Nickname: No information
Date of Birth: 09.10.1898 - Kattowitz, Upper Silesia (German Empire)
Date of Death: 18.04.1945 - near Sokolnice near Olmütz, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
Battles and Operations: Polish Campaign, Western Campaign, Operation Barbarossa, Eastern Front battles (including Zhitomir, Kamenez-Podolsk pocket, Poland and Silesia 1944-1945)
Religion : No information
Parents: Friedrich Källner (teacher and deputy headmaster / Konrektor) and unknown mother
Siblings: No information
Spouse: Luise "Lisa" Elisabeth Schmidt (married 24.07.1926)
Children: one son (name unknown)
Promotions:
06.06.1915 Kriegsfreiwilliger
28.04.1916 Gefreiter
00.04.1917 Unteroffizier
00.09.1917 Vizewachtmeister
16.10.1917 Leutnant der Reserve
21.10.1920 Polizei-Leutnant
24.05.1924 Polizei-Oberleutnant (with effect from 01.05.1924)
18.12.1929 Polizei-Hauptmann
15.10.1935 Rittmeister (RDA 01.10.1932)
01.08.1936 Major (RDA 01.08.1936)
01.11.1939 Oberstleutnant (RDA 01.11.1939)
01.03.1942 Oberst (RDA 01.03.1942)
01.11.1943 Generalmajor (RDA 01.11.1943)
01.06.1944 Generalleutnant (RDA 01.06.1944)
Career:
06.06.1915-13.10.1915 War volunteer in Jäger-Regiment 11
13.10.1915-27.10.1915 Cavalry-Replacement-Regiment II. Armeekorps
27.10.1915-02.12.1916 Replacement-Squadron Jäger-Regiment 11
02.12.1916-29.04.1918 13. Reserve-Dragoner-Schützen-Regiment
29.04.1918-04.06.1918 Infanterie-Regiment 147
04.06.1918-06.01.1919 Signals officer, II. Battalion, Infanterie-Regiment 147
13.02.1919-01.05.1920 4. Volunteer-Dragoner-Regiment
21.10.1920-01.09.1921 Polizei-Squadron Lublinitz
01.09.1921-01.08.1922 2nd Alarm Police-Group Oppeln
01.08.1922-01.04.1925 Protection-Police Kreuzburg
01.04.1925-28.07.1926 Mounted Alarm Protection-Police Gleiwitz
28.07.1926-15.10.1935 Riding instructor, Police-Riding-School Potsdam
15.10.1935-12.10.1937 Squadron chief, Reiter-Regiment 4
12.10.1937-26.08.1939 Commander II. Battalion, Kavallerie-Regiment 4
26.08.1939-12.08.1941 Commander Aufklärungs-Abteilung 11
28.08.1941-01.07.1942 Commander Schützen-Regiment 73
01.07.1942-13.07.1942 Commander 19. Schützen-Regiment
13.07.1942-15.04.1943 Commander 19. Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment
18.08.1943-01.11.1943 Delegated leadership 19. Panzer-Division
01.11.1943-22.03.1945 Commander 19. Panzer-Division
22.03.1945-18.04.1945 Delegated leadership XXIV. Panzerkorps
Awards and Decorations:
Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse 1914 (03.09.1917)
Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse 1914 (04.08.1918)
Schlesisches Bewährungsabzeichen 2. Stufe (09.09.1919)
Schlesisches Bewährungsabzeichen 1. Stufe (09.09.1919)
Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer 1914/18 mit Schwertern (20.12.1934)
Dienstauszeichnung der Wehrmacht 4. Klasse (1936)
Dienstauszeichnung der Wehrmacht 3. Klasse (1936)
Dienstauszeichnung der Wehrmacht 2. Klasse (1936)
1939 Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz 2. Klasse (19.09.1939)
1939 Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz 1. Klasse (18.10.1939)
Panzerkampfabzeichen ohne Zahl
Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (18.10.1941)
Allgemeines Sturmabzeichen (31.07.1941)
Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Silber (08.11.1941)
Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42 (05.08.1942)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes #967 (03.05.1942) as Kommandeur Schützen-Regiment 73 / 19.Panzer-Division. In April 1942, during the spring thaw on the central sector of the Eastern Front west of Kaluga, a freshly arrived Soviet rifle division suddenly launched a powerful thrust that drove deep into the German lines. The enemy spearheads advanced to within just three kilometers of the vital Roslawl–Juchnow supply road, threatening to cut off German forces and collapse the entire sector. Oberst Källner, without waiting for higher headquarters, immediately seized command of the first friendly battalion that rushed onto the scene. Under heavy Soviet artillery and small-arms fire he personally led a lightning counterattack across open, muddy terrain. His grenadiers stormed the villages the Soviets had just seized, fighting house-to-house with grenades and bayonets in the pouring rain. Within hours Källner’s men had recaptured every lost position and driven the enemy back far enough that the road was no longer under direct fire. The Soviet breakthrough was completely halted. For this personal bravery and decisive leadership in the heat of battle Källner received the Ritterkreuz.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #392 (12.02.1944) as Generalmajor and Kommandeur 19. Panzer-Division (some sources list 10 or 14 February). By the winter of 1943–44 the Red Army had launched its massive Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive. In January 1944 the 19. Panzer-Division under Källner was thrown into the ferocious defensive battles around Shitomir (Zhitomir). Soviet tank and infantry waves, supported by endless artillery barrages and ground-attack aircraft, hammered the German positions day and night. Snow, ice and mud turned the battlefield into a frozen quagmire; panzers sank to their turrets and supply columns were cut off. Källner, true to his habit of leading from the front, was constantly at the hottest points of the line. He orchestrated desperate counterattacks with his remaining tanks and panzergrenadiers, personally directing fire missions and rallying shaken companies under direct enemy fire. When Soviet forces nearly encircled parts of his division, Källner organized and led a breakout operation through dense enemy blocking positions. Under cover of darkness and a rolling artillery barrage his units smashed through Soviet lines in close combat, extricating men, wounded and precious equipment while Soviet flares lit the sky and machine-gun tracers cut the night. The division held the Shitomir sector long enough to prevent a total collapse and successfully fought its way out of the Russian encirclement. For this outstanding divisional leadership in the heaviest fighting Källner was awarded the Eichenlaub.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #106 (23.10.1944) as Generalleutnant and Kommandeur 19. Panzer-Division. After the desperate breakout from the “Wanderkessel” of Kamenez-Podolsk in spring 1944 the 19. Panzer-Division was repeatedly refitted and thrown back into action during the great Soviet summer and autumn offensives. By October 1944, as the German front in the East began to buckle under constant pressure, Källner’s division was engaged in mobile defensive operations in Poland and the approaches to Silesia. Soviet armored thrusts repeatedly tried to break through; Källner’s panzers and grenadiers conducted skillful delaying actions, launching sharp counterattacks by day and night to blunt the enemy advance and buy time for the withdrawal of other units. Leading always from the front, Källner appeared wherever the danger was greatest, directing tank duels at point-blank range and inspiring his exhausted troops to hold positions against overwhelming odds. His division repeatedly turned potential routs into orderly fighting withdrawals, inflicting heavy losses on the Soviets while preserving combat effectiveness far beyond what could have been expected. For this continued exemplary leadership and tactical skill in the face of the collapsing Eastern Front Källner received the Schwerter.
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Hans Gottfried Alfons Källner was a German army officer who served in both world wars and rose to the rank of Generalleutnant during the Second World War. Born on 9 October 1898 in Kattowitz in Upper Silesia he volunteered for military service at the age of seventeen and fought with distinction on the Western Front before transferring to police duties in the Weimar Republic. He returned to the army in 1935 and commanded reconnaissance and motorized infantry units through the Polish and French campaigns before distinguishing himself on the Eastern Front. Källner became widely known for his habit of leading from the front and received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords for repeated acts of personal bravery and divisional leadership under extreme pressure. He was killed in action on 18 April 1945 while visiting forward positions as acting commander of the XXIV Panzer Corps near Sokolnice south of Brünn in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. His remains lie in the German war cemetery in Brno.
Källner entered the Imperial German Army on 6 June 1915 as a war volunteer in Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 11. After brief transfers to cavalry replacement units he served in the 13th Reserve Dragoon Rifle Regiment and was promoted to Leutnant der Reserve on 16 October 1917. He later joined Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 147 as a signals officer and completed a gas warfare course in Berlin before the armistice. During the fighting he earned both classes of the Iron Cross and the Silesian Eagle in both grades. Demobilized in January 1919 he briefly served in a Freikorps formed from former dragoons before joining the police in Upper Silesia. By 1929 he had risen to Polizei-Hauptmann and from 1926 to 1935 served as a riding instructor at the police riding school in Potsdam where he also completed advanced physical training and mounted courses.
In August 1935 Källner transferred to the Wehrmacht as a Rittmeister and joined Reiter-Regiment 4. He commanded a squadron and then the II Battalion of Kavallerie-Regiment 4 before mobilization in 1939 placed him at the head of Aufklärungs-Abteilung 11 of the 11th Infantry Division. With this reconnaissance battalion he participated in the Polish Campaign and earned the 1939 clasps to both classes of the Iron Cross. After the Western Campaign and the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa he assumed command of Schützen-Regiment 73 in the 19th Panzer Division. In October 1941 he received the German Cross in Gold. On 1 March 1942 he was promoted to Oberst and on 3 May 1942 he was awarded the Knight's Cross for a decisive counterattack west of Kaluga. In April 1942 a fresh Soviet rifle division had driven to within three kilometres of the vital Roslawl-Juchnow supply road. Without awaiting orders Källner seized the first available friendly battalion advanced across muddy terrain under artillery fire and in pouring rain stormed the occupied villages in close combat with grenades and bayonets. Within hours every lost position had been recaptured the road was secured and the Soviet breakthrough was halted.
Källner continued to lead motorized infantry formations and on 1 July 1942 took command of the 19th Schützen-Brigade which was soon redesignated the 19th Panzer-Grenadier-Brigade. After a brief period in the Führerreserve and a division commanders' course in Berlin he was delegated leadership of the 19th Panzer Division on 18 August 1943 and confirmed as its commander with promotion to Generalmajor on 1 November 1943. The division was heavily engaged in the winter battles of 1943-1944. On 24 December 1943 the Soviet winter offensive struck east of Zhitomir. Källner's division was forced to withdraw after a breakthrough on a neighbouring sector but in three days of bitter fighting amid snow ice and mud it prevented any further Soviet advance destroyed about fifty tanks and twenty guns and successfully rejoined the new German defensive line near Zhitomir despite severe logistical shortages and constant enemy air attacks. For this outstanding leadership Källner received the 392nd Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross on 12 February 1944. The division later fought its way out of the Kamenez-Podolsk pocket and continued defensive operations on the southern sector of the Eastern Front.
By the summer of 1944 the 19th Panzer Division under Källner now a Generalleutnant since 1 June 1944 was shifted to the central sector and engaged in mobile defensive actions north of Warsaw. In August 1944 his panzers and grenadiers conducted repeated sharp counterattacks that blunted Soviet armored thrusts and allowed other German formations to withdraw in good order and establish a new defensive line on the western bank of the Vistula. Källner's personal presence at the point of greatest danger his skillful coordination of tank duels and his insistence on maintaining combat effectiveness despite overwhelming odds earned him the 106th award of the Swords on 23 October 1944. He retained command of the division until 22 March 1945 when he was delegated leadership of the XXIV Panzer Corps. On 18 April 1945 while inspecting forward positions south of Brünn during the final defensive battles in Moravia he was killed by enemy fire. Throughout his career Källner was noted for sharing every risk with his troops and for turning critical situations through decisive personal example rather than remote staff direction. He left behind a wife Luise Elisabeth Schmidt whom he had married in 1926 and one son.
Map
discussion of the officers from Schützen-Regiment 73 /
19.Panzer-Division at Bessarabia, Soviet Union, summer of 1941. At right
is the Regimentskommandeur, Oberstleutnant Hans Källner, who would
receive the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 3 May 1942 (as
Kommandeur of Schützen-Regiment 73), Eichenlaub on 12 February 1944 (as
Kommandeur of 19. Panzer-Division), and Schwerter on 23 October 1944 (as
Kommandeur of 19. Panzer-Division). Other pictures from this occasion can be seen HERE.
From left to right: Generalmajor Gustav Schmidt (Kommandeur 19. Panzer-Division) and Oberst Hans Källner (Kommandeur Schützen-Regiment 73 / 19.Panzer-Division). The picture was taken during the Ritterkreuz award ceremony for Regimentskommandeur Källner, May 1942. More from this award ceremony can be seen HERE.
%20and%20Hans%20K%C3%84LLNER%20(right).jpg)
From
left to right: General der Panzertruppe Otto von Knobelsdorff (Führer
1. Armee), Generalleutnant Hans Källner (Kommandeur 19.
Panzer-Division), and Adolf Hitler (Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der
Wehrmacht). The picture was taken in late October 1944 during the
Schwerter presentation for Knobelsdorff and Källner. Knobelsdorff
received the medal on 21 September 1944, while Källner on 23 October
1944.
Source:
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/
https://en.wikipedia.org/
https://www.tracesofwar.com/
https://grokipedia.com/
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20091028013450fw_/http://geocities.com/orion47.geo/WEHRMACHT/HEER/Generalleutnant2/KAELLNER_HANS.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
https://www.geni.com/
https://books.google.com/
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/K/KaellnerH-R.htm
https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Hans_K%C3%A4llner
https://www.oocities.org/~orion47/WEHRMACHT/HEER/Generalleutnant2/KAELLNER_HANS.html
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