Maximilian von Edelsheim | |
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Born | (1897-07-06)6 July 1897 Berlin, German Empire |
Died | 26 April 1994(1994-04-26) (aged 96) Konstanz, Germany |
Allegiance | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Service/ | Army (Wehrmacht) |
Years of service | 1914–45 |
Rank | ![]() |
Commands held | XLVIII Panzer Corps |
Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords |
Maximilian von Edelsheim (6 July 1897 – 26 April 1994) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
He negotiated the surrender of German forces to the Americans at the bridge at Tangermünde on the Elbe River on or about May 2, 1945. The German 12th Army, under General Walther Wenck had previously done a 180 degree turn away from the Western Allies, resulting from an order to relieve Berlin from the Soviet attack. Disobeying the order, Wenck fought due East, into the Spree Forest region, toward the town of Halbe and linked up with the remnants of the German 9th Army. They then reversed and went west, back to the Elbe. There, Edelsheim crossed the Elbe on a schwimmwagen and negotiated the surrender of all German forces on the West side of the Elbe to the Americans.
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Preceded by Generalleutnant Arno von Lenski | Commander of 24. Panzerdivision March 1943 – August 1944 | Succeeded by Generalmajor Gustav-Adolf von Nostitz-Wallwitz |
Preceded by General der Panzertruppe Fritz-Hubert Gräser | Commander of XLVIII. Panzerkorps 20 September 1944 – 31 March 1945 | Succeeded by Generalleutnant Wolf Hagemann |
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients of the 24th Panzer Division | |
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