Strauss, Adolf.

Strauss Adolf, born 06-09-1879 in Schermcke, Saxony-Anhalt. spent his childhood on the land and on 15-03-1898, age 18, he joined the Imperial German Army as a Fähnrich with the 1^st Unter Elassisches Infanterie Regiment 132 under General der Infanterie Berthold von Deimling

  . in Haguenau, after visiting the war school in Berlin-Lichterfelde. His promotion to leutnant was on 17-10-1901 in the Infantry Regiment No. 162 in Lubeck. On 16-06-1910 Adolf was promoted to first leutnant. In 1911 now an Oberleutnant detached to the War Academy in Berlin for a General Staff training. After serving various roles throughout the first war, Strauss was allowed in the new, 10 divisions, 100.000 men Reichswehr   Promoted to Major on 01-01-1924, Oberleutnant on 01-05-1929, Oberst on 01-04-1932 and on 01-12-1934 he was promoted to Generalmajor. He took over command of the newly formed 22^nd Division in Bremen. After his promotion to Generalleutnant in April 1937, he was in October 1938 appointed to the Commanding General of the II Army Corps, succeeding General der Infanterie Johannes Blaskowitz, and Commander in the military district II in Stettin appointed. As Commanding General of the Second Army Corps, Strauss participated in the German Invasion of Poland. On 30-05-1940, he was appointed Oberbefehlshaber, Supreme Commander of the 9^th Army in France.    Strauss here decorating General Karl Allmendinger   was promoted to Generaloberst on 19-07-1940, he again succeeded General Johannes Blaskowitz.  , the 9^th Army first saw service along the Siegfried Line

when it was involved in the invasion of France. It was kept as a strategic reserve and saw little fighting. At the end of the war Theodor Busse

  and the rest of the 9^th Army were driven into a pocket in the Spree Forest south of the Seelow Heights  and west of Frankfurt. Survivors that didn’t surrender to the Soviets during the breakout crossed the Elbe and surrendered to the US Army. Strauss then moved East for Operation Barbarossa with Army Group Centre, under Fieldmarshal Fedor von Bock.  On 15-01-1942 he was replaced in command of the 9^th Army by then General Walter Model

  following the initial breakthrough of the Soviet forces during commencement of the Rzhev Battles. Adolf Hitler gave the army orders ‘not to retreat a single step’. But in late December General Ivan Konev

has dealt a devastating blow for Strauss, who retreated to the second line of defense. For health reasons, he stepped down from command on 16-01-1943 landed in the Führer Reserve and after his recovery, he was appointed as Commandant of the Fortified Eastern area.

On the photo above is Konev (Marshal of the Soviet Union, left) toasting with US General Mark Clark “Contraband”   at a banquette in the Aero Club;

Later General Theodor Busse    from inside the pocket east of Frankfurt Busse attempted a breakout to the west to join up with the 12th Army, under command of General Walther Wenck. The breakout, known as the Battle of Halbe, resulted in the destruction of the Ninth Army as a coherent force. Troops that were not captured by the Soviets crossed the Elbe at  Tangermünde and surrendered to the US Army and Hitler collapsed.

Death and burial ground of Strauss, Adolf.

After the war he was held in Russian captivity, here on the picture left,

 until being released in May 1949. He died on 20-03-1973, very old age 93 in Lübeck and is buried on the Ohlsdorfer Friedhof  in Hamburg, Field AA9. Alas the gravestone is removed as Wolfgang Linke found out during a visit. On this cemetery are also buried Hans Albers the actor, Hitler’s half brother Alois Hitler, Hiller (see Alois), Generalmajor der Infanterie, General Stab 123^th  Infantry Division, Ernst Klasing, Oberleutnant der SS Panzer during the battle of Arnhem, Hans Peter Knaust and there is an almost destroyed family graveside of the Fieldmarschal, Wilhelm Keitel.

My friend Wolfgang linke from Frankfurt sent me the graveside photo.

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