__NOTOC__ Horst Stumpff (20 November 1887 – 25 November 1958) 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 ...

. 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' ...

. On 1 January 1938 Stumpff was given command of the 3rd Panzer Brigade and on 1 March 1939 he was promoted to

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 led the brigade during the invasion of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. On 7 October 1939 he was appointed commander of the 3rd Panzer Division and in November 1940 he was given command of the new 20th Panzer Division and promoted to

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...

on 1 February 1941. He led the division on the Eastern Front and on 29 September 1941 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, but he was moved to the

Führerreserve The (“Leaders Reserve” or "Reserve for Leaders") was set up in the German Armed Forces during World War II in 1939 as a pool of temporarily unoccupied high-ranking military officers awaiting new assignments. The various military branches an ...

shortly afterwards. In April 1942 Stumpff was appointed as the military inspector of the recruiting area

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

. In July 1944 he became the Inspector General of the Panzer troops in the replacement army and he was promoted to

General der Panzertruppe General der Panzertruppe () was a General of the branch OF8 rank of the German Army, introduced in 1935. A ''General der Panzertruppe'' was a Lieutenant General, above Major General (Generalleutnant), commanding a Panzer corps. Rank and ran ...

in 1944. He died in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

aged 71.

Awards

on 29 September 1941 as ''

'' and commander of the 20. Panzer-DivisionFellgiebel 2000, p. 417.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stumpff, Horst 1887 births 1958 deaths Generals of Panzer Troops Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Reichswehr personnel German Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Hesse People from Giessen German Army generals of World War II