Friedrich-Carl Cranz

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Birth name	Friedrich-Carl Wilhelm Cranz
Birth date	14 November 1886
Place of birth	Culm, West Prussia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date	24 March 1941 (aged 54)
Place of death	Neuhammer am Queis, Lower Silesia, German Reich
Resting place	Berlin Invalid's Cemetery
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	File:War and service flag of Prussia (1895–1918).png Prussian Army File:Iron Cross of the Luftstreitkräfte.png Imperial German Army File:War Ensign of Germany (1921–1933).png Reichswehr File:Balkenkreuz.png Heer
Years of service	1905–1941
Rank	Generalleutnant
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Poland Campaign Battle of France
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Relations	∞ 1914 Ilse Hoffmann

Friedrich-Carl Wilhelm Cranz (sometimes Friedrich-Karl; 14 November 1886 – 24 March 1941) was a German officer of the Prussian Army, the Imperial German Army, the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht, finally Generalleutnant and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II.

Military career (chronology)

File:Friedrich-Carl Cranz, Rangliste 1931.png

Rangliste des deutschen Reichsheeres, 1931

File:Friedrich-Carl Cranz reporting to Adolf Hitler on 11 September 1939.png

Generalmajor Cranz briefs Adolf Hitler in 1939

File:Friedrich-Carl Cranz II.png

Kriegsrangliste, 1940

File:Friedrich-Carl Cranz, invalidenfriedhof, 28 March 1941 (left).png

Invalids' Cemetery (Invalidenfriedhof)

• Joined the 5. Badisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 113 in Freiburg as Fahnenjunker (14 January 1905)
• Adjutant of the III. Battalion of the 113th Infantry-Regiment (01 Oct 1911-28 Oct 1914)
• Brigade-Adjutant (18 Dec 1915-01 Aug 1916)
• Company-Leader in the 113th Infantry-Regiment (01 Aug 1916-00 Jan 1917)
• Auxiliary-Officer with the General-Command of the VIII. Reserve-Corps (00 Jan 1917-30 Mar 1917)
• 2nd General-Staff-Officer (Ib) in the Staff of the 115th Infantry-Division (30 Mar 1917-27 Feb 1918)
• Transferred into the General-Staff (27 Feb 1918-00 Jun 1918)
• Chief Of Operations (Ia) in the Staff of the 45th Reserve-Division (00 Jun 1918-01 Oct 1919)
• Company-Chief in the 102nd Reichswehr-Infantry-Regiment (01 Oct 1919-01 Oct 1920)
• Company-Chief in the 4th Infantry-Regiment (01 Oct 1920-01 Apr 1922)
  • other sources state, he was also a company commander in the 16. Infanterie-Regiment in Oldenburg
• Transferred to the Staff of the Infantry-Leader II, transfer was cancelled at his own request, and remained in previous position (01 Apr 1922)
• Company-Chief (Chef der 5. Kompanie) in the 4th Infantry-Regiment (01 Apr 1922-01 Apr 1926)
• Adjutant of the Command-Office Berlin (01 Apr 1926-15 Mar 1929)
• With the Staff of the III. Battalion of the 14th Infantry-Regiment (15 Mar 1929-01 Nov 1930)
• Commander of the III. Battalion of the 14th Infantry-Regiment (01 Nov 1930-15 Jan 1933)
• With the Staff of the 5th Division (15 Jan 1933-01 Oct 1934)
• Adjutant in the General-Command of the V. Army-Corps (01 Oct 1934-01 Aug 1936)
• Chief of the II. Department (Abteilungschef im Heerespersonalamt) of the Army Personnel Office (01 Aug 1936-26 Aug 1939)
• Commander of the 18th Infantry-Division (26 Aug 1939-24 Mar 1941)
  • as of 1 November 1940 motorized, renamed 18. Infanterie-Division (motorisiert)

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

The following wartime excerpt describes why Cranz was awarded the Knight’s Cross:

“Generalmajor Cranz had a decisive share in the capture of Dunkirk. The unstoppable forward drive of his division despite the strong enemy resistance was in large part due to the actions of the divisional commander, who gave his orders from the foremost line at critical locations. At around 19:00 on the 3 June 1940, Generalmajor Cranz found himself at the foremost line with an infantry regiment. Here he gave his orders for the attack while under the heaviest of enemy artillery fire, which wounded four soldiers in his immediate vicinity. Thanks to his personal devotion to duty, it was possible for the division to break into Dunkirk on the 4 June 1940. Cranz placed himself at the head of an infantry battalion and motivated his men forwards through his example. The personal actions of this outstanding divisional commander, along with the clear and purposeful leadership of his division, led to a decisive success at Dunkirk in the face of a much larger and fiercely defending enemy force. About 50,000 prisoners were taken in his division’s sector alone along with uncountable quantities of materiel.”

Death

On 24 March 1941, Generalleutnant Cranz died in an accident at the Neuhammer military training area / troop exercise grounds (Truppenübungsplatz Neuhammer in Silesia) when a mislead shot of the firing artillery hit his observation booth. He was solemnly buried on 28 March 1941 at the Invalidenfriedhof in Berlin.

Family

Friedrich-Carl was born on 14 November 1886 in Culm and was baptized on 16 December 1886. His father was the Kommandant of Wesel, Oberst Wilhelm Cranz (1851–1907), and at the time of his birth Captain in the Pomeranian Infantry Battalion (Jäger) Prince Bismarck, Nr. 2, in Culm; his mother was Katharina, née Stosch. Friedrich-Carl's brother was the later Lieutenant and later Major in the Luftwaffe, Eberhard Cranz (1894–1969). It is not clear if Lieutenant-General of the Luftwaffe Friedrich "Fritz" Wilhelm Ehrhard Cranz (1890–1945) and SS-Standartenführer (promoted on 30 January 1945) Karl Gottlieb Georg Cranz (b. 1891; SS-Nr.: 354,468) were also his brothers, as some sources assume.

Marriage

On 3 August 1914, in Freiburg im Breisgau, Lieutenant Cranz, now adjutant of the III Battalion/5 Baden Infantry Regiment, Nr.113, married his fiancée Ilse Hoffmann (b. 25 December 1887 in Belgard, Pomerania) at the church of the Evangelical military community. Ilse was the daughter of Lieutenant-General Wilhelm Heinrich Emanuel Hoffmann (1852–1934) and his wife Klara.

Promotions

Prussian Army

• 14 January 1905 Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
• 15 September 1905 Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 21 May 1906 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant)

Imperial German Army

• 28 October 1914 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
• 18 December 1915 Hauptmann (Captain)

Reichswehr

• 1 November 1928 Major
• 1 April 1933 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)

Wehrmacht

• 1 April 1935 Oberst (Colonel)
• 1 June 1938 Generalmajor
• 1 July 1940 Generalleutnant

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
• Baden Order of the Zähringer Lion (Orden vom Zähringer Löwen), Knight's Cross 2nd Class with Swords (BZ3b⚔)
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 1st Class
• Anschluss Medal (Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 13. März 1938)
• Sudetenland Medal (Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938)

WWII

• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
• Order of the Crown of Italy, Grand Officer on 8 October 1940
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 25 June (other sources state 29 June) 1940 as Generalleutnant and Commander of 18. Infanterie-Division/X. Armeekorps/18. Armee/Heeresgruppe B