The Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of World War II and Their Commanders by Samuel W. Mitcham Jr

Author:Samuel W. Mitcham Jr. [Mitcham, Samuel W. Jr.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-03-15T16:00:00+00:00

Heinrich Krampf (b. 1888) was a veteran infantry officer from Bavaria. He commanded the 31st Infantry Regiment (1938-40), 16th Infantry Division (1940-41), 304th Infantry Division (1940-42), Military Area Command 579 (1942-end of 1943) and Rear Area Command, 4th Army (1944-45). He was promoted to lieutenant general on December 12, 1941. He fell ill during the drive through Belgium and was replaced by Hube on May 15, 1940. Krampf was immediately evacuated back to Germany for hospitalization.

As a lieutenant in the infantry, Hans Hube (1890-1944) lost an arm at Verdun in the First World War. He rehabilitated himself and was commanding an infantry company in the trenches when the war ended. The only handicapped officer selected for retention in the Reichsheer, Hube never allowed his handicap to stand in his way and, in fact, became an excellent skier. He was also an outstanding officer at all levels-one of the best Germany produced during World War II. He commanded the Infantry School at Doeberlitz (1935-39), the 3rd Infantry Regiment (1939-40), the 16th Motorized/Panzer Division (1940-42), and the XIV Panzer Corps (1942-43). Ordered out of Stalingrad on Hitler's personal command, Hube refused to go. The Fuehrer had to send in Gestapo agents, who literally forced him into the airplane at gunpoint. He oversaw the reconstitution of the XIV Panzer Corps, which he led with great distinction in the Sicilian campaign. He served briefly in Italy before being sent back to Russia, where he commanded the 1st Panzer Army with great skill and courage (November, 1943-44). After this army was encircled far behind Soviet lines, Hube formed a floating pocket and led it all the way back to German lines-one of the greatest tactical feats of the war. On April 20, 1944-Hitler's birthdaythe Fuehrer entertained Hube at Berchtesgaden and decorated him with the Diamonds to his Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Earmarked to command an army group, Hube boarded an airplane to return to Russia the next day, but it crashed shortly after takeoff, killing everyone on board. A great leader of fighting men, Hube was known throughout the German Army as "der Mensch"-"the Man."

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