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Franz Westhoven
__NOTOC__ Franz Westhoven (7 December 1894 – 9 October 1983) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded several panzer divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Westhoven served in the Army personnel office at the start of World War II, where he had been from 1934 to 1940, and then took command of the 1st Rifle Regiment in October 1941 as an ''oberst'' (colonel) (promoted on 1 November 1939), and led this unit into Operation Barbarossa as part of 1st Panzer Division in Army Group North. In February 1942, he took command of the 3rd Rifle Brigade, which later became the 3rd Panzergrendier Brigade. He was given command of the 3rd Panzer Division on 1 October 1942, and was promoted to ''generalleutnant'' on 1 May 1943, but was wounded in action on 20 October 1943. Returning to active service on 1 February 1944, he served as an advisor under his mentor Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg in Panzer Group West, had two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Army (Wehrmacht)
The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the German Air Force, ''Luftwaffe'' (German Air Force). , the German Army had a strength of 62,766 soldiers. History Overview A German army equipped, organized, and trained following a single doctrine and permanently unified under one command in 1871 during the unification of Germany under the leadership of Prussia. From 1871 to 1919, the title ''German Army (German Empire), Deutsches Heer'' (German Army) was the official name of the German land forces. Following the German defeat in World War I and the end of the German Empire, the main army was dissolved. From 1921 to 1935 the name of the German land forces was the ''Reichswehr, Reichsheer'' (Army of the Empire) and from 1935 to 1945 the name ''German Army (We ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Army Group North
Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high command, and coordinated the operations of attached separate army corps, reserve formations, rear services and logistics, including the Army Group North Rear Area. Operational history The Army Group North was created on the 2 September 1939 by reorganization of the 2nd Army Headquarters. Commander in Chief as of 27 August 1939 was Field Marshal Fedor von Bock. Invasion of Poland The first employment of Army Group North was in the invasion of Poland of 1939, where in September it controlled: * 3rd Army * 4th Army * a reserve of four divisions ** 10th Panzer Division ** 73rd Infantry Division ** 206th Infantry Division ** 208th Infantry Division. The Army Group was commanded by Fedor von Bock for the operation. After the end of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1983 Deaths
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the true Internet). * January 24 – Twenty-five members of the Red Brigades are sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1978 murder of Italian politician Aldo Moro. * January 25 ** High-ranking Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie is arrested in Bolivia. ** IRAS is launched from Vandenberg AFB, to conduct the world's first all-sky infrared survey from space. February * February 2 – Giovanni Vigliotto goes on trial on charges of polygamy involving 105 women. * February 3 – Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Fraser is granted a double dissolution of both houses of parliament, for elections on March 5, 1983. As Fraser is being granted the dissolution, Bill Hayden resigns as leader of the Australian Labor Party, and in the subsequ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1894 Births
Events January–March * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United States. * January 9 – New England Telephone and Telegraph installs the first battery-operated telephone switchboard, in Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was firs .... * February 12 ** French anarchist Émile Henry (anarchist), Émile Henry sets off a bomb in a Paris café, killing one person and wounding twenty. ** The barque ''Elisabeth Rickmers'' of Bremerhaven is wrecked at Haurvig, Denmark, but all crew and passengers are saved. * February 15 ** In Korea, peasant unrest erupts in the Donghak Peasant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heinrich Freiherr Von Lüttwitz
Diepold Georg Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz (6 December 1896 – 9 October 1969) was a Prussian Junker, Olympic equestrian, and German officer who served in both World Wars, retiring as a ''General der Panzertruppe''. Lüttwitz's team competed at the 1936 Summer games in Berlin but they came away without a medal. This failure was viewed as a disgrace by the Nazi regime and, as a consequence, he was left in professional obscurity for the next few years. He eventually went on to command two Panzer Divisions and the XLVII. ''Panzerkorps'' (47th Panzer Corps), where he earned infamy for his demand of the surrender of the American 101st Airborne Division. Early and Interwar years Lüttwitz excelled in school and, like many Prussian aristocrats, took up riding at an early age, becoming an accomplished equestrian. He was pursuing professional equestrianism when the First World War broke out. Despite the family tracing their military ancestry back to the 14th century and his father ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fritz Bayerlein
Fritz Hermann Michael Bayerlein (14 January 1899 – 30 January 1970) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He initially served as a staff officer, including with Erwin Rommel in the Afrika Korps. He then commanded the 3rd Panzer Division, the Panzer Lehr Division and LIII Army Corps in the European theatre. Bayerlein was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. World War II Bayerlein served as a staff officer of General Heinz Guderian for the invasion of Poland and the Battle of France. In Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, during June 1941, Bayerlein was assigned to Guderian's Panzer Group 2 staff. After the Battle of Kiev, Bayerlein was transferred to Generaloberst Erwin Rommel's staff. Bayerlein was moved to the Führerreserve in August 1942, then reassigned to the Afrika Korps as Chief of Staff. He served as a staff officer under the command of Generalmajor Walter Nehring beginning i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermann Breith
__NOTOC__ Hermann Albert Breith (7 May 1892 – 3 September 1964) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Breith commanded the III Army Corps. Awards * Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (10 September 1914) & 1st Class (30 July 1916) * Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords (28 October 1918) * Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg (16 April 1917) * Wehrmacht Long Service Award 1st Class (2 October 1936) * Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (23 September 1939) & 1st Class (2 October 1939) * Wound Badge in Black (1 June 1940) * Panzer Badge in Silver (20 May 1940) * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords ** Knight's Cross on 3 June 1940 as ''Oberst'' and commander of the 5. Panzer-Brigade ** 69th Oak Leaves on 31 January 1942 as ''Generalmajor'' and commander of the 3. Panzer-Division ** 48th Swords on 21 February 1944 as ''General der Panzer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Cross
The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leadership; and in silver for distinguished non-combat war service. The German Cross in Gold ranked higher than the Iron Cross First Class but below the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, while the German Cross in Silver ranked higher than the War Merit Cross First Class with Swords but below the Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords. Eligibility The German Cross was issued in two versions: gold and silver (the color of the laurel wreath around the swastika). The gold version was awarded to military personnel for repeated acts of bravery in combat, or of military leadership, with 6–8 acts as a rule of thumb. The silver version was awarded for multiple distinguished services in the war effort an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Front Medal
The Eastern Medal (german: Ostmedaille), officially the Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal (german: Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42, links=no), was a military award of the ''Wehrmacht'' which was created by ordinance of Adolf Hitler on 26 May 1942. The Eastern Medal was awarded to any member of the ''Wehrmacht'' and ''Waffen-SS'' "in recognition of experience in the struggle against the Bolshevik enemy and the Russian winter within the period from to ." It was also awarded posthumously to any service member who died in the line of duty within the Soviet Union. It was wryly called the ''Frozen Meat Medal'' or the "Order of the Frozen Flesh" (german: Gefrierfleischorden). Criteria ''Wehrmacht'' personnel qualified for the Eastern Medal after a minimum of 14 days in active combat; 30 air combat sorties; 60 days continuous of service in a combat zone; being wounded or suffering a "frozen limb", severe enough to warrant the issue of a Wound Badge, and it could be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honour Roll Clasp Of The Army
__NOTOC__ The Honour Roll Clasp (german: Ehrenblattspange) was a decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. There were different versions for the Army ('' Heer''), Air Force (''Luftwaffe'') and Navy (''Kriegsmarine''). History The Honour Roll of the German Army (german: Ehrenblatt des Deutschen Heeres) was first issued in July 1941 after the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The roll recorded the names of soldiers who had distinguished themselves in combat in an exceptional way, and was published in the Army Ordinance Gazette (''Heeres-Verordnungsblatt''). Until 30 January 1944 it was a paper award only. On this date, Adolf Hitler introduced a physical decoration to be worn in uniform by those who appeared on the Honour Roll. A similar Honour Roll of the German Navy (''Ehrentafel der Deutschen Kriegsmarine'') was instituted in February 1943, with a wearable decoration introduced in May 1944. The Honour Roll Clasp of the German Air Force (''Ehrenblatt der Deutschen Luftwa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honour Cross Of The World War 1914/1918
The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (german: Das Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges 1914/1918), commonly, but incorrectly, known as the Hindenburg Cross or the German WWI Service Cross was established by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, President of the German Weimar Republic, by an order dated 13 July 1934, to commemorate service of the German people during the First World War. This was Germany's first official service medal for soldiers of Imperial Germany who had taken part in the war, and where they had since died it was also awarded to their surviving next-of-kin. Shortly after its issuance, the government of Nazi Germany declared the award as the only official service decoration of the First World War and further forbade the continued wearing of German Free Corps awards on any military or paramilitary uniform of a state or Nazi Party organization. The Honour Cross was awarded in three forms: * - for front-line veterans, with swords * - for non-combatant veterans, witho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia established it on 17 March 1813 during the Napoleonic Wars (EK 1813). The award was backdated to the birthday (10 March) of his late wife, Queen Louise. Louise was the first person to receive this decoration (posthumously). Recommissioned Iron Cross was also awarded during the Franco-Prussian War (EK 1870), World War I (EK 1914), and World War II (EK 1939). During the 1930s and World War II, the Nazi regime superimposed a swastika on the traditional medal. The Iron Cross was usually a military decoration only, though there were instances awarded to civilians for performing military functions, including Hanna Reitsch, who received the Iron Cross, 2nd class, and Iron Cross, 1st Class, and Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg, who received ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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