Georg Lindemann Georg Heinrich Lindemann ( 8 March 1884 – 25 September 1963 ) was a German cavalry officer and field commander who served in the German army during World War I ( Reichswehr ) and World War II ( Wehrmacht Heer ) . He was also a recipient of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves ( ) . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership . Lindemann survived the Second World War and was released after several years as a prisoner - of - war ( POW ) . Early life . Georg Lindemann was born in Osterburg ( Altmark ) in the Province of Saxony . Lindemann was the son of Hermann Lindemann and his wife Elisbeth , née Placke . He was the 1st cousin of Dr . jur . Ernst Lindemann , father of " Kapitän zur See " Ernst Lindemann , the only commander of the German battleship " Bismarck " . Lindemann joined the Prussian Officer corps and served in World War I on both the Eastern Front and the Western Front . After the war , he joined Von Lettow ' s Freikorps and , during the civil unrest of 1919 , helped to crush the Communist Workers Council in Hamburg . In 1930 , Lindemann was serving as Commanding officer of the 13th Reiter Regiment . World War II . With the rise of the NSDAP , Lindemann was promoted to Commander of the Kriegsschule in Hanover . He occupied this position until 1936 . In 1936 , Lindemann was promoted to " Generalleutnant " and given command of the 36 . Infanterie Division . The division was involved in guarding the Saar region during the Invasion of Poland , and it then took part in the Invasion of France . At the end of the Western campaign , Lindemann was promoted to Cavalry General ( " General der Kavallerie " ) and given command of the German L Army Corps ( " L . Armeekorps " ) . In June 1941 , at the launch of Operation Barbarossa , Lindemann ' s Corps was a part of Army Group North . Lindemann commanded the corps during the Army Group North ' s advance towards Leningrad . His unit was briefly shifted to the command of Army Group Centre during the operations to capture Smolensk . Lindemann ' s corps was then shifted back to Army Group North . During the period of his military authority in the area , the Russian city of Gatchina received the name " Lindemannstadt " in his honour under the German occupation . On 16 January 1942 , Lindemann took the command of the German Eighteenth Army ( " 18 . Armee " ) , a part of Army Group North . Later , in the summer of 1942 , he was promoted to Colonel - General ( " Generaloberst " ) . Lindemann commanded the German Eighteenth Army throughout the campaigns around Leningrad and during the January 1944 retreat from Oranienbaum to Narva . Until 4 February 1944 , the Sponheimer Group which defended the Narva Line was subordinated to the 18th Army commanded by Lindemann . He was promoted to command of Army Group North on 31 March 1944 . His command of the Army Group was short - lived , and on 4 July 1944 he was relieved and transferred to the Reserve Army . Allegedly German dictator Adolf Hitler gave as reason for this change that Lindemann had become too old and too weak . After serving a few months in the Reserve Army , Lindemann was put in command of a new staff called " Führungsstab Ostseeküste " . From 1 February 1945 , he held the post as the " Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces in Denmark " ( " Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber Dänemark " ) , thereby coming in command of all German troops in Denmark . In April 1945 , when the end of the war was apparent to almost all German commanders , Lindemann issued an order to his troops to preserve strict discipline . He further ordered that Denmark had to be defended to the last bullet . On 3 May , Lindemann went to the Naval Academy at Mürwik to participate in a meeting with the OKW , the new government and the new German Head of State , Grand Admiral ( " Großadmiral " ) Karl Dönitz . Lindemann informed Dönitz that he would be able to hold Denmark for at least some time , and he and his colleague in Norway , General Franz Böhme , argued for keeping Denmark and Norway in German custody as bargaining chips in the armistice negotiations soon to come . Dönitz however , sued for immediate peace , and Germany surrendered unconditionally in northwest Germany , the Netherlands , and Denmark on 5 May 1945 . As commander of " Army Lindemann " ( " Armee Lindemann " ) , Lindemann was then given the task of dismantling the German occupation of Denmark until 6 June 1945 , when he was arrested at his headquarters in Silkeborg . Post - war . Lindemann was a POW in American custody until 1948 . He was not charged for war crimes by either the Allies or by Denmark . After his release , Lindemann went into retirement in West Germany . He died on 25 September 1963 .