March 1919: Representative of the High Command of the Army on the Commission for the Handling of Polish Questions, Danzig.
  • 9 May 1919: Relived from this position and transferred to Grenadier Regiment 2.
  • 19 May 1919: Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the II Army Corps.
  • 1 October 1919: Chief of the General Staff of Wehrkreis [Military District] Command II.
  • 12 April 1920: Transferred into the Reich Defense Ministry.
  • 1 February 1921: Chief of Staff of the Inspectorate of Army Training and Education Services.
  • 20 March 1922: Chief of Staff of the 6th Division.
  • 19 January 1925: Commander of Infantry Regiment 10.
  • 1 February 1927: Commander of the Dresden Infantry School.
  • 31 January 1930: Retired from the Army.
  • April 1934-July 1938: Military Advisor to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in China.
  • 10 July 1939: Placed at the disposal of the Army.
  • 28 August 1939: Commanding General of the Deputy IV Army Corps and Commander of Wehrkreis IV, Dresden.
  • 22 May 1940-15 July 1944: Military Commander of Belgium-Northern France. [Headquartered in Brussels, General von Falkenhausen’s command was responsible for the administration of the German military occupation of Belgium and northern France east of the Somme River. While the Military Commanders of Belgium-Northern France and France (see below) were primarily responsible for internal security and political matters within their respective occupation zones, overall operational control of the German troops actually defending the “Atlantic Wall” in Western Europe was vested in the Commander-in-Chief West. On 15 July 1944, General von Falkenhausen retired from the Army and was succeeded in his post by General der Infanterie Martin Grase. Effective 18 July 1944, the title of this position was changed to Armed Forces Commander of Belgium-Northern France. General Grase continued to serve in this capacity until 16 September 1944 when the position was permanently deleted as the Allied liberation of Belgium and northern France made its continued existence redundant. Note: Headquartered in Paris, the Military Commander of France was responsible for the administration of the German military occupation of France west of the Somme River. This post was held successively by General der Flieger (later General der Infanterie) Otto von Stülpnagel from 25 October 1940; General der Infanterie Karl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel (a cousin of Otto von Stülpnagel) from 13 February 1942; and General der Flieger Karl Kitzinger from 22 July 1944-4 October 1944.]  
  • 22 May 1940-31 May 1940: At the same time, Military Commander of the Netherlands.
  • 26 June 1940-31 July 1940: At the same time, Military Commander of Luxembourg.
  • 15 July 1944: Army High Command Leader Reserve.
  • 20 July 1944: Mobilization regulation waived (suspected of involvement in the 20 July 1944 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler).
  • 29 July 1944-4 May 1945: Arrested by the Gestapo for complicity in the assassination plot and imprisoned in several concentration camps including Dachau.
  • 4 May 1945: Liberated by U.S. troops while being evacuated from Dachau by SS guards.
  • May 1945-1948: Prisoner of war in British and later American custody. [After being held in various prisoner of war camps, including Special Camp 11 at Bridgend, General von Falkenhausen was transferred to Prisoner of War Enclosure (PWE) No. 29 at Dachau, Germany.]
  • 1948: Extradited to Belgium.
  • 7 March 1951: Sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment in Brussels for the deportation of about 25,000 Belgian Jews and the execution of Belgian hostages, but released three weeks later.

Decorations & Awards:

  • Prussian Pour le Mérite Order: 7 May 1918, Major, Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish 7th Army. [Awarded for outstanding leadership and military planning during the successful operations against British General Sir Edmund H.H. Allenby’s raids across the Jordan River in March and May of 1918.]
  • German Cross in Silver: 20 April 1943, General der Infanterie z.V., Military Commander of Belgium-Northern France.
  • Prussian Crown Order, 4th Class with Swords
  • Prussian Royal Hohenzollern House Order, Knight’s Cross with Swords
  • Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class (1914)
  • Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class (1914)
  • War Merit Cross, 1st Class with Swords
  • War Merit Cross, 2nd Class with Swords
  • Bavarian Military Merit Order, 3rd Class with Swords
  • Bavarian Military Merit Order, 4th Class
  • Order of the Württemberg Crown, Knight’s Cross with Swords
  • Württemberg Friedrich Order, Knight 2nd Class with Swords
  • Hesse General Honor Decoration, “for Bravery”
  • Hamburg Hanseatic Cross
  • Oldenburg House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, Honor Knight 1st Class with Swords and Laurel Wreath
  • Oldenburg Friedrich August Cross, 1st Class
  • Oldenburg Friedrich August Cross, 2nd Class
  • Cross of Honor for Combatants 1914-1918
  • Johanniter Order, Knight of Justice
  • Prussian Officers’ Long Service Cross (Not authorized for wear after the establishment of the Third Reich-era Armed Forces Long Service Awards on 16 March 1936.)
  • Armed Forces Long Service Award, 1st Class (25-year Service Cross)
  • Armed Forces Long Service Award, 3rd Class (12-year Service Medal)
  • Austrian Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd Class with War Decoration
  • Austrian Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class with War Decoration
  • Turkish Osmanie Order, 3rd Class with Sabers
  • Turkish Mejidie Order, 2nd Class with Sabers
  • Turkish Imtiaz Medal in Silver with Sabers
  • Turkish Liakat Medal in Gold with Sabers
  • Turkish War Medal (“Iron Crescent”)
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