Nickname: No information
Date of Birth: 31.03.1886 - Berlin (German Empire)
Date of Death: 21.10.1966 - Hannover, Lower Saxony (West Germany)
Battles and Operations: World War I, Battle of France 1940, Operation Barbarossa, Battle of Moscow, Demyansk Salient, Battles around Belgorod and Kharkov, Nikopol Bridgehead, Western Front 1944
NSDAP-Number: No information
SS-Number: No information
Religion: No information
Parents: Major Heinrich Otto August von Knobelsdorff (21.01.1856) and Anna Luise Ursula Katharina von Manteuffel (10.03.1862)
Siblings: No information
Spouse: Alexandrine "Alix" Margarete Paula Gabriele Helmine Cäcilie Eva Freiin von Korff genannt Schmising (married 1914)
Children: Three children (two sons and one daughter)
Promotions:
25.04.1905 Fahnenjunker
27.01.1906 Fähnrich
18.08.1906 Leutnant
18.11.1914 Oberleutnant
22.03.1916 Hauptmann
01.02.1929 Major
01.06.1933 Oberstleutnant
01.06.1935 Oberst
01.01.1939 Generalmajor
01.12.1940 Generalleutnant
01.08.1942 General der Panzertruppen
Career:
Kadettenanstalt Bensberg and Hauptkadettenanstalt Groß-Lichterfelde
25.04.1905 Infanterie-Regiment „Großherzog von Sachsen“ (5. Thüringisches) Nr. 94, Weimar
1906 Gruppenführer 5. Kompanie, Infanterie-Regiment „Großherzog von Sachsen“ (5. Thüringisches) Nr. 94
01.04.1911 Adjutant III. Bataillon, Infanterie-Regiment „Großherzog von Sachsen“ (5. Thüringisches) Nr. 94
28.01.1914 Adjutant Infanterie-Regiment „Großherzog von Sachsen“ (5. Thüringisches) Nr. 94
29.08.1915-01.11.1915 Lazarett
01.11.1915 Führer I. Bataillon, Infanterie-Regiment „Großherzog von Sachsen“ (5. Thüringisches) Nr. 94
Führer II. Bataillon, Infanterie-Regiment „Großherzog von Sachsen“ (5. Thüringisches) Nr. 94
01.04.1916 Feld-Ersatz Bataillon, Infanterie-Division 38
1916 Führer Bataillon Infanterie-Regiment „Großherzog von Sachsen“ (5. Thüringisches) Nr. 94
01.10.1916 MG-Offizier Schule Döberitz
15.10.1916 Adjutant 83. Infanterie-Brigade
01.11.1916 Generalstabsoffizier Heeresgruppe B
11.1916 Generalstabsoffizier VII. Armeekorps
18.03.1917 Ib 200. Infanterie-Division
18.06.1917 Ib 1. Garde-Infanterie-Division
08.1917 Generalstabsoffizier Bug-Armee
15.10.1917 Generalstabslehrgang Sedan
09.1918 Ib 242. Infanterie-Division
21.10.1918 Lazarett
01.1919 Infanterie-Regiment „Großherzog von Sachsen“ (5. Thüringisches) Nr. 94
05.1919 Kompanieführer Infanterie-Regiment „Großherzog von Sachsen“ (5. Thüringisches) Nr. 94
01.07.1919 Kompanieführer Infanterie-Regiment 21
01.01.1921 Kompanieführer 7. Kompanie, Infanterie-Regiment 15, Eisenach
08.1921 Id, Stab 6. Division
01.02.1932 Stab Artillerieführer II, Stettin
01.04.1926 Stab, 2. Division
01.10.1928 Führer 4. Eskadron, Gebirgs-Regiment 9, Beskow
19.10.1929 Erster Generalstabsoffizier (Ia), Stab / Artillerieführer III, Berlin
01.10.1933 Chef des Stabes, Kommandanten von Berlin
15.10.1935 Kommandeur Infanterie-Regiment 102, Chemnitz
01.02.1939 Kommandeur Festung Oppeln
26.08.1939 Chef des Generalstabes Grenzschutz-Abschnittskommando 3
06.02.1940 Kommandeur, 19. Infanterie-Division
01.11.1940 Kommandeur, 19. Panzer-Division
01.01.1942 Lazarett Bad Gastein, Führerreserve OKH
01.05.1942 m.d.F.b. X. Armeekorps
01.06.1942 m.d.F.b. II. Armeekorps
01.07.1942 Kommandeur Korps Knobelsdorff
07.10.1942 Kommandierender General, XXIV. Panzerkorps
30.11.1942 m.d.F.b. XXXXVIII. Panzerkorps
10.02.1943 Kommandierender General, XXXXVIII. Panzerkorps
09.10.1943 Lazarett
15.10.1943 Führerreserve OKH
31.01.1944 Kommandierender General, XXXX. Panzerkorps
06.09.1944 m.d.F.b. 1. Armee
30.11.1944 Führerreserve OKH
11.04.1945 American POW until 10.06.1947-12.12.1947 internment
Awards and Decorations:
Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (1914) 19.09.1914
Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse (1914) 27.02.1915
Ritterkreuz II. Klasse zum Hausorden vom Weißen Falken mit Schwertern 30.09.1914
Österreichisches Militärverdienstkreuz III. Klasse mit Kriegsdekoration und Schwertern 07.12.1914
Wilhelm-Ernst-Kriegskreuz 10.04.1915
Komtur II. Klasse des Herzoglich Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden mit Schwertern 23.04.1915
Lippesches Kriegsverdienstkreuz 17.12.1917
Verwundetenabzeichen 1918 in Schwarz 06.10.1918
Ehrenkreuz für Weltkriegs-Kämpfer mit Schwertern 21.01.1935
Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung 4. bis 1. Klasse 02.10.1936
1939 Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz 2. Klasse 11.10.1939
1939 Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz 1. Klasse 20.05.1940
Panzerkampfabzeichen in Silber 19.09.1941
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (17.09.1941) as Generalleutnant and Kommandeur 19. Panzer-Division. Received the award for the division’s decisive actions during the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa in July 1941. After the rapid advance through Soviet-held territory that had already covered hundreds of miles in weeks, the division struck toward the critical road and rail hub of Velikiye Luki. On 17 July, Knobelsdorff’s panzers seized the high ground south of the city under intense defensive fire. House-to-house fighting erupted as German tanks and grenadiers cleared the streets quarter by quarter while Soviet counterattacks repeatedly slashed at the division’s rear supply road. With the situation hanging by a thread, Knobelsdorff personally directed a swift restoration: tanks and an infantry regiment pushed forward through the chaos, repelled the flanking assaults by mid-afternoon, and secured the town. The capture of Velikiye Luki not only severed a vital Soviet supply artery between Kiev and Leningrad but also enabled the final closure of the Velikiye Luki pocket, trapping large enemy forces and collapsing their defensive line in the central sector. This success, achieved against a strongly entrenched opponent, marked the high point of the division’s drive and earned Knobelsdorff the Ritterkreuz.
Deutsches Kreuz in Gold 16.02.1943
Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42-Medaille 08.08.1942
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #322 (12.11.1943) as General der Panzertruppe and Kommandierender General XXXXVIII. Panzerkorps. Awarded the medal for his corps’ outstanding performance in the heavy fighting around Belgorod and Kharkov in early 1943 and during the southern thrust of the Kursk offensive in July. In late February 1943, under Manstein’s counteroffensive, the corps smashed northward toward Kharkov. On 28 February it surprised three Soviet corps in the rear, then joined Hausser’s SS-Panzerkorps in a sweeping envelopment. After three days of bitter street fighting amid rubble and flames, Kharkov fell, and by 16 March the corps linked with Grossdeutschland near Belgorod, creating a firm base for further operations. When the Kursk offensive (Operation Zitadelle) began on 5 July, Knobelsdorff’s corps—bolstered by the elite Grossdeutschland Division, 3. and 11. Panzer-Divisionen, and the new Panther-equipped 10. Panzer-Brigade—spearheaded the assault through the first Soviet defense belt. Amid pouring rain and mud, the panzers crossed a swollen creek under continuous artillery and antitank fire. On 7 July they routed massed Soviet tank forces in a furious meeting engagement, destroying dozens of enemy vehicles and pushing forward until the Psel River came under German artillery fire. Over the next days (8–13 July) the corps faced relentless Soviet counterattacks by Guards tank and mechanized corps; in one engagement alone on 8–9 July it accounted for 101 Soviet tanks at minimal cost to itself. Constant tank-versus-tank battles raged through smoke and rain, with Knobelsdorff’s formations encircling and annihilating enemy armored groups, repulsing wave after wave of infantry and armor from the X Tank Corps, and aggressively pursuing withdrawing Soviet units to consolidate new defensive lines. Although the overall offensive was eventually halted, the corps’ repeated breakthroughs and defensive stands in the Belgorod–Kharkov sector inflicted devastating losses on the Red Army and demonstrated Knobelsdorff’s masterful handling of armored formations under extreme pressure.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #100 (21.09.1944) as General der Panzertruppe and Kommandierender General XXXX. Panzerkorps. He earned the award for his leadership during the desperate retreat battles in the Nikopol Bridgehead and the subsequent fighting across the Ukraine in early 1944. By mid-February the corps was encircled at Nikopol. On 15 February Knobelsdorff orchestrated a skillful breakout under heavy Soviet pressure, extricating his divisions intact. Over the following months, from the Dnieper bend through phased withdrawals along the Bug and Dniestr rivers, he conducted a masterful fighting retreat all the way to the Romanian border by the end of May. When the Soviets launched a ferocious breakthrough on 10 March against the Grossdeutschland Division (temporarily subordinated to his corps), Knobelsdorff immediately ordered precise counterattacks to seal the gaps, while insisting that panzer units remain integrated with the infantry rather than racing ahead for rearming. He demanded accurate, real-time intelligence to avoid panic decisions, pushed supply columns forward under fire, and used his armor as a mobile backstop to cover the infantry’s phased night withdrawals to successive “B-Line” positions. Despite overwhelming Soviet numerical superiority in tanks, infantry, and artillery, his corps traded ground methodically, prevented the destruction of its divisions, and maintained cohesion through constant crises. Knobelsdorff’s calm decisiveness, frontline presence, and optimistic resolve turned what could have become a rout into an orderly fighting withdrawal that preserved combat effectiveness far longer than expected.
Rechtsritter-Kreuz zum Johanniterorden 22.04.1949
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Heinrich Otto Ernst von Knobelsdorff was a German general of panzer troops who served with distinction in both world wars and became one of the Wehrmacht's most capable armored commanders during the Second World War. Born on 31 March 1886 in Berlin to a noble Prussian military family he was the son of Major Heinrich Otto August von Knobelsdorff and Anna Luise Ursula Katharina von Manteuffel. He married Alexandrine Alix Margarete Paula Gabriele Helmine Cäcilie Eva Freiin von Korff genannt Schmising in 1914 and the couple had three children two sons and one daughter. Educated at the Kadettenanstalt Bensberg and the Hauptkadettenanstalt Groß-Lichterfelde he entered the Imperial German Army in 1905 as a Fahnenjunker with the Infanterie-Regiment Großherzog von Sachsen Nr. 94 in Weimar rising steadily through the ranks and gaining early experience as a company and battalion officer before the outbreak of the First World War.
During the First World War Knobelsdorff served primarily with his original regiment and later in staff and command roles across various divisions and corps earning both classes of the Iron Cross by early 1915 along with several other German and Austrian decorations including the Ritterkreuz II. Klasse zum Hausorden vom Weißen Falken mit Schwertern the Österreichisches Militärverdienstkreuz III. Klasse mit Kriegsdekoration und Schwertern and the Lippesches Kriegsverdienstkreuz. He was wounded in action and spent time in hospital yet continued to demonstrate leadership as a battalion commander and general staff officer participating in operations on the Western and Eastern Fronts. After the armistice he was retained in the Reichswehr advancing through the interwar years with assignments that included regimental adjutant duties staff positions in divisions and artillery commands and command of Infantry Regiment 102 eventually reaching the rank of Generalmajor by January 1939.
At the beginning of the Second World War Knobelsdorff served as chief of staff of Grenzschutz-Abschnittskommando 3 before assuming command of the 19th Infantry Division in February 1940 which he led through the Battle of France. The division was later converted into the 19th Panzer Division under his oversight and he was promoted to Generalleutnant in December 1940. Deployed to the Eastern Front with Operation Barbarossa in 1941 the division under his command advanced rapidly through Soviet territory engaging in intense fighting that culminated in the capture of the key road and rail hub of Velikiye Luki on 17 July. House-to-house combat raged as German tanks and grenadiers cleared the streets amid repeated Soviet counterattacks that threatened the division's supply lines yet Knobelsdorff personally directed swift reinforcements that repelled the flanks and secured the town by mid-afternoon severing vital Soviet communications between Kiev and Leningrad and closing the Velikiye Luki pocket. For this achievement he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 17 September 1941.
Following a period of illness that forced a temporary break from command in early 1942 Knobelsdorff returned to lead successive corps formations including the X Army Corps the II Army Corps and then the XXIV Panzer Corps before taking permanent command of the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps in late 1942. Promoted to General der Panzertruppe in August 1942 he directed the corps during Manstein's counteroffensive in early 1943 smashing Soviet forces near Kharkov in late February and linking with other units to create a stable front around Belgorod by mid-March. In the Kursk offensive of July 1943 his corps spearheaded the assault through the first Soviet defensive belts under heavy rain and artillery fire routing massed enemy tank formations in furious meeting engagements that destroyed dozens of Soviet vehicles while repulsing waves of counterattacks from Guards tank and mechanized corps. Although the broader operation was halted the corps' repeated breakthroughs and defensive stands around Belgorod and Kharkov inflicted devastating losses earning Knobelsdorff the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross on 12 November 1943.
In early 1944 Knobelsdorff assumed command of the XXXX Panzer Corps in the Nikopol Bridgehead where encirclement threatened his forces. On 15 February he orchestrated a skillful breakout under intense Soviet pressure extricating his divisions largely intact before conducting a masterful fighting retreat across the Dnieper Bug and Dniestr rivers all the way to the Romanian border by late May. When Soviet breakthroughs struck in March he ordered precise counterattacks to seal gaps insisting on integrated panzer-infantry operations and using armor as a mobile shield to cover phased night withdrawals to successive defensive lines. Despite overwhelming enemy superiority in numbers his corps traded ground methodically preserved combat cohesion and prevented a rout through constant crises demonstrating calm decisiveness and frontline leadership that turned potential disaster into an orderly withdrawal. For these actions he was awarded the Swords to his Knight's Cross on 21 September 1944 becoming the 100th recipient of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
Later in 1944 Knobelsdorff briefly commanded the 1st Army on the Western Front but was relieved in November after resisting orders to transfer armored assets for the Ardennes offensive. He spent the final months of the war in the Führer Reserve was captured by American forces in April 1945 and released in December 1947. In the postwar years he lived quietly in Hannover authoring the detailed regimental and divisional history Geschichte der niedersächsischen 19. Panzer-Division 1939-1945 which was published in 1958 preserving the record of his former unit. Heinrich Otto Ernst von Knobelsdorff died on 21 October 1966 in Hannover at the age of eighty and was buried in the Engesohde City Cemetery.
Generalleutnant Otto von Knobelsdorff.
Ritterkreuz award ceremony for Oberleutnant Armin Pfaffendorf (Flugzeugführer in 1.(H) Staffel / Aufklärungsgruppe 13), which were held on 22 May 1942 in the Eastern Front. Interestingly enough, the one who gave the medal is a Heer officer and not from Luftwaffe! He is Generalleutnant Otto von Knobelsdorff (mit der Führung beauftragt X. Armeekorps). It is because Pfaffendorff's unit flew recon missions for the X. Armeekorps / Heeresgruppe Nord. The airfield is Szoltzy near Ilmen Lake, Novgorod. Note the recon plane in the background and the Heer officers around!
From left to right: Generaloberst Ernst Busch (Oberbefehlshaber 16. Armee), Generalleutnant Otto von Knobelsdorff (Führer II. Armeekorps), and Generalmajor Dr.rer.pol. Dr.-Ing. Johannes Mayer (Kommandeur 329. Infanterie-Division). The picture was taken 0n 13 July 1942 by Kriegsberichter von der Piepen.
General der Panzertruppe Otto von Knobelsdorff in November 1943. Photo by Walter Frentz.
Otto von Knobelsdorff and Hans-Günther Bethke
General der Panzertruppe Otto von Knobelsdorff.
Otto von Knobelsdorff and his officer.
General der Panzertruppe Otto von Knobelsdorff (Kommandierender General XXXX. Panzerkorps) and Generalleutnant Hasso von Manteuffel (Kommandeur Panzergrenadier-Division "Großdeutschland") have arrived for a briefing at the Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze in Rastenburg, East Prussia, 10 September 1944. Knobelsdorff is delegated with the leadership of 1. Armee while Manteuffel is promoted to General der Panzertruppe and delegated with the leadership of 5. Panzerarmee (as from 1 September 1944). The latter is wearing a Tank Assault Badge of the 2nd grade for 25 engagements (Panzerkampfabzeichen in Silber mit Einsatzzahl "25"). For the identification, from left to right: Major Bernd von Brauchitsch (Chefadjutant des Reichsmarschall und Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe), Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe), Oberstleutnant Erik von Amsberg (Chefadjutant des Heeres beim Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht), Generalleutnant Wilhelm Burgdorf (Stellvertretender Leiter vom Heeres-Personalamt), Adolf Hitler (Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht), SS-Sturmbannführer Richard Schulze (SS-Adjutant beim Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht), Knobelsdorff, Manteuffel, and unknown.
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From left to right: General der Panzertruppe Otto von Knobelsdorff (Führer 1. Armee) and Generalleutnant Hans Källner (Kommandeur 19. Panzer-Division). The picture was taken in late October 1944 during the Schwerter presentation for Knobelsdorff and Källner with Hitler. Knobelsdorff received the medal on 21 September 1944, while Källner on 23 October 1944.
General der Panzertruppe Otto von Knobelsdorff in late October 1944. Photo by Walter Frentz.
General der Panzertruppe Otto von Knobelsdorff in late October 1944. Photo by Walter Frentz.
Not long after World War II ended, the Allies realized that the captured German military leaders had very useful war experience, which could be used as a research resource. What followed was a unique collaboration between the U.S. Army's Military History Division and several hundred German prisoners, which later produced around 2,200 papers on combat strategy, technical issues, and staff duties. This photo - which clearly appears to have been staged - shows some of the "top notch" of Wehrmacht and SS officers collaborating on this research, alongside their American counterparts. They are: 1.Generalmajor Heinrich Bürcky (Kommandeur 159. Infanterie-Division), 2.Oberstleutnant Douglas Graf von Bernstorff (Chef des Stabes Armeeabteilung von Lüttwitz), 3.Generalmajor Siegfried von Waldenburg (Kommandeur 116. Panzer-Division), 4.Generalmajor Karl Britzelmayr (Kommandeur 19. Volksgrenadier-Division), 5.Generalmajor Johannes "Hans" Bruhn (Kommandeur 553. Volksgrenadier-Division), 6.Generalleutnant Ing. Ernst Hammer (Kommandeur 190. Infanterie-Division), 7.Generalleutnant Hans Schmidt (Kommandeur 275. Infanterie-Division), 8.Oberst im Generalstab Werner Bodenstein (Stabschef LXVI. Armeekorps), 9.Generalmajor Rudolf Langhaeuser (Kommandeur 44. Reichsgrenadier-Division "Hoch- und Deutschmeister"), 10.General der Infanterie Friedrich Köchling (Kommandierender General LXXXI. Armeekorps), 11.General der Infanterie Dr.Jur. Franz Beyer (Kommandierender General LXXX. Armeekorps), 12.Generalleutnant Ernst Haeckel (Kommandeur Division Nr. 471), 13.Generalmajor August Wellm (Kommandeur 36. Infanterie-Division), 14.Oberstleutnant Voiot? 15.Oberst im Generalstab Willi Mantey (Chef des Generalstabes Armeegruppe Blumentritt), 16.Generalleutnant Walter Poppe (Kommandeur Divisionsgruppe 467), 17.General der Infanterie Gustav Höhne (Kommandierender General LXXXIX. Panzerkorps), 18.Generalleutnant Dr.rer.pol. Dr.jur. Hans Boelsen (Kommandeur Küstenverteidigungsabschnitt Friesland), 19.General der Infanterie Carl Püchler (Kommandierender General LXXIV. Armeekorps), 20.General der Panzertruppe Otto von Knobelsdorff (Oberbefehlshaber 1. Armee), and 21.Generalmajor Dipl.Landwirt Christian Landau (Kommandeur 176. Infanterie-Division)
Source:
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/otto-knobelsdorff.html?sortBy=relevant
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