Ernst von Leyser Ernst Ulrich Hans von Leyser ( ) ( known as Ernst von Leyser ) was a German General der Infanterie during World War II who commanded various Army Corps and recipient of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross . The Knight ' s Cross was Nazi Germany ' s highest award for military gallantry and was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership . After the war , in 1947 , von Leyser was tried for war crimes committed in the Balkans and sentenced to ten years of imprisonment during the Hostages Trial , but was pardoned and released in 1951 . Military career . Early years , World War I and Interwar period . Ernst von Leyser was born in 1889 in Steglitz . He entered military service by joining the " Kaiserliche Armee " on 24 March 1909 , at the age of 20 with the rank of Leutnant . He was initially assigned to the 5th Foot Guards but upon the outbreak of World War I in 1914 he was transferred to the 1st Guards Reserve Regiment . He served in various positions in his regiment and eventually reached the rank of Hauptmann during the summer of 1918 , a few months before the end of the war . After the capitulation of the German Empire and the drastical downsizing of the German Army ( renamed to Reichswehr ) he remained in army service in the 115th Infantry Regiment until 31 December 1920 , when he was transferred to the " Polizei " . There , he rose to the rank of Major in 1922 . Upon Adolf Hitler ' s rise to power in 1933 , Nazi Germany ' s armed forces ( the " Wehrmacht " ) started a massive rearmament , ignoring the Versailles treaty . Subsequently , von Leyser was called back to the Wehrmacht on 15 March 1935 and was promoted to Oberstleutnant . He went on to command the 77th Infantry Regiment and the " Panzerabwehr - Abteilung 2 " ( 2nd Anti - tank Battalion ) in his hometown . He reached the rank of Oberst in 1937 and he was appointed commander of the Panzerabwehrtruppe XIV in Magdeburg . Shortly before the German invasion of Poland in 1939 he was commander of the " Infanterie - Ersatz - Regiment 6 " ( 6th Infantry Reserve Regiment ) . World War II . Von Leyser did not participate in the invasion of Poland , as he commanded a reserve formation . Following the favorable outcome of the campaign , he was transferred to the Infanterie - Regiment 169 , with which he took part in the invasion of France . On 1 February 1941 he was promoted to Generalmajor and two months later he was appointed commander of the 269 . Infanterie - Division . As part of the Army Group North , the division fought in northern Soviet Union after the launching of Operation Barbarossa . On 18 September 1941 he was awarded the renowned Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross and was promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 October 1942 , while simultaneously given command of the XXVI . Armeekorps in Leningrad . On 1 December 1942 von Leyser received his final promotion to General der Infanterie and assumed command of the XXVI . Armeekorps . Almost a year later , he was assigned to lead the XV . Gebirgs . - Armeekorps , which was fighting against Yugoslav partisans in Croatia . On 20 July 1944 ( coincidentally , the day of the failed assassination of Adolf Hitler ) he switched command with General der Panzertruppe Gustav Fehn , commander of the XXI . Gebirgs . - Armeekorps in the Balkans . On 29 April 1945 , a few days before the unconditional surrender of Germany to the Allied Forces , he was relieved from his command and was captured by United States forces on 8 May , the day of the unconditional surrender of the German forces to the Western Allies . He was proved to be somehow lucky , as both Fehn and his successor , Generalleutnant Hartwig von Ludwiger , were executed by the Yugoslavians , with only the latter standing trial . Trial , imprisonment and later life . Von Leyser was tried , as subordinate to " Generaloberst " Dr . Lothar Rendulic , along with 12 other high - ranking German officers in the so - called Hostages Trial , from 13 May 1947 to 19 February 1948 . He was indicted and found guilty of mistreatment of POW s and partisans , as well as harassment and excessive reprisals against civilians ( especially for those committed in Croatia ) and was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment in December 1947 . However , on 31 January 1951 John J . McCloy , the US High Commissioner in Germany and General Thomas T . Handy , Commander in Chief of United States European Command , pardoned 89 German officers convicted of war crimes , among them von Leyser , who was subsequently released four days later , on 3 February 1951 . Ernst von Leyser died in Garstedt on 23 September 1962 , at the age of 73 .