General Hans Speidel October 28, 1897 - November 28, 1984
I went to our monthly gun show and hung out with a dealer friend of mine. He has a lot of inventory most of which never sees the light of day. So I dug through 2 containers of papers and found a few interesting pieces. One of the items was this photo of Hans Speidel. Speidel survived the war so his signature is not all that rare. However wartime pictures of him in uniform aren’t that common as far as I can tell. Since I’m no expert on photos or signatures any comments good or bad are welcomed. Here is a short wartime history of General Speidel :
Speidel took part in the invasion of France in of 1940 and in August became Chief of Staff of the military commander in France. In 1942 Speidel was sent to the Eastern front where he served as Chief of Staff of the 5th Army Corps, and as Chief of Staff of 8th Army (1943), where he was promoted to general. In April 1944, Speidel was appointed Chief of Staff to Field Marshal Rommel, the Commander-in-Chief of Army Group B, stationed on the French coast. When Rommel was wounded, Speidel continued as Chief of Staff for the new commander of Army Group B, Field Marshal Kluge .
Hans Speidel was already involved in plans to assassinate Hitler as early as the spring of 1943. In April 1944 he became chief of staff for General Field Marshal Erwin Rommel the commander in chief of the Army Group in the west. Speidel established contact with the military commander in France, General Carl Heinrich von Stülpnagel, who tried to convince Rommel to join in actions against Hitler. Shortly before the assassination attempt of July 20, 1944, Rommel was seriously wounded and was replaced by General Field Marshal von Kluge, who was unwilling to make a firm commitment to participate in the coup attempt. Although Speidel had not been informed about the planned assassination, on July 20, 1944 he tried to persuade Kluge to launch the prearranged measures.
On 26 August 1944, Speidel answered the phone when Alfred Jodl, the OKW chief of staff, called Field Marshal Model, commander in chief of the western front, with Hitler's order to start bombing Paris immediately with V1 and V2 rockets. Model was not in. Speidel never did pass on the order to his superior. He had studied in Paris and knew how valuable and culturally important the art in Paris was.
Hans Speidel was arrested on September 7, 1944 and initially imprisoned and interrogated in Berlin. At the end of 1944 he was released for a short period, but then imprisoned again in different places. A few days before the end of the war he managed to escape his pursuers and get to safety in south-west Germany.
This postcard was taken when Speidel was Chief of Staff of the 8th Army. Since he’s wearing the Knights Cross probably means it was taken sometime between 1 April 1944 ( date awarded) and 15 May 1944 (when reportrd to Rommel). The 8th Army (German: 8. Armee Oberkommando) was a Field Army. It existed twice during the war, on the during the campaign in the west 39-40. It was reformed in 1943 and was deployed to the eastern front.
Commanders:
Generaloberst Blaskowitz 1939-40
After Reorganization 1943:
General der Infanterie Otto WohlerAufstellung - 22. Dezember 1944
General der Panzertruppen Kleemann 22. Dezember 1944 - 28. Dezember 1944
General of Mountain troops Hans Kreysing 28. Dezember 1944 - Kapitulation
Chief of Staff:
Nach Wiederaufstellung 1943:
Generalleutnant Dr. phil. Hans Speidel Aufstellung - 15. Mai 1944
Generalmajor Hellmuth Reinhardt 15. Mai 1944 - 30. Dezember 1944
Generalmajor Karl Klotz 30. Dezember 1944 - Kapitulation
I’m not sure who the general is on the right. Possible Wohler but hes generally seen without a moustache and wore the Krim shield. Any help is appreciated.
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I went to our monthly gun show and hung out with a dealer friend of mine. He has a lot of inventory most of which never sees the light of day. So I dug through 2 containers of papers and found a few interesting pieces. One of the items was this photo of Hans Speidel. Speidel survived the war so his signature is not all that rare. However wartime pictures of him in uniform aren’t that common as far as I can tell. Since I’m no expert on photos or signatures any comments good or bad are welcomed. Here is a short wartime history of General Speidel :
Speidel took part in the invasion of France in of 1940 and in August became Chief of Staff of the military commander in France. In 1942 Speidel was sent to the Eastern front where he served as Chief of Staff of the 5th Army Corps, and as Chief of Staff of 8th Army (1943), where he was promoted to general. In April 1944, Speidel was appointed Chief of Staff to Field Marshal Rommel, the Commander-in-Chief of Army Group B, stationed on the French coast. When Rommel was wounded, Speidel continued as Chief of Staff for the new commander of Army Group B, Field Marshal Kluge .
Hans Speidel was already involved in plans to assassinate Hitler as early as the spring of 1943. In April 1944 he became chief of staff for General Field Marshal Erwin Rommel the commander in chief of the Army Group in the west. Speidel established contact with the military commander in France, General Carl Heinrich von Stülpnagel, who tried to convince Rommel to join in actions against Hitler. Shortly before the assassination attempt of July 20, 1944, Rommel was seriously wounded and was replaced by General Field Marshal von Kluge, who was unwilling to make a firm commitment to participate in the coup attempt. Although Speidel had not been informed about the planned assassination, on July 20, 1944 he tried to persuade Kluge to launch the prearranged measures.
On 26 August 1944, Speidel answered the phone when Alfred Jodl, the OKW chief of staff, called Field Marshal Model, commander in chief of the western front, with Hitler's order to start bombing Paris immediately with V1 and V2 rockets. Model was not in. Speidel never did pass on the order to his superior. He had studied in Paris and knew how valuable and culturally important the art in Paris was.
Hans Speidel was arrested on September 7, 1944 and initially imprisoned and interrogated in Berlin. At the end of 1944 he was released for a short period, but then imprisoned again in different places. A few days before the end of the war he managed to escape his pursuers and get to safety in south-west Germany.
This postcard was taken when Speidel was Chief of Staff of the 8th Army. Since he’s wearing the Knights Cross probably means it was taken sometime between 1 April 1944 ( date awarded) and 15 May 1944 (when reportrd to Rommel). The 8th Army (German: 8. Armee Oberkommando) was a Field Army. It existed twice during the war, on the during the campaign in the west 39-40. It was reformed in 1943 and was deployed to the eastern front.
Commanders:
Generaloberst Blaskowitz 1939-40
After Reorganization 1943:
General der Infanterie Otto WohlerAufstellung - 22. Dezember 1944
General der Panzertruppen Kleemann 22. Dezember 1944 - 28. Dezember 1944
General of Mountain troops Hans Kreysing 28. Dezember 1944 - Kapitulation
Chief of Staff:
Nach Wiederaufstellung 1943:
Generalleutnant Dr. phil. Hans Speidel Aufstellung - 15. Mai 1944
Generalmajor Hellmuth Reinhardt 15. Mai 1944 - 30. Dezember 1944
Generalmajor Karl Klotz 30. Dezember 1944 - Kapitulation
I’m not sure who the general is on the right. Possible Wohler but hes generally seen without a moustache and wore the Krim shield. Any help is appreciated.
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