Johannes Frießner

Johannes (Hans) Friessner
Born	(1892-03-22)22 March 1892 Chemnitz, Kingdom of Saxony
Died	26 June 1971(1971-06-26) (aged 79) Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1911–1945
Rank	Generaloberst
Commands held	XXIII. Armeekorps
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Johannes Friessner (22 March 1892 – 26 June 1971) was a German general during World War II.

Born in Chemnitz, Kingdom of Saxony, Friessner enlisted in the German Army in 1911 and, after seeing extensive duty during World War I, served in the Reichswehr following the war.

After his promotion to Generalmajor on 1 August 1940, during World War II, Friessner was assigned to the Eastern Front where, on 1 May 1942, he would be placed in command of the 102nd Infantry Division. Shortly after his promotion to Generalleutnant on 1 October 1942, Friessner served as commander of the XXIII Corps from 19 January to 11 December 1943 (during which time he was promoted General der Infanterie on 1 April).

In February 1944, Friessner was transferred to the Northern Front and assigned command to Sponheimer Group (renamed army detachment "Narva" on 23 February). Winning promotion to Generaloberst on 1 July, Friessner held briefly command of Army Group North until 25 July before being sent to the southern front to command South Ukraine Army Group (later renamed the Army Group Southeast). Unable to halt the four month Soviet offensive by Marshal Rodion Malinovsky's Second Ukrainian Front, Friessner was relieved of his command on 22 December. Holding no further command for remainder of the war, Friessner would live in retirement in Bayerisch Gmain until his death on 26 June 1971.

In 1951, he was the chairman of the Verbund Deutsche Soldaten. During the early 1950s he was active in advising on the redevelopment of the German army: Bundeswehr (see Searle's Wehrmacht Generals). In 1956, Friessner wrote Verratene Schlachten (Betrayed Battles), a memoir of his tour of command of the South Ukraine Army Group.

Awards

• Eisernes Kreuz (1914)
  • 2nd Class (15 September 1914)
  • 1st Class (19 September 1916)
• Ritterkreuz der Königlich Sächsischer Militär-St. Heinrichs-Orden (27 November 1916)
• Wound Badge in Black (1918)
• Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer
• Clasp to the Eisernes Kreuz (1939)
  • 2nd Class (27 July 1942)
  • 1st Class (21 August 1942)
• Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (9 June 1943)
• Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub
  • Ritterkreuz on 23 July 1943 as General der Infanterie and commanding general of the XXIII. Armeekorps
  • 445th Eichenlaub 9 April 1944 as General der Infanterie and leader of the Army Detachment Narwa
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht (29 November 1944)

Wehrmachtbericht reference

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
29 November 1944	Deutsche Truppen haben zusammen mit den verbündeten ungarischen Streitkräften unter dem Oberbefehl des Generalobersten Frießner seit dem 29. Oktober dem fast ununterbrochenen Ansturm von 61 Divisionen und 7 Panzerkorps der Bolschewisten und Rumänen standgehalten.	German forces together with the allied Hungarian armed forces under the command of Colonel General Friessner have since 29 October withstood the almost continuous onslaught of 61 divisions and 7 armored corps of the Bolsheviks and Romanians.

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Searle, Alaric (2003). Wehrmacht Generals, West German Society, and the Debate on Rearmament, 1949-1959. Praeger Pub.
• Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 3-7648-2299-6.
• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939-1945 Band 3, 1. Januar 1944 bis 9. Mai 1945 (in German). München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3.

Military offices
Preceded by Generalmajor Werner von Räsfeld	Commander of 102. Infantrie-Division 1 May 1942 – 19 January 1943	Succeeded by General Otto Hitzfeld
Preceded by General der Infanterie Carl Hilpert	Commander of XXIII. Armeekorps January 1943 – 7 December 1943	Succeeded by General der Panzertruppe Hans Freiherr von Funck
Preceded by Generaloberst Georg Lindemann	Commander of Heeresgruppe Nord 4 July 1944 – 23 July 1944	Succeeded by Generalfeldmarschall Ferdinand Schörner
Preceded by Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein	Commander of Army Group South 23 September 1944 – 28 December 1944	Succeeded by General der Infanterie Otto Wöhler