World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseHartwig von Ludwiger was born in Beuthen, Province of Schlesien (English: Silesia), Kingdom of Preußen (English: Prussia), Germany in 1895. He was conscripted into the Prussian Army on 17 Aug 1914 and was made an officer candidate. He served with the 11th Grenadier Regiment during WW1 and saw action at Champagne, Arras, Somme, Ypres, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. He was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class and the Wound Badge in Silver for his WW1 service. He remained in the German military after WW1. In the early 1920s, he was involved in the suppression of the Silesian Uprisings. In Jul 1925, he was promoted to the permanent rank of Leutnant. In 1930, he was promoted to the rank of Oberleutnant. In 1936, he was made the commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion of the 28th Infantry Regiment. In Apr 1938, he was promoted to the rank of Oberstleutnant. In Mar 1940, he was made the commanding officer of 83rd Infantry Regiment of 28th Infantry Division, and with that unit he took part in the invasion of France. He then participated in the invasion of the Soviet Union, winning a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in Jul 1941. He was promoted to the rank of Oberst in Sep 1941. In Dec 1941, he was transferred from the Soviet Union to France as the 28th Infantry Division had sustained heavy casualties; the unit, renamed 28th Jäger Division, would then return to the Soviet Union for action in southern Ukraine. In Dec 1942, he was awarded Oak Leaves to this Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross medal. In Feb 1943, he was made the commanding officer of the 704th Infantry Division in Yugoslavia; in the following month, similar to his previous unit, would undergo refitting to become the 104th Jäger Division. In Apr 1943, he was promoted to the rank of Generalmajor. In his brief time in Yugoslavia, he conducted a brutal war against Yugoslavian partisan fighters. To that end, he implemented a reprisal system in which up to 50 civilians would be executed for every German death attributed to partisan actions. Several villages were looted or burned down by troops under his command. In early Jul 1943, 104th Jäger Division was ordered to Greece. On 10 Jul 1943, the 2nd Company of the division's Pioneer Battalion was ambushed near Lake Trichonida near the city of Agrinio by Greek guerrillas; 2 officers, 16 soldiers were killed, and 20 more were wounded. On the following day, another attack killed an officer. Ludwiger, from his headquarters in Agrinio, requested heavy reprisals, but the request was denied by his superiors at Army Group E; his men nevertheless burned down a village near Nafpaktos on the Gulf of Corinth and executed 12 suspects. In Sep 1943, troops under his command massacred over 5,000 Italian prisoners of war on the island of Cephalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. In Jan 1944, he was promoted to the rank of Generalleutnant. His 104th Jäger Division was decimated toward the end of the war. Generalleutnant Friedrich Stephan relieved him as the commanding officer of 104th Jäger Division on 29 Apr, and would hold that role for merely 9 more days. He was captured and remained captive for the following two years. He was tried for war crimes in Belgrade, Yugoslavia between 27 Mar and 4 Apr 1947. He was sentenced to death for the harassment, torture, and murder of prisoners of war; for the looting and destruction of towns and villages; for the murder of civilians; and for the transfer of civilians to concentration camps. He was executed in Belgrade on 3 May or 5 May 1947.

Hartwig von Ludwiger Timeline