Hans Kreysing

Hans Kreysing
Born	17 August 1890 Göttingen, Province of Hanover, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	14 April 1969 (aged 78) Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1909–1945
Rank	General der Gebirgstruppe
Commands held	3. Gebirgs-Division, 8. Armee
Battles/wars	World War I Battle of Verdun World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
Other work	Red Cross

Hans Kreysing (17 August 1890 – 14 April 1969) was a German general who commanded the 3. Gebirgs-Division. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Dates of rank

23 February 1909	Fahnenjunker
18 October 1909	Fähnrich
22 September 1910	Leutnant
25 February 1915	Oberleutnant
27 January 1919	Hauptmann
1 February 1931	Major
1 July 1934	Oberstleutnant
1 August 1936	Oberst
1 July 1940	Generalmajor
1 July 1942	Generalleutnant
1 November 1943	General der Gebirgstruppe

Awards

• House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross with Swords
• Iron Cross (1914) II. and I. Class
• Hanseatic Cross, Hamburg
• Bavarian Military Order of Merit IV. Class with Swords
• Wound Badge (1918) in Black
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award, 4th with 1st class
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • II. and I. Class (24 November 1939)^[1]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross on 18 May 1940 as Oberst and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 16^{[2][Note 1]}
  • 183rd Oak Leaves on 20 January 1943 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 3. Gebirgs-Division^[3][5][6]
  • 63rd Swords on 13 April 1944 as General der Gebirgstruppe and commanding general of the XVII. Armeekorps^[3][7][8]
• Order of the Cross of Liberty I. Class with Swords
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 18 February 1944

Wehrmachtbericht reference

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
18 February 1944	In den schweren Kämpfen im Raum von Nikopol haben ostmärkische, bayerische, rheinisch-westfälische, sächsische, mecklenburgische, pommersche und ostpreußische Division unter dem Befehl des Generals der Gebirgstruppen Schörner und der Generale Brandenberger, Mieth und Kreysing in der Zeit vom 5. November 1943 bis 15 Februar 1944 in Angriff und Abwehr starke Durchbruchsversuche der Bolschewisten mit blanker Waffe verhindert und ihnen hohe Verluste zugefügt. Dabei wurden 1754 Panzer, 533 Geschütze, zahlreiche andere Waffen und sonstiges Kriegsgerät erbeutet oder vernichtet und 56 feindliche Flugzeuge durch Infanteriewaffen abgeschossen.[9]	In the heavy fighting in the area of Nikopol have the Ostmark, Bavaria, Rhineland-Westphalia, Saxony, Mecklenburg, Pomerania and East Prussia Division under the command of the General of Mountain Troops Schörner and the generals Brandenberger, Mieth and Kreysing in the time frame of 5 November 1943 to 15 February 1944 in offensive and defensive actions, prevented Bolsheviks attempts to break through with cold steel and inflicted heavy losses. Thereby have been captured or destroyed. 1754 tanks, 533 guns, many other weapons and other military equipment, 56 enemy aircraft have been shot down by infantry weapons.

Notes

1. According to Scherzer and Von Seemen on 29 May 1940.^[3][4]

References

Citations

1. Thomas 1997, p. 410.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 274.
3. Scherzer 2007, p. 475.
4. Von Seemen 1976, p. 208.
5. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 65.
6. Von Seemen 1976, p. 32.
7. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 43.
8. Von Seemen 1976, p. 16.
9. Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, p. 37.

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.
• 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 (2004). Eichenlaubträger 1940 – 1945 Zeitgeschichte in Farbe II Ihlefeld - Primozic [Oak Leaves Bearers 1940 – 1945 Contemporary History in Color II Ihlefeld - Primozic] (in German). Selent, Germany: Pour le Mérite. ISBN 978-3-932381-21-8.
• 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.
• Von Seemen, Gerhard (1976). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 : die Ritterkreuzträger sämtlicher Wehrmachtteile, Brillanten-, Schwerter- und Eichenlaubträger in der Reihenfolge der Verleihung : Anhang mit Verleihungsbestimmungen und weiteren Angaben [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 : The Knight's Cross Bearers of All the Armed Services, Diamonds, Swords and Oak Leaves Bearers in the Order of Presentation: Appendix with Further Information and Presentation Requirements] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7909-0051-4.
• 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.

External links

• Hans Kreysing @ historic.de
• Hans Kreysing @ lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de