Traugott Herr

Traugott Herr
Born	(1890-09-16)16 September 1890 Weferlingen,German Empire
Died	13 April 1976(1976-04-13)(aged 85) Achterwehr,West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire(to 1918) Weimar Republic(to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army (Wehrmacht)
Years of service	1911–45
Rank	General der Panzertruppe
Commands held	13th Panzer Division LXXVI Panzer Corps 14th Army 10th Army
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Traugott Herr(16 September 1890 – 13 April 1976) was a German general duringWorld War IIwho commanded the14th Armyand the10th Armyof theWehrmacht.He was a recipient of theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.

Early life

Born in 1890, Herr joined the army ofImperial Germanyin 1911 as anFahnen-junker(officer cadet) in the infantry. Serving in theWehrmachtofNazi Germanyin the late 1930s, he commanded the 3rd Battalion of the 33rd Infantry Regiment.

World War II

Herr commanded an infantry regiment, part of the13th Motorized Infantry Division,from 8 September 1939 to 14 October 1940, taking part in theInvasion of Poland(September 1939) and France (May 1940 to October 1940).In October 1940, the division was reformed inViennaas13th Panzer Division.Herr was given command of 13th Rifle Brigade, which controlled the division's two infantry regiments, on 14 October 1940.

In the invasion of Poland, the division used civilians as human shields in the battle with the retreating Polish Prusy Army and on 8 September 1939 attacked a medical column marked with the Red Cross signs near Odrzywół. A day later, soldiers from the division took part in the revenge killing of 11 civilians and two Polish priests including Dean Stanisław Klimecki in the nearby town of Drzewica in retaliation for their own military losses. Killings have also been reported in nearby settlements of Gielniów, Kamienna Wola, Klwów, Ossa, Przysucha, Potok, Rozwady and Zarzęcin. It is not known if Herr participated in these crimes.

In May 1941 the regiment returned to Germany to take part inOperation Barbarossa,the invasion of the Soviet Union, as part of1st PanzergruppeunderPaul Ludwig Ewald von KleistinArmy Group South.In December 1941, Herr was given acting command of13th Panzer Division.

On 31 October 1942, on theTerek Riverdeep in theCaucasus,Herr suffered a serious head wound, being struck by shrapnel, and was repatriated to Germany to recuperate.He was later appointed commander of theLXXVI Panzer Corpsstationed inFrance;in August 1943 it was sent to Italy. In Italy, his unit faced theBritish Eighth ArmyinCalabria,and theU.S. Fifth ArmyinSalerno.

Herr commanded the corps in theItalian Campaignuntil 24 November 1944. He also temporarily took command of14th Armyfor a brief period from late November to mid-December 1944. On 18 December 1944, he was awarded the Swords to the Knight's Cross. On 15 February 1945 he took command of10th Army.The Allies final and decisivespring 1945 offensive in Italyopened in early April, Herr was defending the Adriatic sector with orders to hold the lines. On 2 May 1945 the 14th army was overrun by British forces, and Herr was taken prisoner.He was released from custody in May 1948.

Awards

• Wound Badgein Black
• Iron Cross(1914) 2nd Class (14 September 1914) & 1st Class (21 October 1915)
• House Order of Hohenzollernwith Swords
• Bavarian Military Merit Cross(3rd Class)
• Panzer Badgein Silver
• Clasp to the Iron Cross(1939) 2nd Class (24 September 1939) 1st Class (12 May 1940)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross on 2 October 1941 as Oberst and commander of 13th Rifle Brigade (13.Schützen-Brigade)
  • 110th Oak Leaves on 9 August 1942 asGeneralmajorand commander of13th Panzer Division(13.Panzer-Division)
  • 117th Swords on 18 December 1944 asGeneral der Panzertruppeand commanding general ofLXXVI Panzer Corps(LXXVI.Panzerkorps)

References

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.ISBN978-3-9501307-0-6.
• Glantz, David M.; House, Jonathan (2009).To the Gates of Stalingrad: Soviet-German Combat Operations, April-August 1942.Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas.ISBN978-0-7006-1630-5.
• Mitcham, Samuel W. Jr. (2007).Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of WWII and Their Commanders.Mechanicsburg, PA, United States: Stackpole Books.ISBN978-0-8117-3353-3.
• Mitcham, Samuel W. Jr.; Mueller, Gene (2012).Hitler's Commanders: Officers of the Wehrmacht, the Luftwaffe, the Kriegsmarine, and the Waffen-SS.Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.ISBN978-1-4422-1154-4.
• 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.ISBN978-3-938845-17-2.
• 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.ISBN978-3-7648-2299-6.