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Hasso von Manteuffel | |
|---|---|
 Manteuffel in 1944 | |
| Born | (1897-01-14)14 January 1897 |
| Died | 24 September 1978(1978-09-24) (aged 81) |
| Allegiance | German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Imperial German Army Reichswehr German Army |
| Years of service | 1916–1945 |
| Rank | General der Panzertruppe |
| Commands | 5th Panzer Army Panzer Division Großdeutschland |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds |
| Other work | Politician |
| Member of theBundestag | |
| In office 1953–1957 | |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Free Democratic (1949–1956) Free People's (1956–1957) German (from 1957) |
Hasso Eccard Freiherr von Manteuffel (14 January 1897 – 24 September 1978) was a German baron born to the Prussian noblevon Manteuffel family and was a general duringWorld War II who commanded the5th Panzer Army. He was a recipient of theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds ofNazi Germany.
After the war, he was elected to theBundestag (West German legislature) and was the defense-policy spokesman of theFree Democratic Party. A proponent ofWest German rearmament, he was responsible for coining the new name for the post-World War IIWest German armed forces, theBundeswehr.
Hasso von Manteuffel began his military career during theFirst World War. In 1919, he joined theFreikorps and then the newly createdReichswehr. In February 1937 he joined the Panzer Troop Command of theOKH, and in February 1939 became a senior professor at Panzer Troop School II in Berlin.
DuringOperation Barbarossa, Manteuffel commanded abattalion in the7th Panzer Division, in theArmy Group Centre.
In early 1943, Manteuffel was sent toAfrica, where on 5 February he became the commander of theDivision von Broich/von Manteuffel, serving in5th Panzer Army. Here Manteuffel took part in theBattle of Tunisia. Manteuffel assumed command of the 7th Panzer Division on 22 August 1943 and was posted to theEastern Front, which had by then collapsed following theBattle of Kursk and the resulting Soviet counteroffensive. The division retreated during the resultingBattle of the Dnieper.
Manteuffel was appointed commander of theGrossdeutschland Division on 1 February 1944. The division engaged theRed Army west ofKirovograd, then retreated acrossUkraine. In late July Großdeutschland was ordered toEast Prussia, following the collapse ofArmy Group Centre in SovietOperation Bagration. The division failed to break through to theArmy Group North in theCourland Pocket.
On 1 September 1944, Manteuffel was promoted to General of Panzer Troops and given command of the5th Panzer Army on the Western Front, which took part in theArdennes Offensive. Manteuffel's 5th Panzer Army achieved the deepest penetration of Allied lines during the offensive, almost reaching theMeuse River, and engaging the U.S. forces at theBattle of Bastogne. On 10 March 1945 Manteuffel was made the commander of the3rd Panzer Army on the Eastern Front, attached toArmy Group Vistula. His army was assigned to defend the banks of theOder River north of theSeelow Heights. On 25 April the Soviet2nd Belorussian Front broke through Third Panzer Army's line, forcing a German retreat. On 3 May 1945 Manteuffelsurrendered his troops to theBritish Army atHagenow, Germany.
At first Manteuffel was interned at the British-administeredIsland Farm Special Camp 11 for high-rankingWehrmacht officers. In 1946 he was handed over to the Americans and took part in theU.S. Army Historical Division project, for which he produced a monograph on the mobile warfare aspect of the Ardennes Offensive.
Manteuffel was released in December 1946, and later became involved with politics. He joined theFree Democratic Party of Germany (FDP) in 1949, and was elected to theBundestag in 1953. In 1956, he defected from the FDP to co-found theFree People's Party, and followed the party as it merged with theGerman Party the following year. Manteuffel left office in 1957. In the early 1950s, he advised on the redevelopment of theBundeswehr.
Manteuffel was charged in 1959 for having a deserter shot in 1944 (he reversed the court martial's original verdict of imprisonment and decided for a death sentence, using the Führer Order No.7 as a basis). He was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Alaric Searle commented that Manteuffel exceeded his powers as a divisional commander, but at the same time, he agreed withHermann Balck, who was also prosecuted for ordering the unlawful execution of a German soldier, that such a trial would be "unthinkable" for a French or British officer.
"Manteuffel's purely military arguments—that signs of disintegration had appeared on other sectors of the front, that the night before the incident a case of desertion had occurred, and that his division's task, in a precarious situation, was to help protect a critical evacuation point—would probably have been accepted in most other Western countries as justifying his action."[1]
He spoke eloquent English; in 1968 he lectured at theUnited States Military Academy atWest Point, speaking about combat in deep snow conditions and worked as a technical adviser on war films. He was interviewed inThe World at War episode 19 - "Pincers" (August 1944 – March 1945) in 1973. Manteuffel died in 1978.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by GeneralmajorFriedrich Freiherr von Broich | Commander ofDivisionvon Manteuffel 7 February 1943 – 31 March 1943 | Succeeded by GeneralleutnantKarl Bülowius |
| Preceded by OberstWolfgang Gläsemer | Commander of7th Panzer Division 20 August 1943 – January 1944 | Succeeded by GeneralmajorAdelbert Schulz |
| Preceded by GeneralleutnantWalter Hörnlein | Commander ofPanzergrenadier-Division Großdeutschland 27 January 1944 – 1 September 1944 | Succeeded by OberstKarl Lorenz |
| Preceded by SS-OberstgruppenführerSepp Dietrich | Commander of5th Panzer Army 9 September 1944 – 8 March 1945 | Succeeded by GeneraloberstJosef Harpe |
| Preceded by GeneraloberstErhard Raus | Commander of3rd Panzer Army 10 March 1945 – 8 May 1945 | Succeeded by (none) |
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