Walther von Hünersdorff

Walther von Hünersdorff as major general in 1943

Walther von Hünersdorff (born November 28, 1898 in Cairo , Egypt , † July 17, 1943 near Charkow , Soviet Union ) was a German officer , most recently lieutenant general and commander of the 6th Panzer Division in World War II .

Life

Hünersdorff entered on August 9, 1915 as an officer candidate in the Hussar Regiment "von Schill" (1st Silesian) No. 4 . He served with the regiment on the Western Front during the First World War , was promoted to lieutenant on October 19, 1916 and, during the course of the war, was employed as an orderly officer and temporarily as an adjutant . After the end of the war he was accepted into the Reichswehr .

Briefing of the situation at Panzer Group 3 in July 1941; from left: Field Marshal Fedor von Bock , Colonel Walther von Hünersdorff (hidden), Colonel General Hermann Hoth , General der Flieger Wolfram von Richthofen

In the Reichswehr Hünersdorff was first used in the 7th (Prussian) cavalry regiment . In 1922 he was transferred to the 11th (Prussian) cavalry regiment . In the summer of 1925 he was promoted to first lieutenant . As of the spring of 1926 he was employed as a first lieutenant with the regimental staff in Neustadt. From the spring of 1927 he was employed there as an adjutant. On August 1, 1930, he was transferred to the staff of the 3rd Division of the Reichswehr in Berlin to train as a guide . On February 1, 1933, he was promoted to Rittmeister . On April 1, 1934, he was transferred to the command of the armored forces. He was promoted to major on April 1, 1936. A transfer to the reconnaissance department (motorized) 4 in Sondershausen took place on October 6, 1936. On February 1, 1938, he became First General Staff Officer (Ia) in the staff of the 1st Panzer Division in Weimar . As such, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on June 1, 1938 . G. promoted.

At the beginning of the war, Hünersdorff was appointed First General Staff Officer (Ia) of the 253rd Infantry Division and on October 25, 1939 he was appointed Ia to the II Army Corps . After the campaign in the West, on September 12, 1940, he was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the XV. Army Corps . In mid-November 1940 the name of the XV was changed. Army Corps to Panzer Group 3.

Wife (with bouquet of flowers) and Field Marshal Erich von Manstein at the funeral of Walther von Hünersdorff in the Taras Shevchenko Garden in Charkow, July 1943

From June 22, 1941 he was then used with Panzer Group 3 on the Eastern Front. On July 1, 1941, he was promoted to Colonel i. G. promoted. On January 1, 1942, Panzer Group 3 was renamed the 3rd Panzer Army . On January 26, 1942, he was awarded the German Cross in Gold for his achievements on the Eastern Front. On July 1, 1942, he was appointed commander of the 11th Panzer Regiment. In the winter of 1942/43 he and his regiment took part in the relief attack on the enclosed Stalingrad . For his achievements in this relief attack, Hünersdorff was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on December 22, 1942. At the beginning of February 1943 he took over the leadership of the 6th Panzer Division. On May 1, he was promoted to major general and appointed commander of the 6th Panzer Division .

With this he took part in the Citadel Company in July 1943 . He was lightly injured by a graze on the morning of July 13th and seriously wounded by a shot in the head that afternoon on the same day. On July 14th he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in the hospital in Kharkov. He died on July 17th in the hospital. Hünersdorff was buried in Charkow in the presence of his wife, who worked there as a Red Cross nurse . At his funeral, General Field Marshal Erich von Manstein , General Colonel Hermann Hoth and General of the Panzer Troop Erhard Raus were present.

With effect from July 1, he was subsequently promoted to Lieutenant General on August 10, 1943.

Awards

Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class
Clasp for the Iron Cross, 2nd and 1st class
German cross in gold on January 26, 1942
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves
- Knight's Cross on December 22, 1942
- Oak leaves on July 14, 1943 (259th award)
Panzer Badge

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 6: Hochbaum – Klutmann. Biblio Publishing House. Bissendorf 2002. ISBN 3-7648-2582-0 . Pp. 191-192.

Web links

Commons : Walther von Hünersdorff - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Ranking list of the German Imperial Army. Ed .: Reichswehr Ministry . Mittler & Sohn publishing house. Berlin 1930. p. 61.
↑ ^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. 409.

personal data
SURNAME	Hünersdorff, Walther von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German officer, most recently lieutenant general in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH	November 28, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cairo , Egypt
DATE OF DEATH	July 17, 1943
Place of death	Kharkov , Soviet Union

[1] Ranking list of the German Imperial Army. Ed .: Reichswehr Ministry . Mittler & Sohn publishing house. Berlin 1930. p. 61.

[Scherzer-2] 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. 409.