Background
Maximilian de Angelis was born on October 2, 1889 in Budapest, present Hungary.
Maximilian de Angelis was born on October 2, 1889 in Budapest, present Hungary.
As a full colonel he was an instructor in the Vienna War Academy in 1938 when the Anschluss occurred. De Angelis was accepted into the Wchrmacht and promoted to Generalmajor on 1 Apr 1938. He was chief of artillery in the 15th Mtzd Corps before starting an infantry career as commander of the 76th Inf “Berlin-Brandenburg" Div. Promoted to Generalleutnant, he led the division in Poland. France, and southern Russia, winning the RK, awarded 20 Feb 1942 for action during the winter in the southern Ukraine. Promoted to head the 44th Corps (1 Mar 1942), Gen of Arty de Angelis was awarded the Oakleaves (323/890) on 12 Nov 1943 for his performance during six months of sustained action (to June 1943) around the Kuban bridgehead (ibid.). After briefly heading the reconstituted 6th Army, he took over the 2d Pz Army on 18 July 1944, and for the rest of the war was heavily engaged in Yugoslavia and his homelands, Hungary and southern Austria. The 2d Army was disbanded in May 1945, and the craggy Austro-Hungarian, wearing the Romanian Military Order among his many decorations, was imprisoned by the Soviets with other Wehrmacht senior officers. He was freed in 1955 to live at home in retirement after more than half a century of military service.