Meinrad von Lauchert

Meinrad von Lauchert
Born 29 August 1905
Potsdam
Died 4 December 1987(1987-12-04) (aged 82)
Stuttgart
Allegiance  Weimar Republic (to 1933)
 Nazi Germany
Service/branch Heer
Years of service 1924–45
Rank Generalmajor
Commands held 2. Panzer-Division
Battles/wars

World War II

Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Meinrad von Lauchert (born 29 August 1905 in Potsdam - died 4 December 1987 in Stuttgart) was a highly decorated Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht during World War II. 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.

Career

von Lauchert entered on active duty as a Fahnenjunker (Officer Cadet) on 1 April 1924. By the eve of World War II he had advanced to the rank of Hauptmann (Captain) and commanded the 2nd Company of Panzer Regiment 35. The first day of fighting in Poland brought his elevation to battalion commander after the previous commander, Hauptmann Stenglein, received a serious head wound - a common injury for armour commanders.

Lauchert served with Panzer Regiment 35 of the 4th Panzer Division throughout the Polish and French Campaigns. During the first drive into Russia in the summer of 1941, he earned the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Lauchert's skill and energy as a Panzer leader caught the attention of such armour notables as Heinz Guderian and Heinrich Eberbach. When Germany developed a new tank to regain its lost superiority on the battlefield, Major Lauchert was chosen to form and train the first two battalions of Panther tanks.

Hitler ordered the delay of the 1943 summer offensive until Lauchert's Panthers arrived to spearhead the southern arm of the attack. Unfortunately, the failure of the commanders whom Lauchert was supporting to familiarize themselves with this new weapon caused the Panther's debut at the Battle of Kursk to be less than decisive. Lauchert continued to command a battle group of Panthers after Kursk, was promoted to Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) and eventually was named as the commander of Panzer Regiment 15 of the 11th Panzer Division. While with this unit, he earned the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross.

In the summer of 1944, Lauchert was called upon to command the 101st Panzer Brigade, one of several new armoured units hastily formed to restore the German Army's precarious situation in the East. As part of Panzerverband von Strachwitz and later as its commander, Lauchert helped restore the land connection between Army Group North and Army Group Centre.

Just one day before the start of the Battle of the Bulge, Oberst (Colonel) Lauchert was tasked with taking charge of the 2nd Panzer Division. His division punched through the American lines on 16 December 1944 and by the time the offensive had literally run out of fuel Lauchert's men had achieved the deepest penetration into Allied-held territory of any of the German formations.

Afterwards, Lauchert's division fought a continuous rearguard action against the US forces as they pushed him back across the German frontier. During the fighting in February and March 1945, the 2nd Panzer Division had ceased to exist as much more than a marker on the map.

By the end of March, as the remnants of his division were backed up against the Rhine without a secure crossing point, Generalmajor Lauchert ordered a breakout eastwards in small groups. Lauchert swam the Rhine with a small number of his staff and, apparently fed up with the hopelessness of the situation, quit the war and walked home to Bamberg, the home garrison of Panzer Regiment 35.[1]

After the war, he was imprisoned for trial at Nuremberg for war crimes, but was found not guilty and released.

Later career

He was technical advisor on the 1965 movie Battle of the Bulge and is featured in the "Making of the Battle of the Bulge" featurette produced in 1965.MovieSir

Awards

Wehrmachtbericht reference

Date Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording Direct English translation
25 October 1944 (addendum) In den Kämpfen im ostpreußischen Grenzgebiet haben sich zwei Kampfgruppen unter Führung der Eichenlaubträger Oberst Koetz und Oberst Lauchert besonders ausgezeichnet.[7] In the battles on the East Prussian border, two battle groups under the leadership of the Oak Leaves bearers Colonel Koetz and Colonel Lauchert have particularly distinguished themselves.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Mitcham, S (2006) Panzers in Winter: Hitler's Army And the Battle of the Bulge, Greenwood Publishing P164
  2. 1 2 3 Thomas 1998, p. 15.
  3. ↑ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 270.
  4. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 286.
  5. 1 2 Scherzer 2007, p. 496.
  6. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 78.
  7. ↑ Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, p. 307.

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. 
  • 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. 
  • 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. 
  • 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. 
  • Battle of the Bulge at IMDB
  • Elliot P. Geisinger (editor) and Jay Anson, (writer), The Filming of "Battle of the Bulge." Professional Film Services, Inc., December 1965 (promotional documentary included as a special feature on the 2005 Battle of the Bulge DVD from Warner Video).
  • Marcus Wendel (14 May 2006), "Heer Units". Viewed December 26, 2006.
Military offices
Preceded by
Generalmajor Henning Schönfeld		 Commander of 2. Panzer-Division
December 15, 1944 - March 20, 1945 		Succeeded by
Generalmajor Oskar Munzel
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