General of the armored force

This article deals with the rank of General of the Armored Force in the Wehrmacht. For the similarly named service position in the Bundeswehr, see General der Panzertruppen .

Badge of rank until 1945

Collar embroidery ("arabesque" left)

Shoulder piece

Sleeve badge camouflage suit

General of the Panzer Force was a military rank in the Wehrmacht , corresponding to the previous general ranks of the German armies such as General of the Infantry , General of the Cavalry and General of the Artillery .

An officer in this rank usually held the position of the commanding general of a tank or motorized army corps , sometimes also of the commander-in-chief of an army or tank army. The first appointment took place on November 1, 1935, when the then "Commanding General of the Armored Troops" and former "Inspector of the Motor Troops and Army Motorization" Oswald Lutz was promoted to this rank.

Officers in this rank

Officers with General of the Panzer Force as the last rank

Hermann Balck (1893–1982) Erich Brandenberger (1892–1955) Hermann Breith (1892–1964) Hans Cramer (1896–1968) Ludwig Crüwell (1892-1958) Karl Decker (1897–1945) Heinrich Eberbach (1895–1992) Maximilian Baron of Edelsheim (1897–1994) Hans-Karl Freiherr von Esebeck (1892–1955) Gustav Fehn (1892–1945) Ernst Feßmann (1881–1962) Wolfgang Fischer (1888–1943) Walter Fries (1894–1982) Hans Freiherr von Funck (1891–1979) Leo Freiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg (1886–1974) Fritz-Hubert Gräser (1888–1960) Sigfrid Henrici (1889–1964) Traugott Herr (1890–1976) Alfred Ritter von Hubicki (1887–1971) Georg Jauer (1896–1971) Werner Kempf (1886–1964) Mortimer von Kessel (1893–1981) Friedrich Kirchner (1885–1960) Ulrich Kleemann (1892–1963)

Otto von Knobelsdorff (1886–1966) Walter Krüger (1892–1973) Friedrich Kühn (1889–1944) Adolf-Friedrich Kuntzen (1889–1964) Willibald Freiherr von Langermann and Erlencamp (1890–1942) Joachim Lemelsen (1888–1954) Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz (1896–1969) Smilo Freiherr von Lüttwitz (1895–1975) Oswald Lutz (1876–1944) Hasso von Manteuffel (1897–1978) Karl Mauss (1898–1959) Walther Nehring (1892–1983) Hans Röttiger (1896–1960) Dietrich von Saucken (1892–1980) Ferdinand Schaal (1889–1962) Gerhard Graf von Schwerin (1899–1980) Fridolin von Senger and Etterlin (1891–1963) Georg Stumme (1886–1942) Horst Stumpff (1887-1958) Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma (1891–1948) Gustav von Vaerst (1894–1975) Rudolf Veiel (1883–1956) Nikolaus von Vormann (1895–1959) Walther Wenck (1900–1982)

The following former generals of the armored forces rose to become colonel-general :

• Heinz Guderian
• Heinrich von Vietinghoff
• Georg-Hans Reinhardt
• Rudolf Schmidt
• Hans-Jürgen von Arnim
• Josef Harpe
• Hans-Valentin Hube

The following also rose to General Field Marshal :

• Erwin Rommel
• Friedrich Paulus
• Walter Model

See also

• General ranks of the Wehrmacht

literature

• Reinhard Stumpf : The Wehrmacht elite. Structure of rank and origin of the German generals and admirals 1933–1945. Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1982. ISBN 3-7646-1815-9 .