Kurt Chill

Kurt Chill
Born	1 May 1895 Thorn
Died	Grömitz
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1920) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1913–20 1935–45
Rank	Generalleutnant
Commands held	122. Infanterie-Division 85. Infanterie-Division LV. Armeekorps
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Invasion of Poland Operation Barbarossa Siege of Leningrad Demyansk Pocket Operation Overlord Operation Market Garden Battle of Aachen East Prussian Offensive Zemland Offensive
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Other work	Police officer

Kurt Chill (1 May 1895 – 5 July 1976) was a highly decorated Generalleutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the LV. Armeekorps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Kurt Chill was captured by Soviet forces in May 1945, but escaped and was later in the custody of the United Kingdom. He was released in 1947.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (7 November 1914)
• The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (1 November 1934)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (2 October 1939)
  • 1st Class (19 July 1941)
• Eastern Front Medal (28 July 1942)
• German Cross in Gold (1 December 1941)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 25 October 1943 as Generalleutnant and commander of 122. Infanterie-Division
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht (19 December 1943)

Wehrmachtbericht reference

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
19 December 1943	Südlich Newel scheiterten in harten Kämpfen alle Durchbruchsversuche des Feindes. Nordwestlich der Stadt greift er, von starken Panzerverbänden unterstützt, mit zunehmender Heftigkeit an. Unsere zäh kämpfenden Truppen schossen hier 41 Sowjetpanzer ab und fügten dem Feind hohe blutige Verluste bei. In diesen Kämpfen haben sich die norddeutsche 290. Infanteriedivision unter Führung des Generalleutnants Heinrichs und die pommersche 122. Infanteriedivision unter Führung des Generalleutnants Chill besonders bewährt.	All enemy breakthrough attempts south of Newel failed in hard combat. Northwest of the city, he attacked, supported by strong armored units, with increasing intensity. Our tough fighting troops destroyed here 41 Soviet tanks and inflicted on the enemy high bloody losses. In these battles, the North German 290th Infantry Division under the command of Lieutenant General Heinrichs and the Pomeranian 122nd Infantry Division under the command of Lieutenant General Chill particularly proved themselves.

External links

• World War 2 Awards.com
• Lexikon der Wehrmacht
• Kurt Chill @ Axis Biographical Research at the Wayback Machine (archived January 27, 2011)

Military offices
Preceded by Generalleutnant Siegfried Macholz	Commander of 122. Infanterie-Division 1 August 1942 – 10 October 1942	Succeeded by Generalleutnant Gustav Hundt
Preceded by Generalleutnant Alfred Thielmann	Commander of 122. Infanterie-Division 27 June 1943 – 1 February 1944	Succeeded by Generalmajor Johann-Albrecht von Blücher
Preceded by None	Commander of 85. Infanterie-Division 1 February 1944 – 22 November 1944	Succeeded by Generalmajor Helmut Bechler
Preceded by General der Infanterie Friedrich Herrlein	Commander of LV. Armeekorps 5 February 1945 – 8 May 1945	Succeeded by None