Arthur Hauffe

Arthur Hauffe
Born 20 December 1892
Wittgensdorf
Died 22 July 1944 (aged 51)
near Lviv, Ukraine
Allegiance  German Empire (to 1918)
 Weimar Republic (to 1933)
 Nazi Germany
Service/branch Heer
Years of service 1912–44
Rank General der Infanterie
Commands held 46. Infanterie-Division
XIII. Armeekorps
Battles/wars

World War I
World War II

Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Arthur Hauffe (20 December 1892 – 22 July 1944) was a German career soldier. He became General der Infanterie in the Wehrmacht during World War II and commanded the XIII. Armeekorps. He was recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Role in Romania during World War II

While he was Chief of the German Army Mission in Romania, he signed on 30 August 1941 with General Nicolae Tătăranu of the Romanian War Headquarters the “Agreement for the Security, Administration, and Economic Exploitation of the Territory between the Dniester and the Bug and the Bug-Dnieper.” Paragraph 7 of the agreement dealt with the Jews in the camps and ghettos of Bessarabia and Bukovina and the Jewish inhabitants of Transnistria: “The evacuation of the Jews across the Bug is not possible now. They must therefore be concentrated in labor camps and used for various work until, once the operations are over, their evacuation to the East will be possible.” The agreement made clear that the ultimate goal was to “cleanse” the relevant territories of their Jewish inhabitants.

Role in German defeats in the northern Ukraine

Arthur Hauffe was General of Infantry during the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive. The Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive was a major Red Army operation to force the German troops from Ukraine and Eastern Poland which was launched in mid July 1944. During this military engagement, General Hauffe failed to prepare for the withdrawal of his troops when they were threatened by encirclement. He also failed to show up at headquarters during the final phase of the offensive from 20 July 1944 to 22 July 1944 thus forcing Lieutenant General Wolfgang Lange to assume command of the XIII.Armeekorps. General Hauffe's inaction condemned the three XIII.Armeekorps divisions and Korps-Abteilung C in the Brody salient to annihilation by the Red Army. He was captured by Soviet troops on 22 July 1944 and died later the same day when he stepped on a land mine.

Awards and decorations

References

Citations
  1. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 179.
Bibliography
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 – Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die 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 [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • Mitcham Samuel W. (2007). "The German Defeat in the East, 1944-45." United States: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3371-7.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
Generalleutnant Ernst Haccius
Commander of 46. Infanterie-Division
7 February 1943 – 13 February 1943
Succeeded by
Oberst Karl von Le Suire
Preceded by
Oberst Karl von Le Suire
Commander of 46. Infanterie-Division
27 February 1943 – 20 August 1943
Succeeded by
Generalmajor Kurt Röpke
Preceded by
General der Infanterie Friedrich Siebert
Commander of XIII. Armeekorps
7 September 1943 – 25 April 1944
Succeeded by
Generalleutnant Johannes Block
Preceded by
Generalleutnant Johannes Block
Commander of XIII. Armeekorps
5 June 1944 – 22 July 1944
Succeeded by
General der Infanterie Hans Felber