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Erich Marcks

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Erich Marcks
File:Erich Marcks.jpeg
Born(1891-06-06)6 June 1891
Schöneberg
Died12 June 1944(1944-06-12) (aged 53)
Hébécrevon, Saint-Lô
Allegiance German Empire (to 1918)
 Weimar Republic (to 1933)
 Nazi Germany
Service/branchHeer
Years of service1910 – 1944
RankGeneral der Artillerie
UnitGerman LXXXIV Army Corps
Battles/warsWorld War I
World War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Erich Marcks (June 6, 1891 – June 12, 1944) was a German general of artillery in World War II.

Biography

Born in Schöneberg, Marcks was the son of the German historian Erich Marcks. He began advanced studies in philosophy in Freiburg in 1909. He broke off his studies after only three semesters and became a career officer of the German Army in October 1910. In the early 1930s, he was assigned as the chief of public affairs for the armed forces minister. From 1932 until 1933 he served as the public affairs officer for chancellors Franz von Papen and Kurt von Schleicher.

During the 1940 Campaign in France, while serving as chief of staff of the 18th Army, Marcks altered German plans so as to prevent the bombardment of the city of Bruges and bombardment of bridges in Paris, believing that the historical significance of these sites required their preservation, even in time of war.[1] In 1940, Marcks worked on the initial invasion plans of the Soviet Union. Taking part in Operation Barbarossa, Marcks was seriously wounded in the Ukraine on June 26, 1941 as the commander of the 101st Light Infantry Division. This wounding resulted in the amputation of one of Marcks's legs. Two of Marcks's three sons were lost during the Russo-German War.

Subsequently, despite his disability, Marcks commanded the 337th Infantry Division in Paris, the LXVI Army Corps at Clermont-Ferrand, and the LXXXVII Army Corps in northern Brittany before his final assignment.

In 1944, Marcks commanded the German LXXXIV Army Corps against the Allies' Normandy Invasion. He was one of the few Wehrmacht generals who believed an invasion in Normandy was a serious possibility. The D-Day invasion took place on Marcks's 53rd birthday. His suspicions of the true intention of the Allies to land at Normandy, and his birthday, are dramatized in the film The Longest Day. While on a daily round of troop unit inspections, Marcks was mortally wounded on June 12, 1944 by an Allied fighter-bomber attack near Hébécrevon (near Marigny), several kilometers northwest of Saint-Lô.

Marcks was a holder of the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves.

Awards

Reference in the Wehrmachtbericht

Date Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording Direct English translation
14 June 1944 Der kommandierende General eines Armeekorps, General der Artillerie Marcks, der tapferer Verteidiger der Halbinsel Cherbourg, fand bei den schweren Kämpfen in vorderster Linie der Heldentod.[2] The commanding general of an Army Corps, General der Artillerie Marcks, the brave defender of the Cherbourg Peninsula, found a hero's death in the heavy fighting at the front line.

Footnotes and References

  1. ^ Marcks biography in French
  2. ^ Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939-1945 Band 3, 1. Januar 1944 bis 9. Mai 1945. Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, München 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3, p. 126

Article Sources

Notes

Military offices
Preceded by
Generalleutnant Kurt Pflieger
 Commander of 337. Infanterie-Division
15 March 1942 – 5 October 1942 		Succeeded by
Generalleutnant Otto Schünemann
Preceded by
none
 Commander of LXXXVII. Armeekorps
5 November 1942 – 1 August 1943 		Succeeded by
General der Infanterie Gustav-Adolf von Zangen

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