THE DEVILS GENERAL: THE LIFE OF HYAZINTH VON STRACHWITZ - THE PANZER GRAF PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Raymond Bagdonas | 368 pages | 20 Feb 2014 | Casemate Books | 9781612002224 | English | Havertown, United States The Devils General: The Life of Hyazinth von Strachwitz - The Panzer Graf PDF Book The prose was not particularly easy to read either and he fell into digressions every chance he had. Air Force Pararescue is the most skillful and capable rescue force in the world, taking Prinz Eugen, three Destroyers and attached torpedo boats. Still, for the Graf there were some lessons to be learnt, but these were merely of movement control, logistics and—perhaps more importantly given the conditions to come in Russia—vehicle maintenance and damage from the dust and poor-quality roads. He had a fractured skull, broken ribs, legs and hands. In October it fought defensively in Lithuania before retreating to East Prussia. Some of the batteries were firing at the tanks, others at the aircraft. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. How the knees of those two must have shaken! It would not be long in coming. That being said, this book did do a good job of describing unit level combat and manoeuvre warfare. The military training grounds at Mourmelon-le-Grand was captured on 12 June. This corps had the 4th, 5th and 14th Panzer Divisions as well as the Grossdeutschland Panzergrenadier Division, having some tanks in total. Strachwitz married again on 30 July in Holzhausen. Strachwitz arrived at his regiment on 26 August where he, as the oldest Reserve officer, was assigned the task of organizing the regiment's battlefield resupply. It was set to commence on 20 August but was launched on 16 August in perfect weather, with the morale of the troops, who were on the attack at last, high. Physical fitness was vital, with emphasis on gymnastics, which was practised daily. He resorted to demoting soundly efficient officers on the spot for minor infractions, real or imagined, and summarily shooting front-line soldiers found in the rear without documented reasons. During the Battle of France he served under General Rommel in the famed 7th Panzer Division, being the only battalion commander able to keep up with his fast-moving division commander. Enabling JavaScript in your browser will allow you to experience all the features of our site. It was a veteran division, having served with distinction in the Battle of France, particularly in the battle to take Mont Damion, which was mentioned in the Official War Bulletin and became part of the text at the War Academy. It was a major factor in maintaining morale in an increasingly long and brutal war. Maurice and St. He was captured by the French in October Carius, Otto The regiment was stationed at Saatz and Kaaden in the Sudetenland until 15 October before it returned to Eisenach on 16 October Knights of the Reich. Strachwitz and his platoon volunteered for a mounted, long-distance reconnaissance patrol, which would penetrate far behind Belgian lines. Machine-gun nests, pill boxes, dug-in tanks, trench lines and bunkers were all heavily manned and stoutly defended by the determined Soviets. The Kiev pocket was sealed when panzers of the 3. The 1st Panzer Regiment was based at Zintern, which had the best facilities to house and repair its tanks and equipment. These aircraft often destroyed the Russian tanks well before von Strachwitz and his men got to them. The Russian Empire ordered a partial mobilization one day later and the German Empire mobilized on 30 July He went on to lead the regiment during the battles of Kiev, Uman and Stalingrad, from where he was evacuated. Then silence again. In his army were the flower of Silesian chivalry, among whom were several knights and retainers of the von Strachwitz family. They had some sporadic fighting but the resistance was disorganised. Strachwitz's tactics quickly made news within the Wehrmacht, and even Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring , Commander-in-Chief, West as of 11 March , expressed an interest. The alternative route saw boys, often as young as ten, enter one of the eight cadet preparatory schools in Germany, and remain there until seeking admission to the central cadet school at Gross Lichterfelde—the German equivalent to the British Sandhurst or American West Point—at the age of On this day, Keltsch informed him that Strachwitz had been nominated for the Clasp to the Iron Cross Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz 2nd Class for his organizational achievements, which he received on 5 October Strachwitz was promoted to Oberst colonel of the Reserves on 1 January The T was so close that its 76mm gun was now within effective range and capable of knocking out our own tank. Hans Hube was a plainspoken man, a born soldier without false airs or graces. Williamson, Gordon ; Bujeiro, Ramiro Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. It brought with it a supply column of trucks loaded with desperately needed supplies of fuel, food, weapons and ammunition. John Griebe rated it it was amazing Aug 14, It shows how much infastructure has remained and points to the passing nature of things such as outfits, uniforms, and ephemera. This promotion and appointment was in recognition of the command and fighting abilities he had displayed in both the Polish and French campaigns. The Devils General: The Life of Hyazinth von Strachwitz - The Panzer Graf Writer Our occupation forces in France and the Netherlands settled down to the calm routine of peacetime soldiering. The shortage of trained infantry forced the Russians to send in raw, cobbled together militia battalions consisting of factory workers, including women. Strachwitz then decided to head for Switzerland, hoping that the French—Swiss border was not as heavily protected. Punishments for the smallest infractions, real or imagined, were routine, and at times bordering on the sadistic. Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. He requested permission for a withdrawal to shorten his line but this was refused and, reassured by Hitler, he elected to wait for developments. On 16 April, Hube announced that the 16th Panzer Division would no longer be needed in the campaign and were ordered to regroup at Plovdiv. Namespaces Article Talk. Then he stood on the staff car and panned his camera around to get us in the picture, too. The Kaiser abandoned von Eulenburg and his ADCs, and insisted that von Moltke sue in order to clear his name and prevent any tarnishing of the Kaiser by association. The young von Strachwitz wore a military uniform, his classes were called companies, with teachers holding nominal military rank. A huge gaping hole appeared in the German front. He used his knowledge to influence the Silesian forest owners to sell their wood to the paper mills. At first light he gave the order to fire, and every shot fired was an instant hit. Panzer Brigade would then attack the Russians at Biksti towards Berze. This attack is launched on 19 August and is supported by the formations own attached artillery west of Biksti, the multi-stage operation takes Tuckum 20 August where that attack has naval artillery fir support from 2nd Baltic Task Force. In von Strachwitz attended the Cavalry School in Hanover, a recognition of his equestrian ability and a clear sign that his talent had been noted, and that he was on the road to eventual senior rank. What little resistance he encountered was easily disposed of, being mainly light infantry rearguard actions, and sporadic, poorly controlled artillery fire. Within a matter of days the Soviet forces involved had advanced hundreds of kilometres, taking much of Poland and striking deep within the borders of the Reich. He had lost his wife, his youngest son and his estate during the war. These units, augmented by other Panzer companies, formed four Schwimm-Panzerabteilungen amphibious tank battalion for Operation Sea Lion , the planned and aborted invasion of the United Kingdom. The final objective was Belfort , which capitulated after a short resistance. It is, on one hand, a concise chronological history He continued to use his influence in Upper Silesia to modernize forestry and farming. He was killed at Riga on 16 September Strachwitz dispatched a messenger, who broke through to the German lines and delivered the intelligence they had gathered. This dissipated his forces and the French resistance was broken near Vendresse. But that was just an interruption. The gulf between officers and men in all units, but especially the Guards, was so great as to be unbridgeable. That, children of my guard, means that you are now my soldiers. His old aerial comrade-in-arms, Hans Ulrich Rudel, was also flying support missions around the northern front and the Tukum area with his tank busters. His word was law and most were little dictators lording over their charges with little restraint or supervision from the senior staff. It was his second, and more immediate family. Others were elements heading for the front, which were quickly disposed of if they were prepared to resist, or given a friendly wave and ignored if they mistook the German tanks for their own. Battle Group Strehlke— consisting of combat engineers, anti-tank troops and artillery men—managed to capture the landing stage of the railway ferry on the Volga, cutting off the Volga connection from south Russia to Moscow. I hope also that this book fills the gap that currently exists, and gives him the proper recognition that he deserves, not only as the superlative warrior, war hero and panzer commander that indeed he was, but also as the decent and honourable man of integrity that he remained throughout his life.