Bio of SS-Obersturmbannführer Franz Hack (1915-1997)

Franz Hack

Date of Birth: 03.02.1915 - Mannheim, Baden (German Empire)
Date of Death: 09.06.1997 - Hamburg (Germany)

Promotions:
01.11.1933 SS-Anwärter
01.10.1934 SS-Mann
01.04.1935 SS-Junker
09.11.1935 SS-Standartenjunker
25.02.1936 SS-Standartenoberjunker
20.04.1936 SS-Untersturmführer
30.01.1939 SS-Obersturmführer
20.04.1941 SS-Hauptsturmführer
21.06.1943 SS-Sturmbannführer
09.11.1944 SS-Obersturmbannführer

Career:
01.10.1934 Freiwilliger, SS-Verfügungstruppe
00.00.1935 SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz
20.04.1936 Zugführer, MG-Kompanie des Heeres
01.05.1938 - 21.12.1941 Chef 4.Kompanie / SS-Standarte "Germania"
00.09.1939 campaign in Poland
20.04.1940 campaign in the West
00.11.1940 transferred with his regiment to SS-Division "Wiking"
00.06.1941 campaign in Russia
22.12.1941 - 00.04.1944 Kommandeur III.Bataillon / SS-Infanterie-Regiment "Germania"
00.04.1944 fightings near Kowel
00.07.1944 - 10.09.1944 Kommandeur SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 5 "Wiking"
11.09.1944 Kommandeur SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 10 "Westland"
00.10.1944 fightings on the Weichsel/Vistula River
00.01.1945 fightings in Budapest, Hungary
00.04.1945 Führer Panzereinheit 5. SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking"
08.05.1945 US POW in Austria
00.05.1948 released

Awards and Decorations:
00.00.193_ Abzeichen der Deutschen Lebensrettungsgesellschaft-DLRG-Grundschein
00.00.193_ Deutsches Reitersportabzeichen in Bronze
00.00.193_ SA-Sportabzeichen in Bronze
00.00.193_ Totenkopfring der SS
00.00.193_ Ehrendegen des Reichsführer-SS
00.00.193_ Deutsches Reichssportabzeichen in Bronze
00.00.193_ SS-Dienstauszeichnungen
00.00.1939 Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 13. März 1938
00.00.1939 Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938
20.06.1940 Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse
10.07.1941 Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse
00.08.1941 Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen in Bronze
01.09.1942 Medaille "Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42“ (Ostmedaille)
00.00.19__ Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz
00.00.194_ Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber
08.01.1943 Deutsches Kreuz in Gold, as SS-Hauptsturmführer and Kommandeur III.Bataillon (gepanzerte) / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment "Germania" /SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Wiking"
01.03.1943 Nahkampfspange in Bronze
05.05.1944 Verwundetenabzeichen in Gold
14.05.1944 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, as SS-Sturmbannführer and Kommandeur III.Bataillon (gepanzerte) / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania" / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking"
01.06.1944 Nahkampfspange in Silber
20.04.1945 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #844, as SS-Obersturmbannführer and Kommandeur SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 10 "Westland" / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking". The recommendation for Franz Hack's Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz was submitted to the Heerespersonalamt by the Division sometime between 16 and 19 April 1945 and approved by the commander of the IV. SS-Panzerkorps Herbert Otto Gille. Missing is the approval from the 6. Armee and Heeresgruppe Süd. There is no indication whether the recommendation was approved. The response from the Reichsführer-SS was prepared but missing is a date and signature. The existing card is not contemporary. There is no indication in the press that the award was presented. According to Fellgiebel Hack received the Eichenlaub from SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the SS Herbert-Otto Gille, commanding general IV. SS-Panzerkorps. The sequential number "844" and date of award were assigned by the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR).
01.05.1945 Nahkampfspange in Gold (for 50 days in close combat)

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Franz Hack was born the son of a master butcher on 3 February 1915. Later on, the family started a small hotel. In 1933, Hack joined the Allgemeine SS and, two years later, became a member of the SSVerfügungstruppe, the precursor of the Waffen-SS. Hack later attended the officer school at Bad Tölz and was commissioned as a SS-Untersturmführer. He then attended courses at the Army’s Infantry School at Berlin-Döberitz, even serving as a platoon leader in a machine-gun company of the Army for some time. It was there that Hack and his comrades were able to wipe out the deficits in their earlier training, which had been more political than military. This additional training prepared them better for their leadership roles in the coming wartime operations. In 1939, SS-Obersturmführer Hack was designated a platoon leader in the 13. (MG)/SS-Standarte “Der Führer”. The young officer, who would go on to become highly decorated, found himself unbeknownst in exclusive company. His company commander at the time was Otto Kumm and the battalion signals platoon was led by Sylvester Stadler.

In the campaign against Poland, Franz Hack was a platoon leader in the 4./SS-Standarte “Der Führer”, where he demonstrated his courage, determination and circumspection for the first time. He was assigned to the 12./SS-Standarte “Der Führer” for the Campaign in France. After an engagement against French infantry, he was awarded the Iron Cross, Second Class. He also demonstrated his leadership abilities by assuming acting command of the company when the company commander was
wounded.

This ability to transition commands during a crisis situation or during an engagement was labeled as one of the many strengths of the German armed forces after the war by its former soldiers and military historians of note. If, for instance, a battalion commander was killed or seriously wounded during an attack or while defending against an enemy strike, one of the company commanders or the battalion adjutant was usually in a position to seamlessly assume command as a result of his training, preparation and attitude. The transition was mirrored down the chain-of-command as well, that is, the officer who assumed acting battalion command turned over his company to a platoon leader and a competent Feldwebel took over the leaderless platoon.

Especially in the Soviet Union, where casualties and crisis situations were the order of the day, great stock was placed by good formations not only ensuring that the chain-of-command worked perfectly but that every member of the chain was capable of performing the duties of his superior. It was not uncommon in extremely difficult situations to see junior noncommissioned officers leading platoons and senior noncommissioned officers commanding companies. Officers in the rank of Oberleutnant demonstrated on more than one occasion the ability to lead battalions and, during the course of the war, it was not uncommon to see a Major commanding a regiment of three or even four battalions, a fact occasioned by the heavy casualties. Even at the division level, with approximately 10,000 men, an Oberst often held the reins of command, even though the duty position called for a Generalleutnant.

After the victory over the demoralized French and their allies, SS-Obersturmführer Hack was transferred to the newly forming SS-Division “Germania”, which ultimately evolved into the 5. SS-Panzer-Division “Wiking”. He was given command of a company in SS-Standarte “Germania”. This formation, which consisted, in part, of volunteers from western and northern Europe—mostly mercenaries, former soldiers, ethnic Germans and anti-Communists—proved to be a first-class division on the Eastern Front and lend credence to the elite status of the early Waffen-SS.

The motorized division fought in the summer of 1941 during Operation “Barbarossa” as part of Heeresgruppe Süd in the offensives aimed toward the Sea of Asov. In the fall and winter of 1941, it participated in hard fighting in the greater area of Rostov and at different bridgeheads along the Mius.

A SS-Hauptsturmführer since 20 April 1941, Hack was given acting command of the III./SS-Regiment “Germania” in December. Hack and his men, who soon became devoted to him as a result of his level head and his personality, experienced months of positional warfare in these areas.

As soon as the springtime “mud season” ended, the Germans resumed the offensive in 1942. With the SS-Division “Wiking” forming part of the attack wedge of Heeresgruppe von Kleist, the Germans advanced into the Caucasus. It was not until the so-called Terek Offensive that they were stopped by the introduction of fresh Soviet forces and the difficulties imposed by the long supply routes. Wounded two more times there and during the long withdrawal to the Mius, Hack received the German Cross in Gold for his achievements.

Together with the I./SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment “Germania”, commanded by Hack’s old friend, Hans Dorr, Hack was able to stop a number of Soviet attacks cold or improve the tactical situation of the division through a series of coordinated immediate counterattacks. It was on more than one occasion that Felix Steiner, the division’s commander, directly ordered “Hack and his boys” to handle a hot situation.

The many operations during the offensive in the Caucasus, the renewed positional warfare on the banks of the Mius and the offensive operations around Stalino were quickly reflected in the award of the Close Combat Clasp in Bronze to the battalion commander, which was presented to him in March 1943.

Right after the presentation of the award, Hack was wounded again during an engagement. When he was released from the field hospital, a promotion to SS-Sturmbannführer was waiting for him (21 June 1943). There was continued defensive fighting along the Mius and offensive operations around Stalino and Kanew. Although the average time in command for a battalion commander was less than three weeks at the time (!), Hack not only defied that statistic he was also just as close to the enemy as any of his company commanders, section leaders or machine gunners. His total of close-combat days rose steadily, as did his number of wounds.

During the Tscherkassy Pocket, he barely escaped death for the fifth time. It was at Tscherkassy that the regiment, at the time commanded by the aforementioned Oakleaves recipient Hans Dorr, and the rest of the division participated in one of the great moments in the history of the Waffen-SS. Together with formations of the Army and the attached Belgian volunteers of the 5. SS-Freiwilligen-Sturm-Brigade “Wallonien", it held firm against a many-fold enemy superiority and succeeded, in the end, in breaking out after extremely intense fighting.

In addition to Dorr, the division commander, Herbert Gille, also received the Swords to the Knight’s Cross after the operation! While his weakened division was being reconstituted in Poland, SS-Gruppenführer Gille was given command of a Kampfgruppe in the encircled city of Kowel. The Red Army put increasing pressure on the desperate defenders, and the toughest initial relief attempts from outside the pocket failed. At that point, elements of the 5. SS-Panzer-Division “Wiking” were summoned from France. When the renewed relief attack was launched on 2 April 1944, the goal was not only to get to Kowel but also to break through to “Papa” Gille.

While the infantry was working its way slowly forward against the Soviet lines, antitank-gun belts and minefields, a company of Panther tanks under the command of SS-Obersturmführer Nicolussi-Leck succeeded in breaking through to Kowel. But as soon as he was through, the Soviets closed the small lane again! With the help of this substantial reinforcement, however, Gille and his beleaguered defenders were able to hold out until 6 April, when a combined tank and infantry assault facilitated a breakthrough on a wide axis, allowing the positions in the city to be reinforced. By the middle of April, the completely destroyed city was evacuated, along with all of the wounded and usable materiel.

For the extraordinary offensive spirit of his battalion, as well as his own personal bravery during the relief effort, SS-Sturmbannführer Hack received the Knight’s Cross on 14 May 1944. He was submitted for the award by Herbert Gille, who himself received the Diamonds to the Knight’s Cross, the first officer of the Waffen-SS to be so honored. In Hack’s case, it was a successful night attack on Hill 189.5, as well as the clearing of the nearby railway embankment, that were the primary determinants of his award. During the fighting, the 29-year-old SS-Sturmbannführer was wounded in the face during the fighting by shrapnel from a Soviet hand grenade. Immediately after presenting Hack with the neck order, Hack’s regimental commander, SS-Sturmbannführer Dorr, was also able to present him with the Close Combat Clasp in Silver.

After demonstrating his skills again as a battalion commander in the fighting at Maciejow, Bialystok and along the Bug, Hack was designated as the commander of the division’s other mechanized-infantry regiment, SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 10 “Westland”. He was filling big shoes in that assignment. This regiment, which also consisted of a number of western European volunteers, had once been commanded by the famous August Dieckmann. The Oakleaves recipient had been killed in action in the fall of 1943 and awarded the Swords posthumously.

In September 1944, the regiment was employed at a bridgehead along the Narew. The men of the “Westland” Regiment held back intense attacks by the Red Army and demonstrated bravery, steadfastness and a high degree of morale to their new commander. SS-Sturmbannführer Hack could also be assured of the loyalty of his men, since he did not hesitate to regularly get a “whiff of gunpowder” at the front.

Along the front outside of Warsaw and in the bend of the Vistula, the man from Mannheim continued to accumulate close-combat days. He was also wounded for the ninth time since the war had started. In the attack against Soviet positions at Wieliezew, he distinguished himself once more by personally leading the assault.

On 9 November 1944, he was promoted to SS-Obersturmbannführer ahead of his contemporaries.

SS-Gruppenführer Gille left command of his division to assume command of the newly formed IV. SS-Panzer-Korps, to which Hack’s division, under its new commander, SS-Standartenführer Mühlenkamp, was attached. In January 1945, it went to the front in Hungary, but its ranks had been thinned considerably. Many of the experienced officers and noncommissioned officers had been killed or wounded in the recent months, including Hans Dorr. The Swords recipient, who had been considered indestructible, did not survive his 16th (!) wound. Wounded in January, he passed away on 17 April 1945.

These and other losses led to the consolidation of many units and formations. SS-Obersturmbannführer Hack led the so-called Panzer-Gefechtsgruppe, consisting of mechanized infantry, a tank-destroyer element, a handful of tanks, some antiaircraft assets and combat engineers, outside of Budapest and during the March offensive along Lake Balaton.

For assorted immediate counterattacks, engagements in built-up areas and general defensive fighting, Hack was recommended for the Oakleaves by the commander of the 6. SS-Panzer-Armee (Dietrich) and presented the award as the 844th recipient of the German Armed Forces. In the fighting at Czabdi, Pilisszentelek, Ureghegy and Seregelyes, Hack survived so many days of close combat that he was presented with the Close Combat Clasp in Gold on 1 May 1945. This placed the regimental commander as one of the 21 soldiers of the division who received this award.

Among other significant actions in Hungary, Hack’s Kampfgruppe had wiped out a Soviet tank company, an antitank-gun battalion and several rifle regiments in hard fighting. It had also recaptured 100 German vehicles and freed 22 German prisoners from the Soviets during an immediate counterattack.

Franz Hack led his Kampfgruppe to American captivity in May, from which he was released a few months later.

The former SS-Obersturmbannführer, who was in the judiciary after the war, died on 9 June 1997.

Franz Hack (right) with other officers. There is no information about when and where this pic was taken, but possibly furing the campaign in the West (1940) or Unternehmen Barbarossa (1941), when Hack served as the leader of 4th Company of the SS-Regiment "Germania".

SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Hack wearing the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold in his uniform, which he received on 8 January 1943 as SS-Hauptsturmführer and Kommandeur III.Bataillon (gepanzerte) / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment "Germania" /SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Wiking".



SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Hack (Kommandeur III.Bataillon / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania" / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking") in an Sd.Kfz.250/9 Armoured Reconnaisance vehicle belong to 2.Kompanie / SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 11 “Nordland”. The picture was taken by Ernst Baumann in the vicinity of Topolovac (near Sisak), Croatia, November 1943, when Hack visiting a Panzerspäh-Kompanie of SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 11, which was in the Balkan area during the autumn of 1943. Other picture from the same series can be seen HERE.



SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Hack (Kommandeur III.Bataillon / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania" / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking") Congratulates two of his men dressed in Winter Parkas 1944 on the Eastern Front. No other information available.



SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Hack (Kommandeur III.Bataillon / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania" / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking") directs the target during the firing test of new arrived Panzerfaust type 30.



SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Dorr (centre, Kommandeur SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania" / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking") issues orders to his officers on the Russian Front, possibly before the Battle of Kovel, April 1944. At left is SS-Hauptsturmführer Helmut Schumacher (Chef 9.Kompanie / III.Bataillon / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania" / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking"), while at right is SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Hack (Kommandeur III.Bataillon / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania" / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking"). Other pictures from the same series can be seen HERE.

SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Hack (Kommandeur III.Bataillon / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania" / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking") shows joy over the dashing advance of his soldiers to the Hill 189.5 near Kovel, Ukraine, 17 April 1944. MP43/1 or Sturmgewehr 44 (StG-44) rifle is clearly visible. The picture was taken by a staff member of the Germania Regiment, SS-Unterscharführer Ernst Baumann. Other pictures from the same series can be seen HERE.

SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Hack (Kommandeur III.Bataillon / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania" / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking") in Camouflage Smock receives first aid for light wound from a medic in East-Central Poland, 17 April 1944. In the background is his MP44. Hack was wounded by hand grenade splinters in the face and right hand while personally participating in the fighting in the forward line with his own Sturmgewehr 44 and hand grenades. His prudent leadership and personal daring was of great importance for the relief of ‘Fortress’ Kovel. Out of the millions who fought for the German Reich in World War II, only 98 received both the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross) and the Nahkampfspange (Close-Combat Clasp) in Gold. Hack was one of them. He was the first person whose awarding of the Eichenlaub (Oakleaves) which did not occur with a number. The award was made by SS-Obergruppenführer Herbert Gille and SS-Oberführer Karl Ullrich in April 1945. According to the countings it would have been the 844th award. Franz Hack wrote in the preface to the classic photo album 'Panzergrenadiere Der Panzerdivision Wiking im Bild': "Volunteers of almost every European nation, fought in the companies of the regiment, and – here it shall not be forgotten – as loyal comrades in arms, they thereby gave for the first time practical embodiment to the European ideal. The brave men of Wiking need no additional glorification". Franz Hack ended the war as an SS-Obersturmbannführer and died aged 82 on 9 June 1997 in Schleswig-Holstein. Photo by staff member of the Germania, SS-Unterscharführer Ernst Baumann. Other pictures from the same sequence can be seen HERE.



SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS Herbert-Otto Gille (left, Kommandeur 5. SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking") is watching friendly bombers flying in the sky, which are flying to bomb the Soviet positions, in an observation trench outside the besieged Kovel, 27 April 1944. The officer with camo is SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Hack (Kommandeur III.Bataillon / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania" / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking"), while other officer behind him is SS-Obersturmführer Hermann Kaufmann (Adjutant Divisionskommandeur 5. SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking"). Photo by SS-Kriegsberichter Alois Jarolim. Other picture from the same sequence can be seen HERE.



SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS Herbert Otto Gille (Kommandeur 5. SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking") presenting the Ritterkreuz to SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Hack (Kommandeur III.Bataillon / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania" / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking"), 14 May 1944. Other pictures from the same sequence can be seen HERE.

SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Hack as Kommandeur of III.Bataillon (gepanzerte) / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania" / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking". The picture was possibly taken after the Ritterkreuz award ceremony for Hack, 14 May 1944.



From left to right: SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Dorr (Kommandeur SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania" / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking") and SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Hack (Kommandeur III.Bataillon / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania" / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking"). The picture was possibly taken after the Ritterkreuz award ceremony for Hack, 14 May 1944.

SS-Sturmbannführer Paul Kümmel - in black panzer uniform - is Congratulated on his new appointment as Commander of III.Bataillon (gepanzerte) / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania" / 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking" (previously he was the commander of I.Abteilung/SS-Panzer-Regiment 5 "Wiking"). The picture was taken during a change of command ceremony for the 3rd battalion, which were held at Lublin army barracks in Poland, 20 May 1944. From left to right (top picture): SS-Untersturmführer Wilhelm Warnke (Adjutant Bataillonskommandeur III.Bataillon), SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Hackl (former Kommandeur of III.Bataillon who was promoted to became the commander of SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 5 "Wiking"), SS-Obersturmführer Johann Velde (Adjutant Regimentskommandeur SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania"), SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Dorr (Kommandeur SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 9 "Germania"), SS-Sturmbannführer Kümmel, and SS-Hauptsturmführer Helmut Schumacher (Chef 9.Kompanie / III.Bataillon). Other pictures from the same sequence can be seen HERE.



Two "giants" of 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking" in Hungary, January 1945. From left to right: SS-Obersturmbannführer Fritz Darges (Kommandeur SS-Panzer-Regiment 5 "Wiking") and SS-Obersturmbannführer Franz Hack (Kommandeur SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 10 "Westland"). They are both known for their big stature. The picture was taken from the book "Panzergrenadiere der 5. SS-Panzerdivision Wiking im Bild". Other pictures from the same series can be seen HERE.

Awards and decorations of Franz Hack.

Source :
NARA Archive photo collection
Agustin Vazquez photo collection
"German 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking Photo Collection" by Shinkigesha
“Kampfgruppe Mühlenkamp” by Douglas E. Nash and Remy Spezzano
"Panzer Grenadiere - der Panzerdivision 'Wiking' im Bild"
"The Face of Courage. The 98 Men Who Received the Knights Cross and the Close-Combat Clasp in Gold" by Florian Berger
https://www.alamy.com/5th-ss-panzer-division-sturmbannfhrer-major-hack-in-camouflage-smock-receives-first-aid-for-light-wound-from-a-medic-on-the-eastern-front-front-1944-in-the-background-his-mp44-image255373100.html
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2014/09/foto-5-ss-panzer-division-wiking.html
https://de.metapedia.org/wiki/Hack,_Franz
https://forum.axishistory.com/search.php?keywords=franz+hack&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=all&sr=topics&sk=t&sd=d&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search
http://www.kriegsberichter-archive.com/index.php?/category/55
https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Franz_Hack
https://rarebooksjapan.com/2017/09/28/german-5th-ss-panzer-division-wiking-photo-collection-vol-1-shinkigensha/
https://stabswache-de-euros.blogspot.com/2011/05/copyright-and-license-all-text-articles_2004.html
http://sylviolassance.blogspot.com/2015/05/hack-franz-0302191509061997.html
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/8802/Hack-Franz-Waffen-SS.htm
https://twitter.com/StG44Geek/status/1222193826263109633
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/forum/wehrmacht-era-militaria/photos-and-paper-items-forum/101537-new-photo-pickup-s/page1071#post6567608