Karl Eibl

Karl Eibl
Born	(1891-07-23)23 July 1891 Bad Goisern, Upper Austria, Austria-Hungary
Died	21 January 1943(1943-01-21) (aged 51) Stalingrad, Soviet Union
Allegiance	Austria-Hungary (to 1918) First Austrian Republic (to 1938) Nazi Germany
Service / branch	Army (Wehrmacht)
Years of service	1914–43
Rank	General of the Infantry (posthumously)
Commands	385th Infantry Division
Battles / wars	World War I World War II Invasion of Poland Operation Barbarossa
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Karl Eibl (23 July 1891 – 21 January 1943) was an Austrian general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. He also served in World War 1 as an officer in the Austrian Landwehrregiment 21.

Eibl was killed north-west of Stalingrad on 21 January 1943, during the chaotic retreat forced by the Russian offensive, Operation Little Saturn, when Italian soldiers mistook his command vehicle for a Soviet armored car and blew it up with hand grenades. There is a memorial monument dedicated to him in the city park of Krems, Austria. However, the causes on the death of EIbl are still controversary. According to References sourced from "General Nasci's daily reports and bulletins of the Italian Alpinjaeger corps in Russia", the General Eibl was killed on the night of 21 January 1943 because he was blown up on an unexploded bomb. The explosion wounded him in a foot and later on, he was transported to Krawzowka, where he underwent the amputation of his foot; he died.

Awards

• Infantry Assault Badge
• Wound Badge (1939) in Black
• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (23 September 1939) & 1st Class (5 November 1939)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross on 15 August 1940 as Oberstleutnant and commander of the III./Infanterie-Regiment 131
  • Oak Leaves on 31 December 1941 as Oberst and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 132
  • Swords on 19 December 1942 as Generalmajor and commander of 385. Infanterie-Division

References

Bibliography

• Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges [With Oak Leaves and Swords. The Highest Decorated Soldiers of the Second World War] (in German). Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-0-6.
• Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). Rommel's Desert Commanders — The Men Who Served the Desert Fox, North Africa, 1941–42. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0-8117-3510-9.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die 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 [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.