Maximilian Jais

Maximilian Josef Franz Xaver Jais (4 March 1891 – 24 January 1957) was a German military officer who served as a Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht during World War II. A career soldier, he fought on the Western Front in World War I before serving in the invasion of Crete, the northern Eastern Front on the Kola Peninsula, and the final defence of the Westwall in 1944–1945.

Early life and World War I

Jais was born in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, on 4 March 1891. He entered military service on 1 October 1912 as a one-year volunteer (Einjährig-Freiwilliger) in the 7th Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment. After completing his volunteer year, he was discharged to the reserve.

With the outbreak of World War I, Jais was mobilised and served with artillery units on the Western Front. He was commissioned as Leutnant der Reserve on 15 February 1915 and promoted to Oberleutnant der Reserve on 15 March 1918.

Battle of Crete

For the forthcoming invasion of Crete, Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 141 was detached from the 6th Mountain Division and attached to the 5th Mountain Division under Generalmajor Julius Ringel.

After the paratroopers suffered severe casualties on the first day and Maleme airfield was secured on the second, mountain troops including Jais's regiment were airlifted in as reinforcements. On 27 May, the regiment advanced along the coast road east of Chania, where its I Battalion was engaged in fierce close-quarters combat by the New Zealand 28th (Māori) Battalion in an action known as the Battle of 42nd Street.

Following the Allied evacuation and the fall of Crete on 1 June 1941, Jais was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 11 June 1941 and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 17 September 1941.

Initially designated Division Castorf, the formation was redesignated Division (Kampfgruppe) Jais by 10 September 1944. It was assembled from Walküre (Valkyrie) emergency mobilisation units and comprised three regimental battle groups (Regiments Loft, Wegelein, and Gombel), a two-company alarm unit from the Wiesbaden military district, and a two-battery artillery detachment (Artillerie-Abteilung Weyrich). The footage, which documents the U.S. 99th Infantry Division capturing approximately 6,000 German personnel in the area, shows Jais alongside Generalarbeitsführer Paul Hoppenrath of the Reich Labour Service and Generalmajor Robert Eimler.