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Nikolaus von Falkenhorst

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Parent: Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany Hop 4
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Nikolaus von Falkenhorst
NameNikolaus von Falkenhorst
Birth date17 January 1885
Death date18 June 1968
Birth placeBreslau, Province of Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death placeHolzminden, Lower Saxony, West Germany
Allegiance* German Empire (to 1918) * Weimar Republic (to 1933) * Nazi Germany
BranchGerman Army
Serviceyears1903–1944
RankGeneraloberst
CommandsArmy Group Norway
Battles* World War I * World War II ** Invasion of Poland ** Operation Weserübung
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Nikolaus von Falkenhorst was a senior German Army officer who attained the rank of Generaloberst during World War II. He is best known for planning and commanding the German invasion of Denmark and Norway in 1940, codenamed Operation Weserübung. His later career was spent as commander-in-chief of Army Group Norway in the Arctic theater, and he was ultimately convicted of war crimes for his role in implementing the Commissar Order.

Early life and military career

Born in Breslau into a military family with roots in the Kingdom of Prussia, he entered the Imperial German Army in 1903. He served with distinction on both the Western and Eastern Fronts during World War I, earning the Iron Cross and remaining in the scaled-down Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic. During the interwar period, he held various staff and command positions, including a significant posting as a military attaché in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and later in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

World War II

At the outbreak of World War II, von Falkenhorst commanded the XXI Army Corps during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. His corps saw action as part of Army Group South under Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt, participating in the advance towards Warsaw. His effective leadership during the Polish campaign brought him to the attention of the Armed Forces High Command and directly led to his next, most critical assignment.

Operation Weserübung

In February 1940, Adolf Hitler personally selected him to plan the simultaneous invasions of Denmark and Norway. The operation, codenamed Operation Weserübung, was a complex combined-arms assault involving the Kriegsmarine, the Luftwaffe, and paratroopers. Von Falkenhorst successfully commanded the operation from April 1940, swiftly overcoming Norwegian and Allied resistance, including British, French, and Polish units. The success secured vital iron ore shipments from Sweden and provided the Kriegsmarine with crucial naval bases.

Later commands and war crimes

Following the conquest, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of German Forces in Norway and later commander of Army Group Norway. In this role, he was responsible for defending the long Arctic coastline against potential Allied invasion and supporting Finnish forces against the Soviet Union on the Murmansk front. He was implicated in war crimes for his strict enforcement of Hitler's Commando Order and, more significantly, for implementing the Commissar Order, which called for the execution of captured political commissars.

Trial and conviction

After the war, von Falkenhorst was arrested by British forces and stood trial before a British military court in Brunswick. The 1946 trial focused on his transmission and enforcement of the criminal Commissar Order to subordinate units, including the 20th Mountain Army. He was found guilty on multiple charges of war crimes and sentenced to death. The sentence was later commuted to 20 years' imprisonment, a decision influenced by considerations of his strict adherence to military orders he deemed lawful at the time.

Later life and death

He was released from prison in 1953, earlier than his full term, on grounds of poor health. He spent his final years in relative obscurity in Holzminden, West Germany. Nikolaus von Falkenhorst died there on 18 June 1968. His legacy remains primarily defined by his pivotal role in Operation Weserübung and his subsequent conviction for war crimes in the harsh northern theaters of World War II.

Category:German Army generals of World War II Category:German military personnel convicted of war crimes Category:Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross