Arthur Hauffe

Arthur Hauffe
Born	20 December 1892 Wittgensdorf
Died	22 July 1944 (aged 51) near Lviv, Ukraine
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1912–44
Rank	General der Infanterie
Commands held	46. Infanterie-Division XIII. Armeekorps
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Battle of France Operation Barbarossa Battle of Kiev (1943) Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Arthur Hauffe (20 December 1892 – 22 July 1944) was a German career soldier. He became General der Infanterie in the Wehrmacht during World War II and commanded the XIII. Armeekorps. He was recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Role in Romania during World War II

While he was Chief of the German Army Mission in Romania, he signed on 30 August 1941 with General Nicolae Tătăranu of the Romanian War Headquarters the “Agreement for the Security, Administration, and Economic Exploitation of the Territory between the Dniester and the Bug and the Bug-Dnieper.” Paragraph 7 of the agreement dealt with the Jews in the camps and ghettos of Bessarabia and Bukovina and the Jewish inhabitants of Transnistria: “The evacuation of the Jews across the Bug is not possible now. They must therefore be concentrated in labor camps and used for various work until, once the operations are over, their evacuation to the East will be possible.” The agreement made clear that the ultimate goal was to “cleanse” the relevant territories of their Jewish inhabitants.

Role in German defeats in the northern Ukraine

Arthur Hauffe was General of Infantry during the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive. The Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive was a major Red Army operation to force the German troops from Ukraine and Eastern Poland which was launched in mid July 1944. During this military engagement, General Hauffe failed to prepare for the withdrawal of his troops when they were threatened by encirclement. He also failed to show up at headquarters during the final phase of the offensive from 20 July 1944 to 22 July 1944 thus forcing Lieutenant General Wolfgang Lange to assume command of the XIII Army Corps. His inaction lead to the encirclement of his troops in the Brody pocket where they were destroyed. He was captured by Soviet troops on 22 July 1944 and died later the same day when he stepped on a land mine.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg
• Knight's Cross Second Class of the Order of the Zähringer Lion with Swords
• Knight's Cross Second Class with Swords of the Order of Albrecht
• Knight's Cross Second Class of the Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order with Swords
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Eastern Front Medal
• German Cross in Gold (11 April 1944)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 25 July 1943 as Generalleutnant and commander of 46. Infanterie-Division^[1]
• Order of Michael the Brave, 3rd Class (Romania, 14 October 1941)
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award, 4th to 1st class

References

Citations

1. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 179.

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Mitcham Samuel W. (2007). "The German Defeat in the East, 1944-45." United States: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3371-7.

External links

• Final Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania