Hyacinth Graf Strachwitz

Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz (also known as Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz von Groß-Zauche und Camminetz) (30 July 1893 – 25 April 1968) was a German officer of aristocratic descent in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds.

Strachwitz was born in 1893 on his family estate in Silesia. He was educated at various Prussian military academies and served in World War I. He was taken prisoner by the French forces in October 1914. He returned to Germany after the war in 1918. He joined the ''Freikorps'' and fought against the Spartacist uprising of the German Revolution in Berlin, and in the Silesian Uprisings. In the mid-1920s he took over the family estate from his father and became a member of the Nazi Party and the ''Allgemeine-SS''.

Strachwitz participated in the Invasion of Poland in 1939 and in the Battle of France in 1940. Transferred to the 16th Panzer Division he fought in the Invasion of Yugoslavia and Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, for the Battle of Kalach in the summer of 1942. He received the Swords to his Knight's Cross for his actions in the Third Battle of Kharkov. He then fought in the Battle of Kursk and the German retreat to the Dnieper. While commanding a battle group in the Battle of Narva in early 1944 he was awarded the Diamonds to his Knight's Cross on 15 April. In 1945, he surrendered to US forces and was released in 1947. He died in 1968 and was buried with full military honours.

Early life and career

Strachwitz was born on 30 July 1893 in Groß Stein, in the district of Groß Strehlitz in the Province of Silesia, the Kingdom of Prussia. Today it is Kamień Śląski, in Gogolin, Opole Voivodeship, Poland. Strachwitz was the second child of Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz (1864–1942) and his wife Aloysia (1872–1940), née Gräfin von Matuschka Freiin von Toppolczan und Spaetgen. He had an older sister, Aloysia (1892–1972), followed by his younger brother Johannes (1896–1917) nicknamed "Ceslaus", his sister Elisabeth (1897–1992), his brother Manfred (1899–1972), his brother Mariano (1902–1922), and his youngest sister Margarethe (1905–1989). His family were members of the old Silesian Catholic nobility (''Uradel''), and held large estates in Upper Silesia, including the family ''Schloss'' (castle) at Groß Stein. The family claimed a number of members killed fighting the 1241 Mongol invasion at the Battle of Legnica.Perrett, B. ''Iron Fist Classic Armoured Warfare Studies'' 1999 p.172 ISBN 1860199542 As the first-born son he was the heir to the title Graf (Count) Strachwitz, and following family tradition he was christened Hyazinth, after the 12th century saint. Some clothing belonging to the saint were in the family's possession until 1945.

Strachwitz attended the ''Volksschule'' (primary school) and the '' Gymnasium'' (advanced secondary school) in Oppeln—present-day Opole. He received further schooling and paramilitary training at the ''Königlich Preußischen Kadettenkorps'' (Royal Prussian cadet corps) in Wahlstatt—present-day Legnickie Pole—before he transferred to the ''Hauptkadettenanstalt'' (Main Military Academy) in Berlin-Lichterfelde. Among his closest friends at the cadet academy were Manfred von Richthofen, the World War I flying ace and a fellow Silesian, and Hans von Aulock, brother of the World War II colonel Andreas von Aulock. In August 1912, Cadet Strachwitz was admitted to the élite ''Gardes du Corps'' (Life Guards) cavalry regiment in Potsdam as a ''Fähnrich'' (Ensign). The Life Guards had been established by Prussian King Frederick the Great in 1740, and were considered the most prestigious posting in the Imperial German Army. Their patron was Emperor Wilhelm II, who nominally commanded them. Strachwitz was sent to an officer training course at the '' Kriegsschule'' (War School) in Hanover in late 1912, where he excelled at various sports. Strachwitz was commissioned as ''Leutnant'' (Second Lieutenant) on 17 February 1914.

Upon his return to the Prussian Main Military Academy from Hanover, Strachwitz was appointed as the sports officer for the Life Guards. He introduced daily gymnastics and weekly endurance running. The Life Guards sports team was selected to participate in the planned 1916 Olympic Games, and this further encouraged his ambition. He participated equestrian, fencing and track and field athletics, which became his prime focus. Strachwitz continued to excel as a sportsman, and with his friend Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia, according to Roll Strachwitz was among the best athletes to train for the Olympic Games.

World War I

At the outbreak of World War I Strachwitz was mobilized. His regiment was subordinated to the Guards Cavalry Division and scheduled for deployment in the west. His unit arrived at their position near the Belgian border. Strachwitz and his platoon volunteered for a mounted, long-distance reconnaissance patrol, which would penetrate far behind enemy lines. His orders were to gather intelligence on enemy rail and communications connections and potentially disturb them, as well as report on the war preparations being made by the enemy. If the situation allowed, he was to destroy railway and telephone connections and to derail trains, causing as much havoc as possible. His patrol ran into many obstacles and they were constantly on the verge of being detected by either British or French forces. Their objective was the Paris–Limoges–Bordeaux train track. Strachwitz dispatched a messenger, who broke through to the German lines and delivered the intelligence they had gathered. The patrol blew up the signal box at the Fontainebleau railway station, and tried to force their way through to presumed German troops at the Marne near Châlons. However the French forces were too strong and they were unable to get through. After six weeks behind enemy lines their rations were depleted and they had to live by stealing or begging. Strachwitz then intended to head for Switzerland, hoping that the French-Swiss border was not as heavily protected. After a brief skirmish with French forces, one of Strachwitz's men was seriously wounded, which forced them to seek medical attention. During many weeks of outdoor living their uniforms had deteriorated, so Strachwitz took that opportunity to buy new clothes for his men. Their progress was slowed by a wounded comrade, and they were caught in civilian clothes by French forces.

Strachwitz and his men were questioned by a French captain and accused of being spies and saboteurs. They were taken to the prison at Châlons the next day where they were separated. Strachwitz, as an officer, was placed in solitary confinement. Early in the morning they were all lined up for the firing squad, but a French captain arrived just in time to stop the execution. Strachwitz and his men were then tried before a French military court on 14 October 1914. The court sentenced them all to five years of forced labour on the prison island of Cayenne. At the same time they were deprived of rank, thus losing the status of prisoners of war. Strachwitz was then taken to the prisons at Lyon and Montpellier, and then to the Île de Ré, from where the prison ship would depart for Cayenne. It is unclear what circumstances prevented his departure, but he was imprisoned at Riom and Avignon instead. At Avignon prison he was physically and mentally tortured by both the guards and the other prisoners. The torture included being chained naked to a wall, deprived of food and beaten severely. After one year at Avignon he was put in a German uniform and taken to Fort Barraux, used as a prisoner of war facility during the war.

At Barraux he learned that the war in the west had turned into a war of attrition and that only on the Eastern Front were German troops still reporting successes. His health improved rapidly and Strachwitz started making escape plans. With other German soldiers he started digging an escape tunnel, which was detected. Strachwitz was again put in solitary confinement. As a deterrence against German U-boat attacks, German prisoners of war were sometimes carried in the cargo holds of French merchant ships. Now classified as "determined to escape", Strachwitz was put in the cargo hold of a ship which commuted between Marseilles or Toulon and Thessaloniki, Greece. Appearing skeletal after four trips without food, he was returned to Barraux. During further solitary confinement he recovered again, and made further escape plans. With a fellow soldier, he climbed over the prison walls, planning to head for neutral Switzerland. However, Strachwitz injured his foot when he fell into barbed wire, and the injury caused blood poisoning. While searching for help, they were picked up by the French police and turned over to a military court. He was then sent to a war prison for officers at Carcassonne where his request for medical attention was ignored. The injury was severe and he became delirious. An inspection by the Swiss medical commission from the International Red Cross ordered him transferred to a hospital in Geneva, Switzerland, where he awoke after days of unconsciousness.

Strachwitz recovered quickly in Geneva. During his convalescence he was visited by the Queen of Greece, the sister of the German Emperor, Sophia of Prussia, the Duke of Mecklenburg Frederick Francis IV and the Duke of Hesse Ernest Louis. The Archbishop of Munich Michael von Faulhaber, who was on his way to the Vatican, also stopped by to pay his respects. The doctors told Strachwitz that the French government had requested his extradition back to France once he had fully recovered, to serve his full term of five years of forced labour. Strachwitz then moved into a villa in Luzern where he was visited by his mother and sister. He had a great fear of being returned to France, and together they came up with a plan to avoid his extradition. He would "sit out the war" in a mental asylum in Switzerland. The plan worked, though Strachwitz was on the verge of going genuinely mad in the process. The war ended and Strachwitz was released to return to Germany. For his service during the war while imprisoned by the French he was awarded the Iron Cross, Second and First Class.

Interwar period

In the Weimar Republic

After the Armistice in November 1918, Strachwitz was repatriated and returned to a Germany in civil turmoil. He travelled to Berlin via Konstanz, at the Swiss-German border, and Munich. On his journey he saw many former German soldiers whose military discipline had broken down. Unable to tolerate this situation and fearing a Communist revolution, he travelled on to Berlin, arriving at the Berlin Anhalter Bahnhof where he was met by a friend. Strachwitz had called ahead asking his friend to bring him his Gardes du Corps uniform, which he put on immediately. Berlin was in a state of revolution. The newly established provisional government under the leadership of Chancellor Friedrich Ebert was threatened by the Spartacist uprising of the German Revolution, whose ambition was a Soviet-style proletarian dictatorship. Ebert ordered the former soldiers, organized in ''Freikorps'' (paramilitary organizations) among them Strachwitz, to attack the workers and put down the uprising.

In early 1919, following these events in Berlin, Strachwitz returned to his home estate, where he found his family palace taken over by French officers. Upper Silesia was occupied by British, French and Italian forces, and being governed by an Inter-Allied Committee headed by a French general, Henri Le Rond. The Versailles Treaty at the end of World War I had shifted formerly German territory into neighbouring countries, some of which had not existed at the beginning of the war. In the case of the new Second Polish Republic, the Treaty detached some of territory, which had formerly been part of the German Empire, to recreate the country of Poland, which had disappeared as a result of the Third Partition of Poland in 1795. His father urged him to prepare and educate himself in order to take over the family estate and business. He was put under the guidance of his father's ''Oberinspektor'' (Chief Inspector). In parallel, Strachwitz, fearing that Silesia was being "handed over to the Poles", as he viewed the actions of the Inter-Allied Committee, joined the ''Oberschlesischer Selbstschutz'' (Upper Silesian Self Defence). Strachwitz collected weapons and recruited volunteers, which was prohibited. He was caught four times and put in prison in Oppeln by the French. Also his father had to go to prison for his opposition to the Inter-Allied Committee. His distrust for the French, rooted in his experiences as a prisoner of war during World War I, was immense. He believed that only the Italians had played an honest and neutral role in the occupation of Upper Silesia. On 25 July 1919, he married Alexandrine Freiin Saurma-Jeltsch, nicknamed "Alda", and their first child, a son, was born on 4 May 1920.

In 1921, during the Silesian Uprisings, when Poland tried to separate Upper Silesia from the Weimar Republic, Strachwitz served under the Generals Bernhard von Hülsen and Karl Höfer. At the peak of the conflict when the Poles dug in on the Annaberg, a hill near the village of Annaberg—present-day Góra Świętej Anny. The German ''Freikorps'' launched the assault in what would become the Battle of Annaberg, which was fought between 21 May and 26 May 1921. Strachwitz and his two battalions outflanked the Polish positions and overran part of them in hand-to-hand combat around midnight on 21 May. Strachwitz was the first German to reach the summit. They captured six field guns, numerous machine guns, rifles and ammunition. On 4 June the ''Freikorps'' attacked Polish positions at Kandrzin—present-day Kędzierzyn—and Slawentzitz—present-day Sławięcice. In this battle Strachwitz and his men captured a Polish artillery battery which they turned against the Poles. For these services he received the ''Schlesischer Adler'' (Silesian Eagle) medal, Second and First Class with Oak Leaves and Swords. His younger brother Manfred also fought for Silesia, and was severely wounded leading his men at Krizova. Two months later his wife gave birth to their second child, a daughter named Alexandrine Aloysia Maria Elisabeth Therese born on 30 July 1921, nicknamed "Lisalex". The Ministry of the Reichswehr informed him in 1921 that he had been promoted to ''Oberleutnant'' (first lieutenant), the promotion backdated to 1916. The Strachwitz family grew further when on 22 March 1925 a third child, a son named Hubertus Arthur, nicknamed "Harti", was born on their manor at Schedlitz, later renamed Alt Siedel—present-day Siedlec.

In 1925, Strachwitz and his family moved from Groß Stein to their manor in Alt Siedel, because of personal differences with his father, who remained in Groß Stein. Between 1924 and 1933 Strachwitz founded two dairy cooperatives which many local farmers joined. In parallel he studied a few semesters of forestry. He used his influence in Upper Silesia to modernize forestry and farming. His ambitions were aided by his presidency of the ''Forstausschuss'' (Forestry Committee) of Upper Silesia and his membership in the ''Landwirtschaftskammer'' (Chamber of Agriculture). Strachwitz completely took over his father's estate in 1929, first as the general manager and then as owner. This made Strachwitz one of the most wealthy land and forest owners in Silesia. Along with the palace in Groß Stein he owned a lime kiln and quarry in Klein Stein—present-day Kamionek—and Groß Stein, a distillery in Groß Stein and Alt Siedel.

National Socialism

Strachwitz applied for membership in the Nazi Party with the ''Reichsleitung'' (Reich Leadership) of the Nazi Party in Munich in 1931. He was accepted and in 1932 joined the ''Ortsgruppe'' (Local Group) of the party in Breslau with a membership number 1,405,562. On 17 April 1933 he became a member of the ''Allgemeine-SS'' with the SS membership number 82,857, and reached the rank of SS-Sturmbannführer in 1936. In parallel to his SS career, his military rank in the military reserve force also advanced. He attained the rank of ''Hauptmann'' of the Reserves in 1934 and a year later became a ''Rittmeister'' (cavalry captain) of the Reserves.

On 30 January 1933, the Nazi Party, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, came to power and began to rearm Germany. The Germany Army was increased and modernized with a strong focus on the Panzer (tank) force. Personnel were recruited from the cavalry. In October 1935 Panzer Regiment 2 was created and was subordinated to the 1st Panzer Division, at the time under command of General Maximilian von Weichs. Strachwitz, who had served as an officer of the reserves in the 7th Cavalry Regiment in Breslau, had asked to be transferred to the Panzer force and, in May 1936 and then from July to August 1937, Strachwitz was involved in manoeuvres and training exercises. The 1st Panzer Division was moved to Silesia in preparation for the invasion of Poland on 25 August 1939.

World War II

Panzer-Regiment 2, as part of the 1st Panzer Division, consisted of four light companies and two medium companies totaling 54 Panzer Is, 62 Panzer IIs, 6 Panzer IIIs, 28 Panzer IVs and 6 command tanks. The Wehrmacht invaded Poland without a formal declaration of war on 1 September 1939, and Strachwitz's regiment crossed the border that day. In early October the division was transferred back to Germany; Strachwitz returned to his regiment in late 1939.

Battle of France

The 1st Panzer Division was preparing for the attack on France and the Low Countries, with Strachwitz serving as a supply officer in the 2nd Panzer Regiment. He was out sick with meningitis and in a hospital from 1–9 March 1940, and then from 28 April – 9 May 1940 with an injured foot. The division was subordinated to XIX Army Corps under the command of General Heinz Guderian. The German attack, under the ''Fall Gelb'' directive, began on the morning of 10 May 1940. The XIX Army Corps advanced without resistance through Luxemburg and reached the Belgian border at 10:00. During the crossing of the Meuse, the first objective, Strachwitz organized the traffic across the bridge and ensured delivery of the anti-aircraft ammunition to help fend off an Allied aerial attack. The French resistance was broken near Vendresse.

The 1st Panzer Division continued to push forward, reaching the Channel coast near Calais on 23 May 1940, where they encountered heavy British resistance. The 10th Panzer Division was tasked with taking Calais, while Guderian ordered the 1st Panzer Division to head for Gravelines. Elements of the 1st Panzer Brigade and the subordinated Infantry Regiment (motorized) Großdeutschland reached the river Aa south of Gravelines that night, southwest of Dunkirk

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