Hans von Funck

Hans Emil Richard Freiherr von Funck (born December 23, 1891 in Aachen , † February 14, 1979 in Viersen ) was a German general of the tank troops in World War II .

Life

The son of the District President Paul Johannes von Funck and his wife Marie, née von Lützow , graduated from high school in Köslin . From Easter 1911 to summer 1914 he studied law in Greifswald and Freiburg . On November 6, 1915, he married Irmgard von Kritter (* 1896) in Göttingen and the three children Hans-Joachim, Ingeborg and Burkhard emerged from this marriage. His marriage ended in divorce in 1939. In 1940 he entered into his second marriage to Maria Freiin von Mirbach , from which the son Arndt came.

First World War

With the outbreak of the First World War , Funck joined the replacement squadron of the 1st Brandenburg Dragoons Regiment No. 2 in Schwedt / Oder on August 3, 1914 as a flag junior . From October 11, 1914, he was deployed with the regiment on the Western Front and was wounded there on Christmas Eve . After hospital stay and recovery, he was transferred to the replacement squadron of his regular regiment at the beginning of February 1915 and his appointment as ensign there on February 23, 1915. From May 5, 1915, he was back at the front with the regiment and was on June 18, 1915 Second lieutenant promoted. Funck was one from 11 March to 11 April 1916 the 2nd Squadron in was then briefly aide on the staff of the Reserve Dragoons 2 and was from 10 May 1916. MG - train driver used. This was followed from December 16, 1916 assignments in the Reserve Dragoon Regiment No. 12, first as a catering and supply officer, then as a court officer. Finally he was used as leader of the 1st Squadron, then from October 25, 1917 as leader of the 2nd MG Squadron. On March 18, 1918, Funck was transferred to the 1st company of the MG Rifle Command West in Tongern , and a month later he took over the 3rd company of MG Rifle Division 11, which he was to lead beyond the end of the war. For his work during the war he received both classes of the Iron Cross, the Hanseatic Cross Hamburg and the Wound Badge in silver.

Interwar years

Funck was transferred on February 6, 1919 its parent regiment back there leader of the MG - squadron and with this the Border Guard East used. On September 1, 1919, he was accepted into the Reichswehr , where he first served in the 15th Reichswehr Cavalry Regiment, then from February 3, 1920 in the 6th (Prussian) Cavalry Regiment . On April 1, 1923 he was promoted to lieutenant . From October 1, 1924, he was assigned to the 1st course in the training of assistant leaders at the Military District Command II and a year later he was transferred to the staff of the 2nd Division for further training . Another year later, he was transferred to the Reichswehr Ministry . After further training stations with the 1st Motor Vehicle Department, the 1st Engineer Battalion and the 1st Intelligence Department, Funck joined the 4th Squadron of the 6th (Prussian) Cavalry Regiment in Demmin on October 1, 1927 . There he was promoted to Rittmeister on April 1, 1928 , assigned to Group Command 1 a month later and to the Army Training Department (T4) of the Reichswehr Ministry on October 1, 1928. On April 1, 1930, Funck was finally transferred there. From October 1, 1932 to June 30, 1933 he was chief of the 1st squadron of the 11th (Prussian) cavalry regiment in Ohlau , then became 1st adjutant of the chief of the army command (from 1935 commander in chief of the army) and served in it Function of Colonel General Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord and Werner von Fritsch . In this capacity he was promoted to major on August 1, 1934 and to lieutenant colonel on September 1, 1936 .

Funck briefly joined the Air Force on September 16, 1936 and worked for the Reich Minister of Aviation and Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force. He returned to the army on November 30, 1936 and was a military attaché at the German representation at the seat of the national government in Spain. In this function, Funck was promoted to colonel on March 16, 1939 , and from August 1, 1939 he was also a military attaché at the German embassy in Lisbon .

Second World War

After the beginning of the Second World War , Funck returned to Germany in October 1939, where he was first commander of the 5th Panzer Regiment, then the 3rd Panzer Brigade. On January 1, 1941, he was promoted to major general . In the same month Funck was entrusted with the command of the newly formed blocking association Libya , which was supposed to prevent the impending collapse of the Italian troops in North Africa. He personally traveled ahead to Libya to investigate the situation there. Based on his report, Hitler decided to expand the Sperrverband into a tank corps. Funck therefore exchanged his command with the experienced Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel and became his successor as commander of the 7th Panzer Division .

After the start of Operation Barbarossa , he fought with his unit on the central and southern sections of the Eastern Front . On July 15, 1941 he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his service in Vilna. His unit was temporarily subordinate to the Hollidt Army Department and was used in operations on the Don and in the Donets Basin. In this context, he was awarded the German Cross in Gold on March 14, 1943 and the Oak Leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on August 22, 1943 (278th award). On March 1, 1944, he became General of the Panzer Force and two days later the Commanding General of XXXXVII. Panzer Corps, first on the Eastern and later on the Western Front. On September 4, 1944, he joined the OKH's Führerreserve , from which he was removed on February 28, 1945. With the German capitulation , Funck fell into Soviet captivity on May 8, 1945 , from which he was released on October 9, 1955.

literature

• Dermot Bradley (Ed.): The Generals of the Army 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 4: Fleck – Gyldenfeldt. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1996, ISBN 3-7648-2488-3 , pp. 154-156.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Briefadeligen houses. 1907. First year, Justus Perthes, Gotha 1906, p. 438.
2. ↑ Reichswehr Ministry (Ed.): Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1930, p. 148.
3. ↑ ^{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. 324.