Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller

Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller (29 August 1897 – 20 May 1947) was a General in the German army in World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He is notorious for having been the most brutal commander of occupied Crete, where he earned the nickname "The Butcher of Crete." After the war, he was tried by a Greek military court for war crimes, convicted and executed.

Pre-war and early war
In 1915 Müller joined the German 2nd Infantry Regiment. He became a second lieutenant in the 266th Regiment in 1915. In 1936 he became a major in the German army, and by 1940 was a lieutenant colonel and commander of the 105th Infantry Regiment. He was awarded the Knight's Cross in 1941 and received oak leaves in 1942 for operations in Russia.

Crete
In August 1942 General Müller took command of the 22nd Air Landing Infantry Division, which was transferred from the Eastern Front to garrison occupied Crete. In Crete, Müller became notorious for his brutality, and he was responsible for many of the atrocities committed on the island (e.g. the holocaust of Viannos, the destruction of Anogia and the Kedros villages of Amari, the execution of civilians in Damasta, etc.). During the autumn of 1943, he led the German forces in their victory over the Italian-British forces in the Dodecanese Campaign. On 1 July 1944 he replaced Bruno Brauer as Commander on Crete.

By 1945, Müller commanded the German 4th Army on the Eastern Front. The 4th Army had already been decimated by fighting in the Heiligenbeil Pocket by the time he assumed command. Müller ended the war in East Prussia and was captured by the Soviets.

In 1946, Müller was tried by a Greek court in Athens for the massacres of hostages for reprisals. He was sentenced to death on 9 December 1946 and executed by firing squad 20 May 1947, along with former General Bruno Bräuer, on the anniversary of the German invasion of Crete.

Ill Met by Moonlight
The original SOE plan, as described in the book Ill Met by Moonlight written by W. Stanley Moss, later made into a film, was to capture Müller, the commander of the Sebastopol division. But, he had been replaced by General Kreipe. SOE believed that Müller had left Crete, when he was in Hania replacing Brauer as the commander of the island. The operation to capture a general was carried out, nevertheless, as it was reckoned that one German general was as good as another.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1914)
 * 1st Class (25 May 1916)
 * 2nd Class (29 August 1916)
 * Prussian Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross with Swords
 * Wound Badge in Silver
 * Infantry Assault Badge
 * "Crimea" Shield
 * Bulgarian Military Order of Merit
 * Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
 * 1st Class (22 December 1939)
 * 2nd Class (12 June 1940)
 * German Cross in Gold on 18 June 1943 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 22. Infanterie-Division
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
 * Knight's Cross on 22 September 1941 as Oberstleutnant and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 105
 * 86th Oak Leaves on 8 April 1942 as Oberst and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 105
 * 128th Swords on 27 January 1945 as General der Infanterie and commanding general of the LXVIII. Armeekorps
 * Mentioned four times in the Wehrmachtbericht (19 January 1942, 18 November 1943, 10 March 1945 and 30 March 1945)