Martin Gareis

Martin Gareis
Born	6 October 1891 Berlin
Died	Kreuth
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1909–45
Rank	General der Infanterie
Commands held	98. Infanterie-Division 264. Infanterie-Division XXXXVI. Panzerkorps
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Operation Barbarossa Battle of Kiev (1941) Battle of Moscow Battle of Smolensk (1943) Kerch–Eltigen Operation Vistula–Oder Offensive
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Martin Gareis (6 October 1891 – 26 February 1976) was a highly decorated General der Infanterie in the Wehrmacht during World War II who held commands at the divisional, corps and army levels. 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. Martin Gareis was captured by British troops in 1945, and was released in 1947.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Wound Badge (1914)
  • in Black
• Mecklenburg-Schwerin Merit Cross
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords (30 September 1918)
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Infantry Assault Badge
• Eastern Front Medal
• Order of Michael the Brave
  • 3rd Class (12 July 1944)
• German Cross in Gold (18 October 1941)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 November 1943 as Generalleutnant and commander of 98. Infanterie-Division
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht (16 November 1943)

Wehrmachtbericht reference

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
16 November 1943	In den schweren Kämpfen der letzten Wochen haben sich im Kampfgebiet von Kiew die thüringische 7. Panzerdivision unter Führung von Generalmajor v. Manteuffel und auf der Krim die fränkisch-sudetendeutsche 98. Infanteriedivision unter Führung von Generalleutnant Gareis besonders ausgezeichnet.	In the heavy fighting of recent weeks in the combat zone of Kiev, the Thuringian 7th Armored Division, led by Major-General von Manteuffel and on the Crimea, the Franco-Sudeten 98th Infantry Division under the command of Lieutenant-General Gareis have particularly excelled.

External links

• Lexikon der Wehrmacht
• World War 2 Awards.com
• specialcamp11
• Martin Gareis @ Axis Biographical Research at the Wayback Machine (archived October 29, 2009)

Military offices
Preceded by Generalleutnant Erich Schröck	Commander of 98. Infanterie-Division 31 December 1941 - 1 February 1944	Succeeded by Generalleutnant Alfred-Hermann Reinhardt
Preceded by Generalleutnant Otto-Joachim Lüdecke	Commander of 264. Infanterie-Division 15 May 1944 - 25 September 1944	Succeeded by Generalmajor Paul Hermann
Preceded by General der Panzertruppen Walter Fries	Commander of XXXXVI. Panzerkorps 19 January 1945 - 2 May 1945	Succeeded by none