Hans–Ulrich Freiherr von Luck und Witten (15 July 1911 – 1 August 1997), usually shortened to Hans von Luck, was a German officer 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 ...
of
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 ...
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 ...
. Luck served with the
7th Panzer Division and
21st Panzer Division. Luck is author of the book ''Panzer Commander''.
Early life and interwar period
Luck was born in
Flensburg
Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...
, into a
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n family with old military roots. Luck's father, Otto von Luck, served in the
Imperial German Navy
The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...
and died during July 1918 of an influenza virus. His mother remarried a
Reichsmarine
The ''Reichsmarine'' ( en, Realm Navy) was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the ''Reichswehr'', existing from 1919 to 1935. In 1935, it became known as the '' ...
Chaplain. In 1929, Luck joined the ''
Reichswehr
''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshape ...
'' (army). Through the winter of 1931−1932, Luck attended a nine-month course for officer cadets, led by then Captain
Erwin Rommel
Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...
, at the infantry school in
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
. On 30 June 1934 Luck's unit took part in the
Night of the Long Knives
The Night of the Long Knives (German: ), or the Röhm purge (German: ''Röhm-Putsch''), also called Operation Hummingbird (German: ''Unternehmen Kolibri''), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Ad ...
, arresting several ''
Sturmabteilung
The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ral ...
'' (SA) members in
Stettin
Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...
. In 1939 Luck was posted to the
2nd Light Division, serving in its armoured reconnaissance battalion.
World War II
Invasions of Poland and France
![Bundesarchiv Bild 183-2008-0415-506, Polen, motorisierte deutsche Truppen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-2008-0415-506%2C_Polen%2C_motorisierte_deutsche_Truppen.jpg)
On 1 September 1939 the 2nd Light Division, under General
Georg Stumme
Georg Stumme (29 July 1886 – 24 October 1942) was a general in the of Nazi Germany during the Second World War who briefly commanded the Axis forces at the beginning of the Second Battle of El Alamein, and died during the Defence of Outpost Sni ...
, participated in the
invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
. Luck served as a company commander in the division's reconnaissance battalion. The division was reorganized and reequipped to form the
7th Panzer Division, with Rommel assuming command on 6 February 1940. Luck served as a company commander in an armoured reconnaissance battalion.
The 7th Panzer Division was a part of the XV Army Corps under General
Hermann Hoth
Hermann Hoth (12 April 1885 – 25 January 1971) was a German army commander, war criminal, and author. He served as a high-ranking panzer commander in the Wehrmacht during World War II, playing a prominent role in the Battle of France and on t ...
in Army Group A. On 10 May 1940 the division participated in the
invasion of France
France has been invaded on numerous occasions, by foreign powers or rival French governments; there have also been unimplemented invasion plans.
* the 1746 War of the Austrian Succession, Austria-Italian forces supported by the British navy attemp ...
. Luck's reconnaissance battalion led the division's advance into
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, reaching the
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...
in three days. In his memoir Luck describes the division's crossing of the Meuse and Rommel's active role in gaining the crossing. On 28 May, Luck was appointed commander of the reconnaissance battalion. Luck's unit advanced through Rouen, Fecamp, and Cherbourg. In February 1941 Rommel was replaced by General
Freiherr von Funk, and in June Luck moved with his division to East Prussia in preparation for the invasion of the Soviet Union.
Invasion of the Soviet Union
![Moskau1941vonLuckJackroma](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Moskau1941vonLuckJackroma.jpg)
Luck was made ''
Hauptmann
is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...
'' and attached to 7th Panzer Division's headquarters staff. His division was a part of the
3rd Panzer Group of
Army Group Center
Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army for ...
. In this capacity he participated in the
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
, the invasion of the Soviet Union. The 7th Panzer Division spearheaded the 3rd Panzer Group as it drove east and the capture of
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
in
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, before driving on
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
to form the northern inner encirclement arm of the Bialystok-Minsk pocket. Following the capture of Minsk the armored group continued east towards
Vitebsk
Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ci ...
. At Vitebsk, Luck was assigned as commander of the division's reconnaissance battalion.
The division participated in creating the large pocket around
Smolensk
Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...
, cutting the Smolensk–Moscow road. Luck and his unit continued on towards
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. In his memoirs he describes the stiffening Soviet resistance and problems the German forces faced relating to weather and road conditions. Since November Rommel had requested Luck be transferred to Africa to take over command of one of his reconnaissance battalions. The transfer was approved in late January once the crisis of the Soviet winter offensive had passed.
North Africa
Luck 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 ...
, spending February and March 1942 on leave. Reporting back for duty on 1 April 1942, he reached Africa on 8 April and assumed command over the 3rd Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion of the
21st Panzer Division. Luck spent June to mid-September in Germany, recuperating from a combat wound. Returning to Africa, he resumed command of the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion.
On 23 October 1942 the British launched the attack of the
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...
. The Axis position deteriorated leading to a retreat. Luck was one of Rommel's most experienced commanders, and he called upon Luck's reconnaissance battalion to screen his withdrawal. By December the Axis forces had retreated to
Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
. On 6 May the forces in Africa surrendered, with more than 130,000 Germans taken prisoner. By that time Luck was in Germany.
The Normandy invasion
![Battleforceanmapenglish](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Battleforceanmapenglish.PNG)
After North Africa and leave in Berlin Luck was assigned in August 1943 as instructor at a panzer reconnaissance school in Paris. In March 1944 he was to be appointed as commander of a panzer regiment in the new ''Panzer Lehr'' Division in France under
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 t ...
. However in mid-April he was told by Bayerlein that as Feuchtinger apparently had more influence at Headquarters he was to serve under Feuchtinger.
Luck was assigned to the
21st Panzer Division, stationed in Brittany and commanded by
Edgar Feuchtinger
Edgar Feuchtinger (9 November 1894 – 21 January 1960) was a German General (Generalleutnant) during the Second World War. Feuchtinger was commander of the 21st Panzer Division during the Normandy Invasion. Later in 1944 he was tried and convic ...
. In early May, Luck was placed in command of the 125th Panzer Grenadier Regiment. Luck's regiment was stationed at
Vimont, southeast of
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,[assault guns
Assault gun (from german: Sturmgeschütz - "storm gun", as in "storming/assaulting") is a type of self-propelled artillery which uses an infantry support gun mounted on a motorized chassis, normally an armored fighting vehicle, which are designed t ...]
in support.
On 6 June 1944 the
invasion of Normandy
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...
started. During the night Luck was startled by the reports of paratroopers landing in his area, and establishing a bridgehead on the east side of the
Orne River
The Orne () is a river in Normandy, within northwestern France. It is long. It discharges into the English Channel at the port of Ouistreham. Its source is in Aunou-sur-Orne, east of Sées. Its main tributaries are the Odon and the Rouvre.
The ...
. Luck requested permission to attack, but Feuchtinger, the 21st Panzer Division's commander, refused to allow him to do so, citing strict orders not to engage in major operations unless cleared to do so by high command. Apart from an order at 4:30 a.m. directing other elements of the division to move against the paratroopers of the
British 6th Airborne Division, the 21 Panzer Division remained mostly motionless. As the morning wore on, the defenders on the coast were overcome and the British beachheads secured.
Around 10:30 a.m. General
Erich Marcks
Erich Marcks (6 June 1891 – 12 June 1944) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He authored the first draft of the operational plan, ''Operation Draft East'', for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, ad ...
, commander of the German LXXXIV Corps to which 21st Panzer Division was attached, ordered the entire 21st to leave a single company from the division's 22nd Panzer Regiment to deal with the paratroopers and move the rest of the division to attack the British forces advancing from the beachhead toward Caen. Feuchtinger finally ordered his division forward, leaving a company of panzers as ordered, but also leaving Luck's 125 Panzergrenadier Regiment. This order was later countermanded, this time from
7th Army, and only Luck's detachment was left to attack the paratroopers east of Orne. The confusion and inflexibility of the German command situation markedly delayed the German response. Nevertheless, at 1700 p.m. Luck attempted to break through to the Orne river bridges at
Bénouville with his armoured personnel carriers, but heavy fire from the warships supporting the British paratroopers, under Major
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...
, holding the bridges drove his forces back. Added to this, more British paratroopers landed in the rear area of the regiment, causing some of Luck's forces to fall back.
On the morning of 9 June Luck's command was designated ''Kampfgruppe von Luck'', and in addition to the elements of 125th Panzer Grenadier Regiment already under Luck's command it consisted of a battalion, three assault-gun batteries and one antitank company with 88mm guns. With this force Luck was tasked with assaulting the Orne bridges, and recapturing them from the British paratroopers. Starting one hour before dawn to avoid the worst of the British naval and aerial support, the ''Kampfgruppe'' advanced on the village of
Ranville
Ranville () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.
Ranville was the first French village liberated on D-Day. The village was liberated by the British 13th Parachute Battalion, commanded by Lieute ...
, dislodging the enemy there, but it could not penetrate the British lines to reach the bridges. The British paratroopers, reinforced by the
British 51st (Highland) Division and the 4th Armoured Brigade, then attempted to advance around the eastern edge of Caen as the left side of an envelopment attack, but their efforts were thwarted by Luck's unit. Over the next several days Luck's group initiated what amounted to a spoiling attack, and tying up the British units. On 12 June ''Kampfgruppe von Luck'' engaged in the fighting for the village of
Sainte-Honorine, lying on a hill overlooking the invasion beaches. The British forces east of the Orne were unable to move forward until 16 June.
Operation Goodwood
In the beginning of July, the area defended by Luck's ''Kampfgruppe'' came under the control of
I SS Panzer Corps under the command of ''
Obergruppenführer
' (, "senior group leader") was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissio ...
''
Sepp Dietrich
Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (28 May 1892 – 21 April 1966) was a German politician and SS commander during the Nazi era. He joined the Nazi Party in 1928 and was elected to the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic in 1930. Prior to 1929, Dietrich was A ...
. Nearby was the
Heavy Tank Battalion 503 equipped with one company of
Tiger II
The Tiger II is a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was ''Panzerkampfwagen'' Tiger ''Ausf''. B,''Panzerkampfwagen'' – abbr: ''Pz.'' or ''Pz.Kfw.'' (English: " armoured fighting vehicle"), ''Ausf.' ...
tanks and two companies of
Tiger I
The Tiger I () was a German heavy tank of World War II that operated beginning in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted ...
tanks. On 18 July, Field Marshall
Bernard Montgomery launched
Operation Goodwood
Operation Goodwood was a British offensive during the Second World War, which took place between 18 and 20 July 1944 as part of the larger battle for Caen in Normandy, France. The objective of the operation was a limited attack to the south, ...
; an operation aimed to wear down the German armoured forces in Normandy in addition to seizing territory, on the eastern flank of Caen, to the extent of the Bourguébus–Vimont–Bretteville area. If successful, the British hoped to follow this limited attack by pushing reconnaissance forces south towards Falaise. The offensive opened with a massive aerial bombardment, followed by artillery and naval gun fire, intended to suppress or destroy all defences in the path of the attack.
During the morning, Luck had just returned from a three-day leave in Paris. Informed of the air raids, he moved forward to determine the exact situation and soon realized that a major offensive was underway. The air raid had neutralized the remnants of the 16th Luftwaffe Field Division, which held the front line, as well as elements of the 21st Panzer Division (in particular, elements of the 22nd Panzer Battalion and the 1st battery of Assault Gun Battalion 200) leaving a hole in the German defensive line. While elements of the advancing British
11th Armoured Division were held up in an engagement with self-propelled guns of the 200th Assault Gun Battalion, the 2nd
Fife and Forfar Yeomanry
The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry (FFY) was an Armoured Yeomanry Regiment of the British Army formed in 1793. It saw action in the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. It amalgamated with the Scottish Horse to form the Fif ...
advanced past Cagny. As the regiment did, they came under heavy anti-tank fire resulting in the loss of four tanks.
[Dunphie, p. 74][Trew, p. 80][Napier, p. 249]
After the war, Luck wrote that he was responsible for this barrage of anti-tank fire, saying that he used his sidearm to threaten a Luftwaffe officer into action, to fire upon the advancing tanks with 88 mm flak guns.
[Buckley (2013), p. 105] Luck's account has been widely repeated,
although competing theories have also been suggested: The British
8 Corps history states that German anti-tank guns based in
Soliers
Soliers () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Calvados department
The following is a list of the 528 communes of the Calvados department of France ...
, which had escaped the aerial bombardment, were responsible.
Ian Daglish, critical of Luck's account, stated "there turns out to be surprisingly little" evidence to support Luck's version of events, and that all accounts of 88 mm flak guns in Cagny being used in an anti-tank capacity "can be traced directly to Luck and no one else." He further wrote that neither the commander of the 200th Assault Gun Battalion or the commander of Luftwaffe flak guns made any comment in regards to this action and that based on locations of flak positions, it was illogical for a heavy flak battery to have been located there. Daglish also wrote that Luck's account of the placement of the guns "is imprecise" and "expert analysis of aerial photographs of the area taken at midday ... reveals no trace of
he batterynor of any towing vehicles or their distinctive tracks". Such weapons and vehicles "could not be hidden within a mere couple of hours of relocation". Daglish argued that Luck embellished his role during post-war official British tours of the battlefield, with his version of events eventually coming into question (off the record). Daglish wrote that elements of the 200th Assault Gun Battalion were in the area and that any number of German anti-tank guns could have fired on the 2nd Fife and Forfar and that 88 mm anti-tank guns were deployed to the Cagny area throughout the day. John Buckley is also critical of Luck's account, and called it "colourful and enthralling". He argued that despite there being "no doubt that heavy anti-tank gunfire from in and around Cagny began to account for British tanks", no evidence that the Luftwaffe had guns in Cagny at the time given the dispositions of other Luftwaffe batteries. Buckley wrote that Luck had embroidered his role.
Stephen Napier reassessed these criticisms of Luck's account. He wrote that "heavy anti-aircraft guns were located in the outlying villages of Caen" and "photographic evidence of the Luftwaffe batteries in the area exists", in addition the wreckage of three 88mm guns were found by the Guards division that afternoon in Cagny, which would corroborate Luck's claim to have ordered the destruction of the guns upon abandoning Cagny.
[Napier (2015), p. 250] Napier wrote that Luck's account of threatening a Luftwaffe officer is plausible given that "88mm anti-aircraft crews did not expect to become embroiled in fighting as per III Flak Korps policy, and their direct involvement occasionally took some persuasion."
Napier also asserts that the timeline of Luck's stated confrontation with the Luftwaffe battery commander, just after 09:00 hours, correlates with the losses the 2nd Fife and Forfar Yeomanry at 09:30 hours since a "88mm flak battery would only need about 15 minutes to relocate a short distance". Napier further writes that the fact that two Tiger tanks were destroyed by German friendly fire "suggests the actions of an inexperienced Luftwaffe crew" unable to identify retreating German tanks.
According to Napier the 75mm Pak 40 anti-tank guns were incapable of the clean armour penetrations found on the Tigers at that range and the only other alternative unit that could have engaged the British tanks was Becker's 4th Battery located in Le Mensnil Frementel. Napier notes "if this company did not move before 0930 hours, it would have been cut off when the leading tanks of the 29th brigade crossed the railway" and reasoned "since the battery "Was able to relocate successfully to just south of Four where it was in action for the rest of the day and so must have moved well before 0930 hours."
Napier stated that an officer of the 2nd Fife and Forfar wrote in his memoirs "of his surprise at seeing a German officer in dress uniform surveying the battlefield from Cagny".
Napier concluded that Luck "correctly attributed credit where it was due and his only sin is the assumption of a mantle previously worn by Rommel who stopped the British tank attack at Arras in 1940 by ordering the 88mm flak guns to engage the ground targets of the British tank forces."
Luck spent the rest of the day using the resources he had to check the gaps in the line. In the afternoon, the first elements of the
1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler had moved up in support and the situation was somewhat stabilized. The following day, Luck's ''Kampfgruppe'', supported by the armour of 1st SS, held the British in check, and launched counterattacks on the British flanks. The British attack ended on 20 July. In the evening, the
12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend relieved Luck's men. For his service during Operation Goodwood, Luck was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and on 8 August, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
The Falaise Pocket and Retreat to Germany
A week later, after a brief rest and refit, the 21st Panzer Division was sent to the
Villers Bocage area south of
Bayeux
Bayeux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in northwestern France.
Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts ...
. On 26 July
Panzer Lehr
The Panzer-Lehr-Division (in the meaning of: Armoured training division) was an elite German armoured division during World War II. It was formed in 1943 onwards from training and demonstration troops (''Lehr'' = "teach") stationed in Germany, ...
's lines were broken, and 21st Panzer Division reoriented themselves on this new threat. On 31 July
General Patton
George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...
's forces broke through at
Avranches into open country. The German motorized forces were brought west to counterattack in an effort to cut the supply and communication lines of the advancing American forces, but the counterattack was known due to Ultra decrypts and the attacking formations were heavily shelled and bombarded, stopping the attack before it could jump off. Unable to check the advancing American armour, all the German divisions in Normandy were in danger of being encircled.
Luck reached
Falaise
Falaise may refer to:
Places
* Falaise, Ardennes, France
* Falaise, Calvados, France
** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War
* La Falaise, in the Yvelines ''département'', France
* The Falaise escarpment in Quebe ...
after two weeks of delaying action. On 17 August a British attack split the 21st Panzer Division, leaving half inside the now emerging
Falaise Pocket, while Luck's command found itself on the outside. ''Kampfgruppe von Luck'' was now tasked with holding the Western end of the gap open, which it did until 21 August. About half of the 100,000 trapped troops managed to escape, though most of the heavy materiel and vehicles were destroyed in the pocket. A new threat was already emerging, with Patton threatening to create yet another pocket, south of the
Seine River
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributaries ...
. Luck was put in command of the remains of 21st Panzer Division.
The Defense of Germany
On 9 September Luck's command reached
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
, where it was attached to General
Hasso von Manteuffel
Freiherr Hasso Eccard von Manteuffel (14 January 1897 – 24 September 1978) was a German baron born to the Prussian noble von Manteuffel family and was a general during World War II who commanded the 5th Panzer Army. He was a recipient of th ...
's
Fifth Panzer Army
5th Panzer Army (german: 5. Panzerarmee) was the name of two different German armoured formations during World War II. The first of these was formed in 1942, during the North African campaign and surrendered to the Allies at Tunis in 1943. The a ...
. During the
Battle of Dompaire
The Battle of Dompaire was fought between French and German armoured forces near the town of Dompaire in France. It took place between 12 and 14 September 1944 during the Lorraine campaign on the Western Front of World War II. The battle saw ...
which was fought a dew days 112 Panzer Brigade had suffered heavy tank losses. Von Luck attempted to salvage a desperate situation but ended up having to retreat conserve his forces. In January 1945, when the division was moved to the
Oder
The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...
front, the division took part in fighting along the
Reitwein
Reitwein is a municipality in the district Märkisch-Oderland, in Brandenburg, Germany.Mapa Polski 1:500 000 Wojskowy Instytut Geograficzny Sztabu Generalnego W.P., Warszawa 1947 It is located near the border with Poland
Poland, officially ...
Spur. Luck surrendered to the Soviet forces while attempting a breakout from the
Halbe pocket
The Battle of Halbe (german: Kesselschlacht von Halbe, russian: Хальбский котёл, Halbe pocket) was a battle lasting from April 24 – May 1, 1945 in which the German Ninth Army—under the command of General Theodor Busse—was dest ...
on April 27th 1945.
After the war
After the war Luck was interned at
GUPVI __NOTOC__
The Main Administration for Affairs of Prisoners of War and Internees ( rus, Главное управление по делам военнопленных и интернированных НКВД/МВД СССР, ГУПВИ, GUPVI, GU ...
forced labor camp 518/I in
Tkibuli
Tkibuli or Tqibuli ( ka, ტყიბული) is a town in west-central Georgia (country), Georgia of 8,620 residents (2022). located in the Imereti region at the foot of the Racha Range and the Nakerala limestone cliff, which marks the boundary ...
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, a camp for POWs and internees, similar to a
GULAG
The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...
camp. He was released in December 1949 and returned to
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
. He became involved in veterans' associations, and was frequently asked to lecture at military schools. He spoke annually for the British Staff college during their summer tours of the Normandy battlefields, and subsequently was asked to speak at a number of other military seminars.
He was a participant in the UK's Ministry of Defence Army Department film presentation on Operation Goodwood Lectures.
[Ministry of Defense; Army Department: Operation Goodwood]
Through his involvement as a speaker at military lectures he came to be good friends with several of his former adversaries, including Brigadier David Stileman, Major Alastair Morrison of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, and Major
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...
of the
British 6th Airborne Division.
[ He also formed a friendship with popular historian ]Stephen Ambrose
Stephen Edward Ambrose (January 10, 1936 – October 13, 2002) was an American historian, most noted for his biographies of U.S. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He was a longtime professor of history at the University of New O ...
, who encouraged him to write his memoirs, which was titled ''Panzer Commander''.
Hans von Luck died in Hamburg on 1 August 1997 at the age of 86.
Awards
*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 repe ...
in Gold on 2 January 1942 as ''Hauptmann
is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...
'' in Kradschützen-Bataillon 7
*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' ...
on 8 August 1944 as ''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 ...
'' and leader of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 125
See also
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References
Citations
Bibliography
*Ambrose, Stephen E (1994). ''D-Day, June 6, 1944, The Battle for the Normandy beaches'', Pocket Books.
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External links
Army Department film: Operation Goodwood
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luck, Hans Von
1911 births
1997 deaths
People from Flensburg
People from the Province of Schleswig-Holstein
Barons of Germany
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
Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor
German Army officers of World War II
Military personnel from Schleswig-Holstein
Panzer commanders