Bruno von Hauenschild

Bruno Hauenschild , from 1918 Knight von Hauenschild (born June 9, 1896 in Würzburg , † March 10, 1953 in Munich ) was a German officer , most recently Lieutenant General in World War II .

Life

origin

He was the son of the later General Staff Doctor Wilhelm Hauenschild (1862-1959) and his wife Toni, née Leusser.

Military career

Bavarian Army

After high school in a Humanities College Hauenschild occurred after the outbreak of World War I on 17 August 1914 as an officer cadet in the replacement section of the 11th Field Artillery Regiment of the Bavarian army one. End of September 1914 he came to the Western Front to regiment the field and was a gunner seriously wounded on November 2, 1914 by a bullet in the chest. Hauenschild was not ready for front use again until February 1915. During the trench warfare in Flanders , Hauenschild was promoted to lieutenant on April 26, 1915 . In April 1916 he suffered war gas poisoning there , was taken to a hospital and, after recovering, took part in the Battle of the Somme in August / September before he was again in trench warfare. The year 1917 was marked by the use in the battles at Arras , Flanders , Messines and Cambrai . In 1918 he went on the offensive with his regiment in the Great Battle of France and was seriously wounded again by a shot in the stomach on April 24, 1918 in the Battle of Guémappe. On August 15, 1918, Hauenschild took over the management of the 7th battery again.

When he was ordered to retreat during the fighting between Arras and Cambrai , he supported the counterattack carried out by the Prussian 2nd Guard Reserve Regiment. Through this measure, several attempts at recapture by the enemy could be repulsed. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order on September 2, 1918 . With the award, the elevation to the personal nobility was connected and he was allowed to call himself Ritter von Hauenschild after the entry in the nobility register . In addition, he was awarded for his achievements with both classes of the Iron Cross , the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with swords, the Military Merit Order IV Class with swords and for his seven wounds during the war with the Wound Badge in gold.

Weimar Republic

After the end of the war and returning home, Hauenschild was initially an auxiliary officer with the staff of the General Command of the II Army Corps from January 25, 1919 . In mid-April 1919 he joined the Steinbauer volunteer battery, was accepted into the provisional Reichswehr in May 1919 and was employed as an adjutant to the artillery staff officer at Reichswehr Group Command 4. In both functions, Hauenschild was involved in the suppression of uprisings in Würzburg and Augsburg as well as in the fighting against the Munich Soviet Republic . On October 1, 1920, he came as a company officer to Motor Vehicle Department 121, which became Motor Vehicle Department 7 with the formation of the Reichswehr. Promoted to first lieutenant on February 22, 1924 with seniority from November 1, 1923 , Hauenschild completed a weapons training course at the Ohrdruf military training area from May to the end of July 1924 . From October 16, 1924 he served as a department adjutant, was promoted to captain on October 1, 1928 and came to the Reichswehr Ministry in Berlin on February 1, 1929 . His activity there was interrupted by a one-year transfer from October 1, 1929 to the 3rd battery of the 7th (Bavarian) Artillery Regiment . After his return to the Reichswehr Ministry , he was used in the military office in the inspection of the traffic troops (In 6).

Third Reich

Hauenschild returned to the 7th (Bavarian) Motor Vehicle Department as a company commander on October 1, 1933 and was appointed commander of various tank reconnaissance departments after the expansion of the Reichswehr and the transition to the Wehrmacht. In this function he was involved in the occupation of the Sudetenland and the invasion of the rest of the Czech Republic.

After Hauenschild had still led the Panzer Reconnaissance Division 9 at the beginning of the Second World War, he was given command of the Panzer Regiment 7 after the attack on Poland . With this regiment he was during the Western campaign against France a. a. involved in the formation and expansion of the important bridgehead over the Meuse near Sedan and advanced to the canal coast. He was also used in the capture of Calais . As a colonel , Hauenschild became the commander of the 4th Panzer Brigade on April 12, 1941, which he led during the attack on the Soviet Union, initially in the battle of Białystok and Minsk . In the ensuing battle near Smolensk , he and his brigade pushed the furthest east. A further offensive approach was not possible due to the extensive anti- tank trenches . However, Hauenschild was able to conquer Jelnja and he managed to take and hold the bridges over the Desna undamaged. For this he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on August 25, 1941 . On November 20, 1941, he was transferred to the Führerreserve and at the beginning of December he was assigned to the Bergen Armored Force School. Just two weeks later he was assigned to the 24th Panzer Division , which Hauenschild was assigned to lead on April 15, 1942. Five days later, he was appointed division commander, having been promoted to major general on April 1, 1942 . Hauenschild u. a. used in the Battle of Stalingrad , where he was seriously wounded on September 8, 1942. During his stay in the hospital he received the Oak Leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on September 27, 1942 (129th award) and was transferred to the Führer Reserve on November 15, 1942. After he was no longer fit for front use after his restoration, Hauenschild was appointed commander of the armored forces schools on November 20 and promoted to lieutenant general on January 1, 1944. From January 26, 1945, Hauenschild was commissioned to take care of business as the commanding general of the deputy III. Army Corps and Commander in Military District III . At the same time he acted from February 2nd to March 6th as combat commander of Greater Berlin . After falling ill with severe flu in mid-February, Hauenschild was transferred to the Feldafing military hospital on March 20, 1945 , and was taken prisoner by the Americans there in early April . Due to health reasons, he was released on June 30, 1945.

post war period

In the post-war period, Hauenschild worked for several months in the administrative commission of the Military Max Joseph Order. However, due to his health, he had to give up this job.

literature

• Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Brockmann: Die Generale der Heeres 1921-1945. The military careers of the generals, as well as the doctors, veterinarians, intendants, judges and ministerial officials with the rank of general. Volume 5: v. Haack-Hitzfeld. Biblio Publishing House. Osnabrück 1999. ISBN 3-7648-2538-3 . Pp. 181-182.
• Rudolf von Kramer, Otto von Waldenfels: VIRTUTI PRO PATRIA. The Royal Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order. Acts of War and Book of Honor 1914-1918. Self-published by the Royal Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order. Munich 1966. pp. 310f.

Web link

• Personal data

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ranking list of the German Imperial Army. ES Mittler & Sohn . Berlin 1930. p. 149.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearer 1939–1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 370.