Mantofil

Mantoffel was known as an excellent tactician, whose skillful and imaginative armored command skills repeatedly frustrated the Allies during World War II. He was also the 24th recipient of the Knight's Cross with oak leaves, swords, and diamonds in the German Armed Forces. He died on September 24, 1978 in Tyrol, Austria.

Von Mantoffel joined the army in 1908 (aged 11) and served in several different units until 1934 (chronologically, he should have participated in World War I, but I don't have specific information). On April 1, 1934, he became a captain and worked in various fields in several units. By February 1, 1939, he was assigned to the 2nd Armored School near Berlin. He was a major when the war broke out in September 1939, but by the end of the war in 1945 he had become an armored general and held the post of commander of the army group.

On October 1, 1941, he was promoted to colonel while serving on the Eastern Front. Later in the North African campaign, he commanded a division there (there was a "Mantofel Panzer Division" in the German sequence of World War II, although it was not long, but there was also a division commander in addition to him), and launched a successful counterattack in the Tunisian campaign, cutting off the enemy's rear. He was recalled to the mainland before the fall of North Africa and was promoted to major general on May 1, 1943.

In November 1943, Hasso von Mantofel took command of the 7th Panzer Division in Ukraine (Rommel's "ghost division", where Mantofel had been battalion commander in the early days of the Soviet-German war), and together with his brothers he stopped the Soviet pursuit of victory and stabilized the front. On December 27, 1943, he took command of the elite "Greater German" Panzer Division and was promoted to lieutenant general on February 1, 1944. Interestingly, his uniform carried two armbands at the same time, namely "DAK" (German African Army) and "Grossdeutschland" ("Greater German" Panzer Division). In any case, the African battlefield has the fewest war crimes, and both sides have shown a certain "chivalry". Rommel had cut off the supply of his own troops and prioritized the provision of drinking water for prisoners of war, and had always refused the Waffen-SS to participate in the African campaign; his successor, Admiral Arnim, had telegraphed to the British Air Force which were transport ships and German hospital ships carrying 600 prisoners of war; and Sir Alexander (Marshal), after the Tunisian campaign, thanked Admiral Arnim by ordering the release of 600 wounded and sick African soldiers to be shipped back to Germany according to Admiral Arnim's wishes. So to this day, the officers and men of the DAK are still full of pride and respected by veterans of countries such as the United States and the United States.

In May 1944, von Mantoffel's skillful command of his armored forces halted Marshal Konev's offensive to seize Romania, preserving the Romanian oil fields for the German defense industry (but as the air raids intensified, the oil fields were destroyed, and the Germans could only count on synthetic gasoline extracted from coal. Countless intact vehicles were abandoned for lack of fuel in the final months of the war).

On September 1, Hasso von Mantoffel became an armored general and commander of the 5th Panzer Army. In December 1944, during the Ardenne Offensive, which was designed to cross the Meuse River, capture Brussels, and ultimately capture Antwerp, his army was assigned to protect the flank of the 6th Waffen-SS Panzer Group Army, which was trusted by Hitler and composed of the most elite Waffen-SS units (I have seen a saying that he would rather have a dissatisfied and poorly equipped Wehrmacht division than a fully equipped Waffen-SS division). In the Battle of the Bulge, he once again demonstrated his high tactical command skills. He rejected Hitler's own proposal (based on his experience in World War I) for large-scale artillery preparations and replaced them with large-scale infantry penetration attacks before dawn. As a result, his neighbor's Waffen-SS troops fell into a bitter battle after preparations for large-scale artillery fire (many U.S. troops were awakened by the artillery fire and put on combat duty), but his troops dealt a heavy blow to the inexperienced and unsuspecting U.S. troops. After the annihilation of the Joachim Peiper Battle Group of the Waffen-SS LAH Division (Adolf Hitler's Guards), the 5th Panzer Group Army, which served as cover, achieved great relative success. His assault force almost broke across the Maas River and was the farthest advanced force of the German army. Hitler was forced to agree to take part of the 6th Waffen-SS Panzer Group Army to strengthen the 5th Panzer Group Army. Although the offensive was ultimately frustrated by the Allied air superiority and strong strength, the achievements of the 5th Panzer Group Army were still recognized by the warring parties.

On February 18, 1945, Hasso von Mantoffel was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Diamond Double Swords and Silver Oak Leaf. On March 2, he was transferred to command of the 3rd Panzer Army, which was attached to the "Vistula" Army Group (Commander Himmler!). The main task was to moderate and repel the Soviet offensive aimed at taking Berlin. On May 3, 1945, he and his 3rd Panzer Army surrendered to the Western Allies. From 1953 to 1957, Hasso von Mantoffel joined the rebuilt Liberal Democrats and became a member of parliament. In 1959, he was accused of ordering the shooting of a 19-year-old deserter in 1944. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison, but was released after serving only four months. Hasso von Mantoffel died in Tyrol, Austria, on September 24, 1978.