Rudolf Schmidt
Rudolf Friedrich Carl Schmidt (12 May 1886 – 7 April 1957) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded the 2nd Panzer Army on the Eastern Front. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.
Born~Died May 12, 1886 ~ Apr 7, 1957Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 4:38 PM
Details
- Born ~ Died
- May 12, 1886 ~ Apr 7, 1957
- Born
- (1886-05-12)12 May 1886, Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
- Died
- 7 April 1957(1957-04-07) (aged 70), Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
- Relatives
- ∞ 1 June 1917 Fridel Leitholf , Hans-Thilo Schmidt (brother)
- Allegiance
- German Empire, Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany
- Service years
- 1906–1943
- Rank
- Generaloberst
- Conflicts
- World War I World War II Defence against the Kozelsk Offensive
- Location
- 52.5167, 13.3833
Contents
Rudolf Friedrich Carl Schmidt1 (12 May 1886 – 7 April 1957) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded the 2nd Panzer Army on the Eastern Front. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. He was the older brother of Hans-Thilo Schmidt, who sold secrets about the Enigma machine to the French.
Career
Schmidt joined the Prussian Army in 1906 and served during World War I. He was retained in the Reichswehr where he served in staff roles. In October 1936 he was promoted to Generalmajor and appointed commander of the 1st Panzer Division. In 1939 Schmidt led the division in the invasion of Poland.
On 1 February 1940 he was appointed commanding general of the XXXIX Panzer Corps. He led the Corps in France and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his role in that campaign on 3 June 1940. He was promoted to General der Panzertruppe and appointed acting commander of the 2nd Army which took part in the Battle of Moscow. On 25 December 1941 he was appointed Commander of the 2nd Panzer Army (replacing the sacked General Guderian).
His brother Hans-Thilo Schmidt sold details of the Germans' Enigma machine and other sensitive military information to the French from 1931 until the German invasion of France in 1940. On 16 March with effect and rank seniority (RDA) from 1 January 1942 (order number 2), Schmidt was promoted to , but on 10 April 1943, he was relieved of his command after the arrested his brother for spying for the French, and found letters that Schmidt had written in which he was highly critical of Hitler’s conduct of the war and the . He appeared before a but was acquitted.
This page is based on “Rudolf Schmidt” from English Wikipedia, (r1380335213) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 4:38 PM · r127100 · Text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.