 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
Erhard Raus | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 January 1889 |
| Died | 3 April 1956(1956-04-03) (aged 67) |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch | German Army |
| Service years | 1909–1945 |
| Rank | Generaloberst |
| Commands | 6th Panzer Division XI Corps 3rd Panzer Army |
| Conflicts | |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
Erhard Raus (8 January 1889 – 3 April 1956) was an Austrian general in theWehrmacht ofNazi Germany duringWorld War II. He commanded the6th Panzer Division during the early years of the war on the Eastern Front before taking army andarmy group commands. Raus was one of three former Austrians who rose to the rank ofGeneraloberst (colonel general) within the GermanWehrmacht. The other two wereAlexander Löhr andLothar Rendulic.
At the age of 18, Raus enrolled in theAustro-Hungarian officer school inBrno, later being stationed inCormòns. During theFirst World War he experienced combat on theEastern Front, in southernPoland, where he commanded a company ofBicycle infantry.
At the end ofFirst World War, he was included in the newly formedAustrian army, first as the commander of theVienna bicycle infantry battalion, later as a tactician at the military academy.
After the annexation of Austria to Germany in 1938, he transferred allegiance to the German military, becoming themilitary attaché of the German embassy inRome.
At the outbreak ofSecond World War, he was recalled to active duty.
On 7 September 1941, duringOperation Barbarossa, Raus was appointed the acting commander of the6th Panzer Division. On 15 September, the 6th Panzer Division, minus its artillery, was transferred toArmy Group Centre to take part inOperation Typhoon, the advance onto Moscow.[1] On 11 October he was awarded theKnights Cross.[2] Raus's unit was transferred to the LVI Panzer Corps.[3]
In early April, the 6th Panzer Division was transferred to France to refit and rest; Raus was appointed the commander of the division on 29 April.[4] In mid-November 1942, the division left France for the Soviet Union.[5] Following the failure ofOperation Citadel (the Kursk offensive), he organized the withdrawal of Axis units across theDnieper river.[6] On 10 December 1943 he was appointed acting commander of the Fourth Panzer Army. Several days later he moved the divisions across the river as well as thousands of plundered cattle and horses.[7] Raus commanded the1st Panzer Army, then the3rd Panzer Army (August 1944 – March 1945) which included the III SS Panzer Corps, XI SS Army Corps and Corps Group Tettau (early March 1945).
After the war, Raus wrote and co-wrote a number of books and publications focusing on strategic analysis of the tank tactics used by his forces on the Eastern Front.
Raus died on 3 April 1956. He was buried in Vienna with full military honors on 6 April.[8]
During his service on the Eastern Front, Raus emphasized flexible mobile defense and the importance of terrain, weather, and logistics in armored warfare. In Panzer Operations, he described how extreme climate conditions, particularly mud seasons and severe winter temperatures, constrained mechanized operations and required decentralized command decisions at lower levels. Raus argued that successful German defensive actions often depended on rapid improvisation, temporary local superiority, and coordinated withdrawal rather than rigid adherence to prewar doctrine. His accounts provide detailed operational observations from engagements ranging from the advance toward Moscow to later defensive battles during the Soviet counteroffensives.[9]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by GeneralleutnantFranz Landgraf | Commander of6th Panzer Division 29 April 1942–7 February 1943 | Succeeded by GeneralleutnantWalther von Hünersdorff |
| Preceded by — | Commander ofXI Corps (known as Provisional Corps Raus until 10 May 1943) 10 February 1943–5 November 1943 | Succeeded by — |
| Preceded by General of Panzer TroopsHeinrich Eberbach | Commander of XLVII Panzer Corps 5 November 1943–30 November 1943 | Succeeded by General of Panzer TroopsHermann Balck |
| Preceded by GeneraloberstHermann Hoth | Commander of4. Panzer-Armee 10 November 1943–21 April 1944 | Succeeded by General of Panzer TroopsWalter Nehring |
| Preceded by GeneralorberstHans Hube | Commander of1. Panzerarmee 21 April 1944–July, 1944 | Succeeded by — |
| Preceded by General of Panzer Troops Erhard Raus | Commander ofArmeegruppe Raus July, 1944–August, 1944 | Succeeded by GeneraloberstGotthard Heinrici |
| Preceded by GeneraloberstGeorg-Hans Reinhardt | Commander of3. Panzer-Armee 16 August 1944–10 March 1945 | Succeeded by GeneralHasso-Eccard von Manteuffel |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
