Johannes Block
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Johannes Block | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 November 1894 |
| Died | 26 January 1945 (aged 50) |
| Allegiance | German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany |
| Branch | German Army |
| Service years | 1914–1924 1934–1945 |
| Rank | General der Infanterie |
| Commands | 294th Infantry Division VIII Army Corps XIII Army Corps LVI Panzer Corps |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
Johannes Block (17 November 1894 – 26 January 1945) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who held commands at division and corps level. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Block was killed on 26 January 1945 near Kielce, Poland during the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive.
Johannes Friedrich Gustav Block was born on 17 November 1894 in Büschdorf, a village near Halle (Saale)[a] in the Prussian Province of Saxony as the son of Richard Block, a factory owner, and Bertha, née Beil. He was married on 23 May 1925 to Christel, née Neumann. He had one stepson from her previous marriage and the couple had one daughter.[1]
At the beginning of the First World War, on 13 August 1914, Block joined the Prussian Army as a war volunteer (Kriegsfreiwilliger) in the Manfeld Field Artillery Regiment No. 75 ( Mansfelder Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 75). On 17 October 1914, he went into the field with the 1st Artillery Ammunition Column of the IV Army Corps. From there, on 15 February 1915, he was transferred to the Magdeburg Fusilier Regiment No. 36 (Füsilier-Regiment „General-Feldmarschall Graf Blumenthal“ (Magdeburgisches) Nr. 36).[1]
Block was wounded in the right eye on 27 April 1915 during the trench warfare in Flanders. After spending almost two months in the hospital, he was assigned to the 1st Replacement Battalion of his regiment and then transferred as a Fahnenjunker (officer candidate) to the 2nd Replacement Battalion of the 1st Masurian Infantry Regiment No. 146 (1. Masurisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 146) in mid-July 1915.[1]
From September to November 1915, Block attended a Fahnenjunker course in Döberitz. He was then transferred back to the regiment on the Eastern Front and was commissioned a Leutnant on May 11, 1916. In mid-November 1916, Block was declared unfit for service due to shell shock. He returned to the regiment's replacement battalion in March 1917, and was then transferred to the Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208 on 16 May 1917. From 20 May 1917, Block served as the leader of an assault detachment (Sturmabteilung).[1]
Block was wounded in the fighting at Verdun on 18 July 1917, and after his recovery, he returned to Infantry Regiment No. 146 on 6 November 1917, where he was assigned as the leader of a battalion mortar detachment. At this time, Infantry Regiment No. 146 had been deployed to the Middle East as part of the Asia Corps. There, Block saw action in Transjordan, Northern Palestine and Syria. On 1 June 1918, Block was commanded as the leader and instruction officer of a training course for Turkish troops in the Yildirim Army Group, but this assignment was cut short by illness (malaria) in mid-July 1918. After recovering, on 10 October 1918 he returned to the regiment as a battalion adjutant.[1]
After the Armistice, Block was interned in Constantinople, returning to Germany at the end of January 1919. Block then served in a Freikorps formation before being retained in the Reichswehr, initially in Reichswehr-Schützen-Regiment 40 and then Infanterie-Regiment 120. On 1 October 1920, he was transferred to the 2. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment. On 21 September 1923, Block was sent to an officer training course at the Infantry School in Munich. While there, he took part in the Beer Hall Putsch and as a consequence was discharged from the Reichswehr on 31 May 1924.[b][1]
