Ernst von Leyser

Ernst Ulrich Hans von Leyser was a German General der Infanterie during World War II who commanded various Army Corps and recipient of the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knights Cross was Nazi Germanys highest award for military gallantry and was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. After the war, in 1947, Leyser was tried for war crimes committed in the Balkans and sentenced to ten years of imprisonment during the Hostages Trial he was pardoned and released in 1951.

Ernst Leyser was born in 1889 in Steglitz. He entered military service by joining the Kaiserliche Armee onMarch 1909, at the age ofwith 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.

Source: Wikipedia