Artur Phleps Artur Gustav Martin Phleps ( 29 November 1881 – 21 September 1944 ) was an Austro - Hungarian , Romanian and German army officer who held the rank of " SS - Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen - SS " ( lieutenant general ) in the " Waffen - SS " during World War II . An Austro - Hungarian Army officer before and during World War I , he specialised in mountain warfare and logistics , and had been promoted to " Oberstleutnant " ( lieutenant colonel ) by the end of the war . During the interwar period he joined the Romanian Army , reaching the rank of " Generalleutnant " ( major general ) , and also became an adviser to King Carol . After he spoke out against the government , he was sidelined and forcibly retired from the army . In 1941 he left Romania and joined the " Waffen - SS " as a " SS - Standartenführer " ( colonel ) under his mother ' s maiden name of Stolz . Seeing action on the Eastern Front as a regimental commander with the SS Motorised Division " Wiking " , he later raised and commanded the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division " Prinz Eugen " , raised the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS " Handschar " ( 1st Croatian ) , and commanded the V SS Mountain Corps . Units under his command committed many crimes against the civilian population of the Independent State of Croatia . His final appointment was as plenipotentiary general in south Siebenbürgen and the Banat , during which he organised the evacuation of the " Volksdeutsche " ( ethnic Germans ) of Siebenbürgen to the Reich . In addition to the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross , Phleps was awarded the German Cross in Gold , and after he was killed in September 1944 , he was awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight ' s Cross . Early life . Phleps was born in Birthälm , near Hermannstadt in Siebenbürgen , then a part of the Austro - Hungarian Empire ( modern - day Romania ) . At the time , Siebenbürgen was densely populated by ethnic Germans commonly referred to as Transylvanian Saxons . He was the third son of the surgeon Gustav Phleps and Sophie ( née Stolz ) , the daughter of a peasant . Both families had lived in Siebenbürgen for centuries . After finishing at the evangelical " Realschule " school in Hermannstadt , Phleps entered the Imperial and Royal cadet school in Pressburg ( in modern - day Slovakia ) in 1900 , and on 1 November 1901 was commissioned as a " Leutnant " ( lieutenant ) in the 3rd Regiment of the " Tiroler Kaiserjäger " ( mountain infantry ) . In 1903 , Phleps was transferred to the 11th " Feldjäger " ( rifle ) Battalion in Güns ( in modern - day Hungary ) , and in 1905 was accepted into the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt . He completed his studies in two years , and was endorsed as suitable for service in the General Staff . Following promotion to " Oberleutnant " ( first lieutenant ) he transferred to the staff of the 13th Infantry Regiment at Esseg in Slavonia , and then the 6th Infantry Division in Graz . This was followed by a promotion to " Hauptmann " ( captain ) in 1911 along with a position on the staff of the XV Army Corps in Sarajevo , where he specialised in mobilisation and communications in the difficult terrain of Bosnia and Herzegovina . World War I . At the outbreak of World War I Phleps was serving with the staff of the 32nd Infantry Division in Budapest . The division was involved in the early stages of the Serbian campaign , during which Phleps was transferred to the operations staff of the Second Army . The Second Army was soon withdrawn from the Serbian front and deployed via the Carpathian Mountains to the Austro - Hungarian province of Galacia ( modern - day Ukraine ) to defend against a successful offensive by the Russian Empire . The Second Army continued to fight the Russians in and around the Carpathians through the winter of 1914 – 1915 . In 1915 Phleps was again transferred , this time to " Armeegruppe Rohr " commanded by " General der Kavallerie " ( General ) Franz Rohr von Denta , which was formed in the Austrian Alps in response to the Italian declaration of war in May 1915 . " Armeegruppe Rohr " became the basis for the formation of the 10th Army , which was headquartered in Villach . Phleps subsequently became the deputy quartermaster of the 10th Army , responsible for organising the supply of the troops fighting the Italians in the mountains . On 1 August 1916 , Phleps was promoted to " Major " . Later that month , King Ferdinand of Romania led the Kingdom of Romania in joining the Triple Entente , and subsequently invaded Phleps ' homeland of Siebenbürgen . On 27 August , Phleps became the chief of staff of the 72nd Infantry Division , which was involved in Austro - Hungarian operations to repel the Romanian invasion . He remained in this theatre of operations for the next two years , ultimately serving as the chief quartermaster of the German 9th Army , and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 27 January 1917 . In 1918 he returned to the mountains when he was transferred to " Armeegruppe Tirol " , and ended the war as an " Oberstleutnant " ( lieutenant colonel ) and chief quartermaster for the entire Alpine Front . Between the wars . After the war the Austro - Hungarian Empire was dissolved , and Phleps returned to his homeland , which had become part of Romania under the Treaty of Trianon . He joined the Romanian Army and was appointed as commander of the Saxon National Guard , a militia formed from the German - speaking people of Siebenbürgen . In this role he opposed the Hungarian communist revolutionary government of Béla Kun , which fought Romania in 1919 . During a battle at the Tisza river against Kun ' s forces he disobeyed direct orders and was subsequently courtmartialled . The trial concluded that Phleps had saved the Romanian forces through his actions , and he was promoted to " Oberst " ( colonel ) . He commanded the 84th Infantry Regiment , then joined the general staff and taught logistics at the War Academy in Bucharest . He attended the V Army Corps staff college in Kronstadt , and published a book , " Logistics : Basics of Organisation and Execution " , in 1926 which became the standard work on logistics for the Romanian Army . Ironically , after the book was published , Phleps failed his first general ' s examination on the topic of logistics . He commanded various Romanian units , including the 1st Brigade of the Vânători de munte ( mountain troops ) and also acted as a military advisor to King Carol II in the 1930s . Phleps reached the rank of " Generalleutnant " ( major general ) despite his disdain for the corruption , intrigue and hypocrisy of the royal court . After criticising government policy and publicly calling King Carol a liar when another general tried to twist his words , he was transferred to the reserves in 1940 and forcibly retired from the service in 1941 . World War II . SS Motorised Division " Wiking " . In November 1940 , with the support of the leader of the " Volksgruppe in Rumänien " ( ethnic Germans in Romania ) , Andreas Schmidt , Phleps had written to the key " Waffen - SS " recruiting officer " SS - Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen SS " ( Brigadier ) Gottlob Berger offering his services to the Third Reich . Phleps subsequently asked for permission to leave Romania to join the " Wehrmacht " , and this was approved by the recently installed Romanian " Conducător " ( dictator ) General Ion Antonescu . Phleps volunteered for the " Waffen - SS " instead , enlisting under his mother ' s maiden name of Stolz . According to the historian Hans Bergel , Phleps joined the " Waffen - SS " because " Volksdeutsche " were not permitted to join the " Wehrmacht " . He was appointed as a " SS - Standartenführer " ( colonel ) by " Reichsführer - SS " Heinrich Himmler and joined the SS Motorised Division " Wiking " , where he commanded Dutch , Flemish , Danish , Norwegian , Swedish and Finnish volunteers . When Hilmar Wäckerle , the commander of SS - Regiment " Westland " , was killed in action near Lvov in late June 1941 , Phleps took over command of that regiment . Phleps distinguished himself in the fighting at Kremenchuk and Dnipropetrovsk in the Ukraine , commanded his own " Kampfgruppe " , became a confidant of " Generaloberst " ( senior general ) Hans - Valentin Hube , commander of the 16th Panzer Division , and was subsequently promoted to " SS - Oberführer " ( senior colonel ) . In July 1941 he was awarded the 1939 clasp to his Iron Cross ( 1914 ) 2nd Class and then the Iron Cross ( 1939 ) 1st Class . 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division " Prinz Eugen " . On 30 December 1941 , " Generalfeldmarschall " ( Field Marshal ) Wilhelm Keitel advised Himmler that Adolf Hitler had authorised the raising of a seventh " Waffen - SS " division from the " Volksdeutsche " ( ethnic Germans ) of Yugoslavia . In the meantime , Phleps reverted to his birth name from his mother ' s maiden name . Two weeks later , " SS - Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen SS " Phleps was selected to organise the new division , On 1 March 1942 , the division was officially designated the " SS - Freiwilligen - Division " Prinz Eugen " " . Phleps was promoted to " SS - Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen SS " ( major general ) on 20 April 1942 . After recruitment , formation and training in the Banat in October 1942 , the two regiments and supporting arms were deployed into the southwestern part of the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia as an anti - Partisan force . Headquartered in Kraljevo , with its two mountain infantry regiments centred on Užice and Raška , the division continued to train . Some artillery batteries , the anti - aircraft battalion and the motorcycle battalion and cavalry squadron continued to form in the Banat . During his time with the 7th SS Division , Phleps was referred to as " Papa Phleps " by his troops . In early October 1942 , the division commenced Operation " Kopaonik " , targeting the Chetnik force of Major Dragutin Keserović in the Kopaonik Mountains , which ended with little success , as the Chetniks had forewarning of the operation and were able to avoid contact . After a quiet winter , in January 1943 Phleps deployed the division to the Independent State of Croatia ( NDH ) to participate in Case White . Between 13 February and 9 March 1943 he was responsible for the initial aspects of raising the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS " Handschar " ( 1st Croatian ) in the NDH in addition to his duties commanding the 7th SS Division . During Case White , the division captured Bihać and Bosanski Petrovac , killed over 2 , 000 Partisans and captured nearly 400 . After a short rest and refit in April , the division was committed to Case Black in May and June 1943 , during which it advanced from the Mostar area into Montenegro , killing 250 Partisans and capturing over 500 . In May 1943 , Phleps became frustrated by the failure of his Italian allies to cooperate with German operations , which was demonstrated in his reputation for forthright speech . During a meeting with his Italian counterpart in Podgorica , Montenegro , Phleps called the Italian Corps commander General Ercole Roncaglia a " lazy macaroni " . Phleps scolded his " Wehrmacht " interpreter , " Leutnant " Kurt Waldheim for toning down Phleps ' language , saying , " Listen Waldheim , I know some Italian and you are not translating what I am telling this so - and - so " . On another occasion , Phleps threatened to shoot Italian sentries who were delaying his passage through a checkpoint . While under Phleps ' command , the division committed many crimes against the civilian population of the NDH , especially during Case White and Case Black . These included " burning villages , massacre of inhabitants , torture and murder of captured partisans " , and the division thereby developed a distinctive reputation for cruelty . This was the subject of international controversy when Waldheim ' s service in the Balkans became public in the mid - 1980s , during his successful bid for the Austrian presidency . On 15 May 1943 , Phleps handed over command of the division to " SS - Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen SS " Karl von Oberkamp . In July 1943 , Phleps was promoted to " Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen - SS " ( lieutenant general ) , awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross , and placed in command of the V SS Mountain Corps . V SS Mountain Corps . The formations under the command of V SS Mountain Corps varied during Phlep ' s command . In July 1944 it consisted of the 118th Jäger Division and 369th ( Croatian ) Infantry Division in addition to the 7th SS and 13th SS divisions . Throughout Phlep ' s command , the corps was under the overall control of 2nd Panzer Army and conducted anti - Partisan operations throughout the NDH and Montenegro . These operations included Operations " Kugelblitz " ( ball lightning ) and " Schneesturm " ( blizzard ) , which were part of a major offensive in eastern Bosnia in December 1943 , but they were only a limited success . Phleps had met personally with Hitler to discuss the planning for Operation " Kugelblitz " . Due to the unreliable nature of the troops loyal to the NDH government , Phleps utilised Chetnik forces as auxiliaries , stating to a visiting officer that he could not disarm the Chetniks unless the NDH government provided him with the same strength in reliable troops . In January 1944 , due to fears that the Western Allies would invade along the Dalmatian coastline and islands , V SS Mountain Corps forced the mass evacuation of male civilians between the ages of 17 and 50 from that area . Phleps was criticised by both NDH and German authorities for the harshness with which the evacuation was carried out . During the first six months of 1944 , elements of the V SS Mountain Corps were involved in Operation " Waldrausch " ( Forest Fever ) in central Bosnia , Operation " Maibaum " ( Maypole ) in eastern Bosnia , and Operation " Rösselsprung " ( Knight ' s Move ) , the attempt to capture or kill the Partisan leader Josip Broz Tito . On 20 June 1944 , Phleps was awarded the German Cross in Gold . In September , he was appointed plenipotentiary general of German occupation troops in south Siebenbürgen and the Banat , organising the flight of the " Volksdeutsche " of north Siebenbürgen ahead of the advancing Soviet Red Army . He was killed near Arad , Romania on 21 September 1944 after being captured by an advanced Red Army unit . He was posthumously awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight ' s Cross on 24 November 1944 , which was presented to his son , " SS - Obersturmführer " ( First Lieutenant ) Dr . Reinhart Phleps , a battalion doctor serving in the 7th SS Division . Soon after his death , the 13th " Gebirgsjäger " Regiment of the 7th SS Division was given the cuff title " Artur Phleps " in his honour . Phleps was married ; his wife ' s name was Grete and in addition to their son Reinhart , they had a daughter , Irmingard . One of Phleps ' brothers became a doctor , and the other was a professor at the Danzig technical university , now Gdańsk University of Technology . Awards . Phleps received the following awards during his service :