Hans Traut

Hans Karl Emil Julius Ludwig Traut
Generalleuntnant Hans Traut
Born	25 January 1895 Sarreguemines, Alsace-Lorraine, German Empire
Died	9 December 1974 (aged 79) Darmstadt
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1914–45
Rank	Generalleutnant
Commands held	10. Infanterie-Division 263. Infanterie-Division 78. Sturm-Division
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Operation Barbarossa Battle of Kiev (1941) Battle of Moscow Battle of the Caucasus Battle of Kursk Operation Bagration Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Hans Karl Emil Julius Ludwig Traut (25 January 1895, Sarreguemines – 9 December 1974) was a highly decorated Generalleutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the IV. corps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Hans Traut was captured by Soviet forces in 1944, in 1947 he was sentenced to 25 years of forced labor and was held until 1955.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (21 October 1914)^[1]
  • 1st Class (17 January 1917)^[1]
• Wound Badge
  • in Black
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (20 September 1939)^[1]
  • 1st Class (4 October 1939)^[1]
• Eastern Front Medal
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 5 August 1940 as Oberstleutnant and commander of I./Infanterie-Regiment 90^[2]
  • 67th Oak Leaves on 23 January 1942 as Oberst and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 41 (mot.) and leader of 10. Infanterie-Division^[3]
• German Cross in Gold on 15 December 1943 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 78. Sturm-Division^[4]
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht (13 March 1944)

Hans Traut had been nominated for Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords in December 1943 for his skilled leadership of the 78. Sturm-Division. This request was denied without reason.^[5]

References

Citations

1. Thomas 1998, p. 391.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 345.
3. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 52.
4. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 479.
5. Berger 1999, p. 395.

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.
• 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.
• Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.

External links

• Lexikon der Wehrmacht
• World War 2 Awards.com