Full name: Hermann Albert Breith
Nickname: none
Date of Birth: 07.05.1892 - Pirmasens, Rheinland-Pfalz (German Empire)
Date of Death: 03.09.1964 - Pech district of Wachtberg, Nordrhein-Westfalen (West Germany)
Battles and operations: World War I (Western Front including Battles of the Somme, Verdun, Flanders; Eastern Front including Kowel and Naratsch-See), Invasion of Poland 1939, Battle of France 1940, Operation Barbarossa, Battle of Moscow, defensive battles north of Kursk 1942, Case Blue 1942, Battle of Kharkov, Operation Citadel, relief of the Cherkassy Pocket 1944, defensive battles in Galicia, Baranow bridgehead, Hungary and Austria 1944-1945
NSDAP number: none (regular Heer officer)
Religion: unknown
Parents: unknown
Siblings: unknown
Spouse: unknown
Children: unknown
Promotions
16.04.1910 Fahnenjunker
13.08.1910 Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier
10.11.1910 Fähnrich
13.09.1911 Leutnant
25.11.1916 Oberleutnant
17.03.1924 Hauptmann
01.12.1933 Major
01.04.1936 Oberstleutnant
01.01.1939 Oberst
01.08.1941 Generalmajor
01.11.1942 Generalleutnant
13.02.1943 General der Panzertruppe
Career
16.04.1910-1918 Infantry service in Infanterie-Regiment 60 and transfers including Infanterie-Regiment 166 (MG company leader, regimental adjutant, brigade adjutant on Western and Eastern Fronts)
1919-1920 Freikorps and transitional Reichswehr service (Ersatz-Bataillon, Radfahrkompanie, Schützen-Regiment 18)
1920-1925 Adjutant and company officer roles in infantry regiments
01.10.1925-1931 Kraftfahr units and company commander in motorised formations
01.06.1931-1934 Referent for Panzer and anti-tank affairs in Reichswehrministerium
1935-1938 Commanding Officer II. Abteilung / Panzer-Regiment 5
10.11.1938-14.02.1940 Commanding Officer Panzer-Regiment 36 (4. Panzer-Division)
15.02.1940-14.11.1940 Commanding Officer 5. Panzer-Brigade
14.11.1940-03.06.1941 Staff of General der Schnellen Truppen / OKH
22.10.1941-01.10.1942 Commanding Officer 3. Panzer-Division
02.10.1942-02.01.1943 Führerreserve OKH
03.01.1943-08.05.1945 Commanding General III. Panzerkorps (with brief attachment periods)
08.05.1945-05.1947 Prisoner of war in American custody
05.1947 Released
Awards and decorations
10.09.1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class 1914
30.07.1916 Iron Cross 1st Class 1914
16.04.1917 Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg
28.10.1918 Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords
23.09.1939 Clasp to Iron Cross 2nd Class 1939
02.10.1939 Clasp to Iron Cross 1st Class 1939
03.06.1940 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, as Oberst and commander of 5. Panzer-Brigade. Awarded for his leadership in the first major tank battle against French armoured forces. On 13 May 1940 near Merdorp (approximately 6 km southwest of Hannut in Belgium), his brigade encountered and decisively engaged the leading French armour formations. The press citation published at the time stated: “Oberst Hermann Breith and his Panzer-Brigade bloodily brushed aside the first formation of French armour they encountered, destroying a large number of hostile tanks in the process. Later on he overcame the heaviest enemy defensive fire with exemplary attacking spirit and personally led his Brigade to victory despite being wounded himself.” Breith’s units were officially credited with the destruction of more than 30 French tanks in this single engagement. He continued to direct operations even after being wounded on 15 May 1940, personally leading the brigade forward under intense artillery and anti-tank fire until the French resistance in the sector was broken. The recommendation was submitted on 29 May 1940 and the award was presented on 3 June 1940. This action formed part of the larger Battle of Hannut, one of the earliest large-scale tank clashes of the war.
01.06.1940 Wound Badge in Black
20.05.1940 Panzer Badge in Silver
31.01.1942 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #69, as Generalmajor and commander of 3. Panzer-Division. Awarded for a successful defensive counterattack operation north of Kursk in late January 1942. On 30 January 1942 his division eliminated a dangerous Soviet penetration in the sector Butyrki–Judinka–Stakanowo. Through coordinated armoured and infantry assaults, the 3. Panzer-Division inflicted heavy losses on the attacking Soviet forces (including numerous tanks) and forced the surviving enemy units to withdraw across the Tim River. The Wehrmachtbericht of 31 January 1942 explicitly mentioned the division and its commander for this achievement. The Oak Leaves were awarded the same day, recognising not only the immediate tactical success but also the stabilising effect of the counterattacks on the wider sector of Army Group Centre during the difficult winter fighting of 1941/42.
1942 Eastern Front Medal
21.02.1944 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #48, as General der Panzertruppe and commanding general of III. Panzerkorps. Awarded for his leadership during the relief operation for the Cherkassy Pocket (Kessel von Tscherkassy) in February 1944. His corps, composed of several Heer divisions and one Waffen-SS division, conducted the main relief attack from the west. The corps successively broke through multiple Soviet defensive lines and advanced to within a few kilometres of the encircled Kampfgruppe Stemmermann. In doing so it drew the bulk of the Soviet forces onto itself, creating the corridor that enabled the encircled German troops to break out. The official press citation read: “General der Panzertruppe Breith led an Armee-Korps comprised of several Heer Divisionen and one of the Waffen-SS that succeeded in forcing its way through to a point just to the west of the encircled Kampfgruppe Stemmermann. In the process one enemy position after another was broken through, and the bulk of the Soviet forces were drawn to the Korps. During this fighting General Breith repeatedly distinguished himself through his bravery and the skillful leadership of his Armee-Korps, and he repeatedly intervened at the hotspots of the combat from the foremost line.” From 18 February 1944 onwards the corps destroyed 728 Soviet tanks during the operation. Breith and his units were mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht of 20 February 1944. The Swords were awarded the following day.
Wehrmachtbericht mentions (31.01.1942, 20.02.1944, 09.09.1944, 30.10.1944)
Honour Cross for Front Fighters
Nickname: none
Date of Birth: 07.05.1892 - Pirmasens, Rheinland-Pfalz (German Empire)
Date of Death: 03.09.1964 - Pech district of Wachtberg, Nordrhein-Westfalen (West Germany)
Battles and operations: World War I (Western Front including Battles of the Somme, Verdun, Flanders; Eastern Front including Kowel and Naratsch-See), Invasion of Poland 1939, Battle of France 1940, Operation Barbarossa, Battle of Moscow, defensive battles north of Kursk 1942, Case Blue 1942, Battle of Kharkov, Operation Citadel, relief of the Cherkassy Pocket 1944, defensive battles in Galicia, Baranow bridgehead, Hungary and Austria 1944-1945
NSDAP number: none (regular Heer officer)
Religion: unknown
Parents: unknown
Siblings: unknown
Spouse: unknown
Children: unknown
Promotions
16.04.1910 Fahnenjunker
13.08.1910 Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier
10.11.1910 Fähnrich
13.09.1911 Leutnant
25.11.1916 Oberleutnant
17.03.1924 Hauptmann
01.12.1933 Major
01.04.1936 Oberstleutnant
01.01.1939 Oberst
01.08.1941 Generalmajor
01.11.1942 Generalleutnant
13.02.1943 General der Panzertruppe
Career
16.04.1910-1918 Infantry service in Infanterie-Regiment 60 and transfers including Infanterie-Regiment 166 (MG company leader, regimental adjutant, brigade adjutant on Western and Eastern Fronts)
1919-1920 Freikorps and transitional Reichswehr service (Ersatz-Bataillon, Radfahrkompanie, Schützen-Regiment 18)
1920-1925 Adjutant and company officer roles in infantry regiments
01.10.1925-1931 Kraftfahr units and company commander in motorised formations
01.06.1931-1934 Referent for Panzer and anti-tank affairs in Reichswehrministerium
1935-1938 Commanding Officer II. Abteilung / Panzer-Regiment 5
10.11.1938-14.02.1940 Commanding Officer Panzer-Regiment 36 (4. Panzer-Division)
15.02.1940-14.11.1940 Commanding Officer 5. Panzer-Brigade
14.11.1940-03.06.1941 Staff of General der Schnellen Truppen / OKH
22.10.1941-01.10.1942 Commanding Officer 3. Panzer-Division
02.10.1942-02.01.1943 Führerreserve OKH
03.01.1943-08.05.1945 Commanding General III. Panzerkorps (with brief attachment periods)
08.05.1945-05.1947 Prisoner of war in American custody
05.1947 Released
Awards and decorations
10.09.1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class 1914
30.07.1916 Iron Cross 1st Class 1914
16.04.1917 Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg
28.10.1918 Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords
23.09.1939 Clasp to Iron Cross 2nd Class 1939
02.10.1939 Clasp to Iron Cross 1st Class 1939
03.06.1940 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, as Oberst and commander of 5. Panzer-Brigade. Awarded for his leadership in the first major tank battle against French armoured forces. On 13 May 1940 near Merdorp (approximately 6 km southwest of Hannut in Belgium), his brigade encountered and decisively engaged the leading French armour formations. The press citation published at the time stated: “Oberst Hermann Breith and his Panzer-Brigade bloodily brushed aside the first formation of French armour they encountered, destroying a large number of hostile tanks in the process. Later on he overcame the heaviest enemy defensive fire with exemplary attacking spirit and personally led his Brigade to victory despite being wounded himself.” Breith’s units were officially credited with the destruction of more than 30 French tanks in this single engagement. He continued to direct operations even after being wounded on 15 May 1940, personally leading the brigade forward under intense artillery and anti-tank fire until the French resistance in the sector was broken. The recommendation was submitted on 29 May 1940 and the award was presented on 3 June 1940. This action formed part of the larger Battle of Hannut, one of the earliest large-scale tank clashes of the war.
01.06.1940 Wound Badge in Black
20.05.1940 Panzer Badge in Silver
31.01.1942 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #69, as Generalmajor and commander of 3. Panzer-Division. Awarded for a successful defensive counterattack operation north of Kursk in late January 1942. On 30 January 1942 his division eliminated a dangerous Soviet penetration in the sector Butyrki–Judinka–Stakanowo. Through coordinated armoured and infantry assaults, the 3. Panzer-Division inflicted heavy losses on the attacking Soviet forces (including numerous tanks) and forced the surviving enemy units to withdraw across the Tim River. The Wehrmachtbericht of 31 January 1942 explicitly mentioned the division and its commander for this achievement. The Oak Leaves were awarded the same day, recognising not only the immediate tactical success but also the stabilising effect of the counterattacks on the wider sector of Army Group Centre during the difficult winter fighting of 1941/42.
1942 Eastern Front Medal
21.02.1944 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #48, as General der Panzertruppe and commanding general of III. Panzerkorps. Awarded for his leadership during the relief operation for the Cherkassy Pocket (Kessel von Tscherkassy) in February 1944. His corps, composed of several Heer divisions and one Waffen-SS division, conducted the main relief attack from the west. The corps successively broke through multiple Soviet defensive lines and advanced to within a few kilometres of the encircled Kampfgruppe Stemmermann. In doing so it drew the bulk of the Soviet forces onto itself, creating the corridor that enabled the encircled German troops to break out. The official press citation read: “General der Panzertruppe Breith led an Armee-Korps comprised of several Heer Divisionen and one of the Waffen-SS that succeeded in forcing its way through to a point just to the west of the encircled Kampfgruppe Stemmermann. In the process one enemy position after another was broken through, and the bulk of the Soviet forces were drawn to the Korps. During this fighting General Breith repeatedly distinguished himself through his bravery and the skillful leadership of his Armee-Korps, and he repeatedly intervened at the hotspots of the combat from the foremost line.” From 18 February 1944 onwards the corps destroyed 728 Soviet tanks during the operation. Breith and his units were mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht of 20 February 1944. The Swords were awarded the following day.
Wehrmachtbericht mentions (31.01.1942, 20.02.1944, 09.09.1944, 30.10.1944)
Honour Cross for Front Fighters
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Hermann Albert Breith was born on 7 May 1892 in Pirmasens, a town in the German Empire. He entered the German Army in 1910 and served through the entirety of the First World War, earning the Iron Cross Second Class on 10 September 1914 and the First Class on 30 July 1916. Additional decorations from that conflict included the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords on 28 October 1918 and the Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg on 16 April 1917. After the armistice, Breith remained in the Reichswehr and later the Wehrmacht, serving as an advisor in the Reichswehrministerium between 1931 and 1934.
By the mid-1930s the German Army was expanding its armored forces, and Breith found himself at the forefront of this development. On 15 October 1935 he took command of the 2nd Battalion of the 5th Panzer Regiment, holding the post until 10 November 1938. He then assumed command of Panzer-Regiment 36, which he led until 14 February 1940. With the outbreak of the Second World War, Breith advanced quickly. Promoted to colonel on 1 January 1939, he took charge of the 5th Panzer Brigade on 15 February 1940 and held that position through the campaign in the West.
During the fighting in Belgium and France in May 1940, Breith distinguished himself in combat near Merdorp on 13 May. His brigade encountered the first major French armored formation it had faced, destroyed dozens of enemy tanks, and pressed forward under heavy fire despite Breith himself being wounded. For these actions he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 3 June 1940 as the 69th recipient, along with the Wound Badge in Black and the Panzer Badge in Silver. He was also mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht. After the French campaign he served briefly in staff roles, attached to the General of Mobile Troops at Army High Command until early June 1941, followed by a short period of unemployment and attachment to the 3rd Panzer Division.
On 22 October 1941 Breith was given command of the 3rd Panzer Division, one of the most experienced armored formations on the Eastern Front. He led it through the harsh winter of 1941-42 and into the following year, rising to the rank of major general on 1 August 1941 and lieutenant general on 1 November 1942. His division played a key role in defensive fighting north of Kursk in late January 1942, where it eliminated a dangerous Soviet penetration near Butyrki, Judinka, and Stakanowo, inflicting heavy losses and forcing the enemy back across the Tim River. For this success Breith was awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross on 31 January 1942 as the 69th recipient. He continued to command the division until 2 October 1942, after which he spent several months in the Führerreserve at OKH.
Breith returned to active duty in early 1943. On 3 January he was appointed acting commander of III Panzer Corps, and on 1 March 1943 he was promoted to general of panzer troops and confirmed in permanent command of the corps. He would lead this formation, with brief interruptions, until the final days of the war. The corps fought in the southern sector of the Eastern Front through the intense battles of 1943 and 1944. One of its most notable achievements came during the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket in February 1944. Breith personally directed a relief force composed of several army divisions and a Waffen-SS unit. His corps broke through successive Soviet defensive lines, drew the bulk of enemy forces onto itself, and advanced close enough to allow the encircled German troops to break out. Breith repeatedly placed himself at the hottest points of the fighting, demonstrating both bravery and tactical skill. For this operation he received the Swords to his Knight's Cross on 21 February 1944 as the 48th recipient. He was mentioned again in the Wehrmachtbericht on several occasions, including 20 February and 9 October 1944.
Throughout 1944 and early 1945 III Panzer Corps remained heavily engaged in Ukraine, Romania, and later defensive actions farther west as the Red Army advanced. Breith maintained command through the final collapse of German forces in the East. On 8 May 1945 he was taken into American captivity along with the remnants of his corps. He remained a prisoner of war until his release in May 1947.
After returning to civilian life, Hermann Breith lived quietly in West Germany. He died on 3 September 1964 at the age of 72 in the Pech district of Wachtberg, near Bonn. Over the course of his long career he had risen from a young officer in the Imperial Army to one of the Wehrmacht's most experienced panzer leaders. In addition to the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, he had accumulated the 1939 Clasp to both classes of the Iron Cross, the Eastern Front Medal, and numerous other campaign and service awards. His leadership of armored formations in both offensive and defensive operations on multiple fronts left a lasting record in the history of the German Army during the Second World War.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Breith
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Breith
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/28682/Breith-Hermann.htm
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/B/BreithH.htm
https://generals.dk/general/Breith/Hermann/Germany.html
https://rk.balsi.de/ (Ritterkreuzträger database)
https://www.unithistories.com/
https://grokipedia.com/page/Hermann_Breith
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/
https://www.geni.com/
Wegmann, Günter. Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939-1945. Teil VIIIa: Panzertruppe Band 1: A-E. Bissendorf 2004.
Scherzer, Veit. Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939-1945. Jena 2007.
Additional biographical sketches from books.google.com searches on Ritterkreuzträger der Panzertruppe.
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