Gustav Adolf von Zangen

GustavAdolf von Zangen was a German general and the commander of the German 15th Army in the Netherlands in 1944 during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves . The Knights Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Zangen was born in Darmstadt in the Grand Duchy of Hesse. He was a veteran of World War I, receiving the honour of the Iron Cross and reached the rank of first lieutenant by the end of the Great War. He had earlier in WWII commanded 17th Infantry Division in Russia, a Corps in France in 1943 and an Army detachment in Italy before being appointed to command the 15th Army on the Western Front. Having occupied the Pas de Calais during the 1944 campaign in France, Zangen was forced to evacuate his army, together with remnants of other divisions, across the Scheldt to the island of Walcheren and South Beveland. There, they were attacked during the Battle of the ScheldtOctober8 November 1944.

Source: Wikipedia