Years of service 1910–45 Rank General der Infanterie | Name Gustav-Adolf Zangen Service/branch German Army | |
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Battles/wars World War IWorld War IIBattle of the BulgeBattle of the ScheldtOperation Market GardenOperation Blackcock Similar People Harry Crerar, Miles Dempsey, Erich Brandenberger, Walter Model, Wilhelm Bittrich | ||
Gustav-Adolf von Zangen (7 November 1892 – 1 May 1964) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II and a commander of the 15th Army in the Netherlands in 1944 during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.
Born in 1892, Zangen joined the army and served during World War I, receiving the Iron Cross. During World War II, he commanded 17th Infantry Division in on the Eastern Front, 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 other divisions, across the Scheldt to the island of Walcheren and South Beveland.
There, they were attacked during the Battle of the Scheldt 2 October-8 November 1944. He deployed his force against the Allied advance into the Netherlands. On 24 October 1944 his headquarters in Dordrecht were bombed by the RAF. During the Ardennes offensive starting 16 December 1944, his 15th Army was tasked with fixing the British and U.S. forces north of the Bulge (see also Operation Blackcock, Operation Grenade.) Zangen surrendered in April 1945 in the Ruhr Pocket. He died in 1964 in Hanau.