Johann Mickl

Generalleutnant Johann Mickl
Johann Mickl wearing the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Born	(1893-04-18)18 April 1893 Radkersburg, Austro-Hungarian Empire
Died	10 April 1945(1945-04-10) (aged 51) Rijeka, Yugoslavia
Allegiance	Austria–Hungary (1908–18) First Austrian Republic (1919–34) Federal State of Austria (1934–38)  Nazi Germany (1938–45)
Service/branch	Imperial-Royal Landwehr (Austria–Hungary) Austrian Army German Army
Years of service	1908–18 (Austria-Hungary) 1919–38 (Austria) 1938–45 (Nazi Germany)
Rank	Generalleutnant
Commands held	90th Light Infantry Division 11th Panzer Division 392nd (Croatian) Infantry Division
Battles/wars	World War I: Eastern Front Italian Front World War II: Invasion of Poland Battle of France North African Campaign Eastern Front World War II in Yugoslavia
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Order of the Iron Crown 3rd Class (Austria-Hungary) Military Merit Cross 3rd Class (Austria-Hungary) Military Merit Medal for Bravery in Silver and bar (Austria-Hungary)

Johann Mickl (18 April 1893 – 10 April 1945) was an Austrian-born Generalleutnant and division commander in the German Army during World War II, and was one of only 882 recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. He was commissioned shortly before the outbreak of World War I, and served with Austro-Hungarian forces on the Eastern and Italian Fronts as company commander in the Imperial-Royal Mountain Troops. During World War I he was decorated several times for bravery and leadership, and was wounded on several occasions, finishing the war as an Oberleutnant.

Immediately after the war, Mikl served in the Volkswehr militia which was formed to resist the incorporation of his home town of Radkersburg into the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He served with the Austrian Army from 1920 until the Anchluss in 1938, when it was absorbed by the Wehrmacht, and he transferred to the German Army as an Oberstleutnant. He commanded an anti-tank battalion during the invasion of Poland and Battle of France, during which he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class, and was promoted to Oberst. Through the intervention of a friend, the adjutant of Generalleutnant Erwin Rommel, under whose command he had served in France, Mickl was transferred to North Africa to command a rifle regiment. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his leadership of a kampfgruppe during the Battle of Sidi Rezegh, during which he and 800 of his soldiers were captured by New Zealand troops. Two days later he precipitated a successful mass escape from a prisoner of war collection point.