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{{Short description|German general}} |
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{{refimprove|date=January 2016}}{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}} |
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{{more citations needed|date=January 2016}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}} |
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{{Use shortened footnotes|date=February 2021}} |
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{{Infobox military person |
{{Infobox military person |
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|name=Dietrich von Saucken |
| name = Dietrich von Saucken |
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|birth_date={{birth date|1892|5|16|df=y}} |
| birth_date = {{birth date|1892|5|16|df=y}} |
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|death_date={{death date and age|1980|9|27|1892|5|16|df=y}} |
| death_date = {{death date and age|1980|9|27|1892|5|16|df=y}} |
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| image = Dietrich_von_Saucken_1.jpg |
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|image= |
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|caption= |
| caption = |
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|birth_place=[[Fischhausen]], [[Province of East Prussia|East Prussia]], [[German Empire]] |
| birth_place = [[Fischhausen]], [[Province of East Prussia|East Prussia]], [[German Empire]] |
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|death_place=[[Pullach]], [[West Germany]] |
| death_place = [[Pullach]], [[Bavaria]], [[West Germany]] |
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|placeofburial=[[Munich]] |
| placeofburial = [[Munich]] |
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|nickname= |
| nickname = |
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|allegiance={{flag|German Empire}} <br/>{{flag|Weimar Republic}}<br/>{{flag|Nazi Germany}} |
| allegiance = {{flag|German Empire}} <br/>{{flag|Weimar Republic}}<br/>{{flag|Nazi Germany}} |
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| branch = {{Tree list}} |
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|branch=[[Prussian Army]]<br/>''[[Reichsheer]]''<br/>[[German Army (Wehrmacht)|Army]] |
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* {{army|German Empire}} |
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|serviceyears=1910–45 |
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** {{army|Prussia}} |
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|rank=[[General der Panzertruppe]] |
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* {{army|Weimar Republic}}<br >{{army|Nazi Germany}} |
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|commands=[[German 4th Panzer Division|4th Panzer Division]]<br/>[[XXXIX Panzer Corps]]<br/>[[Panzerkorps Großdeutschland]]<br/>[[2nd Army (Wehrmacht)|2n Army]]<br/>[[Army East Prussia (Wehrmacht)|Army East Prussia]] |
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{{Tree list/end}} |
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|unit=[[1st Division (German Empire)|1st Division]] |
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| serviceyears = 1910–45 |
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|battles={{hidden |
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| rank = [[File:General (Wehrmacht) 1.svg|30px]] [[General der Panzertruppe]] |
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| commands = [[German 4th Panzer Division|4th Panzer Division]]<br/>[[XXXIX Panzer Corps]]<br/>[[Panzerkorps Großdeutschland]]<br/>[[2nd Army (Wehrmacht)|2nd Army]]<br/>[[Army East Prussia (Wehrmacht)|Army East Prussia]] |
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| unit = [[1st Division (German Empire)|1st Division]] |
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| battles = {{hidden |
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|''See battles'' |
|''See battles'' |
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|[[World War I]] |
|[[World War I]] |
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*[[Battle of Tannenberg]] |
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*[[Battle of Verdun]] |
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---- |
---- |
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[[Finnish Civil War]] |
[[Finnish Civil War]] |
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| Line 33: | Line 38: | ||
**[[Battle of Kursk]] |
**[[Battle of Kursk]] |
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**[[Operation Bagration]] |
**[[Operation Bagration]] |
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***[[Minsk Offensive]] |
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***[[Vilnius Offensive]] |
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***[[Lublin–Brest Offensive]] |
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***[[Kaunas Offensive]] |
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**[[Baltic Offensive]] |
**[[Baltic Offensive]] |
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**[[Operation Doppelkopf]] |
**[[Operation Doppelkopf]] |
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**[[Lublin–Brest Offensive]] |
**[[Lublin–Brest Offensive]] |
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***[[Battle of Radzymin (1944)|Battle of Radzymin]] |
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**[[East Pomeranian Offensive]] |
**[[East Pomeranian Offensive]] |
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**[[Evacuation of East Prussia]] |
**[[Evacuation of East Prussia]] |
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|style=text-align:center; |
|style=text-align:center; |
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}} |
}} |
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|awards=[[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds]] |
| awards = [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds]] |
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|laterwork=}} |
| laterwork = |
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}} |
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'''Dietrich von Saucken''' (16 May 1892 – 27 September 1980) was a general |
'''Dietrich Friedrich Eduard Kasimir von{{efn|{{German title von}}}} Saucken''' (16 May 1892 – 27 September 1980) was a German general during [[World War II]] who commanded the [[2nd Army (Wehrmacht)|2nd Army]] and the [[Army East Prussia (Wehrmacht)|Army East Prussia]]. Turning down an offer to escape by air, he surrendered to the [[Red Army]] in May 1945. Saucken was the last officer to be awarded the [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds]] of [[Nazi Germany]]. |
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==Early life and career== |
==Early life and career== |
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[[File:ID003743 B175 FriedrichsCollegium.jpg|thumb|left|Collegium Fridericianum]] |
[[File:ID003743 B175 FriedrichsCollegium.jpg|thumb|left|Collegium Fridericianum]] |
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Saucken was born on 16 May 1892 in [[Primorsk, Kaliningrad Oblast|Fischhausen]], [[East Prussia]]. He was the son of ''Landrat'' |
Saucken was born on 16 May 1892 in [[Primorsk, Kaliningrad Oblast|Fischhausen]], [[East Prussia]]. He was the son of ''Landrat (''the chief administrative officer of a ''[[Landkreis]])'' Wilhelm Eduard Erich von Saucken. As a child, Saucken attended the [[Collegium Fridericianum]], a prestigious [[Gymnasium (Germany)|gymnasium]] in [[Königsberg]], present-day Kaliningrad, where he graduated with his ''[[Abitur]]'' ([[University-preparatory school|university-preparatory high school diploma]]) in 1910. As a student, Saucken showed aptitude as an artist, a talent supported by his mother and the director of the Fridericianum, Georg Ellendt. He often visited [[Nida, Lithuania|Nidden]], present-day Nida, Lithuania, where his ambitions to become an artist were influenced by the ''Künstlerkolonie Nidden'', an [[Expressionism|expressionist]] artists' colony.{{sfn|Stockert|1997|p=344}} |
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Following graduation, Saucken joined the [[Prussian Army]] on 1 October 1910 as a ''[[Fahnenjunker]]'' (Cadet) in {{lang|de| |
Following graduation, Saucken joined the [[Prussian Army]] on 1 October 1910 as a ''[[Fahnenjunker]]'' (Cadet) in {{lang|de|Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich Wilhelm I. (2. Ostpreußisches) Nr. 3}} (2nd East Prussian Grenadier Regiment King [[Frederick William I of Prussia|Frederick William I]] Nr. 3), one of the oldest Prussian regiments, subordinated to the [[1st Division (German Empire)|1. ''Division'']] (1st Division) and based in Königsberg. There, he was promoted to ''[[Leutnant]]'' (second lieutenant) on 19 June 1912.{{sfn|Stockert|1997|p=344}} |
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==World War I and interwar period== |
==World War I and interwar period== |
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With the outbreak of [[World War I]], the division was deployed on the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]]. With the division, Saucken fought in the battles of [[Battle of Stallupönen|Stallupönen]], [[Battle of Gumbinnen|Gumbinnen]], and [[Battle of Tannenberg|Tannenberg]] and earned the [[Iron Cross]] 2nd Class in October 1914.{{sfn|Stockert|1997|p=344}} |
With the outbreak of [[World War I]], the division was deployed on the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]]. With the division, Saucken fought in the battles of [[Battle of Stallupönen|Stallupönen]], [[Battle of Gumbinnen|Gumbinnen]], and [[Battle of Tannenberg|Tannenberg]] and earned the [[Iron Cross]] 2nd Class in October 1914.{{sfn|Stockert|1997|p=344}} |
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Saucken then fought in the [[Battle of Verdun]] and in the battles of the Carpathian Mountains in September 1917, and received the Iron Cross 1st Class in May 1916. For combat in the [[ |
Saucken then fought in the [[Battle of Verdun]] and in the battles of the Carpathian Mountains in September 1917, and received the Iron Cross 1st Class in May 1916. For combat in the [[German spring offensive]] and [[Hundred Days Offensive]] on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]], he received the Prussian Knight's Cross of the Royal [[House Order of Hohenzollern]] with Swords and the Austrian [[Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary)|Military Merit Cross]]. In 1918, he also served with the [[Baltic Sea Division]] under the command of General [[Rüdiger von der Goltz]] which fought in the [[Finnish Civil War]] (27 January – 15 May 1918).{{sfn|Stockert|1997|p=344}} |
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After the [[First World War]] he |
After the [[First World War]] he joined the paramilitary ''[[Freikorps]]''. In 1921 he joined the [[Reichswehr]]. From 1927 on he was on special assignment in the [[Soviet Union]], where he learned to speak Russian. In 1934 he was promoted to Major and posted as an instructor to the War School [[Hannover]]. He was promoted to ''[[Oberst]]'' (colonel) on 1 June 1939. |
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==World War II== |
==World War II== |
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Saucken took part in [[Battle of France]], [[Balkan Campaign (World War II)|Balkan Campaign]], [[Operation Barbarossa]] as commander of a motorised brigade of the [[German 4th Panzer Division|4th Panzer Division]]. He was promoted to [[Generalmajor]] on 1 January 1942 and appointed divisional commander during the [[Battle of Moscow]]. He was wounded and thereafter spent several months in the hospital. He was awarded the [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross]] on 6 January and was appointed commandant of the School for Mobile Troops (''Schule für Schnelle Truppen''). On 1 April 1943 he was promoted to [[Generalleutnant]]; in June he returned to the 4th Panzer Division, which he commanded during the [[Battle of Kursk]]. |
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Saucken became acting commander of the [[III Panzer Corps (Wehrmacht)|III Panzer Corps]] in late June 1944. He received both the [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves]] and the [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords]] in 1944. |
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In June and July, |
In June and July, Saucken formed ''Kampfgruppe von Saucken'' (Battlegroup von Saucken) an ad hoc unit composed of the remnants of several units that had been destroyed in the Soviet [[Operation Bagration]] against the [[Army Group Centre]]. Composed mainly of elements of the [[5th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|5th Panzer Division]], [[170th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|170th Infantry Division]] and the [[505th Heavy Panzer Battalion]], the battlegroup was later designated the [[XXXIX Panzer Corps]]. During the Soviet [[Minsk Offensive]], it temporarily maintained an escape route across the [[Berezina River]] for retreating German soldiers. |
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Saucken left the XXXIX Panzer Corps in late September 1944, when he took command of the forming [[Panzerkorps Großdeutschland]]. The still incomplete corps was divided when half of it, including Saucken, was ordered eastward to stop the [[Vistula–Oder Offensive]]. He led the corps until February 1945, when he was removed from his position and placed in the ''[[Führerreserve]]'' by [[Heinz Guderian]], the Chief of Staff of the Army at the [[OKH]]. |
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A month later |
A month later, Saucken commanded the [[2nd Army (Wehrmacht)|2nd Army]] in [[Prussia]] and provided logistical support to the [[Evacuation of East Prussia]]. In April, his army was renamed to [[Army East Prussia (Wehrmacht)|Army East Prussia]]. On 8 May, Saucken received notice that he had been awarded the [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross|Knight's Cross with Oak leaves, Swords, and Diamonds]], making him the last of 27 officers to receive this award. Though an airplane stood by to evacuate him, he refused to leave his troops when they surrendered to the Red Army on the following day of 9 May 1945. |
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==Later life== |
==Later life== |
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[[File:Orel Tsentral-Prison in old.jpg|thumb|upright|Oryol Prison]] |
[[File:Orel Tsentral-Prison in old.jpg|thumb|upright|Oryol Prison]] |
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After surrendering on the [[Hel Peninsula]], Saucken went into Soviet captivity. Initially he was imprisoned in the [[Lubyanka Building]] and the [[Oryol Prison]] before being transferred to the Siberian [[Tayshet]] camp in 1949 |
After surrendering on the [[Hel Peninsula]], Saucken went into Soviet captivity. Initially he was imprisoned in the [[Lubyanka Building]] and the [[Oryol Prison]] before being transferred to the Siberian [[Tayshet]] camp in 1949. Released from Soviet captivity in 1955, he settled in [[Pullach]] near [[Munich]]. He died there in 1980. |
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==Character traits== |
==Character traits== |
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A cavalry officer who regularly wore both a sword and a monocle, Saucken personified the archetypal aristocratic Prussian conservative who despised the ''braune Bande'' ("brown [[Ochlocracy|mob]]") of [[Nazism|Nazis]]. When he was ordered to take command of the Second Army on 12 March 1945, he came to Hitler's headquarters with his left hand resting casually on his cavalry sabre, his monocle in his eye, . . . [and then] |
A cavalry officer who regularly wore both a sword and a monocle, Saucken personified the archetypal aristocratic Prussian conservative who despised the ''braune Bande'' ("brown [[Ochlocracy|mob]]") of [[Nazism|Nazis]]. When he was ordered to take command of the Second Army on 12 March 1945, he came to Hitler's headquarters with his left hand resting casually on his cavalry sabre, his monocle in his eye, . . . [and then] gave a military salute and gave a slight bow. These were three 'outrages' at once. He had not given the Nazi salute with raised arm and the words 'Heil Hitler', as had been regulation since 20 July 1944, he had not surrendered his weapon on entering....and had kept his monocle in his eye when saluting Hitler.<ref name=Beevor>{{harvnb|Beevor|2002|pp=80–82}}</ref>{{sfn|Boldt|1973|pp=80-81}} |
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When Hitler told him that he must take his orders from [[Albert Forster]], the ''[[Gauleiter]]'' (Nazi governor, or "District Leader") of Danzig, Saucken returned Hitler's gaze....and striking the marble slab of the map table with the flat of his hand, he said, 'I have no intention, Herr Hitler, of placing myself under the orders of a Gauleiter'. In doing this he had bluntly contradicted Hitler and not addressed him as ''Mein Führer''.<ref name=Beevor/><ref name=Boldt>Boldt |
When Hitler told him that he must take his orders from [[Albert Forster]], the ''[[Gauleiter]]'' (Nazi governor, or "District Leader") of Danzig, Saucken returned Hitler's gaze....and striking the marble slab of the map table with the flat of his hand, he said, 'I have no intention, Herr Hitler, of placing myself under the orders of a Gauleiter'. In doing this he had bluntly contradicted Hitler and not addressed him as ''Mein Führer''.<ref name=Beevor/><ref name=Boldt>{{harvnb|Boldt|1973|pp=81–82}}</ref> |
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To the surprise of everyone who was present, Hitler capitulated and replied, "All right, Saucken, keep the command yourself." Hitler dismissed the General without shaking his hand and Saucken left the room with only the merest hint of a bow.<ref name=Beevor/><ref name=Boldt/> |
To the surprise of everyone who was present, Hitler capitulated and replied, "All right, Saucken, keep the command yourself." Hitler dismissed the General without shaking his hand and Saucken left the room with only the merest hint of a bow.<ref name=Beevor/><ref name=Boldt/> |
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However, this alleged incident is disputed by [[Heinz Linge]] in his book 'In the footsteps of the Führer'. General Von Saucken was considered a loyal commander to whom this behavior certainly did not fit (he received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds on 8 May). In addition, the fact that he would not have addressed Hitler with 'Mein Führer' and with the flat hand on the chart table, Linge describes as completely unbelievable.<ref>Linge, Heinz, Werner Maser, With Hitler till the end.(2009).Frontline Books–Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60239-804-7.</ref> |
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==Awards== |
==Awards== |
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* [[Iron Cross]] (1914) |
* [[Iron Cross]] (1914) 2nd Class (19 October 1914) & 1st Class (23 May 1916){{sfn|Thomas|1998|p=240}} |
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* [[Clasp to the Iron Cross]] (1939) 2nd Class (13 September 1939) & 1st Class (3 October 1939){{sfn|Thomas|1998|p=240}} |
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* [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds|Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds]] |
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** 1st Class (23 May 1916){{sfn|Thomas|1998|p=240}} |
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* Knight's Cross |
** Knight's Cross on 6 January 1942 as ''[[Generalmajor]]'' and leader of the 4. Panzer-Division{{sfn|Scherzer|2007|p=651}} |
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** 281st Oak Leaves on 22 August 1943 as ''[[Generalleutnant]]'' and commander of the 4. Panzer-Division{{sfn|Scherzer|2007|p=651}} |
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* Austrian [[Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary)|Military Merit Cross]] (3rd Class with War Decoration){{sfn|Berger|1999|p=309}} |
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** 46th Swords on 31 January 1944 as ''Generalleutnant'' and commander of the 4. Panzer-Division{{sfn|Scherzer|2007|p=651}} |
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* Bavarian [[Military Merit Cross (Bavaria)|Military Merit Cross]] (3rd Class){{sfn|Berger|1999|p=309}} |
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** 27th Diamonds on 8 May 1945 as ''[[General der Panzertruppe]]'' and commander in chief of AOK Ostpreußen{{sfn|Scherzer|2007|p=651}} |
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* [[Panzer Badge]] in Silver (3rd Class){{sfn|Berger|1999|p=309}} |
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* [[Wehrmacht Long Service Award]] 4th to 1st class |
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* [[Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918]] with swords (1934) |
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* [[Eastern Front Medal]] (1942) |
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* [[War Merit Cross]], 1st and 2nd class with Swords{{sfn|Berger|1999|p=309}} |
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* [[Wound Badge]] in Gold (1914 and 1939){{sfn|Berger|1999|p=309}} |
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* [[Clasp to the Iron Cross]] (1939) |
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** 2nd Class (13 September 1939){{sfn|Thomas|1998|p=240}} |
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** 1st Class (3 October 1939){{sfn|Thomas|1998|p=240}} |
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* [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds]] |
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** Knight's Cross on 6 January 1942 as ''[[Generalmajor]]'' and leader of the 4. Panzer-Division{{sfn|Scherzer|2007|p=651}}{{sfn|Fellgiebel|2000|p=371}}{{sfn|Von Seemen|1976|p=293}} |
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** 281st Oak Leaves on 22 August 1943 as ''[[Generalleutnant]]'' and commander of the 4. Panzer-Division{{sfn|Scherzer|2007|p=651}}{{sfn|Fellgiebel|2000|p=71}}{{sfn|Von Seemen|1976|p=36}} |
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** 46th Swords on 31 January 1944 as ''Generalleutnant'' and commander of the 4. Panzer-Division{{sfn|Scherzer|2007|p=651}}{{sfn|Fellgiebel|2000|p=42}}{{sfn|Von Seemen|1976|p=15}} |
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** 27th Diamonds on 8 May 1945 as ''[[General der Panzertruppe]]'' and commander in chief of AOK Ostpreußen{{sfn|Scherzer|2007|p=651}}{{sfn|Fellgiebel|2000|p=38}}{{sfn|Von Seemen|1976|p=13}} |
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;Promotions |
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{| style="background: transparent;" |
{| style="background: transparent;" |
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|- |
|- |
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| 1 January 1942: || ''[[Generalmajor]]''{{sfn|Stockert|1997|p=345}} |
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! Prussian Army |
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|- |
|- |
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| 1 |
| 1 April 1943: || ''[[Generalleutnant]]'' {{sfn|Stockert|1997|p=345}} |
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|- |
|- |
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| |
| 1 August 1944: || ''[[General der Panzertruppe]]'' (General of Armoured Troops){{sfn|Stockert|1997|p=349}} |
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|- |
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| 19 June 1912: || ''[[Leutnant]]'' (Second Lieutenant){{sfn|Stockert|1997|p=344}} |
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|- |
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| 18 August 1917: || ''[[Oberleutnant]]'' (First Lieutenant){{sfn|Stockert|1997|p=344}} |
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|- |
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! Reichsheer |
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|- |
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| 1 April 1925: || ''[[Rittmeister]]'' (Captain of Cavalry){{sfn|Stockert|1997|p=344}} |
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|- |
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! German Army |
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|- |
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| 1 April 1934: || ''[[Major (Germany)|Major]]'' (Major) |
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|- |
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| 1 October 1936: || ''[[Oberstleutnant]]'' (Lieutenant Colonel){{sfn|Stockert|1997|p=345}} |
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|- |
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| 1 June 1939: || ''[[Oberst]]'' (Colonel){{sfn|Stockert|1997|p=345}} |
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|- |
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| 1 January 1942: || ''[[Generalmajor]]'' (US Equivalent - Brigadier General){{sfn|Stockert|1997|p=345}} |
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|- |
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| 1 April 1943: || ''[[Generalleutnant]]'' (Major General){{sfn|Stockert|1997|p=345}} |
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|- |
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| 1 August 1944: || ''[[General der Panzertruppe]]'' (Lieutenant General of Armoured Troops){{sfn|Stockert|1997|p=349}} |
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|} |
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==Notes== |
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{{Notelist}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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| Line 157: | Line 128: | ||
|location=London |
|location=London |
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|isbn=978-0-670-03041-5 |
|isbn=978-0-670-03041-5 |
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}} |
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|ref=harv |
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* [[Samuel W. Mitcham]] (2001). ''Crumbling Empire, the German Defeat in the East, 1944''. Westport, Praeger. {{ISBN|0-275-96856-1}}. |
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}} |
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* {{Cite book |
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|last=Berger |
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|first=Florian |
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|year=1999 |
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|title=Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges |
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|trans_title=With Oak Leaves and Swords. The Highest Decorated Soldiers of the Second World War |
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|language=German |
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|location=Vienna, Austria |
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|publisher=Selbstverlag Florian Berger |
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|isbn=978-3-9501307-0-6 |
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|ref=harv |
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}} |
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* {{Cite book |
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|last=Fellgiebel |
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|first=Walther-Peer |
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|authorlink=Walther-Peer Fellgiebel |
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|year=2000 |
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|origyear=1986 |
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|title=Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile |
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|trans_title=The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches |
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|language=German |
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|location=Friedberg, Germany |
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|publisher=Podzun-Pallas |
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|isbn=978-3-7909-0284-6 |
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|ref=harv |
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}} |
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* Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr (2001). ''Crumbling Empire, the German Defeat in the East, 1944''. Westport, Praeger. {{ISBN|0-275-96856-1}}. |
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* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
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|last=Scherzer |
|last=Scherzer |
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|first=Veit |
|first=Veit |
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|year=2007 |
|year=2007 |
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|title=Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 |
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|title=Die 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 |
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|trans-title=The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 |
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|trans_title=The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives |
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|language=German |
|language=German |
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|location=Jena, Germany |
|location=Jena, Germany |
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|publisher=Scherzers Militaer-Verlag |
|publisher=Scherzers Militaer-Verlag |
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|isbn=978-3-938845-17-2 |
|isbn=978-3-938845-17-2 |
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}} |
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|ref=harv |
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}} |
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* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
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|last=Stockert |
|last=Stockert |
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| Line 203: | Line 146: | ||
|year=1997 |
|year=1997 |
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|title=Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 3 |
|title=Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 3 |
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| |
|trans-title=The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 3 |
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|language=German |
|language=German |
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|location=Bad Friedrichshall, Germany |
|location=Bad Friedrichshall, Germany |
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|publisher=Friedrichshaller Rundblick |
|publisher=Friedrichshaller Rundblick |
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|isbn=978-3-932915-01-7 |
|isbn=978-3-932915-01-7 |
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}} |
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|ref=harv |
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}} |
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* {{Cite book |
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|last=Stockert |
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|first=Peter |
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|year=2010 |
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|title=Die Brillantenträger der deutschen Wehrmacht 1941–1945—Zeitgeschichte in Farbe |
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|trans_title=The Diamonds Leaves Bearers of the German Armed Forces 1941–1945—History in Color |
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|language=German |
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|location=Selent, Germany |
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|publisher=Pour le Mérite |
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|isbn=978-3-932381-59-1 |
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|title=Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z |
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|trans-title=The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z |
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|language=German |
|language=German |
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|location=Osnabrück, Germany |
|location=Osnabrück, Germany |
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|publisher=Biblio-Verlag |
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|title=Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 : die Ritterkreuzträger sämtlicher Wehrmachtteile, Brillanten-, Schwerter- und Eichenlaubträger in der Reihenfolge der Verleihung : Anhang mit Verleihungsbestimmungen und weiteren Angaben |
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|trans_title=The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 : The Knight's Cross Bearers of All the Armed Services, Diamonds, Swords and Oak Leaves Bearers in the Order of Presentation: Appendix with Further Information and Presentation Requirements |
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|language=German |
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* {{cite book|last1=Boldt|first1=Gerhard|title= |
* {{cite book|last1=Boldt|first1=Gerhard|title=Hitler: The Last 10 Days|date=1973|publisher=Berkley Publishing|isbn=978-0425024041}} |
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Latest revision as of 18:58, 3 August 2024
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2016) |
Dietrich von Saucken | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 16 May 1892 Fischhausen, East Prussia, German Empire |
| Died | 27 September 1980 (aged 88) Pullach, Bavaria, West Germany |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  German Empire  Weimar Republic Nazi Germany |
| Service | |
| Years of service | 1910–45 |
| Rank |  General der Panzertruppe |
| Unit | 1st Division |
| Commands | 4th Panzer Division XXXIX Panzer Corps Panzerkorps Großdeutschland 2nd Army Army East Prussia |
| Battles / wars | See battles |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds |
Dietrich Friedrich Eduard Kasimir von[a] Saucken (16 May 1892 – 27 September 1980) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 2nd Army and the Army East Prussia. Turning down an offer to escape by air, he surrendered to the Red Army in May 1945. Saucken was the last officer to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds of Nazi Germany.
Early life and career
[edit]
Saucken was born on 16 May 1892 in Fischhausen, East Prussia. He was the son of Landrat (the chief administrative officer of a Landkreis) Wilhelm Eduard Erich von Saucken. As a child, Saucken attended the Collegium Fridericianum, a prestigious gymnasium in Königsberg, present-day Kaliningrad, where he graduated with his Abitur (university-preparatory high school diploma) in 1910. As a student, Saucken showed aptitude as an artist, a talent supported by his mother and the director of the Fridericianum, Georg Ellendt. He often visited Nidden, present-day Nida, Lithuania, where his ambitions to become an artist were influenced by the Künstlerkolonie Nidden, an expressionist artists' colony.[1]
Following graduation, Saucken joined the Prussian Army on 1 October 1910 as a Fahnenjunker (Cadet) in Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich Wilhelm I. (2. Ostpreußisches) Nr. 3 (2nd East Prussian Grenadier Regiment King Frederick William I Nr. 3), one of the oldest Prussian regiments, subordinated to the 1. Division (1st Division) and based in Königsberg. There, he was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) on 19 June 1912.[1]
World War I and interwar period
[edit]With the outbreak of World War I, the division was deployed on the Eastern Front. With the division, Saucken fought in the battles of Stallupönen, Gumbinnen, and Tannenberg and earned the Iron Cross 2nd Class in October 1914.[1]
Saucken then fought in the Battle of Verdun and in the battles of the Carpathian Mountains in September 1917, and received the Iron Cross 1st Class in May 1916. For combat in the German spring offensive and Hundred Days Offensive on the Western Front, he received the Prussian Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords and the Austrian Military Merit Cross. In 1918, he also served with the Baltic Sea Division under the command of General Rüdiger von der Goltz which fought in the Finnish Civil War (27 January – 15 May 1918).[1]
After the First World War he joined the paramilitary Freikorps. In 1921 he joined the Reichswehr. From 1927 on he was on special assignment in the Soviet Union, where he learned to speak Russian. In 1934 he was promoted to Major and posted as an instructor to the War School Hannover. He was promoted to Oberst (colonel) on 1 June 1939.
World War II
[edit]Saucken took part in Battle of France, Balkan Campaign, Operation Barbarossa as commander of a motorised brigade of the 4th Panzer Division. He was promoted to Generalmajor on 1 January 1942 and appointed divisional commander during the Battle of Moscow. He was wounded and thereafter spent several months in the hospital. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 6 January and was appointed commandant of the School for Mobile Troops (Schule für Schnelle Truppen). On 1 April 1943 he was promoted to Generalleutnant; in June he returned to the 4th Panzer Division, which he commanded during the Battle of Kursk.
Saucken became acting commander of the III Panzer Corps in late June 1944. He received both the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords in 1944.
In June and July, Saucken formed Kampfgruppe von Saucken (Battlegroup von Saucken) an ad hoc unit composed of the remnants of several units that had been destroyed in the Soviet Operation Bagration against the Army Group Centre. Composed mainly of elements of the 5th Panzer Division, 170th Infantry Division and the 505th Heavy Panzer Battalion, the battlegroup was later designated the XXXIX Panzer Corps. During the Soviet Minsk Offensive, it temporarily maintained an escape route across the Berezina River for retreating German soldiers.
Saucken left the XXXIX Panzer Corps in late September 1944, when he took command of the forming Panzerkorps Großdeutschland. The still incomplete corps was divided when half of it, including Saucken, was ordered eastward to stop the Vistula–Oder Offensive. He led the corps until February 1945, when he was removed from his position and placed in the Führerreserve by Heinz Guderian, the Chief of Staff of the Army at the OKH.
A month later, Saucken commanded the 2nd Army in Prussia and provided logistical support to the Evacuation of East Prussia. In April, his army was renamed to Army East Prussia. On 8 May, Saucken received notice that he had been awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, making him the last of 27 officers to receive this award. Though an airplane stood by to evacuate him, he refused to leave his troops when they surrendered to the Red Army on the following day of 9 May 1945.
Later life
[edit]
After surrendering on the Hel Peninsula, Saucken went into Soviet captivity. Initially he was imprisoned in the Lubyanka Building and the Oryol Prison before being transferred to the Siberian Tayshet camp in 1949. Released from Soviet captivity in 1955, he settled in Pullach near Munich. He died there in 1980.
Character traits
[edit]A cavalry officer who regularly wore both a sword and a monocle, Saucken personified the archetypal aristocratic Prussian conservative who despised the braune Bande ("brown mob") of Nazis. When he was ordered to take command of the Second Army on 12 March 1945, he came to Hitler's headquarters with his left hand resting casually on his cavalry sabre, his monocle in his eye, . . . [and then] gave a military salute and gave a slight bow. These were three 'outrages' at once. He had not given the Nazi salute with raised arm and the words 'Heil Hitler', as had been regulation since 20 July 1944, he had not surrendered his weapon on entering....and had kept his monocle in his eye when saluting Hitler.[2][3]
When Hitler told him that he must take his orders from Albert Forster, the Gauleiter (Nazi governor, or "District Leader") of Danzig, Saucken returned Hitler's gaze....and striking the marble slab of the map table with the flat of his hand, he said, 'I have no intention, Herr Hitler, of placing myself under the orders of a Gauleiter'. In doing this he had bluntly contradicted Hitler and not addressed him as Mein Führer.[2][4]
To the surprise of everyone who was present, Hitler capitulated and replied, "All right, Saucken, keep the command yourself." Hitler dismissed the General without shaking his hand and Saucken left the room with only the merest hint of a bow.[2][4]
However, this alleged incident is disputed by Heinz Linge in his book 'In the footsteps of the Führer'. General Von Saucken was considered a loyal commander to whom this behavior certainly did not fit (he received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds on 8 May). In addition, the fact that he would not have addressed Hitler with 'Mein Führer' and with the flat hand on the chart table, Linge describes as completely unbelievable.[5]
Awards
[edit]- Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (19 October 1914) & 1st Class (23 May 1916)[6]
- Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (13 September 1939) & 1st Class (3 October 1939)[6]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds
- Knight's Cross on 6 January 1942 as Generalmajor and leader of the 4. Panzer-Division[7]
- 281st Oak Leaves on 22 August 1943 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 4. Panzer-Division[7]
- 46th Swords on 31 January 1944 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 4. Panzer-Division[7]
- 27th Diamonds on 8 May 1945 as General der Panzertruppe and commander in chief of AOK Ostpreußen[7]
- Promotions
| 1 January 1942: | Generalmajor[8] |
| 1 April 1943: | Generalleutnant [8] |
| 1 August 1944: | General der Panzertruppe (General of Armoured Troops)[9] |
Notes
[edit]- ^ In German personal names, von is a preposition which approximately means 'of' or 'from' and usually denotes some sort of nobility. While von (always lower case) is part of the family name or territorial designation, not a first or middle name, if the noble is referred to by their last name, use Schiller, Clausewitz or Goethe, not von Schiller, etc.
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ a b c d Stockert 1997, p. 344.
- ^ a b c Beevor 2002, pp. 80–82
- ^ Boldt 1973, pp. 80–81.
- ^ a b Boldt 1973, pp. 81–82
- ^ Linge, Heinz, Werner Maser, With Hitler till the end.(2009).Frontline Books–Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60239-804-7.
- ^ a b Thomas 1998, p. 240.
- ^ a b c d Scherzer 2007, p. 651.
- ^ a b Stockert 1997, p. 345.
- ^ Stockert 1997, p. 349.
Bibliography
[edit]- Beevor, Antony (2002). Berlin: The Downfall 1945. London: Viking-Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-670-03041-5.
- Samuel W. Mitcham (2001). Crumbling Empire, the German Defeat in the East, 1944. Westport, Praeger. ISBN 0-275-96856-1.
- Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
- Stockert, Peter (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 3 [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 3] (in German). Bad Friedrichshall, Germany: Friedrichshaller Rundblick. ISBN 978-3-932915-01-7.
- Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
- Williamson, Gordon (2006). Knight's Cross with Diamonds Recipients 1941–45. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-644-7.
- Boldt, Gerhard (1973). Hitler: The Last 10 Days. Berkley Publishing. ISBN 978-0425024041.
External links
[edit]- Dietrich von Saucken in the German National Library catalogue
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
Categories:
- 1892 births
- 1980 deaths
- People from Primorsk, Kaliningrad Oblast
- Military personnel from East Prussia
- German untitled nobility
- Generals of Panzer Troops
- Prussian Army personnel
- Reichswehr personnel
- German Army personnel of World War I
- German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union
- Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
- Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class
- Recipients of the Military Merit Cross (Bavaria)
- Burials at Munich Waldfriedhof