The 7. Panzer-Division was one of the most famous armored formations of the German Army during the Second World War, earning a reputation for speed, mobility, and aggressive operational tactics. Originally formed in October 1939 from the 2. leichte Division, the unit gained international recognition during the 1940 campaign in Western Europe under the command of Generalmajor Erwin Rommel. During the invasion of France and the Low Countries, the division advanced with such rapidity that Allied forces often lost track of its location, leading to its famous nickname, "Gespensterdivision" (Ghost Division). The formation played a key role in the breakthrough across the Meuse River, the advance to the English Channel, and the encirclement of large Allied forces, contributing significantly to the German victory in the West. In June 1941, the division participated in Unternehmen Barbarossa as part of Heeresgruppe Mitte, fighting in major battles around Minsk, Smolensk, Vyazma, and later Moscow. Throughout the Eastern Front campaign, the division was engaged in some of the most intense armored warfare of the war, frequently operating at the spearhead of German offensives despite increasing losses in men and equipment. It continued to serve in the Soviet Union during defensive operations following the German retreat, taking part in battles around Orel, Kiev, and the Baltic region. In 1944 and 1945, the 7. Panzer-Division fought against advancing Soviet forces in East Prussia and northern Germany until the final collapse of the Third Reich. Numerous soldiers of the division received high military decorations for bravery and leadership, including the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, Schwerter zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, and in rare cases the prestigious Brillanten zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes. Although regarded as one of the Wehrmacht's elite Panzer formations due to its operational achievements and battlefield effectiveness, the division's history remains inseparable from the broader military campaigns and consequences of Nazi Germany's war of aggression in Europe.
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BRILLANTENTRÄGER
Generalmajor Adelbert Schulz (1903-1944), born on 20 December 1903 in Berlin and killed in action on 28 January 1944 near Shepetivka in the Soviet Union, was a German officer who began his career in the Prussian police before transferring to the Wehrmacht in 1935 as an Oberleutnant, rising rapidly through the Panzertruppe to become one of the most decorated commanders of World War II and one of only 27 recipients of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten. Serving initially in the 7. Panzer-Division under Erwin Rommel during the Battle of France, he earned the Ritterkreuz on 29 September 1940 as Hauptmann and Chef of the 1./Panzer-Regiment 25 for leading his company and later battalion through 17 armored attacks, notably distinguishing himself on 14 May 1940 in the Dinant bridgehead and on 23 May 1940 near Hersin by overrunning enemy positions and enabling breakthroughs toward Cherbourg. On the Eastern Front during Operation Barbarossa, as commander of the I./Panzer-Regiment 25 in the harsh winter of 1941/42 near Klin with Heeresgruppe Mitte, he repelled a Soviet force outnumbering his handful of operational tanks by eight to one in temperatures of -40 Celsius, successfully covering the retreat of German troops and a field hospital with over 4,000 wounded, actions that secured him the 47th Eichenlaub on 31 December 1941. Promoted to Oberstleutnant and given command of Panzer-Regiment 25 by early 1943, he received the 33rd Schwerter on 6 August 1943 for his leadership during the Battle of Kursk, where on 11 July his Kampfgruppe achieved a decisive armored breakthrough south of Scheino, smashing through Soviet defenses, pursuing retreating forces, and capturing nearly 600 prisoners along with 83 cannons and over 100 heavy weapons while his regiment destroyed 76 enemy tanks over 11 days of intense combat. His final high honor, the 9th Brillanten on 14 December 1943 as Oberst, recognized his masterful command of Panzer-Regiment 25 during the fluid defensive battles around Kiev and Zhitomir in October and November 1943, after which he was promoted to Generalmajor on 9 January 1944 and appointed commander of the 7. Panzer-Division; tragically, he was mortally wounded by shrapnel while leading from the front on 27-28 January 1944 and died the same day, his loss mourned in the Wehrmachtbericht as that of one of the army's finest officers and the armored force's exemplary commander.
Generalleutnant Dr.med.dent. Karl Mauss (1898-1959) was a German officer and dentist who rose to the rank of Generalleutnant and commanded the 7. Panzer-Division, becoming one of only 27 recipients of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten. Born in Plön, he volunteered at sixteen in 1914, served on the Western and Italian fronts with units including the Lauenburger Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 9 and Infanterie-Regiment 162, earned the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse in 1915 and I. Klasse in 1916, and after the war studied dentistry, receiving his doctorate before rejoining the army in 1934. In the Second World War he advanced from Major commanding a battalion in Infanterie-Regiment 69 through the campaigns in Poland and France with the 10. Panzer-Division, was promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 April 1941, and as Kommandeur of II. Bataillon / Schützen-Regiment 69 received the Ritterkreuz on 26 November 1941 for capturing key bridges and exits at Vyazma on the night of 6–7 October 1941, thereby helping close the southern side of the pocket. Promoted to Oberst on 1 April 1942, he led Panzergrenadier-Regiment 33 of the 4. Panzer-Division, earned the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 11 March 1943, and was awarded the Eichenlaub (335th) on 24 November 1943 for outstanding leadership throughout 1943, including actions that helped save VII. Armee-Korps and close the gap between 2. Armee and 2. Panzer-Armee near Ssewsk. Taking command of the 7. Panzer-Division on 30 January 1944, he was promoted to Generalmajor on 1 April 1944 and to Generalleutnant on 1 October 1944; the Schwerter (101st) followed on 23 October 1944 for breaking out of encirclement at Satanowka by seizing control of Panther tanks and for later defensive successes in Lithuania that hindered the Soviet advance on Tilsit. The Brillanten (26th) were conferred on 15 April 1945 in recognition of further personal bravery and decisive leadership, especially in the fierce fighting around Elbing where, at the head of his troops and often firing a machine gun himself, he restored land connections, relieved the garrison, evacuated wounded, and repeatedly smashed enemy armoured thrusts in Latvia, Lithuania and East Prussia. Seriously wounded by artillery fragments in March 1945, he lost a leg to amputation yet continued to direct the division until its remnants were evacuated by sea; after British captivity he resumed dental practice in Hamburg and died there in 1959.
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SCHWERTERTRÄGER
General der Panzertruppe Hasso von Manteuffel (1897-1978) was born on 14 January 1897 in Potsdam into a Prussian noble family and began his military career as a cadet before joining the Husaren-Regiment „von Zieten“ (Brandenburgisches) Nr. 3 in 1916, receiving promotion to Leutnant that April and earning both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz on the Western Front in the First World War. Remaining in the Reichswehr after 1918, he specialized in motorized and later armored warfare, serving as instructor and staff officer before the Second World War. In 1941, as Oberstleutnant then Oberst, he commanded first a battalion and from August the Schützen-Regiment 6 of the 7. Panzer-Division during Operation Barbarossa; in late November his Kampfgruppe Manteuffel seized the vital bridge over the Moscow-Volga canal near Yakhroma intact, advanced to within roughly fifty kilometres of Moscow, and held the position against repeated Soviet counter-attacks, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 31 December 1941. After service as brigade commander and a brief, successful command of Division von Manteuffel in Tunisia in early 1943—where illness forced his evacuation just before the Axis surrender—he was promoted Generalmajor on 1 May 1943 and in August took command of the 7. Panzer-Division on the Eastern Front. Leading brilliant counter-strokes that recaptured Shitomir in mid-November 1943 and inflicted heavy losses on Soviet forces, he received the Eichenlaub (332nd award) on 23 November 1943. Further offensive successes in the Shitomir-Kiev sector and around Njanewka earned him the Schwerter (50th award) on 22 February 1944, the same month he was promoted Generalleutnant and assumed command of the elite Panzergrenadier-Division Großdeutschland. On 1 September 1944 he was advanced to General der Panzertruppe and appointed Oberbefehlshaber of the 5. Panzerarmee; its initial breakthroughs during the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944, which brought German forces closest to the Meuse near Dinant, together with the subsequent orderly withdrawal that preserved the army, led to the award of the Brillanten (24th award) on 18 February 1945. In March he took command of the 3. Panzerarmee, eventually negotiating the surrender of some 300 000 men to British rather than Soviet forces in May 1945. He died on 24 September 1978.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
As commander of the famed 7. Panzer-Division, Generalmajor Erwin Rommel distinguished himself during the 1940 campaign in Western Europe through a combination of aggressive leadership, rapid maneuver warfare, and personal presence at the front. Leading his division during the invasion of France and the Low Countries, Rommel repeatedly pushed his units forward at remarkable speed, often outpacing neighboring formations and earning 7. Panzer-Division the nickname "Gespensterdivision" because its movements were so rapid that both German headquarters and Allied forces frequently lost track of its location. His division captured thousands of prisoners, destroyed or seized large quantities of enemy equipment, and played a significant role in the breakthrough operations that led to the collapse of organized French resistance. In recognition of these achievements and his outstanding battlefield leadership, Rommel was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 27 May 1940. Following the conclusion of the French campaign, his reputation as one of Germany's most capable armored commanders continued to grow, and the exceptional combat record of 7. Panzer-Division remained closely associated with his name. As further acknowledgment of his decisive contribution to the victory in France and the extraordinary successes achieved under his command, Rommel received the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 20 March 1941, becoming one of the early recipients of this higher distinction. The award recognized not only his personal courage and tactical skill but also the remarkable operational performance of 7. Panzer-Division, whose rapid advances and battlefield successes had become emblematic of German armored warfare during the opening years of the Second World War.
Oberstleutnant der Reserve Richard Grünert (1899-1943) was born on 8 October 1899 in Ströbel near Schweidnitz in Silesia and served as a Kriegsfreiwilliger in the First World War before being retained in the Reichswehr, where he rose to Unteroffizier by the end of 1929 and was commissioned Leutnant der Reserve in 1937. In August 1939 he joined Schützen-Regiment 7 and took part in the campaigns in Poland and France, earning the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 22 September 1939 and the I. Klasse on 18 October 1939. During the invasion of the Soviet Union he distinguished himself in the capture of Wilna while serving with the 7. Panzer-Division. As Oberleutnant der Reserve and Führer of the 3. Schwadron of Kradschützen-Bataillon 7 he performed outstandingly during Operation Typhoon, first at Matrjonina on 3 October 1941 and then on 11–12 October near Vyazma, where he personally led his men after the Zugführer fell and stormed a well-camouflaged Soviet blocking position on the highway and the high ground beside it; for the sum of these actions he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 14 October 1941. Promoted to Hauptmann der Reserve, he assumed command of the I. Bataillon of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 7 in May 1942 while the division refreshed in France, returning with it to the Eastern Front in June. Advanced to Major der Reserve on 1 February 1943, he was commanding the same Bataillon when, on the morning of 10 March 1943 near a Soviet bridgehead over the Donez, enemy forces overran Kamenka and the village of Donetzkij. Despite a critical shortage of ammunition Grünert rapidly assembled his Bataillon and launched a counterthrust that recaptured Kamenka and prevented a Soviet breakthrough. Three days later, on 13 March 1943 at Malaja Kamenka, he was killed by a direct hit while continuing the fighting. Posthumously promoted to Oberstleutnant der Reserve, he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (as the 244th recipient) on 17 May 1943 for his decisive leadership in the Kamenka action.
General der Panzertruppe Hans Freiherr von Funck (1891-1979) was born on 23 December 1891 in Aachen as the son of Regierungspräsident Paul Johannes von Funck and Marie von Lützow. After graduating from the Gymnasium in Köslin he studied law in Greifswald and Freiburg from 1911 until the outbreak of the First World War. On 3 August 1914 he entered service as Fahnenjunker in the Ersatz-Eskadron of the 1. Brandenburgischen Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 2 and soon saw action on the Western Front, where he was wounded and later promoted to Leutnant. For his wartime service he received both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz, the Hanseatenkreuz Hamburg and the Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber. Retained in the Reichswehr after 1918, he advanced through cavalry and staff appointments, serving as adjutant to Werner von Fritsch and later as military attaché in Spain during the Spanish Civil War and in Lisbon. In 1940 he commanded Panzer-Regiment 5 and then the 3. Panzer-Brigade. Promoted to Generalmajor on 1 January 1941, he briefly prepared a blocking force for Libya before taking command of the 7. Panzer-Division as successor to Erwin Rommel. During the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa he led the division in a rapid breakthrough of Soviet border fortifications, seized the intact bridges over the Njemen at Olita on the first day and captured Vilnius shortly thereafter, actions that earned him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 15 July 1941. Continuing to serve with the 7. Panzer-Division on the central and southern sectors of the Eastern Front, he was promoted to Generalleutnant and awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold in March 1943. In July 1943, during the offensive south of Belgorod, he broke through Soviet positions, thrust deep into the enemy rear and completed the encirclement of a strong Soviet grouping, crushing subsequent breakout attempts; for this leadership he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (278th award) on 22 August 1943. Later promoted to General der Panzertruppe, he commanded the XXXXVII. Panzerkorps on the Eastern and Western Fronts until transferred to the Führerreserve in September 1944. Captured by Soviet forces in May 1945, he remained a prisoner until October 1955 and died on 14 February 1979 in Viersen.
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BRILLANTENTRÄGER
Generalmajor Adelbert Schulz (1903-1944), born on 20 December 1903 in Berlin and killed in action on 28 January 1944 near Shepetivka in the Soviet Union, was a German officer who began his career in the Prussian police before transferring to the Wehrmacht in 1935 as an Oberleutnant, rising rapidly through the Panzertruppe to become one of the most decorated commanders of World War II and one of only 27 recipients of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten. Serving initially in the 7. Panzer-Division under Erwin Rommel during the Battle of France, he earned the Ritterkreuz on 29 September 1940 as Hauptmann and Chef of the 1./Panzer-Regiment 25 for leading his company and later battalion through 17 armored attacks, notably distinguishing himself on 14 May 1940 in the Dinant bridgehead and on 23 May 1940 near Hersin by overrunning enemy positions and enabling breakthroughs toward Cherbourg. On the Eastern Front during Operation Barbarossa, as commander of the I./Panzer-Regiment 25 in the harsh winter of 1941/42 near Klin with Heeresgruppe Mitte, he repelled a Soviet force outnumbering his handful of operational tanks by eight to one in temperatures of -40 Celsius, successfully covering the retreat of German troops and a field hospital with over 4,000 wounded, actions that secured him the 47th Eichenlaub on 31 December 1941. Promoted to Oberstleutnant and given command of Panzer-Regiment 25 by early 1943, he received the 33rd Schwerter on 6 August 1943 for his leadership during the Battle of Kursk, where on 11 July his Kampfgruppe achieved a decisive armored breakthrough south of Scheino, smashing through Soviet defenses, pursuing retreating forces, and capturing nearly 600 prisoners along with 83 cannons and over 100 heavy weapons while his regiment destroyed 76 enemy tanks over 11 days of intense combat. His final high honor, the 9th Brillanten on 14 December 1943 as Oberst, recognized his masterful command of Panzer-Regiment 25 during the fluid defensive battles around Kiev and Zhitomir in October and November 1943, after which he was promoted to Generalmajor on 9 January 1944 and appointed commander of the 7. Panzer-Division; tragically, he was mortally wounded by shrapnel while leading from the front on 27-28 January 1944 and died the same day, his loss mourned in the Wehrmachtbericht as that of one of the army's finest officers and the armored force's exemplary commander.
Generalleutnant Dr.med.dent. Karl Mauss (1898-1959) was a German officer and dentist who rose to the rank of Generalleutnant and commanded the 7. Panzer-Division, becoming one of only 27 recipients of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten. Born in Plön, he volunteered at sixteen in 1914, served on the Western and Italian fronts with units including the Lauenburger Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 9 and Infanterie-Regiment 162, earned the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse in 1915 and I. Klasse in 1916, and after the war studied dentistry, receiving his doctorate before rejoining the army in 1934. In the Second World War he advanced from Major commanding a battalion in Infanterie-Regiment 69 through the campaigns in Poland and France with the 10. Panzer-Division, was promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 April 1941, and as Kommandeur of II. Bataillon / Schützen-Regiment 69 received the Ritterkreuz on 26 November 1941 for capturing key bridges and exits at Vyazma on the night of 6–7 October 1941, thereby helping close the southern side of the pocket. Promoted to Oberst on 1 April 1942, he led Panzergrenadier-Regiment 33 of the 4. Panzer-Division, earned the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 11 March 1943, and was awarded the Eichenlaub (335th) on 24 November 1943 for outstanding leadership throughout 1943, including actions that helped save VII. Armee-Korps and close the gap between 2. Armee and 2. Panzer-Armee near Ssewsk. Taking command of the 7. Panzer-Division on 30 January 1944, he was promoted to Generalmajor on 1 April 1944 and to Generalleutnant on 1 October 1944; the Schwerter (101st) followed on 23 October 1944 for breaking out of encirclement at Satanowka by seizing control of Panther tanks and for later defensive successes in Lithuania that hindered the Soviet advance on Tilsit. The Brillanten (26th) were conferred on 15 April 1945 in recognition of further personal bravery and decisive leadership, especially in the fierce fighting around Elbing where, at the head of his troops and often firing a machine gun himself, he restored land connections, relieved the garrison, evacuated wounded, and repeatedly smashed enemy armoured thrusts in Latvia, Lithuania and East Prussia. Seriously wounded by artillery fragments in March 1945, he lost a leg to amputation yet continued to direct the division until its remnants were evacuated by sea; after British captivity he resumed dental practice in Hamburg and died there in 1959.
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SCHWERTERTRÄGER
General der Panzertruppe Hasso von Manteuffel (1897-1978) was born on 14 January 1897 in Potsdam into a Prussian noble family and began his military career as a cadet before joining the Husaren-Regiment „von Zieten“ (Brandenburgisches) Nr. 3 in 1916, receiving promotion to Leutnant that April and earning both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz on the Western Front in the First World War. Remaining in the Reichswehr after 1918, he specialized in motorized and later armored warfare, serving as instructor and staff officer before the Second World War. In 1941, as Oberstleutnant then Oberst, he commanded first a battalion and from August the Schützen-Regiment 6 of the 7. Panzer-Division during Operation Barbarossa; in late November his Kampfgruppe Manteuffel seized the vital bridge over the Moscow-Volga canal near Yakhroma intact, advanced to within roughly fifty kilometres of Moscow, and held the position against repeated Soviet counter-attacks, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 31 December 1941. After service as brigade commander and a brief, successful command of Division von Manteuffel in Tunisia in early 1943—where illness forced his evacuation just before the Axis surrender—he was promoted Generalmajor on 1 May 1943 and in August took command of the 7. Panzer-Division on the Eastern Front. Leading brilliant counter-strokes that recaptured Shitomir in mid-November 1943 and inflicted heavy losses on Soviet forces, he received the Eichenlaub (332nd award) on 23 November 1943. Further offensive successes in the Shitomir-Kiev sector and around Njanewka earned him the Schwerter (50th award) on 22 February 1944, the same month he was promoted Generalleutnant and assumed command of the elite Panzergrenadier-Division Großdeutschland. On 1 September 1944 he was advanced to General der Panzertruppe and appointed Oberbefehlshaber of the 5. Panzerarmee; its initial breakthroughs during the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944, which brought German forces closest to the Meuse near Dinant, together with the subsequent orderly withdrawal that preserved the army, led to the award of the Brillanten (24th award) on 18 February 1945. In March he took command of the 3. Panzerarmee, eventually negotiating the surrender of some 300 000 men to British rather than Soviet forces in May 1945. He died on 24 September 1978.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
Oberstleutnant der Reserve Richard Grünert (1899-1943) was born on 8 October 1899 in Ströbel near Schweidnitz in Silesia and served as a Kriegsfreiwilliger in the First World War before being retained in the Reichswehr, where he rose to Unteroffizier by the end of 1929 and was commissioned Leutnant der Reserve in 1937. In August 1939 he joined Schützen-Regiment 7 and took part in the campaigns in Poland and France, earning the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 22 September 1939 and the I. Klasse on 18 October 1939. During the invasion of the Soviet Union he distinguished himself in the capture of Wilna while serving with the 7. Panzer-Division. As Oberleutnant der Reserve and Führer of the 3. Schwadron of Kradschützen-Bataillon 7 he performed outstandingly during Operation Typhoon, first at Matrjonina on 3 October 1941 and then on 11–12 October near Vyazma, where he personally led his men after the Zugführer fell and stormed a well-camouflaged Soviet blocking position on the highway and the high ground beside it; for the sum of these actions he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 14 October 1941. Promoted to Hauptmann der Reserve, he assumed command of the I. Bataillon of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 7 in May 1942 while the division refreshed in France, returning with it to the Eastern Front in June. Advanced to Major der Reserve on 1 February 1943, he was commanding the same Bataillon when, on the morning of 10 March 1943 near a Soviet bridgehead over the Donez, enemy forces overran Kamenka and the village of Donetzkij. Despite a critical shortage of ammunition Grünert rapidly assembled his Bataillon and launched a counterthrust that recaptured Kamenka and prevented a Soviet breakthrough. Three days later, on 13 March 1943 at Malaja Kamenka, he was killed by a direct hit while continuing the fighting. Posthumously promoted to Oberstleutnant der Reserve, he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (as the 244th recipient) on 17 May 1943 for his decisive leadership in the Kamenka action.
General der Panzertruppe Hans Freiherr von Funck (1891-1979) was born on 23 December 1891 in Aachen as the son of Regierungspräsident Paul Johannes von Funck and Marie von Lützow. After graduating from the Gymnasium in Köslin he studied law in Greifswald and Freiburg from 1911 until the outbreak of the First World War. On 3 August 1914 he entered service as Fahnenjunker in the Ersatz-Eskadron of the 1. Brandenburgischen Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 2 and soon saw action on the Western Front, where he was wounded and later promoted to Leutnant. For his wartime service he received both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz, the Hanseatenkreuz Hamburg and the Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber. Retained in the Reichswehr after 1918, he advanced through cavalry and staff appointments, serving as adjutant to Werner von Fritsch and later as military attaché in Spain during the Spanish Civil War and in Lisbon. In 1940 he commanded Panzer-Regiment 5 and then the 3. Panzer-Brigade. Promoted to Generalmajor on 1 January 1941, he briefly prepared a blocking force for Libya before taking command of the 7. Panzer-Division as successor to Erwin Rommel. During the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa he led the division in a rapid breakthrough of Soviet border fortifications, seized the intact bridges over the Njemen at Olita on the first day and captured Vilnius shortly thereafter, actions that earned him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 15 July 1941. Continuing to serve with the 7. Panzer-Division on the central and southern sectors of the Eastern Front, he was promoted to Generalleutnant and awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold in March 1943. In July 1943, during the offensive south of Belgorod, he broke through Soviet positions, thrust deep into the enemy rear and completed the encirclement of a strong Soviet grouping, crushing subsequent breakout attempts; for this leadership he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (278th award) on 22 August 1943. Later promoted to General der Panzertruppe, he commanded the XXXXVII. Panzerkorps on the Eastern and Western Fronts until transferred to the Führerreserve in September 1944. Captured by Soviet forces in May 1945, he remained a prisoner until October 1955 and died on 14 February 1979 in Viersen.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7th_Panzer_Division_(Wehrmacht)
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=186655
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