Hans-Ulrich Back (26 August 1896 – 14 February 1976) was a German general in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

who held several divisional commands. He was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Family

Back was the son of a former Prussian Major-General, Ulrich Back (1864–1947) and his wife, Emmy Seebohm (1874–1915). The elder Back had served from 1910 to 1917 in the German military mission to the Ottoman Empire.Klaus Wolf: ''Gallipoli 1915. Das deutsch-türkische Militärbündnis im Ersten Weltkrieg.'' Report Verlag, Bonn 2008, ISBN 978-3-932385-29-2, S. 234.

World War I

On 4 August 1914, Hans-Ulrich Back enlisted in the Ottoman army as a volunteer

Fahnenjunker ''Fahnenjunker'' (short Fhj or FJ, en, officer cadet; ) is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was establis ...

and in August, 1914 joined the Prussian army. On 19 October he was appointed Fahnenjunker in the 74th (1st Hannover) Infantry of the Imperial Army. From the middle of December, 1914 until February, 1915, he completed a training course in Döberitz and then was assigned to an infantry training battalion for a month. On 30 July 1915, he was promoted to Lieutenant. He went to the front with this regiment where he saw much combat and was injured many times in the next three years of the war. For his injuries he was awarded the Imperial Army's Silver Wound Badge. He was given many other awards, including two

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 est ...

es, for his other achievements during the war.

Interwar period

Immediately after the war he enlisted in the

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, regar ...

''Hasse'' Regiment, and then in the volunteer regiment "Haupt." Soon he was used in the transition army in the spring of 1920 at the Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 19 where, on 30 June 1920, he was discharged from active duty. He was awarded the rank of first lieutenant before being discharged. Shortly after his discharge from the now shrunken German army, he transferred to the police, where, on 20 June 1921, he was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. On 30 June 1926 he was promoted again to captain of the police. In the autumn of 1935 he made the change back to the

, which was again being expanded. He joined the 60th Infantry Regiment where, on 1 January 1936, he was promoted to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. On 12 October 1937, he was transferred to the Cavalry Rifle Regiment 4. The following year, on 1 February 1938, he was appointed commander of the 1st Battalion of the Rifle Regiment 2. Exactly one year later, on 1 February 1939, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and was commissioned to the leadership of the Rifle Regiment 2 within Panzer Division 2. This is where he would remain until the start of

World War II

During the Polish campaign, Back was awarded the clasps for his Iron Crosses. He then returned to the 1st Battalion, of which he had been commander the year before. In the spring of 1940 he led the 1st Battalion through Belgium and France in the western campaign, and received the

in August, days later being reassigned to the 304 Rifle Regiment. He won the previous Iron Cross for the capture of the Somme Bridge in France. Now at the 304th Rifle Regiment, he took part in the Balkan campaign and contributed to the invasion of Southern Russia, was redeployed to Central Russia, and was promoted to full

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

by 1 January 1942. He was reassigned that same year and saw many appointments including the 11th Panzer Greanadier Brigade, Commander of the Rapid Troops XVII, 16th Panzer Division, commander of the Panzertruppen X, 178th Panzer Division and the 232nd Panzer Division, where he had since been promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. On 28 March 1945, he was severely wounded on the Raab river in Hungary. He spent the end of the war in a hospital and avoided becoming a prisoner of war.

Awards and decorations

on 5 August 1940 as ''

Oberstleutnant () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedis ...

'' and commander of I./Schützen-Regiment 2

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Back, Hans-Ulrich 1896 births 1976 deaths 20th-century Freikorps personnel German Army personnel of World War I German Army generals of World War II Major generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) People from the Rhine Province People from Saarbrücken Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Military personnel from Saarland