Josef Harpe

Josef Harpe

Josef Harpe
Born 21 September 1887(1887-09-21)
Buer
Died 14 March 1968(1968-03-14) (aged 80)
Nuremberg
Allegiance German Empire (to 1918)
Weimar Republic (to 1933)
Nazi Germany
Service/branch Heer
Years of service 1909-1945
Rank Generaloberst
Commands held 9. Armee
12. Panzer-Division
XXXXI.Panzerkorps
Battles/wars World War I
World War II
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Josef Harpe (21 September 1887 – 14 March 1968) was a German Generaloberst who served during World War I and World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. 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.

Harpe was born in Buer which is part of Gelsenkirchen, Province of Westphalia, and died in Nuremberg, Bavaria.

Contents

Military career

Herr Harpe joined the Prussian Army on September 28, 1909 as Fahnenjunker and was transferred to the Infantry Regiment 56 in 1911. Here he was promoted to Leutnant on March 20 and participated with this regiment in World War I. By the end of World War I he held the position of company commander.

After the war Harpe remained in the Reichswehr military service. In 1931, under the pseudonym Direktor Hacker, he held a leading position in the secret German-Russian Tank-School (Organisation Kama) in Kazan, Soviet Union. He was promoted to Oberstleutnant on August 1, 1934 and became commander of Panzer-Regiment 3 on October 15, 1935. He was again promoted on January 1, 1937, he was put in charge of the 1st Panzerbrigade holding the rank of Oberst. In 1940 he took over as Commandant of the Panzer Troops School Wünsdorf. After serving on the Eastern Front, by 1945 he ended up as the General Officer Commanding 5th Panzer Army, Western Front, with the rank of Generaloberst and was held as a prisoner of war by the United States until 1948 [1].

Awards

References

Citations
  1. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 214.
  2. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 57.
  3. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 41.
Bibliography
  • Berger, Florian (2000). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Wien, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
  • Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 - 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II. Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
  • Schaulen, Fritjof (2003). Eichenlaubträger 1940 - 1945 Zeitgeschichte in Farbe I Abraham - Huppertz (in German). Selent, Germany: Pour le Mérite. ISBN 3-932381-20-3.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • Helden der Wehrmacht III - Unsterbliche deutsche Soldaten (in German). München, Germany: FZ-Verlag GmbH, 2007. ISBN 978-3-924309-82-4.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
Paul Bader		 Commander of 2. Infanterie-Division
5 October 1940 – 10 January 1941		 Succeeded by
12. Panzerdivision
Preceded by
2. Infanterie-Division		 Commander of 12. Panzerdivision
10 January 1941 – 15 January 1942		 Succeeded by
Generalleutnant Walter Wessel
Preceded by
none		 Commander of XXXXI Panzerkorps
10 July 1942 – 15 October 1943		 Succeeded by
General of Artillery Helmuth Weidling
Preceded by
Generaloberst Erhard Raus		 Commander of 4. Panzer-Armee
18 May 1944 – 28 June 1944		 Succeeded by
General der Panzertruppen Walther Nehring
Preceded by
Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model		 Commander of 9. Armee
4 November 1943 – 19 May 1944		 Succeeded by
General Hans Jordan
Preceded by
General der Panzertruppen Hasso von Manteuffel		 Commander of 5. Panzer-Armee
8 March 1945 – 17 April 1945		 Succeeded by
none
Colonel general
(Generaloberst)
of the Army
Colonel general
(Generaloberst)
of the Luftwaffe
General admiral
(Generaladmiral)
Oberstgruppenführer
(SS or Waffen-SS)