A Wisdom Archive on Marita

Her married name is Marita Koch Meier. During her career she collected a remarkable sixteen world records in outdoor sprints, as well as 14 world records in indoor events. Her first world record was set in 1977 in Milan, Italy running 400 metres indoors in 51.8 seconds. In the following year, Koch set her first outdoor record at 400 metres in 49.19 seconds. She topped this with another two world records within a month. Marita was unable to compete at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada due to injury, but had been considered a certai ...

Read more here: » Marita Koch: Encyclopedia II - Marita Koch - Career

Operation Marita was the plan to attack and defeat Greece. Balkans Campaign - Order of Battle for Operation Marita. 6 April 1941 – 3 May 1941 Reserves directly commanded by the OKH 4th Panzer Division (Generalmajor Willibald Freiherr Von Langermann und Erlenkamp) 12th Panzer Division (Generalmajor Josef Harpe) 19th Panzer Division (Generalmajor Otto Von Knobelsdorff) 100th Light Division (Generalleutnant Werner Sanne) 1 ...

Read more here: » Balkans Campaign: Encyclopedia II - Balkans Campaign - Operation Marita

Albania's territorial integrity was confirmed at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, after U.S. President Woodrow Wilson dismissed a plan by the European powers to divide Albania amongst its neighbors. With the complete collapse of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires after World War I, the Albanians looked to Italy for protection against predators. After 1925, however, Benito Mussolini sought to dominate Albania. In 1928 Albania became a kingdom under Zog I, the conservati ...

Read more here: » Balkans Campaign: Encyclopedia II - Balkans Campaign - Background

Following the LSSAH's outstanding performance during Marita, Himmler ordered that it should be upgraded to divisional status. As such, the Regiment, already the size of a reinforced brigade, was redesignated SS-Division (mot.) Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. Despite this, there was no time to refit the division to full divisional status before the launch of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, and so t ...

Read more here: » Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler: Encyclopedia II - Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler - Barbarossa

Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler - Infanterie-Regiment mot Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler - April 1941 - Operation Marita. Regimentstab (SS-Gruppenführer Josef Dietrich) I.Infanterie-Bataillon (mot) - (SS-Sturmbannführer Fritz Witt) II.Infanterie-Bataillon (mot) - (SS-Sturmbannführer Theodor Wisch) III.Infanterie-Bataillon (mot) - (SS-Sturmbannführer Weidenhaupt) IV.Infanterie-Bataillon (mot) - (SS-Sturmbannführer Jahnke) V.Infanterie-Battaillon (mot) - ( ...

Read more here: » Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler: Encyclopedia II - Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler - Orders of battle

After the conclusion of the Western campaign, the LSSAH was expanded to brigade size. Despite this, it retained the designation regiment. A FlaK battalion and a StuG abteilung were among the formations added to the LSSAH. During the later months of 1940, the regiment trained in amphibious assaults in preparation for Operation Seelöwe. After the failure of the Battle of Britain and the cancellation of the operation, the LSSAH was shifted to Bulgaria in preparation f ...

Read more here: » Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler: Encyclopedia II - Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler - Brigade status – Balkans

In the earliest days of the NSDAP, it was realised by the leaders that bodyguard units comprising trustworthy and loyal men would be a wise development. Ernst Röhm formed a guard formation from the 19.Granatwerfer-Kompanie, and from this formation the Sturmabteilung (SA) soon evolved. Adolf Hitler, realising the potential threat that the SA had presented, in early 1923 ordered the formation of a bodyguard for himself. The tiny unit, originally formed by only Julius Schreck and Joseph Berchtold, was designated the Stabswache. The guar ...

Read more here: » Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler: Encyclopedia II - Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler - Early history 1923-1933

In early 1934, Heinrich Himmler, the Reichsführer-SS, ordered that the Leibstandarte be renamed Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH). In late June, the LSSAH was called into action for the first time. Ernst Röhm, the Stabschef-SA, began to push for greater power for his already powerful SA. Hitler decided that the SA had to be put in its place, and ordered Himmler and Hermann Göring to prepare their élite units, Himmler's Leibstandarte and Göring's Landespolizeigruppe General Göring< ...

Read more here: » Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler: Encyclopedia II - Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler - Trial by fire – Leibstandarte expands