Hasso von Manteuffel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hasso-Eccard Freiherr von Manteuffel (January 14, 1897 — September 24, 1978) was a German soldier and liberal politician of the 20th century. He served in both of the world wars, and during World War II he was a distinguished General. He was a tank commander noted for his tactical skill and was one of only 27 holders of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds. After the war he was elected to Parliament and was the spokesman for defense of the Liberal Party. A prominent proponent of rearmament, he was responsible for coining the new name for the post-WW2 German Army, the Bundeswehr.
Contents |
[edit] Early life up to 1932
Von Manteuffel was born in Potsdam to a respected Prussian aristocratic family. In 1908 he became a cadet in a military school. He joined the Imperial German Army on February 22, 1916 as an officer in a Hussar regiment. His World War I service began in April 1916 with the 5th Squadron of 3rd Hussar Regiment, attached to the 6th Prussian Infantry Division on the Western Front. He was wounded on October 12, fighting in France. After recuperating, he returned to active service in February 1917 and was posted to the Divisional General Staff.
With the outbreak of the German Revolution in November 1918, he was assigned to guard the bridge over the Rhine at Köln against the revolutionaries and thus enable a safe withdrawal of the army from France and Belgium to Germany. Following the dissolution of Imperial Army, he entered the Freikorps in January 1919. After the establishment of the Weimar Republic, he joined the newly created Reichswehr and was assigned to the 25th Cavalry Regiment at Rathenow in May 1919. He married Armgard von Kleist, the niece of Ewald von Kleist, on June 23, 1921. They had two children. During the early 1920s, he was a squad leader with the 3rd Prussian Mounted Regiment, later becoming the Regimental Adjutant. On February 1, 1930, he became the commander of the Technical Squad.
[edit] 1932 to 1945
On October 1, 1932, von Manteuffel was transferred to the 17th Bavarian Mounted Regiment at Bamberg, serving as a squadron commander. Two years later, on October 1, 1934 he was transferred again, this time to the Mounted Regiment “Erfurt”. On October 15, 1935 he was appointed commander of the 2nd Motorcycle Rifle Battalion of Heinz Guderian’s 2nd Panzer Division. From 1936 to 1937 he served as a major on the staff of the 2nd Panzer Division and as a training officer of cadets and cadet officers. On February 25, 1937 he became a consultant in the Panzer Troop Command of the OKH, and on February 1, 1939 a senior professor at Panzer Troop School II in Berlin-Krampnitz. He remained there until 1941, thus missing out on the campaigns in Poland and France.
On May 1, 1941, von Manteuffel was appointed commander of the 1st Battalion, 7th Rifle Regiment of the 7th Panzer Division. With this unit that he entered World War II combat, serving under Hermann Hoth’s Panzer Group 3 of the Army Group Centre in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. On August 25, 1941 he took over the 6th Rifle Regiment of the 7th Panzer Division after its commander was killed in action. In May 1942, after having engaged in heavy fighting around Moscow in the winter of 1941–1942, the 7th Panzer Division was transferred to France for refitting. On July 15, 1942, while the division was still recuperating in France, von Manteuffel was made the commander of the 7th Panzer Grenadier Brigade of the 7th Panzer Division.
In early 1943, von Manteuffel was sent to Africa, where on February 5 he became the commander of the Division "von Manteuffel", serving in Hans-Jürgen von Arnim's 5th Panzer Army of Erwin Rommel's Army Group Afrika. Here von Manteuffel took part in defensive operations during the Battle of Tunisia, conducting a successful counteroffensives that tied down Allied forces. In the midst of heavy fighting, he collapsed from exhaustion on March 31, and was evacuated back to Germany. On May 1, 1943, while still recovering, von Manteuffel was promoted to the rank of Major General for his exploits in Africa.
After recuperating, von Manteuffel was made the commander of the 7th Panzer Division on August 22, 1943 and was once again on the Eastern Front, which had by now collapsed following the Battle of Kursk and the resulting Soviet counteroffensive. Despite being wounded in the back in a Soviet air attack on August 26, 1943 he stayed on, battling in Ukraine. After ferocious fighting at Kharkov, Belgorod and along the Dnieper River, he succeeded in bringing the Red Army offensive to a halt. In late November, he managed to recapture Zhitomir thus saving the almost encircled 8th Panzer Division north of the city.
As a result, von Manteuffel was made the commander of the elite Grenadier Division “Großdeutschland” on February 1, 1944. Fighting with “Großdeutschland”, he was engaged in a series of intense defensive battles west of Kirovograd, then withdrawing across Ukraine he reorganized in Romania in late March 1944. He engaged in a series of successful defensives in northern Romania through June, when the exhausted “Großdeutschland” was moved into reserve for a refit. In late July “Großdeutschland” was ordered to East Prussia, which was being threatened after the Red Army crushed Army Group Centre in Operation Bagration. Here he launched a successful but costly counterattack into Lithuania, managing to stabilize the front, but failing to break through to the Courland Pocket, where Army Group North was trapped after the decimation of Army Group Centre.
On September 1, 1944, von Manteuffel was promoted to General of Panzer Troops (General der Panzertruppen) and given command of the Fifth Panzer Army, fighting on the Western Front. After engaging in heavy combat in Lorraine against George S. Patton’s Third Army, the unit was withdrawn to reserve and began refitting for the upcoming Ardennes Offensive. Although he was assigned a support role, von Manteuffel’s 5th Panzer Army achieved one of the deepest penetrations of Allied lines during the offensive, almost reaching the Meuse River. This penetration included the Battle of Bastogne.
On March 10, 1945, von Manteuffel was made the commander of the Third Panzer Army on the Eastern Front. Von Manteuffel's panzer army was part of Army Group Vistula. General Gotthard Heinrici was the Commander-in-Chief of this army group.
The Third Panzer Army was assigned to defend the banks of Oder River north of the Seelow Heights. This position, if held, would prevent a Soviet thrust into Western Pomerania and then into Berlin. But von Manteuffel was faced with an overwhelming attack launched by General Konstantin Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front during the Battle of Berlin.
On April 25, the 2nd Belorussian Front broke through Third Panzer Army's line around the bridgehead south of Stettin. The Soviets crossed the Randow Swamp. Von Manteuffel was forced to retreat to Mecklenburg. Around April 28, he was offered Heinrici's command of Army Group Vistula and turned down the promotion. On May 3, 1945, von Manteuffel surrendered his troops to the western Allies and thus escaped capture by the Soviets.
[edit] 1945 to 1978
Manteuffel was held in an Allied POW camp until September 1947. After his release, he entered politics and was a representative of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP) in the German Bundestag from 1953 to 1957. He was also an honored guest in the United States, visiting the Pentagon and, by the invitation by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the White House. In 1968 he lectured at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and also worked as a technical adviser on war films.
Hasso von Manteuffel died in Reith im Alpbachtal, Tyrol, Austria on September 24, 1978.
Note regarding personal names: Freiherr is a title, translated as Baron, not a first or middle name. The female forms are Freifrau and Freiin.
[edit] References
- Grey Brownlow, Donald (1975). Panzer Baron: the military exploits of General Hasso von Manteuffel. North Quincy: The Christopher Publishing House. ISBN 0-8158-0325-7.
- von Manteuffel, Hasso (January 2000). The 7th Panzer Division: An Illustrated History of Rommel's "Ghost Division" 1938-1945. Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 0-7643-1208-1.
|
|
|
|---|---|
|
Werner Mölders | Adolf Galland | Gordon Gollob | Hans-Joachim Marseille | Hermann Graf | Erwin Rommel | Wolfgang Lüth | Walter Nowotny | Adelbert Schulz | Hans-Ulrich Rudel | Hyazinth Graf von Strachwitz | Herbert Otto Gille | Hans-Valentin Hube | Albert Kesselring | Helmut Lent | Sepp Dietrich | Walter Model | Erich Hartmann | Hermann Balck | Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke | Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer | Albrecht Brandi |
|
