Hans von Tettau

Hans von Tettau (30 November 1888 – 30 January 1956) was a German general (General of the Infantry) in the Wehrmacht during World War II who held commands at the divisional and corps level. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Tettau surrendered to the Allied forces in May 1945; he was released in 1947. He wrote a book with General Kurt Versock called The History of the 24th Infantry Division.

Hans von Tettau
Born	(1888-11-30)30 November 1888 Bautzen, German Empire
Died	30 January 1956(1956-01-30) (aged 67) Mönchengladbach, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire  Weimar Republic  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	1909–1945
Rank	General of the Infantry
Commands held	24th Infantry Division
Battles/wars	Second World War
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Other work	Author

Although much decorated, Tettau's reputation is debatable. Some German historians argue that he had little real military experience up to his countermeasures at the Battle of Arnhem in 1944, the Allied Operation Market Garden. Fellow generals spoke of Tettau, whose regular work in the army was more that of an inspector than of a commanding officer, in a negative way when he organised his defences in the Netherlands under the name of Westgruppe, which was not a formal army division. Instead, this was seen as a political move by Tettau to gain credit in Berlin.^[1]

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (18 September 1914) & 1st Class (18 September 1915)^[2]
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (22 September 1939) & 1st Class (5 October 1939)^[2]
• German Cross in Gold on 5 May 1942 as Generalleutnant and commander of 24. Infanterie-Division^[3]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 3 September 1942 as Generalleutnant and commander of 24. Infanterie-Division^[4]
  • 821st Oak Leaves on 5 April 1945 as Generalleutnant and commander of Korpsgruppe von Tettau^[5]

References

Citations

1. Verhoef, 2012
2. Thomas 1998, p. 372.
3. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 472.
4. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 341.
5. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 84.

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 Militaer-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.
• Verhoef, CEHJ (2012)De slag om de Ginkelse heide bij Ede / druk Heruitgave 17 en 18 September 1944. ISBN 9789461531667

Military offices
Preceded by Generalleutnant Justin von Obernitz	Commander of 24. Infanterie-Division 14 June 1940 – 23 February 1943	Succeeded by General der Gebirgstruppen Kurt Versock