SOME OF THE PRISONERS HELD AT
SPECIAL CAMP 11

NAME: Generalmajor Erich Fronhöfer

PW NO:           560340

RANK:            Generalmajor

CAPTURED:   Goldenstaedt, Germany

DATE:             3rd May 1945

PERSONAL
DATE OF BIRTH:      27 December 1895

PLACE OF BIRTH:    Ragaischen, Kreis Darkehmen / Ostpreußen

DATE OF DEATH:    12 January 1970

PLACE OF DEATH:  Dortmund

NATIONALITY:        German

RELIGION:                Evangelical

OCCUPATION:        Regular Soldier

HEIGHT:                    5'10"

WEIGHT:                   172lbs

HAIR COLOUR:       Grey

EYE COLOUR:         Brown

NEXT OF KIN:         Margarete Fronhoefer, (British Zone)

Account

 
Generalmajor Erich Fronhöfer was an early member of the German Motorized Troops.  After seeing detached motorized troop service in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he was appointed Adjutant of the Inspectorate of Motorized Troops and, later, Adjutant on Staff of the newly created Command of Panzer Troops. Both organizations were headed by General der Panzertruppe Oswald Lutz who, together with his highly talented Chief of Staff, Oberstleutnant (later Generaloberst) Heinz Guderian, helped create the operational art of modern armored warfare universally known as the “Blitzkrieg” (Lightning War). Influenced by leading British tank warfare theorists, both Lutz and Guderian developed the concept of grouping tanks into Armored (Panzer) Divisions. Guderian opined that tanks, teamed with motorized infantry and artillery, would operate as a “combined arms team” to deliver fast and decisive blows to an enemy’s flanks and rear as well as achieving decisive breakthroughs. Although these theories remained much at odds with the traditional military thinking of the day, Adolf Hitler believed in the concept and gave his support to the creation of the German Panzer Arm.

Erich Fronhöfer remained in the nascent Panzer Arm throughout the 1930s seeing service as Commander of the Motorized Combat Troops-Demonstration Battalion, a unit that tested and evaluated new equipment and operational concepts. After several years of instructor duty at the Panzer Troop School, he finally received a field command—Panzer Regiment 10—which he led during Operation “Barbarossa,” the invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. Putting his years of theoretical experience to use, Fronhöfer’s regiment led the advance of the 8th Panzer Division into the Baltic States and northern Russia. After a spectacular seizure of the road and rail bridges over the Dvina River, the 8th Panzer Division pierced the “Stalin Line” and advanced to the outskirts of Leningrad.                     

Promotions:

Commands & Assignments:

• 19 August 1914: Entered Army service as a War Volunteer in Füsilier-Regiment Königin Viktoria von Schweden (1. Pommersches) Nr. 34.
• 27 August 1914: Allocated to Reserve Infantry Regiment 210.
• 11 November 1914: Wounded/in hospital.
• 7 January 1915: Named a Fahnenjunker.
• 12 February 1915: Allocated to the Replacement Battalion of Fusilier Regiment 34.
• 18 February 1915-15 April 1915: Detached to the Fahnenjunker Training Course in Döberitz.
• 10 May 1915: In the field with Fusilier Regiment 34.
• 24 July 1915: Sick/in hospital.
• 23 December 1915: Company Officer in the 10th Company of Fusilier Regiment 34.
• 16 January 1916: Ordnance Officer on the staff of Fusilier Regiment 34.
• 21 March 1917: Company Officer in the 8th Company of Fusilier Regiment 34.
• 11 June 1917: Wounded/in hospital.
• 4 July 1917: Adjutant of the II. Battalion of Fusilier Regiment 34.
• 2 September 1918: Gas poisoning – allocated to Mortar Company 20.
• 11 December 1918: Transferred to the Replacement Battalion of Fusilier Regiment 34 and detached as the Demobilization Officer to the Stettin Garrison Command.
• 14 February 1919: Ordnance Officer on Staff of the Detachment Kraehe.
• 15 June 1919: Court Officer in the Krakow Transit Camp.
• 18 August 1919: Ordnance Officer on the staff of the III. Battalion of Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 3.
• 1 October 1920: Company Officer in Infantry Regiment 5.
• 15 January 1921-14 June 1921: Detached to Sport Courses in Dresden.
• 1 May 1924-15 August 1924: Detached to the Weapons School Course at the Troop Training Area Ohrdruf.
• 1 October 1926: Leader Assistant training with the staff of the 5th Division.
• 1 June 1927-31 July 1927: Detached to the 7th Motorized Battalion.
• 1 august 1927-29 September 1927: Detached to the 3rd Signals Battalion.
• 1 July 1928-31 July 1928: Detached to 5th Signals Battalion.
• 1 August 1928-25 September 1928: Detached to the 1st Motorized Battalion. 
• 1 October 1928: Transferred to Infantry Regiment 5 and detached as an Ordnance Officer to the staff of the 5th Division.
• 1 November 1928: Transferred in unchanged service position to Cavalry Regiment 6.
• 1 December 1929: Detached to Motorized Battalion 2.
• 1 January 1930: Transferred to the 2nd Medical Battalion and Leader of the Unteroffizier [Non-Commissioned Officer] Candidates of the Motorized Troops in Elsgrund.
• 1 January 1932: Transferred in unchanged service position to Artillery Regiment 1.
• 1 April 1932: Transferred in unchanged service position to the 3rd Motorized Battalion.

The Staff of the Inspectorate of Motorized Troops, 1932 Left to right (sitting): Major Walther Nehring, Generalleutnant Oswald Lutz, Obserstleutnant Heinz Guderian

Decorations & Awards: