Heribert von Larisch

Heribert von Larisch (18 July 1894 – 16 May 1972) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Born into an aristocratic family, Larisch served during World War I as a troop officer during the war and was discharged from the army in 1920. He spent several years as landowner in Pomerania, and was re-employed by the Landesschutz, an unofficial branch of the army. He became an active officer again in 1933. During the early years of World War II he commanded units on inactive fronts or in occupational duties. From 1943 on he served as a field commander at the Eastern Front. After the war, he lived in Hamburg, West Germany until his death in 1972.

Early years and World War I

Larisch was born in 1894 in Freiburg im Breisgau as the first son of a military officer. Both of his parents were members of the German nobility. After successfully completing his high school studies (Abitur), 19-year-old Larisch joined the army. Thanks to his noble birth and being from a military family, in February 1914, Larisch was accepted into the Prussian Army.

Shortly after the outbreak of World War I on 28 July 1914, Larisch was mobilized on 2 August 1914 and received a hastened commission to Leutnant in September of that year. He spent the majority of the war with the 18th Dragoon Regiment, serving as platoon and squadron commander. In January 1918 he was transferred to the 359th Infantry Regiment to assume the command of a company; in that position, he was promoted to Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant) in May 1918. In August, he became Ordonnanzoffizier (Batman) at the staff of I Reserve Corps. He was still serving in that position when the German Empire capitulated on 11 November 1918. Larisch wasn't selected for the downsized, 1,000-man officer corps of the Reichswehr and was discharged. Larisch's mother-in-law, who had divorced Xylander in 1914 to marry the officer Eduard Ermekeil (31 October 1864 – 18 November 1941) in 1916, came from a family of Pomeranian landowners. Among others, they owned the estates of Latzig, as well as the nearby estates of Zirchow B and Alt–Zowen in the Pomeranian District of Schlawe (Kreis Schlawe). Ellen Ermekeil (Larisch's mother-in-law) became administrator of the estate of Zirchow B in 1921. After his discharge, Larisch settled at Zirchow, along with his wife and his daughter Irmgard (1918–1998).

Larisch occupied himself with the administration of the estate in Zirchow B. During the 1920s, he and his wife had four more children: Siegrid (born 1921), Friederun (born in 1922), Karin (born in 1924) and Dankwart (born in 1925). In 1928, he took over the estate of Zirchow B. Larisch entered the Landesschutz on 1 July 1929, as an Oberleutnant (L). He was employed by the Wehrkreis (Military District) II (Mecklenburg and Pomerania, with HQ in Stettin), appointed as the District Administrator for the area of Schlochau and Bublitz, adjacent to the family estates. In May 1940, his tenure as instructor ended, and he occupied himself exclusively with the command of his battalion.

Larisch remained battalion commander throughout 1940 — his unit didn't participate in the battle of France — but, after the successful Balkan campaign, he was elevated to commander of the 440th Infantry Regiment in July 1941 and, in October, he was promoted to Oberst (Colonel). On 23 November 1942, the staff of the unit was transferred to the north and became the German Railway Security Staff Croatia (Deutscher Eisenbahn–Sicherungsstab Kroatien). Larisch held this position in 1943; whether his units were implicated in war crimes is unknown. Operations at the Eastern Front, January to March 1945. The defensive line, which Larisch's 129th Infantry Division defended, lies along the river Narew, north of Warsaw, a tributary of Vistula river. By 1943, Larisch had completed 10 years of troop service, but hadn't yet received a combat assignment. Presumably, he had earned sufficiently good evaluations from his superiors to be considered as a future divisional leader, so, in the summer of 1943, he took part in a one-month divisional leaders course in Berlin. He returned to Croatia in August and, on 1 November 1943, he was given the command of the 78th Sturm Division, one of the strongest, best-equipped and most effective combat units of the Eastern Front. When Larisch took over the command, the division was engaged in heavy fighting with the Red Army, as the Soviets attempted to capture the vital Moscow–Minsk highway, connecting Smolensk to Orsha. The battles lasted throughout the whole winter, and the division was able to form a defensive line and complete, for the time being, its objective.

On 15 February 1944, Larisch became commander of the 129th Infantry Division (129. Infanterie-Division), and was promoted to Generalmajor (Major General) on 1 April 1944. When, in June 1944, the Soviets launched a massive offensive (Operation Bagration), the 129th Infantry Division initially escaped total decimation, like many of the units of Army Group Center, but suffered heavy losses during the fighting in Belorussia. Arguably, Larisch's finest moment came in late summer 1944, when his division was defending the Narew river against the Soviet assault. The German units had set up strong defenses along the river, including trenches, barbed wire, obstacles and minefields, and manage to prevent the Soviets from breaking through. This defensive success was met with visible enthusiasm from Larisch's superiors: on 1 September 1944, he was decorated with the German Cross in Gold. In addition, he was promoted to Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) on 1 October, a few weeks later, and in late December he was awarded with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, one of Nazi Germany's highest and most prestigious military decorations. By then, the 129th Infantry Division had suffered such heavy losses that it effectively ceased to exist as combat formation;

Post–war After the war ended with the unconditional surrender of Germany on 8 May 1945, Larisch was able to evade capture for more than a month, but was arrested by American troops on 15 June 1945. He spent the next two years as a prisoner of war and was released on 1 July 1947, a few weeks shy of his 53rd birthday. all of his immediate family had survived the war. His Pomeranian estates were annexed by Poland. Thus, the family lived in strained conditions for some time; his daughter, Karin, a veterinarian, emigrated with her family to the United States of America in the 1950s.

Larisch spent his last years quietly in retirement. He served as chairman of the Officers' Association (Offiziersverein) of his old regiment (the 18th Dragoon Regiment). Larisch died on 16 May 1972 at the age of 77.

Awards

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 26 December 1944 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 129. Infanterie Division

Works Das 2. Grossherzogl. Mecklenburg. Dragoner–Regiment Nr. 18 im Weltkriege 1914–1918 (102nd volume of Erinnerungsblätter Deutscher Regimenter). Oldenburg in Oldenburg, Germany: Gerhard Stalling, 1924.