Hans Tröger (29 August 1896 – 21 January 1982) 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 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' ...

, awarded by Nazi Germany to recognise successful military leadership.

Biography

Born in 1896, Tröger entered the army of Imperial Germany in 1915 as a ''Fahnenjunker'' (officer cadet) and served as an engineer. After World War I, he remained in the military, serving in the '' Reichsheer''. From 1935 he was in the Wehrmacht and was posted to the Office of Mobile Troops at the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' (Armed Forces High Command), commonly known as OKW, for two years from 1938. Following the outbreak of World War II, he commanded of the 64th Motorcycle Battalion and then the 103rd Rifle Regiment. On 11 November 1942, he was appointed commander of the 27th Panzer Division, which at the time engaged in fighting as it retreated from the

Donets The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets, is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv, Don ...

. In early 1943 he left the Eastern Front to take up an appointment as commander of the School for Panzer Troops, based in Germany. He returned to divisional command when posted to the 25th Panzer Division on 20 November 1943. His new command was fighting on the Eastern Front around

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, in which it suffered heavy losses and further, significant, casualties were incurred in the retreat across the Ukraine. In April 1944, it was transferred to Denmark for a refit and Tröger, promoted to '' generalleutnant'' earlier that month, took over command of the

13th Panzer Division The 13th Panzer Division ( en, 13th Armoured Division) was a unit of the German Army during World War II, established in 1940. The division was organized under the code name Infantry Command IV (''Infanterieführer IV'') in October 1934. On O ...

. In September, the division took part in the fighting around Khisinev but found itself cut off. It had to break out and while some personnel made it to the German lines, Tröger led one element into Bulgaria and was captured by Bulgarian troops. After a period of internment, he was later handed over to the Soviet Union. He remained a prisoner of war until 1955.

Awards and decorations

* Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class & 1st Class * Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class & 1st Class * German Cross in Gold (15 November 1941) *

on 4 May 1944 as ''

generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...

'' and commander of 25th Panzer Division

Notes

;Footnotes ;Citations

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Troeger, Hans 1896 births 1982 deaths Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) German Army personnel of World War I Reichswehr personnel Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union People from Plauen People from the Kingdom of Saxony Military personnel from Saxony