Johannes Frießner

Who was Johannes Frießner?

Johannes Friessner was a German general during World War II.

Born in Chemnitz, Kingdom of Saxony, Friessner enlisted in the German Army in 1911 and, after seeing extensive duty during World War I, served in the Reichswehr following the war.

After his promotion to Generalmajor on 1 August 1940, during World War II, Friessner was assigned to the Eastern Front where, on 1 May 1942, he would be placed in command of the 102nd Infantry Division. Shortly after his promotion to Generalleutnant on 1 October 1942, Friessner served as commander of the XXIII Corps from 19 January to 11 December 1943.

In February 1944, Friessner was transferred to the Northern Front and assigned command to Sponheimer Group. Winning promotion to Generaloberst on 1 July, Friessner held briefly command of Army Group North until 25 July before being sent to the southern front to command South Ukraine Army Group. Unable to halt the four month Soviet offensive by Marshal Rodion Malinovsky's Second Ukrainian Front, Friessner was relieved of his command on 22 December. Holding no further command for remainder of the war, Friessner would live in retirement in Bayerisch Gmain until his death on 26 June 1971.