France and Soviet Union On 1 March 1940, Ludwiger was appointed commander of the 83rd Infantry Regiment of the
28th Infantry Division, with which he took part in the
Invasion of France.
Yugoslavia Ludwiger was posted as commander of the
704th Infantry Division in
Yugoslavia on 20 February 1943. Ludwiger was quite active in the anti-
Partisan operations. In particular, he was placed in command of a unit consisting mainly of the 724th Jäger Regiment and a
Bulgarian regiment, designated
Kampfgruppe von Ludwiger (Battle Group von Ludwiger). Aided by the
Italian Taurinense Division,
Kampfgruppe Ludwiger was tasked with the obliteration of armed guerrillas in the area of
Montenegro, mainly
Chetniks and
Tito's communist partisans. This campaign was launched on 20 May under the codename
Fall Schwarz (
Case Black).
Greece , in public view, Greece 1943 Upon completion of Operation Black, 104th Jäger Division was ordered to move to Western
Greece. While on march to
Agrinio, on 10 July, the 2nd Company of the division's Pioneer Battalion was ambushed near the
Trichonida Lake by Greek guerrillas, who were reported to be dressed like British soldiers. Two officers and 16 soldiers were killed, while another 20 were wounded and several vehicles were destroyed. The next day, an officer was killed from a hand grenade tossed on his vehicle. Ludwiger, installing his headquarters in
Agrinio, applied to carry out his usual reprisal tactics against civilians, but this time his request was rejected from the staff of
Army Group "E", as the Germans initially tried to maintain good relations with the Greek population. Despite this, German forces razed a village near
Nafpaktos and executed 12 "suspicious gangsters". After the
Allied invasion of Sicily, Italian forces signed an
armistice with the Allied troops. The Germans were prepared for this possibility and launched
Operation Achse to forcibly disarm Italian troops in southern France and the Balkans. The 1st Company of the 724th Battalion of Ludwiger's division was ordered to disarm the Italian garrison in
Kefalonia along with the
1st Mountain Division, something that resulted in one of the largest executions of
POWs to be committed during World War II: the
massacre of the Acqui Division in September 1943. Ludwiger was promoted to
Generalleutnant on 1 January 1944. As of August 1944, Ludwiger's forces continued the reprisals against the Greek population, now aided by
SS divisions. Ludwiger wrote in his report that Ludwiger and the surviving elements of his division, which had suffered heavy casualties in the Balkans, were captured towards the end of the war. His successor in command of 104th Jäger Division,
Generalleutnant Friedrich Stephan was captured as well and was shot in
Ljubljana along with three other generals without trial from
Yugoslav partisans in early June. ==Trial and conviction==