Otto Lancelle Explained

Otto Lancelle
Birth Date:27 March 1885
Birth Place:Xanten, Germany
Death Place:Krāslava, Soviet Union
Allegiance:

Branch:Army
SA
Serviceyears:1905–41
Rank:Generalleutnant (Posthumously); SA-Oberführer (SA)
Commands:121st Infantry Division
Battles:World War IWorld War II
Awards:Pour le Mérite
1914 Iron Cross I & II Class
1939 I & II Class
House Order of Hohenzollern
Prussian Life Saving Medal
Order of the Zähringer Lion Merit Cross
Wound Badge in Silver
German Sports Badge
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Children:Kraft Lancelle

Otto Lancelle (27 March 1885 – 3 July 1941) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II and a recipient of both the Pour le Mérite and Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the highest military awards of German Empire and Nazi Germany, respectively. During the Interwar period, he joined the Der Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten and Nazi Party, and participated in the Beer Hall Putsch.

Lancelle was killed by a sniper on 3 July 1941 at the Krāslava Bridgehead on the Daugava near Krāslava, Latvia. He was the first German general, who was killed in (de facto) Soviet territory after the attack on the Soviet Union. He was posthumously promoted to Generalleutnant and awarded the Knight's Cross.

Lancelle was first buried next to the Krāslava Lutheran Church, and later reinterred in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The Polish town of Rzgów was renamed Lancellenstätt in his honor by the occupiers from 1943 to 1945. A memorial marker on the site of his death was installed by his son Kraft in July 1994, which was removed by authorities in November 2022.[1]

Awards and decorations

References

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Barkāns . Elmārs . 2022-11-28 . Starp vairākiem desmitiem okupekļu nogāzts arī viens nacistu intrigantam veltīts piemineklis. FOTO . Jauns.lv.
  2. Scherzer 2007, p. 490.