Lothar Rendulic
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Lothar Rendulic (November 23, 1887 – January 18, 1971) was born in Wiener Neustadt, Austria to a Croatian family (Croatian spelling of the surname is Rendulić). He was an Austrian Colonel General in the German Wehrmacht during WWII.
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[edit] Early years
Rendulic entered the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1910 and served during World War I.
Rendulic joined the Austrian Nazi Party in 1932. He joined the diplomatic corps and served as military attaché in London and Paris from 1933 to 1935. Rendulic was retired from diplomatic duty in 1936 because his early membership in the Nazi Party was considered undesirable for a diplomat.
[edit] World War II
Rendulic was recalled into the Wehrmacht in 1938. By 1940, he was serving as the Acting General Officer commanding the 14th Division. From 1940 to 1942, he served as the General Officer commanding the 52nd Division. From 1942 to 1943, he served as the General Officer commanding the XXXV Corps. But, by 1943, Lothar Redulic was being held in reserve.
[edit] Yugoslavia
From 1943 to 1944, Rendulic served as the General Officer commanding the 2nd Panzer Army in Yugoslavia. In early 1944, German dictator Adolf Hitler ordered him to devise a plan to capture the Yugoslav partisan leader Josip Broz Tito (Tito). Subsequently the Raid on Drvar was launched on May 25, 1944. German paratroopers stormed partisan headquarters in Drvar (western Bosnia) looking for Tito. They nearly succeeded in capturing him but missed.
[edit] Finland and Norway
From 1944 to 1945, Rendulic served as the General Officer commanding the 20th Mountain Army. In June of 1944, he was named commander of German troops stationed in Finland and Norway. After the start of the Lapland War, Rendulic ordered the Finnish city of Rovaniemi to be burned as a revenge for Finns who had completed a separate peace with the Soviet Union. He also carried out orders to conduct a scorched-earth campaign when the Germans withdrew from northern Norway, with the result that hardly a building was left standing and the population was left without food or shelter.
[edit] The Eastern Front
In 1945, Rendulic served as the Commander in Chief of Army Group Courland (Heeresgruppe Kurland) on the Eastern Front. By this point, Army Group Courland was completely cut off in the Courland Pocket. Later in the same year, Rendulic briefly served as Commander in Chief of Army Group North (Heeresgruppe Nord), again as the Commander in Chief of Army Group Courland, and as Commander in Chief of Army Group South (Heeresgruppe Sud). Army Group Courland was located in what was left of Latvia, Army Group North was generally located in northern Germany, and Army Group South was generally located in Austria.
In May of 1945, during the Prague Offensive, Lothar Rendulic surrendered as the Commander in Chief of Army Group Ostmark (Heeresgruppe Ostmark).
[edit] Imprisonment and death
Rendulic was sentenced to 20 years in prison as part of the Hostage Trials held from 1947 to 1948. He was so sentenced because of his alleged involvement in Wehrmacht attacks on civilians in Yugoslavia and because of crimes committed due to his direct orders during Lapland War. In 1951, Rendulic's sentence was reduced to 10 years.
After his release, Lothar Rendulic worked as an author. He did this for the remaining 20 years of his life. He died in Eferding, Austria, on January 18, 1971.
[edit] Awards
- Iron Cross (Eisernes Kreuz} 2nd Class and 1st Class (2. und 1. Klasse)
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) with Oak Leaves and Swords (mit Eichenlaub und Schwerter)
- Ritterkreuz (March 6, 1942)
- Eichenlaub (August 15, 1943)
- Schwerter (January 18, 1945)
[edit] References
- Walther-Peer Fellgiebel (2000), Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Rendulic biography – From website Generals.dk
- "Cool-off in Finland" - Monday, Oct. 23, 1944 – Article from Time Magazine
