Friedrich Hoßbach

Friedrich Hossbach
Major Hossbach (centre) in 1934
Born	22 November 1894 Unna, Province of Westphalia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	10 September 1980 (aged 85) Göttingen, Lower Saxony, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1913–45
Rank	General der Infanterie
Commands held	82. Infanterie-Division LVI Panzer Corps 4. Armee
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Hossbach^{[Note 1]} (22 November 1894 – 10 September 1980) was a German staff officer who in 1937 was the military adjutant to Adolf Hitler. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

The Hossbach Memorandum

His most important contribution to history is his creation of the Hossbach Memorandum. This was a report of a meeting held on November 5, 1937 between Hitler and Feldmarschall von Blomberg, General von Fritsch, Admiral Dr. Raeder, Generaloberst Hermann Göring, Baron von Neurath and Hossbach. His account was found among the Nuremberg papers, where it was an important piece of evidence.^[1]

In early 1938, Hossbach was present when Hitler was presented by Goering with a file purporting to show that General von Fritsch, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, was guilty of homosexual practices. In defiance of Hitler's orders, Hossbach took the file to von Fritsch to warn him of the accusations he was about to face. Fritsch gave his word as an officer that the charges were untrue, and Hossbach passed this message back to Hitler. This did not, as it might have, cost Hossbach his life, though he was dismissed from his post as Hitler's adjutant two days later.^[2]

War crimes

Hossbach was responsible for planning and executing the operation at Ozarichi to set up typhus camps in the path of the advancing Russian army so as to cause a typhus epidemic amongst the soldiers.^[3]

Awards

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (26 September 1914)^[4][5]
  • 1st Class (26 May 1916)^[4][5]
• Wound Badge (1914)
  • in Black^[5]
• Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg^[5]
• Military Merit Cross, 3rd class with War Decoration (Austria)^[5]
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918^[5]
• Sudetenland Medal^[5]
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (11 May 1940)^[4][5]
  • 1st Class (30 May 1940)^[4][5]
• Honour Roll Clasp of the Army (22 July 1941)^[4][5]
• Eastern Front Medal^[5]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 7 October 1940 as Oberst and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 82^[5]
  • 298th Oak Leaves on 11 September 1943 as Generalleutnant and acting commander of LVI. Panzerkorps^[5]
• Mentioned three times in the Wehrmachtbericht (18 October 1943, 6 April 1944, 31 October 1944)^[5]
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award, 4th to 1st class^[5]

Three different commanding officers recommended Hoßbach for the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords during the course of 1944, nevertheless the request was turned down each time.^[6]

Reference in the Wehrmachtbericht

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	English translation
6 April 1944	Verbände des Heeres und der Waffen-SS haben unter dem Oberbefehl des Generalobersten Weiss und unter der Führung der Generale der Infanterie Hoßbach und Mattenklott nach tagelangen harten Angriffskämpfen durch die Pripjetsümpfe bei ungewöhnlichen Geländeschwierigkeiten den feindlichen Ring um Kowel gesprengt und damit ihre Kameraden aus der Umklammerung befreit.[7]	Units of the Army and the Waffen-SS have, under the High Command of Generaloberst Walter Weiss and under the leadership of Generals of the Infantry Hoßbach and Mattenklott, after days of harsh fighting through the Pripyat Marshes at rough terrain, broken the enemy ring at Kowel and by that our comrades were freed from the clutch.

Notes

1. His name, in German, is spelled with a "sharp S"; see ß.

References

Citations

1. Documents of German Foreign Policy, I, pp. 29-39
2. William Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich p. 315
3. Michael Jones. Total War from Stalingrad to Berlin
4. Thomas 1997, p. 302.
5. "General der Infanterie Friedrich Hossbach". Archived from the original on October 29, 2009. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
6. Berger 2000, p. 393
7. Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, p. 74.

Bibliography

• Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges [With Oak Leaves and Swords. The Highest Decorated Soldiers of the Second World War] (in German). Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-0-6.
• Jones, Michael (2011) "Total War. From Stalingrad to Berlin". John Murray, London. ISBN 978 1 8485 4231 0
• 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.
• Schaulen, Fritjof (2003). Eichenlaubträger 1940 – 1945 Zeitgeschichte in Farbe I Abraham – Huppertz [Oak Leaves Bearers 1940 – 1945 Contemporary History in Color I Abraham – Huppertz] (in German). Selent, Germany: Pour le Mérite. ISBN 978-3-932381-20-1.
• 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.
• Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.
• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, 1. Januar 1944 bis 9. Mai 1945 [The Wehrmacht Reports 1939–1945 Volume 3, 1 January 1944 to 9 May 1945] (in German). München, Germany: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 978-3-423-05944-2.