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Josef Harpe

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Josef Harpe
File:Josef Harpe.jpg
Josef Harpe
AllegianceGerman Empire German Empire (to 1918)
Germany Weimar Republic (to 1933)
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
Service / branchHeer
Years of service1909-1945
RankGeneraloberst
Commands9. Armee
12. Panzer-Division
XXXXI.Panzerkorps
Battles / warsWorld War I
World War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Josef Harpe (21 September 188714 March 1968) was a German Generaloberst who served during World War I and World War II.

Harpe was born in Buer which is near Recklinghausen, Province of Westphalia, and died in Nuremberg, Bavaria.

Military career

Harpe joined the Prussian Army on September 28, 1909 as Fahnenjunker and was transferred to the Infantry Regiment 56 in 1911. Here he was promoted to Leutnant on March 20 and participated with this regiment in World War I. By the end of World War I he held the position of company commander.

After the war Harpe remained in the Reichswehr military service. In 1931, under the pseudonym Direktor Hacker, he held a leading position in the secret German-Russian Tank-School (Organisation Kama) in Kazan, Soviet Union. He was promoted to Oberstleutnant on August 1, 1934 and became commander of Panzer-Regiment 3 on October 15, 1935. Again promoted on January 1, 1937, he was put in charge of the 1st Panzerbrigade holding the rank of Oberst. After serving on the Eastern Front, by 1945 he ended up as the General Officer Commanding 5th Panzer Army, Western Front, with the rank of Generaloberst and was held as a prisoner of war by the United States until 1948. [1]

Awards

References

  • Berger, Florian (2000). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Wien, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
  • Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 - 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II. Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
  • Schaulen, Fritjof (2003). Eichenlaubträger 1940 - 1945 Zeitgeschichte in Farbe I Abraham - Huppertz (in German). Selent, Germany: Pour le Mérite. ISBN 3-932381-20-3.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
Military offices
Preceded by Commander of 2. Infanterie-Division
5 October 194010 January 1941
Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander of 12. Panzerdivision
10 January 194115 January 1942
Succeeded by
Generalleutnant Walter Wessel
Preceded by
none
Commander of XXXXI Panzerkorps
10 July 194215 October 1943
Succeeded by
General of Artillery Helmuth Weidling
Preceded by
Generaloberst Erhard Raus
Commander of 4. Panzer-Armee
18 May 194428 June 1944
Succeeded by
General der Panzertruppen Walther Nehring
Preceded by
Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model
Commander of 9. Armee
4 November 194319 May 1944
Succeeded by
General Hans Jordan
Preceded by
General der Panzertruppen Hasso von Manteuffel
Commander of 5. Panzer-Armee
8 March 194517 April 1945
Succeeded by
none

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