Walter Hartmann (General)

Walter Hartmann (born July 23, 1891 in Mülheim an der Ruhr , † March 11, 1977 in Hameln ) was a German artillery general in World War II .

Life

Hartmann joined the 1st Field Artillery Regiment No. 12 of the Saxon Army on October 1, 1910 as an officer candidate . On May 4, 1912, he was promoted to lieutenant with a patent from May 24, 1910 . During the First World War Hartmann fought with his regiment on the Eastern Front and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military-St. Henry the Order . In the further course of the war he was promoted to first lieutenant on March 13, 1916, and one month later came as an observer to the Aviation Substitute Department 7. From January 1917 he acted as First Adjutant of the Artillery Aviation School East and on June 1, 1918 became Commander of the Aviation Group 21 transferred and commanded for training in the general staff service. For his achievements, Hartmann received both classes of the Iron Cross and the Knight's Cross II. Class of the Order of Albrecht with Swords.

After the war he was accepted into the Reichswehr and promoted to captain on December 1, 1921 . In 1924 and 1925 he served on the staff of the 4th Division in Dresden . From the spring of 1927 he was used in the 4th Artillery Regiment and in 1932 was appointed major . From October 1934 he was commander of the Naumburg Artillery Regiment , after which it was renamed the Artillery Regiment 60, where he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in June 1936 . From October 1937 he was with the 24th Artillery Regiment, where he was promoted to colonel in June 1938 .

With this regiment he took part in the attack on Poland and in the western campaign. In November 1940 he was transferred to another artillery unit that was involved in the attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941 . As early as July 15, 1941, he lost an arm and a leg from an injury. On August 10, 1941, he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and was promoted to major general on October 1, 1941 . After his health was restored - as far as possible - he returned to service at his own request and took command of a reserve division on May 1, 1942, and that of the 390th Field Training Division in September 1942 , where he was made lieutenant general in February 1943 was promoted. From April 1943 he took over command of the 87th Infantry Division from Lieutenant General Werner Richter , which was deployed at Welisch . In November 1943 he was awarded the Oak Leaves Knight's Cross (340th award). A few days earlier he had been transferred to the Führerreserve and took part in a course in January 1944. On January 20, 1944, he took over the leadership of the 1st Army Corps from Carl Hilpert . With his appointment as general of the artillery, he took over command of the XXXXIX on May 1, 1944 . Mountain Corps . The corps was deployed in the Crimea , but had to withdraw to Romania . On September 1, 1944, he took over command of the VIII Army Corps , which was deployed against the advancing Red Army . On March 18, 1944, he received the Knight's Cross Swords (139th award). From April 1, 1945, he took over command of XXIV Panzer Corps , with whom he was taken prisoner by the United States , from which he was released in June 1947.

literature

• Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Brockmann: Die Generale des 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: von Haack – Hitzfeld. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1999, ISBN 3-7648-2538-3 , pp. 138-140.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Royal Saxon Military St. Heinrichs Order 1736-1918. An honor sheet of the Saxon Army. Wilhelm and Bertha von Baensch Foundation, Dresden 1937, p. 293.
2. ↑ Reichswehr Ministry (Ed.): Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1930, p. 134.