Full name: Hermann Hyronimus Theodor Hohn
Nickname: No information
Date of Birth: 11.10.1897 - Renchen, Baden (German Empire)
Date of Death: 13.11.1968 - Ladenburg, Baden-Württemberg (West Germany)
Battles and Operations: World War I (Western Front); Western Campaign 1940; Balkan Campaign 1941; Eastern Front (Crimea, Sevastopol, Rzhev area, Operation Citadel, Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive, Cherkassy Pocket breakout, Baranov bridgehead defensive battles)
NSDAP-Number: unknown
SS-Number: not applicable
Religion: unknown
Parents: unknown
Siblings: unknown
Spouse: Lydia Hohn (died 1996)
Children: unknown
Doctorate in Political Science: 00.10.1931
Promotions:
24.08.1916 Gefreiter
21.12.1916 Unteroffizier
30.07.1917 Fähnrich
20.10.1917 Leutnant
01.09.1935 Hauptmann
01.08.1938 Major
01.08.1941 Oberstleutnant
01.02.1943 Oberst
01.03.1944 Generalmajor
30.01.1945 Generalleutnant
Career:
15.01.1915 Entered Army Service
15.01.1915 - 08.03.1915 War Volunteer in the III.Recruitment-Depot / 10.Fuß-Artillerie-Regiment
08.03.1915 - 15.04.1915 4.Batterie / Reserve-Abteilung / 10.Fuß-Artillerie-Regiment
15.04.1915 - 01.05.1916 Transferred to the Survey-Office of 3rd Line-Battery of the 110th Foot-Artillery-Regiment, then Artillery-Survey-Troop 23
01.05.1916 - 24.08.1916 4.Batterie / Reserve-Abteilung / 10.Fuß-Artillerie-Regiment
24.08.1916 - 14.10.1916 Stab 66. Fuß-Artillerie-Abteilung
14.10.1916 - 21.06.1917 2.Batterie / 70.Fuß-Artillerie-Regiment
11.04.1917 - 07.06.1917 Detached to Fahnenjunker-Course in Jüterbog
21.06.1917 - 21.08.1917 Reserveabteilung / 16.Fuß-Artillerie-Regiment
21.08.1917 - 19.11.1917 3.Batterie / 32.Fuß-Artillerie-Abteilung
19.11.1917 - 25.05.1918 Stab 32. Fuß-Artillerie-Abteilung
20.11.1917 - 05.12.1917 Detached to Communications-Medium-School Prezany
25.05.1918 - 22.07.1918 Adjutant 32. Fuß-Artillerie-Abteilung
22.07.1918 - 11.08.1918 Detached to Group-Photographic-School Loos
11.08.1918 - 18.12.1918 Transferred to 2nd Battery of the 32nd Foot-Artillery-Battalion
12.08.1918 - 15.09.1918 Detached to Course at the Army-Artillery-School Maubeuge
18.12.1918 - 10.01.1919 Reserve-Abteilung / 17.Fuß-Artillerie-Regiment
10.01.1919 - 04.04.1919 Stabsoffizier & Batterieführer di I.Battalion / 17.Fuß-Artillerie-Regiment
04.04.1919 - 31.07.1919 Transferred to the Volunteer Foot-Artillery-Battalion Dieskau
31.07.1919 - 17.01.1920 Ordinance-Officer with the Staff of the 6th Heavy Reichswehr-Artillery-Regiment
17.01.1920 - 15.05.1920 Ordinance-Officer with the Staff of the 8th Reichswehr-Brigade
15.05.1920 - 31.12.1920 While retaining Post with 8th Reichswehr-Brigade, transferred into the 8th Light Reichswehr-Artillery-Regiment
00.06.1920 Command with 8th Reichswehr-Brigade Lifted
31.12.1920 Retired from the military
01.04.1922 - 13.08.1923 Studies of Political Economics at the University of Heidelberg
00.00.1923 - 00.00.1929 Employed with the Bank, Finance Office & in turn Accountancy work
04.11.1929 - 00.10.1931 Studies at the Marketing High School Mannheim
00.10.1931 - 00.02.1933 Examination as a Diploma Marketing Instructor
00.02.1933 Attained Doctorate
01.09.1935 Entered Army Service
01.09.1935 - 15.10.1935 Assigned with the Training-Battalion of Infantry-Regiment Regensburg
15.10.1935 - 06.10.1936 Chef 3.Kompanie / Infanterie-Regiment 62
06.10.1936 - 12.10.1937 Kompaniechef di Infanterie-Regiment 82
12.10.1937 - 01.07.1939 Chef 3.Kompanie / Infanterie-Regiment 74
01.07.1939 - 16.09.1939 Transferred to the General-Staff of the General-Command of Border-Troop Eifel
16.09.1939 - 31.10.1939 With the General-Staff of the General-Command of XXIII. Army-Corps
01.11.1939 - 08.12.1940 Adjutant 72. Infanterie-Division
09.12.1940 - 29.08.1941 Kommandeur II.Bataillon / Infanterie-Regiment 105
30.08.1941 - 12.05.1942 Grenadier-Ersatz-Bataillon 105
13.05.1942 - 30.06.1942 Führerreserve 72. Infanterie-Division
01.07.1942 - 15.09.1942 Führer Grenadier-Regiment 124
16.09.1942 - 04.11.1943 Kommandeur Grenadier-Regiment 105
05.11.1943 - 25.03.1944 mit der Führung beauftragt 72. Infanterie-Division
01.03.1944 - 25.03.1944 Kommandeur 72. Infanterie-Division
15.03.1944 - 20.04.1944 Detached to 10th Division-Leaders-Course
26.03.1944 - 25.05.1944 Führerreserve Oberkommando des Heeres
26.05.1944 - 30.06.1944 Designated Kommandeur 50. Infanterie-Division but Command did not become effective
01.07.1944 - 20.04.1945 Kommandeur 72. Infanterie-Division
20.04.1945 - 09.05.1945 mit der Führung beauftragt XI. Armeekorps
09.05.1945 - 23.02.1948 In Captivity
23.02.1948 Released
Awards and Decorations:
31.10.1917 1914 Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse
09.02.1918 Schlesisches Bewährungsabzeichen I.Klasse
00.03.1919 1914 Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse
00.00.19__ Orden vom Zähringer Löwen, Ritter II.Klasse mit Schwertern
00.00.19__ Schlesischer Adler II.Stufe
00.00.19__ Schlesischer Adler I.Stufe
00.01.1935 Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer 1914-1918
00.00.193_ Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung IV.Klasse
26.06.1940 1939 spange zum 1914 Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse
23.07.1941 1939 spange zum 1914 Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse
00.00.194_ Ordinul Mihai Viteazul (Order of Michael the Brave, Romania)
00.00.194_ Orden Sveti Alexandar (Royal Order of St. Alexander, Officer Cross with Swords, Bulgaria)
00.00.194_ Ordinul Coroana Romaniei (Order of the Crown of Romania, Commander Cross)
00.00.194_ Medalia Cruciada împotriva comunismului (Crusade Against Communism Medal, Romania)
00.00.194_ Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen in Silber
10.03.1942 Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz
23.08.1942 Krimschild
00.00.1942 Medaille "Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42" (Ostmedaille)
00.09.1942 Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber
14.12.1942 Ehrenblattspange des Heeres und Waffen-SS #1393
17.04.1943 Deutsches Kreuz in Gold
28.11.1943 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes #2375, as Oberst and stellvertretender Führer 72. Infanterie-Division. By 14 November his battered division had become the primary defenders of Cherkassy, a vital cornerstone anchoring the German Dnieper River line. The city faced constant pressure from far superior Soviet forces seeking to collapse the front through bridgehead expansions.
On 15 November 1943, when the Soviets established a dangerous bridgehead around Swidowok threatening to roll up the German flank, Hohn launched a daring counterattack. He committed his forces in a risky flank assault that drove all the way into Swidowok itself, deliberately thinning his own main line to strike hard at the enemy’s spearhead. The gamble succeeded: the Soviet thrust was halted before it could slice into the German rear, buying precious time for the defense of Cherkassy.
A week later, on 22 November, the Red Army unleashed a massive combined-arms assault southeast of the city. Seven regiments supported by armor and heavy artillery smashed a broad gap through the German front, poured into the rear areas, and began advancing eastward. At the same moment, coordinated attacks east of Cherkassy itself created the real danger of the city being completely cut off. Acting on his own initiative without waiting for higher approval, Hohn ordered a Kampfgruppe to swing south and slam into the exposed flank and rear of the penetrating Soviet columns. The sudden German thrust shattered the developing encirclement ring southeast of Cherkassy and trapped large enemy forces in the open. Hohn’s troops then methodically destroyed the encircled Soviet units in close-quarters fighting. These actions stabilized the entire sector and prevented a collapse of the Dnieper line. The Wehrmachtbericht of 6 December 1943 explicitly praised the 72. Infanterie-Division under Oberst Hohn for its “exemplary fighting spirit” in battles that swayed back and forth. For this sequence of independent, high-risk decisions and successful counterblows, Hohn received the Ritterkreuz.
06.12.1943 Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht
01.03.1944 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #410, as Oberst and Führer 72. Infanterie-Division. By February 1944 the division was trapped inside the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket (also known as the Cherkassy Kessel) west of the city as part of General der Artillerie Wilhelm Stemmermann’s encircled Kampfgruppe. The pocket had become a frozen, muddy hell of constant Soviet assaults, dwindling ammunition, and bitter cold. Hohn was repeatedly described in contemporary accounts as “the soul of the resistance.”
Throughout weeks of savage fighting in the churned-up, waterlogged terrain west of Cherkassy, Hohn personally reorganized shattered defensive lines on his own initiative whenever Soviet penetrations threatened to split the pocket. He built new fronts from whatever troops and weapons remained, launched furious counterattacks to seal gaps, and refused to allow the enemy the decisive breakthrough that would have doomed the entire encircled force. When the order for the pocket breakout finally came in mid-February, Hohn placed himself and his Grenadiers at the very spearhead. Leading from the front, he drove his men through the Soviet ring in hand-to-hand combat, smashing open a corridor that allowed thousands of German soldiers to escape annihilation. His own outstanding bravery and tireless energy inspired the exhausted troops to keep attacking despite the mud that sucked at their boots and the relentless Soviet fire.
A newspaper article published on 8 March 1944 captured the citation in full: “During the fierce combat west of Cherkassy in February 1944 the 72. Infanterie-Division belonged to the Kampfgruppe of General der Artillerie Stemmermann. Oberst Hohn was the soul of the resistance of his Division on this occasion also. He repeatedly reorganized the defenses, built up new defensive fronts on his own initiative and prevented the enemy’s sought-after breakthrough through the encircled Kampfgruppe via furious countermoves of his own. He and his men formed the vanguard during the smashing of the Soviet encirclement ring. Despite the weeks of heavy fighting in the muddied-up terrain he was able to draw on his own outstanding bravery and tireless energy to inspire his Grenadiers to give their best and force the breakthrough of the enemy lines.” These actions in the pocket earned him the Eichenlaub.
19.08.1944 Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht
31.10.1944 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #109, as Generalmajor and Kommandeur 72. Infanterie Division. After the division was rebuilt following its near-destruction in the pocket, Hohn led it through the summer and autumn defensive battles along the Vistula River in Poland. The critical sector was the Soviet Baranow (Baranov) bridgehead near Sandomierz-Opatow-Ostrowice, where the Red Army had forced a major crossing and threatened to rupture the entire German front in the great bend of the Vistula.
In relentless fighting from July through October 1944, Hohn’s Hessian-Moselle troops faced repeated Soviet attempts to expand the bridgehead with massed infantry, armor, and artillery. Under his personal command the division displayed “unshakeable courage and bold recklessness,” as noted in the Wehrmachtbericht of 19 August 1944. Hohn repeatedly demonstrated outstanding leadership by shifting reserves at the decisive moment, launching immediate counterattacks to throw back penetrations, and maintaining divisional cohesion despite heavy losses and constant pressure. His personal bravery under fire and calm direction in the face of overwhelming odds prevented the bridgehead from becoming the springboard for a larger Soviet breakthrough toward the west.
The Schwerter were awarded specifically for this sustained defensive mastery and the division’s exemplary performance in the Sandomierz-Opatow-Ostrowice sector. The citation highlighted Hohn’s ability to inspire his men to hold ground against superior forces in what had become one of the most dangerous sectors on the entire Eastern Front in late 1944.
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Hermann Hohn was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who rose to command the 72nd Infantry Division and briefly a corps in the final weeks of the conflict. Born on 11 October 1897 in Renchen in the Grand Duchy of Baden he volunteered for service in the Imperial German Army at the age of seventeen and fought with foot artillery units on the Western Front throughout the First World War. He earned both classes of the Iron Cross along with the Knight's Cross Second Class of the Order of the Zähringer Lion with Swords before leaving active duty in December 1920. In civilian life he studied political science and economics at Heidelberg University and the Handelshochschule Mannheim worked as a bank employee and completed a doctorate in political science in 1933 with a dissertation on inner colonization east of the Elbe. Reactivated in 1935 as a reserve captain he returned to the army and by the outbreak of the Second World War had advanced steadily through staff and command positions ultimately becoming one of the few Wehrmacht generals to hold a civilian doctorate while leading troops in some of the war's most desperate defensive battles on the Eastern Front.
Hohn's interwar years were marked by a successful transition from military to academic and professional life before the demands of rearmament pulled him back into uniform. After demobilization he immersed himself in studies at Heidelberg where he joined the AMV Stauffia Heidelberg fraternity and later took a position in banking from 1923 to 1929. His doctoral work reflected the era's interest in agrarian and settlement policies and he maintained a low profile during the early years of the Nazi regime. By September 1935 he was recalled as a Hauptmann der Reserve and assigned to infantry regiments in southern Germany. He served as operations officer with border troops in the Eifel region in 1939 and became adjutant of the newly formed 72nd Infantry Division a Hessian and Moselle formation in November of that year. The division saw action in the 1940 Western Campaign and the 1941 Balkan Campaign before transferring to the Eastern Front where Hohn's leadership qualities began to draw notice.
By late 1942 Hohn had taken command of Grenadier Regiment 105 after temporary leadership of another regiment and he was promoted to colonel in January 1943. His division was heavily engaged in the fighting withdrawal toward the Dnieper River and by November 1943 he was acting as deputy commander and then full leader of the 72nd Infantry Division. The unit anchored the German line at Cherkassy a critical point on the river that Soviet forces sought to overwhelm with superior numbers and combined arms assaults. On 15 November 1943 when the Red Army established a threatening bridgehead at Swidowok Hohn responded with a high risk flank counterattack that drove deep into the enemy position deliberately weakening his own main line to strike the Soviet spearhead. The gamble paid off as the assault halted the penetration and bought time for the defense of the city. A week later on 22 November when seven Soviet regiments supported by armor smashed a gap southeast of Cherkassy threatening to encircle the entire German force Hohn acted on his own initiative ordering a Kampfgruppe to swing south and slam into the exposed enemy flank and rear. His troops shattered the developing ring and methodically destroyed the trapped Soviet units in close quarters combat stabilizing the sector and preventing a collapse of the Dnieper line. For these independent decisions and successful counterblows he was awarded the Knight's Cross on 28 November 1943 with the Wehrmachtbericht praising the division's exemplary fighting spirit.
The winter of 1943 to 1944 brought even greater trials when the 72nd Infantry Division was trapped inside the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket west of the city as part of a larger encircled Kampfgruppe. Operating in frozen muddy terrain under constant Soviet pressure with dwindling supplies Hohn now formally in command of the division became known as the soul of the resistance. He repeatedly reorganized shattered defensive lines on his own initiative whenever enemy penetrations threatened to split the pocket building new fronts from whatever troops and weapons remained and launching furious counterattacks to seal gaps. His personal presence at the point of crisis and tireless energy prevented the decisive breakthrough that would have doomed the entire force. When the breakout order finally arrived in mid February 1944 Hohn placed himself and his grenadiers at the very spearhead leading them through the Soviet ring in hand to hand combat. Despite weeks of heavy fighting in the mud that sucked at their boots and relentless enemy fire his outstanding bravery inspired the exhausted troops to smash open a corridor allowing thousands of German soldiers to escape annihilation. These actions in the pocket earned him the Oak Leaves on 1 March 1944.
After the division was rebuilt following its near destruction in the Cherkassy Pocket Hohn now promoted to general major continued to lead it through the summer and autumn defensive battles along the Vistula River in Poland. The most critical sector was the Soviet Baranov bridgehead near Sandomierz Opatow and Ostrowice where the Red Army had forced a major crossing and threatened to rupture the entire German front. From July through October 1944 Hohn's Hessian and Moselle troops faced repeated massed infantry armor and artillery assaults aimed at expanding the bridgehead. Under his personal command the division displayed unshakeable courage shifting reserves at the decisive moment launching immediate counterattacks to throw back penetrations and maintaining cohesion despite heavy losses and constant pressure. His calm direction in the face of overwhelming odds prevented the bridgehead from becoming the springboard for a larger Soviet breakthrough toward the west. The Wehrmachtbericht of 19 August 1944 noted the division's exemplary performance and for this sustained defensive mastery Hohn was awarded the Swords on 31 October 1944 becoming the 109th recipient of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
In the final weeks of the war Hohn briefly commanded a corps until the German capitulation in May 1945. He was taken into Allied captivity on 9 May and released in February 1948 after which he returned to civilian life in the small town of Ladenburg in Baden Württemberg. There he pursued a successful post war career in local politics serving as mayor from 1953 to 1965 as an independent candidate of the Free Voters association focusing on reconstruction and community affairs rather than returning to any military role. Married to Lydia Hohn who died in 1996 he lived quietly until his death on 13 November 1968 in Ladenburg at the age of seventy one. Hohn remains notable not only for his battlefield achievements in some of the Eastern Front's most desperate engagements but also as one of the few senior Wehrmacht officers who had earned a doctorate in political science through civilian studies during the Weimar years before resuming his military career.
Hermann Hohn in 1935.
Source :
Jim Haley photo collection
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2010/08/generalleutnant-drrerpol-hermann-hohn.html
https://de.metapedia.org/wiki/Hohn,_Hermann
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=248258&hilit=hermann+hohn
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/H/HohnH-R.htm
https://www.oocities.org/~orion47/WEHRMACHT/HEER/Generalleutnant/HOHN_HERMANN.html
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/6830/Hohn-Drrerpol-Hermann.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20110105224610/http://www.ritterkreuztraeger-1939-45.de/Infanterie/H/Hohn-Hermann.htm
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