Martinus Antonius Johannes Paap
Martinus Antonius Johannes Paap (8 November 1877 – 7 November 2000) was a German military officer, Generalfeldmarschall and convicted war criminal from the Paap family. He served in the German Army from 1893 until 1919 and again from 1933 until 1945. During the First World War, he fought on the Western Front and received the Pour le Mérite. During the Second World War, he held divisional, corps, army and army-group commands.
During the 1941 campaign in the Soviet Union, Martinus commanded the 31. Infanterie-Division during the capture of Tula and Kashira. His forces reached the Vidnoye sector on 1 December, making his command the German force led by a general that advanced closest to central Moscow. He later commanded the 2. Armee, 15. Armee and 7. Armee. In September 1944, he directed German operations at Arnhem during Operation Market Garden. He was promoted to Generalfeldmarschall on 12 February 1945 and remained in senior command until the German surrender in northwestern Europe in May.
Martinus was also the third Great Paap, succeeding his father on 2 November 1940. His term ended following his conviction for war crimes on 28 October 1948, when Martin Paap I succeeded him. Martinus was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment and released in 1954. He then settled in Vriendendam, founded the Wehrmacht-Veteranenverein Vriendendam and remained active in local public life until old age. He died in Vriendendam on 7 November 2000 at the age of 122.
Early life
[edit | edit source]Martinus was born in Kleve on 8 November 1877 to Antonius Martin Paap and Amalie Schroeter. His father worked as an architect and later became Great Paap.[1]
In 1893, Martinus enlisted in Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 56 at the age of 15 after falsely claiming to be 18. He remained with the regiment and progressed through the enlisted ranks.
His actual age was discovered after he had turned 18, when he was caught having sexual intercourse with a 34-year-old civilian Kantinenwirtin at the barracks. His officers examined his enlistment information and discovered that he had falsified his age. Martinus was allowed to remain in the regiment because of his service record.
He was later selected for an officer commission. Martinus became a Leutnant around 1906–1907 and had reached Oberleutnant by the beginning of the First World War.
Military career
[edit | edit source]First World War
[edit | edit source]At the beginning of the First World War, Martinus served with Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 56 on the Western Front. He took part in the Battle of Liège before advancing through Belgium and northern France. He later fought at the Battle of St. Quentin and during the fighting associated with the First Battle of the Marne. His service during the opening campaign resulted in the award of the Iron Cross, 2nd Class.
On 15 September 1914, Martinus was involved in fighting at Berry-au-Bac. French artillery struck buildings near his detachment and a collapse separated him from the rest of his men. While moving through the damaged area, he encountered six French soldiers.
Martinus shot several of them at close range before the encounter developed into hand-to-hand fighting. During the final struggle, he lost his grip on his rifle and suffered a bayonet wound across his upper arm. He killed the final soldier and returned to the German line alone.
His officers initially doubted his account. German troops later searched the damaged buildings and found the six French soldiers in the area Martinus had described. He subsequently received the Iron Cross, 1st Class. His wound was later recognized with the Wound Badge in Black.
Martinus later fought during the First Battle of Ypres. By the end of 1914, his division had settled into positions in the Lille–La Bassée–Lens sector.
During 1915, Martinus remained on the Western Front. His regiment fought during the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in March and the Battle of Festubert later in the year. The repeated British attacks and artillery fire caused heavy losses in the division, and Martinus spent much of the year alternating between front-line service and the reorganization of depleted company positions.
In 1916, his regiment was transferred to the Battle of Verdun. During operations around Mort-Homme in June and July, Martinus's company came under heavy French artillery fire that included gas shells. The company commander was killed during the bombardment.
Martinus assumed command as an Oberleutnant and reorganized the surviving troops. When French infantry attacked the damaged position, he directed the defence and organized a local counterattack. He was subsequently promoted to Hauptmann and received the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords.
The division later moved to the right bank of the Meuse and fought around Thiaumont before returning to the Verdun sector later in the year. Martinus remained with the regiment during the heavy French attacks around Douaumont and the December offensive before the division was withdrawn.
In 1917, Martinus served as a company commander with the rank of Hauptmann. His division returned to the Chemin des Dames and took up positions in the Ailles–Hurtebise sector.
On 25 June, French forces broke into German positions around the Cave of the Dragon. Communications between several company positions were disrupted and groups of German troops began falling back from the lost defenses. Martinus gathered survivors from his own company and nearby units and established a temporary defensive line behind the French penetration. The position prevented the breakthrough from immediately spreading farther into the regiment's rear.
On 26 July, Martinus led his company during a German counterattack between Hurtebise and La Bovelle. The attack failed to recover the lost ground. Martinus withdrew his surviving troops after the advance stalled and returned to the German defensive line.
The division was again heavily engaged during the French offensive around Laffaux on 23 October. Parts of the German front collapsed and large numbers of soldiers were captured. Martinus organized a company-level rearguard while surviving troops withdrew from the threatened sector. His company escaped with substantial losses before the division was removed from the front for rebuilding.
Martinus remained a Hauptmann during 1918. In the spring, his division returned to combat and fought near Moreuil before being reorganized for the renewed German offensive.
During the Third Battle of the Aisne, Martinus's battalion commander became a casualty. Martinus temporarily assumed battalion command and reorganized the remaining companies before leading them across the Aisne under fire. The battalion captured a fortified French position on the opposite bank and continued advancing during the opening phase of the offensive.
Martinus retained temporary battalion command during the subsequent fighting as the division advanced toward the Hautebraye and Vic-sur-Aisne area. The offensive eventually lost momentum and the division suffered further casualties. Martinus later returned to his formal company command. His conduct during the Aisne fighting contributed to the award of the Pour le Mérite.
During September and early October 1918, Martinus's division fought in Champagne before being withdrawn from the front. Around 12 October, it moved to an area north of Rethel for rest and reorganization.
Martinus spent the period around Rethel rebuilding his depleted company. Understrength sections were combined, replacements were assigned to the surviving formations and equipment was redistributed before the division returned to the front.
Late in October, the division moved west and entered positions around Englefontaine, east of Solesmes. Martinus returned to front-line command as German forces continued their withdrawal under Allied pressure.
He remained with his company during the final defensive fighting of the war and was still serving at the front when the Armistice of 11 November 1918 took effect.
Interwar period
[edit | edit source]Martinus resigned from military service in 1919. He regarded the reduction of the German Army and the military restrictions imposed after the war as a disgrace and did not seek a position in the reduced Reichswehr.
He remained outside military service until 1933. Reichswehr Minister Werner von Blomberg sent Martinus a personal letter asking him to return as the German Army expanded. Martinus accepted and was recommissioned as a Major.
In 1935, Paul Hausser approached Martinus about joining the SS-Verfügungstruppe. Martinus rejected the offer and remained in the Army.
By March 1936, Martinus had reached the rank of Oberstleutnant and commanded a battalion during the remilitarization of the Rhineland. Company commander Bruno van Noord argued that the advance should be slowed because of the possibility of French intervention. Martinus ordered him to continue.
Bruno refused the order and Martinus immediately relieved him of company command. Bruno retained the rank of Hauptmann but was placed in a subordinate battalion staff position until he returned to company command later in 1936.
In March 1938, Martinus commanded I./Infanterie-Regiment 61 during the Anschluss. His battalion entered Austria through Tyrol. When road congestion stopped part of the column, Martinus left his staff vehicle and went forward through the halted formation to reorganize its movement.
He remained with the battalion during the occupation of the Sudetenland in October 1938. Martinus was promoted to Oberst in November.
Second World War
[edit | edit source]Martinus served during the Invasion of Poland in September 1939 and received the Clasp to the Iron Cross, 2nd Class.
From 30 September until 30 November 1939, he temporarily commanded the 7. Infanterie-Division during its transfer from Poland to the Lower Rhine. He remained on the Western Front during the winter of 1939–1940.
France
[edit | edit source]On 1 March 1940, Martinus was promoted to Generalmajor and appointed commander of the 31. Infanterie-Division. When the German offensive in the west began on 10 May, the division crossed Belgium and advanced toward Liège. It later fought around the Dyle near Wavre, continued toward the Scheldt and Lys, and entered France.
During fighting on the Aisne in June, the division's first attempt to establish a crossing failed under French resistance. Martinus went forward to the regimental command posts, altered the crossing point and shifted the available artillery support.
The renewed attack established a bridgehead. Martinus committed additional infantry across the river and expanded the position before continuing the advance. He received the Clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st Class and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
After the French armistice, Martinus visited Julien van Noord in Paris. Julien had been his closest friend since the beginning of the century, and the two had maintained their friendship through visits and correspondence.[2]
Martinus was promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 September 1940. Later that month, the 31st Division was transferred by rail from France to occupied Poland.
Soviet Union
[edit | edit source]The division remained under Martinus when Operation Barbarossa began on 22 June 1941. It participated in the opening advance associated with the Battle of Białystok–Minsk.
During a Soviet breakout attempt near the Zelvianka in late June, Martinus moved forward to a threatened battalion command post. Soviet infantry penetrated far enough to threaten the headquarters itself. Martinus shot two Soviet soldiers with his service pistol before returning to the direction of the local defence.
During the Battle of Smolensk, a Soviet attack on 25 July broke through part of the sector held by Infanterie-Regiment 82 and disrupted contact between several positions.
Martinus rejected a broad withdrawal. He redirected divisional artillery against the penetration, moved reserves against its flank and committed Panzerjäger-Abteilung 31 against Soviet armour. He went forward to Infanterie-Regiment 82's headquarters while the counterattack was underway. By the end of the fighting, the penetration had been contained and contact between the regiment's battalions restored.
During the Roslavl–Novozybkov offensive in September, Martinus received authorization for a limited pursuit after Soviet attacks opposite his sector had weakened. His division advanced approximately 40–50 kilometres beyond its previous positions and established an exposed salient west of Bryansk.
Higher headquarters ordered him to stop. Martinus argued against abandoning the captured ground and received permission to hold the position until neighbouring formations caught up.
When Operation Typhoon began on 30 September, Martinus resumed the advance. His division crossed the Bolva and continued east.
Around 19–20 October, Martinus reached Belyov and began operations against the Oka. Assault infantry crossed during the night using boats and improvised crossings before engineers expanded the route.
His command continued through Odoev and the Krapivna sector toward Tula. By 29 October, Martinus had reached the western approaches to the city.
His division attacked from the west when the wider German assault began on 30 October. By 1 November, Martinus had established a foothold in western Tula. He expanded the penetration over the following days, and forces under his command captured the city on 6 November 1941.
Following the capture of Tula, Martinus permitted Sonderkommando 7b to enter the city and did not interfere with its arrests and killings. His command also implemented the Commissar Order against captured Soviet political commissars. These actions later formed part of the case brought against him after the war.
Martinus resumed the northern advance on 8 November. His forces captured Kashira on 15 November despite growing losses and deteriorating supply conditions.
After a command conference at Kashira on 17 November, his advance continued through Stupino and the Mikhnevo sector. Martinus captured Domodedovo on 29 November.
On 1 December 1941, his leading formations reached the Vidnoye sector south of Moscow. Martinus went forward with the leading regimental headquarters. His command had advanced closer to central Moscow than that of any other German general during the campaign.
Martinus was promoted to General der Infanterie on 2 December and given temporary control of an enlarged formation known as Gruppe Paap, centred on the 31st Division and reinforced with supporting units.
The Soviet counteroffensive forced him to abandon the southern approach to Moscow several days later. Martinus organized a phased withdrawal through Domodedovo, Mikhnevo, Stupino and Kashira toward Tula. Most of the organized force escaped the exposed salient without being encircled.
He received the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross in December 1941.
Higher command
[edit | edit source]On 20 January 1942, Martinus became commanding general of the XXXXIII. Armeekorps. He inherited the corps during the continuing Soviet winter offensive.
Martinus directed a withdrawal toward the Yukhnov and Spas-Demensk area, shortening positions that could no longer support one another and using local counterattacks to keep important roads open. By April, the corps front had stabilized around Spas-Demensk.
On 15 July 1942, Martinus was appointed commander of the 2. Armee. He took command during the fighting around Voronezh and later organized the army's positions along the Don.
Martinus retained part of the army as an operational reserve and opposed attempts to remove the final mobile formations from his command while German forces farther south became increasingly committed around Stalingrad.
In late October 1942, two Soviet partisans ambushed Martinus's staff car in the army rear. His driver was killed and Martinus was grazed by a bullet. He left the vehicle and shot both attackers with his service pistol. His wound was treated without removing him from command.
During the Voronezh–Kastornoye offensive in January 1943, Martinus concluded that existing stand-fast orders threatened to trap substantial parts of 2. Armee. He began withdrawing exposed formations before receiving authorization for a general retreat.
The reserves he had retained were used to hold open withdrawal routes. The army lost substantial equipment, but much of its personnel escaped the developing encirclement. Martinus was relieved of command on 3 February 1943 because he had ordered the withdrawal without authorization.
After several weeks in the Führerreserve, Martinus returned to field command on 20 March as commander of the 15. Armee in France.
The Pas-de-Calais sector contained a particularly dense concentration of coastal defenses. Martinus nevertheless considered the available mobile reserve insufficient for responding to a successful Allied landing. He spent much of 1943 inspecting defensive positions and reorganizing forces behind the coast.
In December 1943, Martinus accompanied Erwin Rommel during an inspection of the defenses. They agreed on further strengthening of coastal positions but differed over how much strength should remain mobile behind the beaches. Martinus and Rommel nevertheless developed a close working relationship.
Martinus was promoted to Generaloberst on 1 January 1944.
During the first months of 1944, Martinus became increasingly convinced that the Allied invasion might take place in Normandy. When the Normandy landings began on 6 June, he considered them the main invasion and requested permission to release formations from the Pas-de-Calais. The 346. Infanterie-Division began moving toward Normandy on 7 June.
Normandy
[edit | edit source]On 28 June 1944, following the death of Friedrich Dollmann, Martinus was appointed commander of 7. Armee.
During July, he concentrated on the deteriorating German position around Saint-Lô. By 17 July, Martinus considered the most exposed positions untenable and began preparations for a controlled withdrawal before the town fell on 18 July.
On 24 July, American bombers struck the Panzer-Lehr-Division sector during the aborted opening of Operation Cobra. Martinus regarded the bombardment as preparation for a larger offensive and authorized the movement of headquarters elements and part of the reserve away from the most exposed area.
The main bombardment on 25 July still caused heavy losses. Martinus used the surviving formations to establish another defensive line and concentrated available mobile forces around the approaches to Villedieu-les-Poêles. The immediate American drive toward Avranches was temporarily contained.
As Allied pressure increased, Martinus ordered a planned withdrawal from Avranches on 10 August. By 12 August, he had concluded that continued resistance farther west threatened to trap 7. Armee around Falaise.
Transport, headquarters elements and other rear formations began moving east before a general withdrawal had been authorized. Combat formations followed. By the time wider authorization for retreat was issued on 16 August, much of Martinus's army was already moving toward the remaining routes out of the threatened area.
Heavy equipment was lost during the withdrawal, but most of the surviving personnel of 7. Armee avoided entrapment inside the Falaise Pocket.
Netherlands
[edit | edit source]On 5 September 1944, Martinus was appointed Wehrmachtbefehlshaber in den Niederlanden.
When Operation Market Garden began on 17 September, he identified the bridge at Arnhem as the immediate objective of the British airborne force and directed available German units toward the city.
During 18–20 September, Martinus coordinated attacks against the British position around the northern end of the bridge. Reinforcements were moved into Arnhem while the isolated British force became increasingly difficult to supply.
On 21 September, forces under Martinus fully retook Arnhem and cleared the remaining British position around the bridge. He then redirected available forces toward the British perimeter at Oosterbeek. The remaining British airborne troops withdrew during the night of 25–26 September.
After Arnhem had been retaken, Martinus inspected German positions north of the city on 21–22 September. Houses were being constructed behind the defenses for fathers attached to an SS armoured division. These buildings later became the first houses of Vriendendam.[3]
On 10 November 1944, Martinus was appointed commander of Army Group H, covering the Netherlands and the northwestern approaches to Germany.
Final months
[edit | edit source]In February 1945, Operation Veritable brought the Allied advance toward Kleve, Martinus's birthplace.
Martinus went directly to the Kleve sector after the offensive began on 8 February and remained near the front as German troops were forced back toward the town. By this stage of the war, he regularly carried an MP 40 during visits to forward positions.
When part of the local German line began to collapse, Martinus joined the infantry at the position while continuing to issue orders through nearby staff personnel. During the fighting on 10–11 February, he was struck in the upper torso by a shell fragment.
Martinus received field treatment and remained in the Kleve sector until the German position in the town was abandoned.
On 12 February 1945, he was promoted to Generalfeldmarschall and received the Swords to his Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves.
After the loss of Kleve, Martinus began withdrawing rear formations and equipment toward the Rhine while combat troops continued delaying the Allied advance. Wesel became one of the principal crossing areas for Army Group H.
Most organized formations crossed the Rhine during the first week of March. Martinus remained west of the river until 9 March, when he crossed after the principal rearguards had withdrawn.
Operation Plunder began on 23 March. Army Group H was severely depleted by this stage and had only a limited number of tanks and assault guns available across its broad front. Martinus avoided committing every remaining mobile unit to a general counterattack against the Allied bridgeheads.
He established a forward command post in the Wesel sector. On 24 March, Operation Varsity placed Allied airborne forces east of the Rhine around Wesel and Hamminkeln.
Airborne troops cut a road being used by Martinus and his staff. Martinus joined nearby German troops attempting to reopen the route, using the MP 40 he carried during the inspection. His staff group was temporarily isolated before contact with the rest of the German position was restored.
Martinus concluded that the Allied Rhine bridgehead could no longer be eliminated and ordered another withdrawal into northwestern Germany.
On 7 April 1945, he became Oberbefehlshaber Nordwest, giving him overall command of the remaining German forces in northwestern Germany and the Netherlands.
On 4 May, Martinus personally attended the surrender at Lüneburg Heath and signed for the forces under his command. He returned to his headquarters afterward and transmitted the ceasefire orders.
The surrender took effect at 08:00 on 5 May 1945, ending Martinus's military career more than 51 years after his first enlistment.
Great Paap
[edit | edit source]Antonius Martin Paap died on 2 November 1940. Martinus succeeded his father as Great Paap on the same day and inherited responsibility for the Book of Paap.
Martinus intended his younger son, Jan Paap, to succeed him. Jan rejected the prophecy contained in the Book of Paap and the religious responsibilities associated with the position.[4]
Jan later severed ties with Martinus and rejected the wider Paap family.[5] Martinus remained Great Paap despite Jan's refusal.
Following Martinus's conviction on 28 October 1948, Martin Paap I succeeded him as Great Paap. Martinus accepted the succession and did not attempt to reclaim the position after his release.
He remained close to Martin Paap I, who continued consulting him about Paap family matters. Martinus repeatedly attempted to restore contact with Jan through letters and relatives, but Jan rejected the attempts.
Personal life
[edit | edit source]While still a young soldier, Martinus had a sexual relationship with the 34-year-old civilian Kantinenwirtin whose presence at his barracks led to the discovery of his false enlistment age. She later gave birth to his daughter. Martinus continued to support and see the child after ending his relationship with her mother.
Around 1901–1902, Martinus met Julien van Noord in Paris through a French reading group. Julien became his closest friend. The two continued visiting each other and corresponded regularly. Their disagreements over Julien's writing sometimes continued for months by letter.[2]
Around 1903, Martinus met Elsbeth Kranz while eating alone at a restaurant in Cologne. After meeting Elsbeth, he ended personal contact with his daughter's mother except for matters concerning the child.
The woman later arrived at Martinus's home demanding to see him. Elsbeth had not previously known about the relationship or Martinus's daughter and became angry after learning about them. She later accepted Martinus's continued relationship with his daughter.
Martinus and Elsbeth married approximately two years after meeting. In 1905, they stayed temporarily in Rotterdam, where their son Martin Paap I was born on 3 September.[6] They returned to Germany in 1906.
Their younger son, Jan Paap, was born in Warendorf on 21 January 1919.[5]
Imprisonment and later life
[edit | edit source]After the surrender in May 1945, Martinus was taken into British custody as a senior German commander. He was later held at Special Camp XI in Bridgend, Wales, with other high-ranking German officers.
Investigators examined his Eastern Front commands, including implementation of the Commissar Order and his conduct following the capture of Tula.
Martinus was subsequently tried in the High Command Case at Nuremberg. On 28 October 1948, he was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment.
He did not serve the full sentence and was released in 1954 at the age of 76. Martinus moved to Vriendendam, an area he had previously visited during the Battle of Arnhem while the first buildings of the settlement were still under construction.[3]
Later in 1954, Martinus founded the Wehrmacht-Veteranenverein Vriendendam, known in Dutch as the Vriendendamse Wehrmachtveteranenvereniging. He became its first chairman. The association provided former servicemen with a meeting place and assisted members with veterans' affairs, correspondence and administrative matters.
Martinus regularly met former soldiers through the association and attended its commemorative gatherings. He remained chairman until 1965, when he stepped down from day-to-day leadership and became honorary chairman for life. Younger members subsequently handled the association's routine administration, while Martinus continued attending important meetings and events.
He also became regularly involved with the Martinoskerk, which had been built by his father in 1887. Martinus attended services there and participated in memorial services connected to the veterans association.
Martinus remained close to Martin Paap I throughout his later life. Martin visited him during his imprisonment when possible and assisted him after his release. Martinus continued to be consulted on family matters despite no longer holding the Great Paap title.
Motor racing became another regular part of Martinus's life in Vriendendam. He frequently attended races at the Vriendendam Racetrack as a spectator. Because he was highly respected in Vriendendam, he was given a VIP viewing place at the circuit and became a familiar presence at major race meetings. He continued attending races into old age.
Martinus remained active in public life for many years after leaving the chairmanship of the veterans association. His activities gradually decreased as he aged, although he continued to appear at association events, church services and races when his health allowed.
Death
[edit | edit source]Martinus died in Vriendendam on 7 November 2000 at the age of 122, one day before his 123rd birthday.
His funeral was attended by members of the Paap family, former soldiers and members of the Wehrmacht-Veteranenverein Vriendendam. Several of his grandchildren were present. Jan Paap, who had remained estranged from Martinus and the wider Paap family, did not attend.
As part of the funeral procession, the vehicle carrying Martinus's coffin was driven for one lap around the Vriendendam Racetrack, where veterans and other attendees gathered before the procession continued.
See also
[edit | edit source]- Antonius Martin Paap
- Martin Paap I
- Jan Paap
- Julien van Noord
- Great Paap
- Book of Paap
- Martinoskerk
- Wehrmacht-Veteranenverein Vriendendam
- Vriendendam
- Paap family
- Paap family members
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ "Personal life and death". Antonius Martin Paap. Vrienden Universe Wiki.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Friendships". Julien van Noord. Vrienden Universe Wiki.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Battle of Arnhem". Vriendendam. Vrienden Universe Wiki.
- ↑ "Belief and rejection". Book of Paap. Vrienden Universe Wiki.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Early life". Jan Paap. Vrienden Universe Wiki.
- ↑ "Early life". Martin Paap (father). Vrienden Universe Wiki.
- People
- 1877 births
- 2000 deaths
- People from Kleve
- Military personnel from the Rhine Province
- Prussian Army personnel
- German Army personnel of World War I
- German Army field marshals of World War II
- German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom
- People convicted by the United States Nuremberg Military Tribunals
- German people convicted of war crimes
- Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)
- Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
- Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class
- Paap family members
- Great Paaps
- Pre-Vader Era
- Vader Era
- Middenvader Era
- Vriend Era