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[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-209-0076-02, Russland, Georg-Hans Reinhardt, Walter Krüger.jpg|upright|thumb|right|Georg-Hans Reinhardt (2nd from left) and [[Walter Krüger (Heer general)|Walter Krüger]], 1941]] |
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-209-0076-02, Russland, Georg-Hans Reinhardt, Walter Krüger.jpg|upright|thumb|right|Georg-Hans Reinhardt (2nd from left) and [[Walter Krüger (Heer general)|Walter Krüger]], 1941]] |
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On October 5 he was given command of [[3rd Panzer Army|Third Panzer Army]] in [[Army Group Centre]] and took park in the |
On October 5 he was given command of [[3rd Panzer Army|Third Panzer Army]] in [[Army Group Centre]] and took park in the advance towards Moscow, [[Operation Typhoon]]. After the German defeat in the [[Battle of Moscow]], Third Panzer Army was driven back by Soviet counter-attack during the winter of 1941−42. Reinhardt was awarded Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross. |
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From early 1942 until June 1944, Third Panzer Army |
From early 1942 until June 1944, Third Panzer Army operated around [[Vitebsk]] and [[Smolensk]]. On 26 May 1944, Reinhardt was awarded Swords to his Knight's Cross. |
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But in June 1944, Third Panzer and the rest of Army Group Centre were shattered by [[Operation Bagration|a huge Soviet attack]] and driven back into Poland and East [[Prussia]]. |
But in June 1944, Third Panzer and the rest of Army Group Centre were shattered by [[Operation Bagration|a huge Soviet attack]] and driven back into Poland and East [[Prussia]]. |
Revision as of 05:33, 31 May 2016
Georg-Hans Reinhardt | |
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Born | Bautzen, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire | 1 March 1887
Died | 22 November 1963 Tegernsee, Bavaria, West Germany | (aged 76)
Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
Service/ | Heer |
Rank | Generaloberst |
Commands held | 4th Panzer Division XLI Panzer Corps Third Panzer Army Army Group Centre |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords |
Georg-Hans Reinhardt (1 March 1887 – 23 November 1963) was a German general and war criminal during World War II. He commanded Third Panzer Army from 1941 to 1944, and Army Group Centre in 1944 and 1945, reaching the rank of Generaloberst (colonel general). Following the war, Reinhardt was tried in the High Command Trial, as part of the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials. He was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced to 15 years. He was released in 1952.
Biography
Reinhardt was born in Bautzen, Saxony, and fought during World War I in an infantry regiment. In 1934, he was promoted to Major General in the German army. He commanded the 4th Panzer Division during the Invasion of Poland in September 1939. After the Polish campaign, Reinhardt was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and promoted to Lieutenant General. In the 1940 Battle of France, Reinhardt commanded the XXXXI Panzer Corps; he was promoted to General der Panzertruppe on 1 June 1940.
In 1941, Reinhardt and XXXXI Panzer Corps were deployed on the Eastern Front for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union in June. His force led the advance of Army Group North to the outskirts of Leningrad in October.
On October 5 he was given command of Third Panzer Army in Army Group Centre and took park in the advance towards Moscow, Operation Typhoon. After the German defeat in the Battle of Moscow, Third Panzer Army was driven back by Soviet counter-attack during the winter of 1941−42. Reinhardt was awarded Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross.
From early 1942 until June 1944, Third Panzer Army operated around Vitebsk and Smolensk. On 26 May 1944, Reinhardt was awarded Swords to his Knight's Cross.
But in June 1944, Third Panzer and the rest of Army Group Centre were shattered by a huge Soviet attack and driven back into Poland and East Prussia.
On 16 August 1944, Reinhardt was given command of Army Group Centre. In December, renewed Soviet attacks drove Army Group Centre out of Poland and back into northern Prussia. Reinhardt's shattered forces could not stem these overwhelming attacks, and this caused disputes with Hitler. Reinhardt retired from active duty in January 1945.
War crimes
In June 1945, Reinhardt was arrested by the United States Army as a war criminal. In 1947, he and thirteen other top German commanders were tried before a U.S. military court in Nuremberg. Reinhardt was found guilty of murder and ill-treatment of prisoners of war, and of murder, deportation, and hostage-taking of civilians in occupied countries. He was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, but was released in 1952 from the Landsberg Prison. He served as president of the Gesellschaft für Wehrkunde (Society for Military Science), present-day Gesellschaft für Wehr- und Sicherheitspolitik e.V., since 1954 and wrote numerous memoranda. For these services he received the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany on 24 November 1962.
Awards
- Iron Cross (1914)
- Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords
- Ritterkreuz der Königlich Sächsischer Militär-St. Heinrichs-Orden
- Cross of Honor
- Sudetenland Medal with Prague Castle Bar
- Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
- Wound Badge (1939)
- in Black
- Eastern Front Medal
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
- Knight's Cross on 27 October 1939 as Generalleutnant and commander of 4. Panzer-Division[2][3][4]
- 73rd Oak Leaves on 17 February 1942 as General der Panzertruppe and commander of 3. Panzergruppe[2][5][6]
- 68th Swords on 26 May 1944 as Generaloberst and commander of 3. Panzer-Armee[2][7][8]
- Mentioned three times in the Wehrmachtbericht (18 October 1941, 19 October 1941 and 21 January 1944)
- Great Cross of Merit (24 November 1962)
Dates of rank
- Oberst - 1 February 1934
- Generalmajor - 1 April 1937
- Generalleutnant - 1 October 1939
- General der Panzertruppe - 1 June 1940
- Generaloberst - 1 January 1942
Wehrmachtbericht references
Date | Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording | Direct English translation |
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Saturday, 18 October 1941 | [(Sondermeldung) An der Durchführung dieser Operationen waren die Armeen des Generalfeldmarschalls von Kluge, der Generalobersten Freiherr von Weichs und Strauß sowie Panzerarmeen der Generalobersten Guderian, Hoth, Hoeppner und des Generals der Panzertruppen Reinhardt beteiligt.] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)[9] | (Special Bulletin) In the execution of these operations were involved, the armies of Field Marshal von Kluge, the Colonel-Generals Freiherr von Weichs and Strauss as well as tank armies of Colonel-General Guderian, Hoth, Hoeppner and General of Panzer Troops Reinhardt. |
Sunday, 19 October 1941 | [An der Durchführung dieser Operationen waren die Armeen des Generalfeldmarschalls von Kluge, der Generalobersten Freiherr von Weichs und Strauß sowie Panzerarmeen der Generalobersten Guderian, Hoth, Hoeppner und des Generals der Panzertruppen Reinhardt beteiligt.] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)[10] | In the execution of these operations were involved, the armies of Field Marshal von Kluge, the Colonel-Generals Freiherr von Weichs and Strauss as well as tank armies of Colonel-General Guderian, Hoth, Hoeppner and General of Panzer Troops Reinhardt. |
21 January 1944 | [In der seit dem 13. Dezember 1943 andauernden großen Abwehrschlacht im Raum von Witebsk haben unsere unter dem Oberbefehl des Generalobersten Reinhardt stehenden Truppen den von den Sowjets unter Einsatz von über 50 Schützendivisionen und zahlreichen Panzerverbänden angestrebten operativen Durchbruch unserer Front in harten Kämpfen vereitelt und dem Feind starke Verluste zugefügt.] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)[11] | In the great defensive battle in the area of Vitebsk which is ongoing since 13 December 1943, our troops under the command of Colonel-General Reinhardt have blocked the operational breakthrough of our front by the Soviets, who deployed about 50 infantry divisions and numerous armored units, in hard fighting, and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. |
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d Thomas 1998, p. 193.
- ^ a b c Scherzer 2007, p. 620.
- ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 353.
- ^ Von Seemen 1976, p. 278.
- ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 58.
- ^ Von Seemen 1976, p. 28.
- ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 43.
- ^ Von Seemen 1976, p. 16.
- ^ Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 1, pp. 701–702.
- ^ Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 1, p. 702.
- ^ Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, p. .
Bibliography
- Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges (in German). Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-0-6.
{{cite book}}
: Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
{{cite book}}
: Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - 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 (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
{{cite book}}
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suggested) (help) - Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
{{cite book}}
: Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - Von Seemen, Gerhard (1976). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 : die Ritterkreuzträger sämtlicher Wehrmachtteile, Brillanten-, Schwerter- und Eichenlaubträger in der Reihenfolge der Verleihung : Anhang mit Verleihungsbestimmungen und weiteren Angaben (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7909-0051-4.
{{cite book}}
: Unknown parameter|trans_title=
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suggested) (help) - Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 1, 1. September 1939 bis 31. Dezember 1941 (in German). München, Germany: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 978-3-423-05944-2.
{{cite book}}
: Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, 1. January 1944 bis 9. Mai 1945 (in German). München, Germany: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 978-3-423-05944-2.
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Template:KCwithOLandSW Template:KCwithOL Template:Knight's Cross recipients of the 4th PD