Ritterkreuzträger of 17. Panzer-Division

The 17. Panzer-Division was formed in November 1940 in Wehrkreis VII around Augsburg through the conversion of the 27. Infanterie-Division, receiving Panzer-Regiment 39 as its armored core along with the redesignated Schützen-Regimenter 40 and 63 that later became Panzergrenadier units. Under its first commander Generalleutnant Hans-Jürgen von Arnim the division prepared for the eastern campaign and in June 1941 crossed into the Soviet Union as part of XXXXVII. Panzerkorps within Panzergruppe 2 of Heeresgruppe Mitte under Heinz Guderian. It took part in the rapid advances of the Battle of Białystok–Minsk, the fighting around Smolensk and the drive toward Moscow, suffering heavy losses during the winter battles of 1941–42. After further defensive actions in the central sector it was transferred south in November 1942 to participate in Operation Wintergewitter, the unsuccessful attempt to relieve the encircled Sixth Army at Stalingrad. In 1943 the division was held in reserve during the Battle of Kursk and thereafter fought a series of delaying actions across Ukraine, including the Korsun-Cherkassy and Kamenets-Podolsky pockets. Continuously reconstituted after severe attrition, it retreated through Poland during the Vistula–Oder Offensive of 1944–45 and conducted final defensive operations in Silesia and Moravia. Commanders such as Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma, Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin and Karl-Friedrich von der Meden led it through these campaigns until the remnants under Generalmajor Theodor Kretschmer surrendered to Soviet forces near Görlitz and Olmütz in early May 1945.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Oberst Hermann Seitz (1902-1942) was born on 19 April 1902 in Beilngries, Bavaria, and entered military service in 1919 with Schützen-Regiment 43, receiving promotion to Leutnant in 1924. By 1934 he had advanced to Rittmeister and served as Chef of the 2./Aufklärungs-Abteilung 7, later becoming Major and Kommandeur of Aufklärungs-Abteilung 20 in 1939. He took part in the Polish and French campaigns, earning the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 25 September 1939 and the Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse on 2 July 1941. During the early fighting in the Soviet Union he commanded Aufklärungs-Abteilung 20 and received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 11 December 1941. In the heavy defensive battles on the Volkhov front from December 1941 into January 1942 he played a decisive role in the weeks-long defense of the town of Kopzy beginning on 17 January 1942, where his active leadership, personal bravery and iron will enabled the German forces to hold the position against fierce Soviet attacks and thereby maintain operational freedom in the sector. For this achievement he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 12 April 1942 as Oberstleutnant und Kommandeur of Aufklärungs-Abteilung 20 (motorisiert). Promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 March 1942, he assumed command of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 63 of the 17. Panzer-Division in April 1942. In August 1942 north of Orel his regiment contributed decisively to the annihilation of strong elements of three Soviet divisions, and in the subsequent defensive fighting Seitz’s men successfully repulsed twenty large-scale enemy attacks over the course of three days within his sector. These actions brought him the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 31 October 1942 as the 140th recipient. Seitz was killed in action on 20 December 1942 near Werch Kimsky in the Stalingrad area and was posthumously promoted to Oberst.

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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER


General der Panzertruppe Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin (1891-1963) was born on 4 September 1891 in Waldshut and died on 9 January 1963 in Freiburg im Breisgau, serving as a German officer who rose to the last rank of General der Panzertruppe. He entered military service as an Einjährig-Freiwilliger in 1910 with the 5. Badisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 76, was commissioned Leutnant der Reserve in 1914, fought on the Western Front in the First World War where he earned both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz, the Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz and the Ritterkreuz II. Klasse des Ordens vom Zähringer Löwen mit Schwertern, and continued in the Reichswehr as a cavalry officer, advancing through ranks including Rittmeister in 1927, Oberstleutnant in 1936 and Oberst in 1939 while commanding Kavallerie-Regiment 3. In the Second World War he led the 2. Reiter-Brigade and schnelle Brigade von Senger during the Westfeldzug, receiving the Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz, then served as chief of the German delegation at the Italian-French armistice commission until 1942 before taking command of the 17. Panzer-Division on 10 October 1942 as Generalmajor. For his distinguished leadership of the 17. Panzer-Division within LVII. Panzer-Korps of 4. Panzer-Armee under Heeresgruppe Don during the winter of 1942/43, specifically the battles between the Volga and Don in the attempted relief of the 6. Armee in Operation Wintergewitter, the defensive and retreat actions on the Kazakh steppe, and the fighting along the Manytsch river where his division threw Soviet forces back across the river on 24 January 1943, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 8 February 1943. Promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 May 1943, he later became Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber on Sardinia and Corsica, earning the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 11 October 1943 and mention in the Wehrmachtbericht for the successful evacuation. Taking command of XIV. Panzer-Korps in Italy in October 1943 and promoted to General der Panzertruppe on 1 January 1944 as Kommandierender General, he received the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes as the 439th award on 5 April 1944 for outstanding leadership of German forces during the first battle of Monte Cassino from 17 January to 18 February 1944 and the second from 15 to 23 March 1944, the latter a clear German victory on the Gustav Line. He briefly held deputy command of 14. Armee in March 1945 before surrendering in May 1945.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_Panzer_Division