General Krebs: biography with photo

If it were not for the humiliating attempts of fascist Germany to conclude an agreement with the USSR on the eve of its defeat, perhaps the name of General Krebs would have vanished into oblivion. A talented military leader, who had the lot to ask peace from Soviet generals, like the Fuhrer, could not stand the bitterness of defeat.

Hans Krebs, general: biography

Hans Krebs was born on March 4, 1898 in the German city of Helmstedt. The boy was born into a teacher's family. After graduating from high school he entered the gymnasium, his parents tried to provide a decent future for his son. There are no additional facts about the family and relatives of this historical person. It is well known that he devoted himself completely to military affairs and was not married.

The beginning of military career

In August 1914, Hans volunteered for the army. Germany only unleashed the First World War. Many Germans believed that the military campaign of 1914 would help them break out into people. In the case of Hans, it happened. He finished the First World War in the rank of lieutenant, who was wounded at the front in 1915. Krebs fought on the Western Front in infantry units.

After the end of the First World and Versailles Peace, the lieutenant became a brave military and real hero, he had about a dozen awards in this company. After the war, Hans decided to remain in the armed forces of Germany. In 1925 he was promoted to lieutenant-general. In 1930, in the rank of Hauptmann transferred to the service in the Ministry of War. Here the future general Krebs is studying the Russian language. The command prepares a qualified specialist for work in Moscow.

Work in the USSR

Without a doubt, Hans Krebs (general) - one of the most qualified specialists in the Red Army, lived in the capital of the USSR. According to one source, in 1933-1934, other documents indicate his date of stay as 1936-1939. There are documents that describe his work in the German embassy in 1933-1939. During these years Krebs mastered the Russian language perfectly, he knew many commanders of the Soviet Union personally.

In 1939, a new increase - Krebs produced in the lieutenant-colonels. He was the chief of staff of the Seventh Army Corps, participated in the military company of 1940 in Belgium, France and Luxembourg. He distinguished himself at the break of the Maginot line. For this military operation, buckles were received to the already existing awards.

In 1940, another increase in the experienced staff officer - he received the rank of lieutenant-colonel and again sent to Moscow. Worked as first deputy military attaché. In this post Krebs served until May 1941.

Krebs is a general. Military history of World War II

In 1941-1943 years. A talented officer was the chief of staff of the Ninth Army, General Walter Model. In 1943, Krebs was transferred to a new bid, he became commander of Army Group Center.

Meanwhile, dissatisfaction with Nazi policies and defeats at the front are forced to act zealous opponents of Hitler. In June 1944, a group of conspirators led by General Klaus von Stauffenberg committed an attempt on Adolf Hitler. As a result, four military commanders are dead, and the Fuhrer is only shell-shocked. After the assassination began a wave of repression and cleaning in the upper echelons of the top. As a result of the investigation, General Hans Spiedel was arrested, and Hans Krebs, the commander of Army Group B, of the Western Front, was appointed general with an excellent track record and an unblemished reputation.

In this post, the general failed to prove himself on the best side. Together with the commanders of his staff, he worked out the Ardennes operation, which proved to be a failure. The Germans suffered a strategic defeat.

In 1945, Krebs received the highest award of Nazi Germany - a cross with oak leaves. In the same year he took up the post of adviser for operational situations at the headquarters of the commander-in-chief Heinz Guderian.

In late March 1945, on the recommendation of General Burgdorf, it was Hans Krebs who was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Germany. The general (military history remembered him precisely in this post) became the last commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht troops in the Second World War.

The last diplomatic campaign of Krebs

After the appointment of the commander of the ground forces, Hans Krebs, the general and a devoted Nazi, understood that the days of Nazi Germany were numbered, but many military leaders, like him, hoped for Hitler, but the Fuhrer decided to self-destruct. Today, historians are of the opinion that in reality the Hitler double was shot in the bunker . But anyway, this news in the headquarters of the German troops produced a thundering effect among the clear sky. Goebbels and Bormann decided to establish contact with the top of the Soviet command, for which they were useful, and General Krebs.

The new commander of the ground forces knew the Russian language very well. Also the course of the negotiation process could depend on Krebs' personal contact. He was acquainted with Marshal Zhukov.

On May 1, 1945 Hans Krebs arrived at the rate of the Soviet command. The general, a biography with a photo of which appeared on the same evening in the international press, was a kind of "dove of peace." As the Nazi warlord himself admitted, after the news of Hitler's suicide, the Soviet command was interested only in the details of the death of the Fuhrer, and where his corpse is. The "negotiation process" has reached a deadlock. The whole night Krebs answered Chuikov's questions. The latter, in turn, called up Marshal Zhukov, who promised to consult Stalin.

Only in the morning, after learning all the interesting information and details of Hitler's death, Stalin ordered to present a demand to the representative of Germany for unconditional surrender.

General Krebs, in turn, was at a loss and said that he could not take such decisions himself. At nine o'clock in the morning the representative of the Nazis went to the Reichstag to coordinate further actions with his command. At six o'clock in the evening the parliamentarian brought a letter to the headquarters of the Soviet command, in which Goebbels and Bormann rejected the proposal of Stalin to capitulate.

In his memoirs, General Chuikov writes that General Krebs left the rate of the Soviet command in a very depressed mood. He stopped several times, forgot his personal belongings. Chuikov suggested that Krebs wanted to be taken prisoner, in a situation of absolute defeat, he wished for such a fate, but this "trophy" of the Red Army was no longer needed.

In the evening of May 1, 1945, the Army Commander Hans Krebs descended into the Fyörerbunker and shot himself. He shot his heart from his revolver. The body of the Nazi was not found.

The role of Hans Krebs in World War II

Certainly, General Krebs was an excellent diplomat and scout. During his work in Moscow, he was personally acquainted with the military leadership of the Union. Having studied the Russian language perfectly, he easily made contact not only with diplomats, but also with ordinary staff officers.

After going from the rank-and-file soldier in the First World War until the Commander of the Army in World War II, he gained experience and the necessary tactical skills in conducting military operations. Almost all of his military campaigns were successful, except for the Ardennes operation. The only fact remains unchallenged: if it were not for the general's participation in the negotiations on May 1, 1945, his figure in military history would remain invisible.