SOME OF THE PRISONERS HELD AT
SPECIAL CAMP 11

This profile is a translation of the applicable entries from a copy of Generalleutnant Koreuber’s original Wehrpass graciously provided by his son. Despite the best efforts of Shawn, a few of the handwritten entries relating to the early years of his career include abbreviations that have proven illegible or misunderstood. These unknown words, fortunately very few in numbers, have been marked with a line indicating a blank space.

NAME:  Generalleutnant Fritz Heinrich Karl Hans Koreuber

PW NO:           A451661
RANK:            Generalleutnant
CAPTURED:   Luebeck
DATE:             4th May 1945

PERSONAL
DATE OF BIRTH:     29 February 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH:   Fahlhorst / Kreis Teltow
DATE OF DEATH:    August 1966
PLACE OF DEATH: Unknown
NATIONALITY:       German
RELIGION:               Evangelical
OCCUPATION:        Regular Soldier
HEIGHT:                    6'1.5"      
WEIGHT:                  161lbs
HAIR COLOUR:       Brown
EYE COLOUR:         Brown
NEXT OF KIN:         Marie Koreuber, Bad Essen bei Osnabrueck, (British Zone)

Parents: Karl and Johanna (née Russe) Koreuber.
Wife: Married on 8 December 1941 to Marie (née Meyer) Kapellen (she had three children from a previous marriage).
In 1943, Fritz and Marie Koreuber had one child of their own.

Promotions:

Commands & Assignments:

• 18 March 1909-30 September 1911: Entered the Army as a Fahnenjunker in Eisenbahn [Railway]-Regiment Nr.2. [A component of the Verkehrstruppen or Transport Troops, Eisenbahn-Regiment Nr.2 was one of four railway regiments in the pre-World War I Prussian Army. In April 1911, a young Saxon Fähnrich named Max Immelmann joined the regiment after passing out from the Royal Saxon Cadet Corps. Dissatisfied with military life, Immelmann resigned from the army in April 1912 to continue his technical studies in Dresden. Called back to his regiment upon the outbreak of World War I, Immelmann soon transferred to the Air Service and became a qualified pilot. Between 1 August 1915 and his death in aerial combat on 18 June 1916, Immelmann scored 15 officially confirmed victories. A legend of military aviation, Immelmann’s name is still used by modern air forces to describe the fighter maneuver he pioneered: the “Immelmann Turn.” Whether or not Leutnant Koreuber actually knew Fähnrich Immelmann during his service in Eisenbahn-Regiment Nr.2 is a matter of speculation.] 
• 12 November 1909-6 August 1910: Detached to the Neiße War School.
• 1 October 1911-30 September 1913: Transferred to Luftschiffer [Airship]-Bataillon Nr.2.
• 1 October 1913-16 February 1914: Transferred to Luftschiffer-Bataillon Nr.5.
• 17 February 1914-1 August 1914: Transport Technical Test Commission.
• 2 August 1914-21 April 1915: Assigned to the crew of the Army Military Airship M IV on detached duty to the Imperial German Navy. [First flown on 25 August 1914, the M IV was commissioned on 16 December 1914 under the command of Hauptmann von Jena with Leutnant zur See Schüz of the Imperial German Navy as Executive Officer. Although purchased by the Army and manned primarily by Army personnel, the M IV was ceded to the Imperial German Navy from the very beginning of its operational life. Initially based at Biesdorf, the M IV and its crew transferred to Kiel on 27 December 1914. Over the next several months, the crew of the M IV flew numerous security patrols over the Baltic Sea. The airship was deflated and overhauled from July-August 1915 before finally being decommissioned in Kiel on 3 November 1915.]
• 22 April 1915-26 May 1915: Detached to the Radio Telegraph Course at the Navy Radio Telegraph School.
• 1 April 1915-14 May 1916: Transport Technical Test Commission.
• 15 May 1916-25 June 1916: Assigned to the crew of the airship LZ 102.
• 26 June 1916-24 June 1917: Assigned to the crew of the Army airship LZ 101. [First flown on 29 June 1916, the LZ 101, under the command of Hauptmann Victor Gaißert, departed Germany a month later for the airship base at Jambol in Bulgaria to begin combat operations over the Balkans. Over the next eight months, the crew of the LZ 101 flew one reconnaissance mission over the Black Sea and 11 combat sorties against targets in Romania, Russia and Greece. In mid-1917, the German Army ceased airship operations in favor of the more technologically promising use of heavier-than-air bombing aircraft while the Imperial German Navy took over all further airship employment. The LZ 101 was permanently retired from service in September 1917. Many former crewmembers of the Army airships, including then Hauptmann Fritz Koreuber, transferred to the captive observation balloon service. (See additional details below.) Note: Victor Gaßiert (5 January 1879-21 March 1945) retired from the German Army in 1931 as a Generalmajor. Recalled to service in August 1939, he achieved the rank of Generalleutnant z.V. and held a variety of posts as district commandant of prisoner of war camps in Germany, France and on the Eastern Front. After passing into reserve in November 1942, he again retired from the Army in January 1943.]
• 25 June 1917-31 July 1917: Transferred to the Inspectorate of Airship Troops.
• 27 September 1917-9 October 1917: Allocated to the Replacement Battalion of Airship Battalion 2.
• 10 October 1917-31 October 1917: Balloon Platoon Group ______.
• 8 November 1917-21 November 1917: ______ Airship Troop 5.
• 22 November 1917-14 January 1918: ______ Airship Troop 4.
• 15 January 1918-12 February 1918: Balloon Platoon 114.
• 13 February 1918-25 April 1918: Field Airship Battalion 18.
• 26 April 1918-23 October 1918: Transferred to the Inspectorate of Airship Troops.
• 24 October 1918-12 November 1918: Airship Experimental Battalion.
• 1 October 1919-18 November 1919: Defense (Abwehr) Office/Inspectorate of Airship Troops.
• 19 November 1919-13 December 1919: Inspectorate ______.
• 14 December 1919-31 December 1919: Reichswehr Balloon Platoon 1.
• 1 January 1920-14 November 1920: Reichswehr Artillery Regiment 1.
• 25 November 1920-3 August 1922: Transferred to the regimental staff of Artillery Regiment 1.
• 4 August 1922-31 March 1924: Transferred to Infantry Regiment 3.
• 1 April 1924-31 March 1927: Transferred to Motorized Battalion 5.
• 1 April 1927-31 August 1927: Transferred to Infantry Regiment 13.
• 1 September 1927-30 November 1927: Detached as a Rittmeister to Reiter [Mounted]-Regiment 18.
• 1 December 1927-30 November 1930: Chief of the 2nd Company (Württemberg) of Motorized Battalion 5.
• 1 December 1930-30 April 1933: Transferred to Medical Battalion 5.
• 1 May 1933-29 February 1934: Transferred to Transport Battalion 5.
• 1 March 1934-14 October 1935: Transferred to Motorized Battalion 3.
• 15 October 1935-26 August 1939: Transferred to Motor Transport Equipment Inspectorate I.
• 27 August 1939-9 September 1939: Army High Command Leader Reserve.
• 10 September 1939-3 October 1939: Assigned to the staff of the 2nd Panzer Division. [Commanded by Generalleutnant Rudolf Veiel, the 2nd Panzer Division took part in the invasion of Poland in September 1939 as a component of Army Group South. (See additional details below.)]
• 4 October 1939-10 November 1939: Army High Command Leader Reserve.
• 11 November 1939-31 January 1940: Commandant of Zossen.
• 1 February 1940-30 April 1940: Special Staff K (Kraftfahr = Motor Transport) of the Army High Command/Office Group K.
• 1 May 1940-15 March 1941: Chief Motor Transport Officer of the 6th Army. [Commanded by Generaloberst (promoted Generalfeldmarschall on 19 July 1940) Walter von Reichenau, the 6th Army took part in the invasion of the Low Countries and France in May-June 1940. During the first phase of the campaign, the 6th Army advanced against elements of the Dutch, Belgian and French armies and, after heavy fighting, captured Brussels on 17 May 1940. After tearing a fatal hole between the Belgians and the British Expeditionary Force, Generaloberst von Reichenau accepted the surrender of King Leopold III of Belgium and his army on 28 May 1940. During the second phase of the campaign, the 6th Army wheeled south and, after crossing the Marne and the Cher rivers, captured Orleans. Following the Western Campaign, the 6th Army concentrated on the Cherbourg peninsula in preparation for Operation “Seelöwe” (Sea Lion)—the planned invasion of Great Britain. While the main landings were tasked to the 16th Army (Generaloberst Ernst Busch) and the 9th Army (Generaloberst Adolf Strauß) respectively, the 6th Army remained on alert and, if feasible, would land in Lyme Bay between Weymouth and Lyme Regis. After the cancellation of Operation “Seelöwe,” the 6th Army remained in France for the next several months performing coastal defense and routine occupation and training duties. (See additional details below.)]
• 16 March 1941-25 February 1943: Commandant of the Zossen Troop Training Area in Wehrkreis [Military District] III.
• 26 February 1943-30 November 1943: Garrison Commandant of Vitebsk, Russia.
• 1 December 1943-14 May 1944: Garrison Commandant 282 (Vitebsk, Russia).
• 15 May 1944-1 June 1944: Army High Command Leader Reserve.
• 2 June 1944-29 April 1945: Commandant of the Zossen Troop Training Area in Wehrkreis III.
• 30 April 1945: Separated from the Army.
• May 1945-17 May 1948: Prisoner of war in British captivity.
  • 9th January 1946 transferred to Island Farm Special Camp 11 from Camp 1
  • 12th May 48 transferred to Camp 186 for repatriation.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

World War I

After serving aboard the Army Military Airship M IV on detached service to the Imperial German Navy, Oberleutnant Koreuber briefly served aboard the airship LZ 102 before receiving assignment to the crew of the LZ 101 commanded by Hauptmann Victor Gaißert. Transferred to the airship base at Jambol in Bulgaria, the crew of the LZ 101 flew one reconnaissance mission and 11 combat sorties in that theater of operations.

After transferring to the captive balloon troops, Oberleutnant Koreuber served on the Western Front and took part in the following battles in 1917-1918:

World War II

During the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, Oberst Koreuber served on the staff of the 2d Panzer Division and took part in the following combat actions:

During the German invasion of the Low Countries and France and the subsequent occupation of France, Generalmajor Koreuber served as the Chief Motor Transport Officer of the 6th Army and took part in the following actions:

As the Garrison Commandant of Vitebsk, Russia and later Garrison Commandant 282, Generalleutnant Koreuber was employed on the Eastern Front in the operations area of Army Group Center from 26 February 1943-14 May 1944.

Technical Details of Army Military Airship M IV (Groß-Basenach type):

Technical Details of Army Airship LZ 101 (Zeppelin Company number LZ 71):

A Gallery of Photographs from the World War I Album of Generalleutnant Fritz Koreuber
(These rarely seen photographs of the German Army airship/captive balloon service
were graciously provided by the General's son)

CLICK ON ANY OF THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE

A young Fritz Koreuber with a fellow member of Eisenbahn-Regiment Nr.2 identified only as Starke.	Oberleutnant Koreuber served aboard the Army Military Airship M IV (pictured here in 1914) from 2 August 1914-21 April 1915.	The crew of the Army Military Airship M IV poses with their ship.
The crew of the Army Military Airship M IV poses with their ship.	Officers and non-commissioned officers of the crew of the Army Military Airship M IV pose for a formal portrait in mid-1915.	German and Bulgarian officers celebrate the birthday of Kaiser Wilhelm II with a song and some horseplay at Jambol, Bulgaria on 27 January 1917.
German and Bulgarian officers celebrate the birthday of Czar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria at Jambol, Bulgaria on 27 February 1917.	German Army airship crew members fire a machinegun during a ground practice session.	German Army airship crew members fire a machinegun during a ground practice session.
Officers and men of the German Army airship detachment bow their heads while a chaplain conducts a memorial or church service inside the giant airship shed at Jambol, Bulgaria.	Hauptmann Fritz Koreuber (second from right) attending captive balloon observer training at the Field Airship School in Courland, 1917.	Another view of the captive balloon observer training at the Field Airship School in Courland, 1917.