Generalleutnant Hasso von Manteuffel (left, Kommandeur Panzergrenadier-Division "Grossdeutschland") and Major Harald Krieg (right, Abteilungsführer in Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment "Grossdeutschland" / Panzergrenadier-Division "Grossdeutschland) in the trench during the second battle of Târgu Frumos in Romania, May 1944. The officer in the center of the picture wears slip-on covers over his shoulder straps. Von Manteuffel and the man in the center both wear the soft-topped "old-style" officer's field cap, while Major Krieg wears the popular Einheitsfeldmütze, introduced in June 1943, without Waffenfarbe chevron. According to accounts by von Manteuffel, one of the two German division commanders, and Ferdinand Maria von Senger und Etterlin, the German forces defeated a Soviet offensive by the 2nd Ukrainian Front that was expected to be a precursor of a much larger offensive in Northern Ukraine. The battle of Târgu Frumos has been used as a case study in officer tactical education in the United States Army and other armies, teaching how a mobile defense can defeat an armoured spearhead. There are however questions about the accounts by the two German officers, relating to the failure to include Romanian forces into their account.
The illustration by Ramiro Bujeiro showing Hasso von Manteuffel and Harald Krieg with the schwimmwagen in the background. This painting is taken from the book "Knight's Cross with Diamonds Recipients 1941-45" by Gordon Williamson.
Source :
"Panzer-Grenadier Division Grossdeutschland" by Bruce Quarrie and Mike Chappell
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