SOME OF THE PRISONERS HELD AT
SPECIAL CAMP 11

NAME: Generalleutnant Ralph Graf von Oriola

PW NO:          18898

RANK:            Generalleutnant

CAPTURED:   31st March 1945

DATE:             Althausen, Baden Württemberg

 

PERSONAL
DATE OF BIRTH:     9 August 1895

PLACE OF BIRTH:   Herischdorf

DATE OF DEATH:    28 April 1970

PLACE OF DEATH: Nürnberg

NATIONALITY:       German

RELIGION:               Roman Catholic

OCCUPATION:        Regular Soldier

HEIGHT:                    5'11

WEIGHT:                   140lbs

HAIR COLOUR:        Dark Brown

EYE COLOUR:          Blue

NEXT OF KIN:          Graf Oriola, Hannover, (British Zone)

 

Promotions (included):

• Fahnenjunker: 5 March 1914
• Leutnant: 2 November 1914 (Patent 19 February 1913)
• Oberleutnant: 20 June 1918
• Hauptmann: 1 July 1927
• Oberstleutnant: 1 August 1937
• Oberst: 1 June 1940
• Generalmajor: 1 May 1943
• Generalleutnant: 1 November 1943

Commands & Assignments (included):

• 5 March 1914: Entered the Army as a Fahnenjunker in the Feld-Artillerie-Regiment von Puecker (1. Schlesisches) Nr.6.
• 1 October 1934: Commander of the III. Battalion of Artillery Regiment 18 of the 18th Infantry Division.
• 1 September 1939: Commander of Artillery Regiment 252 of the 252nd Infantry Division. [Commanded by Generalleutnant z.V. Diether von Boehm-Bezing, the division served as a component of the XXIV Army Corps 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, after penetrating the Maginot Line in several locations, advanced 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. After transferring to Poland, the 252nd Infantry Division took part invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 under Army Group Center. After seeing action at Bialystok and Vyasma, the 252nd Infantry Division advanced on Moscow before being pushed back to Gzhatsk by the Russian counteroffensive that began in December 1941.]
• 20 February 1942: Artillery Commander (Arko) 7 of the XVII Army Corps on the Eastern Front.
• 17 February 1943-3 May 1943: Commander of the 72nd Infantry Division on the Eastern Front.
• 3 May 1943-15 January 1944; 13 March 1944-28 June 1944: Commander of the 299th Infantry Division on the Eastern Front.[1] [After assuming command from Generalleutnant Hans Bergen, Graf von Oriola led the 299th Infantry Division in combat at Bryansk, Gomel and Kursk in central Russia. On 22 June 1944, the Russians launched Operation “Bagration,” a massive offensive along a 300-mile front that tore deep into Army Group Center with the intent of liberating Belorussia and driving to the Vistula River and the Prussian border. Serving under Generaloberst Georg-Hans Reinhardt’s 3rd Panzer Army, the 299th Infantry Division was destroyed southeast of the Vitebsk salient. Of the 3rd Panzer Army’s three corps and 10 divisional commanders, Graf von Oriola was one of only three who were not killed, captured or reported missing in action during the Russian offensive.]
• 12 February 1945-March 1945: Delegated with the leadership of the XIII Army Corps on the Western Front. [After briefly leading the corps in action on Germany’s western frontier, Graf von Oriola relinquished command to Generalleutnant Max Hermann Bork. Available documentation suggests he remained unemployed for the rest of the war.]

• 31 March 45 -17 May 1948: Prisoner of war in British captivity.

  • 27 April 1945 transferred to Trent Park Camp 11 sorting camp.
  • 23 July 1946 transferred to Island Farm Special Camp 11 from Camp 300
  • 12 May 1948 transferred to Camp 186 for repatriation.

• Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross: 23 December 1943, Generalleutnant, Commander of the 299th Infantry Division.
• German Cross in Gold: 22 November 1941, Oberst, Commander of Artillery Regiment 252.
• Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class (1914) with 1939 Bar
• Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class (1914) with 1939 Bar
• Medal for the Winter Campaign in Russia 1941/1942 (“East Medal”)
• Saxe-Meiningen Cross for Merit in War
• Cross of Honor for Combatants 1914-1918
• Armed Forces Long Service Award, 1st Class (25-year Service Cross)
• Armed Forces Long Service Award, 3rd Class (12-year Service Medal)
• Wound Badge in Black – World War I award

• Adair, Paul. Hitler’s Greatest Defeat: The Collapse of Army Group Center, June 1944. Arms and Armour Press, London, United Kingdom, 1994.
• Keilig, Wolf. Die Generale des Heeres. Podzun-Pallas Verlag, Friedberg, Germany, 1983.
• Taylor, Telford. The March of Conquest: The German Victories in Western Europe, 1940. Simon and Schuster, Inc., New York, New York, 1958.