The Devil's General : the Life of Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz - the ""Panzer Graf""

390 Pages·2014·6 MB·English

by  Bagdonas

Published in the United States of America and Great Britain in 2013 by
CASEMATE PUBLISHERS
908 Darby Road, Havertown, PA 19083
and
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Copyright 2013 © Raymond Bagdonas
ISBN 978-1-61200-222-4
Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-61200-223-1
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CONTENTS
Introduction

1 Early Years
2 World War I and Captivity
3 Post-war Freikorps Actions
4 Joining the Nazi Party and SS
5 The Inter-war Years and the Invasion of Poland
6 The Battle of France
7 Romania and Yugoslavia
8 Operation Barbarossa
9 The Battles of Dubno and Uman
10 The Battle of Nikolayev
11 The Battle of Kiev
12 The Battle of Kalach
13 The Road to Stalingrad
14 Inside the Cauldron
15 The Grossdeutschland Division
16 The Third Battle of Kharkov
17 To Kill Hitler
18 Operation Citadel
19 The Battle of Kursk
20 Operations Strachwitz
21 The Battle of Tukum
22 The Battle for Germany
23 Captivity and Post-war Years
A 1 The Awards of Hyazinth Graf von Strachwitz
PPENDIX
A 2 Rank Equivalents
PPENDIX
A 3 Civil Ranks and Titles of Nobility
PPENDIX
A 4 Holders of the Panzer Assault Badge in Gold
PPENDIX
A 5 Aces of the Panzerwaffe
PPENDIX
A 6 German Army List of Civil Courage
PPENDIX
Bibliography
Index
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to my grandchildren, Sofia, Veronique, Trinity,
Sterling and Rimas. May their generation be spared the horrors suffered by
the generation depicted in this book.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
V
tance and I would like to
ERY FEW BOOKS ARE WRITTEN WITHOUT SOME ASSIS
express my thanks to those who helped me. Firstly to Garry Dillon for his
typing, encouragement and continuing help. His computer skills were especially
helpful, and along with his friendship, much appreciated.
To my typist Liesa Hogg, who had to decipher my scrawled longhand and
deal with so many unfamiliar military terms, a big thank you. To my daughter
Natalie for her courier service, and my wife Gail for her patience and
forbearance in dealing with someone living simultaneously in two worlds, the
present and the Russian front in the past. I would also like to thank Jason Mark
for his timely help and assistance.
Finally I would like to thank Steven Smith, Casemate’s Editorial Director,
for his faith in me and the book.
“Be careful, enemy forces are led by that devil’s general von Strachwitz.
Avoid if possible until reinforcements arrive.”
Intercepted Soviet radio message on the Northern Front, 1944
INTRODUCTION
H
G S G -Z Camminetz was the
YAZINTH RAF TRACHWITZ VON ROSS AUCHE UND
most decorated regimental commander, and one of the most effective panzer
leaders, in the German Army.
He was one of only 27 men in the entire Wehrmacht to be awarded the
Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. Of these he was the
only one to receive grades of the decoration for both bravery and his command
abilities, which led to the significant outcomes which merited the award. The
other Diamonds recipients received awards for either their bravery and combat
accomplishments, such as Erich Hartmann for his 352 aerial victories, or for
their skill in command, such as Hans Hube and Walter Model. In the latter cases
their men did the actual fighting and the award was as much for the units under
their command as for them.
Von Strachwitz’s rapid rise during World War II from a lowly captain to a
lieutenant general, equivalent to a major general in the UK and US armies, was
nothing short of extraordinary, and this in an army not lavish in granting
promotions.
He fought in nearly all of the major campaigns—the invasions of Poland,
France and Yugoslavia, and the important campaigns and battles in the east
including Operation Barbarossa, the battles of Kiev, Stalingrad, Kharkov, and
Kursk, the Baltic States and finally of Germany and his beloved Silesia—his
service being almost a microcosm of World War II in Europe. In the course of
these battles, not only did he win renown—becoming a legend among those who
fought on the Eastern Front who gave him the title Panzer Graf (Armoured
Count)—but was also wounded 14 times, probably was probably unique