Georg Lindemann

Georg Lindemann
Born	(1884-03-08)8 March 1884 Osterburg, German Empire
Died	25 September 1963(1963-09-25) (aged 79) Freudenstadt, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
Service / branch	Army (Wehrmacht)
Years of service	1903–1945
Rank	Generaloberst
Commands	36th Infantry Division L Army Corps 18th Army Army Group North
Battles / wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Relations	Ernst Lindemann (cousin)

Georg Lindemann (8 March 1884 – 25 September 1963) was a German general during World War II. He commanded a division in Poland and France, a corps in the Balkans and Russia, 18th Army outside Leningrad, and later Army Group North. His cousin Ernst Lindemann was captain of the battleship Bismarck.

World War II

Georg Lindemann (2nd from left) during an inspection in the trenches near Leningrad.

In 1936, Lindemann was promoted to Major General and given command of 36th Infantry Division, which took part in the 1940 Battle of France. Lindemann was promoted to Lieutenant General and given command of the L Army Corps, which he led in Operation Marita in April 1941.

In June 1941, at the start of Operation Barbarossa, L Corps was part of Army Group North. Lindemann led L corps towards Leningrad. L Corps was briefly shifted to Army Group Centre during the Battle of Smolensk, then returned to Army Group North. L Corps reached the edge of Leningrad in August.

On 16 January 1942, Lindemann took command of the 18th Army, a part of Army Group North. In the summer of 1942, he was promoted to Generaloberst. Lindemann commanded 18th Army in the fighting around Leningrad and the January 1944 retreat to Narva. He was promoted to command of Army Group North on 31 March 1944. On 4 July 1944, he was relieved and transferred to the Reserve Army. On 1 February 1945, he was appointed commander of German occupation troops in Denmark. After German forces surrendered in Denmark on 5 May 1945, Lindemann dismantled the German occupation until 6 June 1945, when he was arrested at his headquarters in Silkeborg. He was held in American custody until 1948. Lindemann died in 1963 in Freudenstadt, West Germany.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (9 September 1914) & 1st Class (28 July 1915)
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (26 September 1939) & 1st Class (30 October 1939)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 5 August 1940 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 36. Infantry-Division
  • Oak Leaves on 21 August 1943 as Generaloberst and commander of the 18.Armee
• The Soviet city of Gatschina near Leningrad was renamed after him in Lindemannstadt between 1942 and 1944.

References

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.