Georg-Hans Reinhardt

Georg-Hans Reinhardt (1 March 1887 – 23 November 1963) was a German general of World War II. He commanded Third Panzer Army from 1941 to 1944, and Army Group Centre in 1944 and 1945. His highest rank was Generaloberst (Colonel General). He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern). 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.

After the war, he was successfully prosecuted for war crimes in the High Command trial, and served several years in prison for those crimes.

Biography
Reinhardt was born in Bautzen, Saxony, and fought during World War I in an infantry regiment.

In February 1934 Reinhardt was promoted to Colonel and soon after to Major General in the German army.

He commanded the 4th Panzer Division during the Polish campaign of September 1939. 4th Panzer was initially repulsed in the two-day battle of Mokra and Ostrowy on 1–2 September, but broke through Polish defenses near Częstochowa. 4th Panzer then advanced to the outskirts of Warsaw by September 8, the first German force to reach the city. 4th Panzer's initial unsupported attack on the city failed, and the division was redeployed to assist in the Battle of the Bzura to the west.

After the Polish campaign, Reinhardt was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and promoted to Lieutenant General.

In the 1940 Battle of France, Reinhardt commanded the XXXXI Panzer Corps, which was one of the three Panzerkorps that broke through the Ardennes and drove west to the sea in May. For this success, he was promoted to General der Panzertruppe on 1 June 1940.

In late 1940, Reinhardt and XXXXI Panzer Corps were designated to participate in Operation Sea Lion, the proposed invasion of Great Britain. Reinhardt's force was to be in the first landing wave. However, the operation never occurred.

In 1941, Reinhardt and XXXXI Panzer Corps were deployed on the Eastern Front for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union in June. His force led the advance of Army Group North to the outskirts of Leningrad in October.

On October 5 he was given command of Third Panzer Army in Army Group Centre. Third Panzer Army then joined in the German attack on Moscow. After great initial success, the attack bogged down in mud, and was halted in December by severe cold and Soviet reserves just outside the city. Third Panzer Army was driven back by Soviet counter-attacks during the winter of 1941/42, but Reinhardt was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross for his expert defensive operations.

From early 1942 until June 1944, Third Panzer Army held its ground around Vitebsk and Smolensk, defeating most Soviet attacks and withdrawing only a short distance in 1943. On 26 May 1944, Reinhardt was awarded Swords to his Knight's Cross for this relative success.

But in June 1944, Third Panzer and the rest of Army Group Centre were shattered by a huge Soviet attack and driven back into Poland and East Prussia.

On 16 August 1944, Reinhardt was given command of Army Group Centre. In December, renewed Soviet attacks drove Army Group Centre out of Poland and back into northern Prussia. Reinhardt's shattered forces could not stem these overwhelming attacks, and this caused disputes with Hitler. Reinhardt retired from active duty in January 1945.

War crimes
In June 1945, Reinhardt was arrested by the United States Army as a war criminal. In 1947, he and thirteen other top German commanders were tried before a U.S. military court in Nuremberg. Reinhardt was found guilty of murder and ill-treatment of prisoners of war, and of murder, deportation, and hostage-taking of civilians in occupied countries. He was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, but was released in 1952. He served as president of the Gesellschaft für Wehrkunde (Society for Military Science), present-day Gesellschaft für Wehr- und Sicherheitspolitik e.V., since 1954 and wrote numerous memoranda. For these services he received the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany on 24 November 1962.

Promotions

 * Hauptmann - 18 April 1916
 * Major -
 * Oberstleutnant - 1 October 1931
 * Oberst - 1 February 1934
 * Generalmajor - 1 April 1937
 * Generalleutnant - 1 October 1939
 * General der Panzertruppe - 1 June 1940
 * Generaloberst - 1 January 1942

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1914)
 * 2nd Class (14 September 1914)
 * 1st Class (8 August 1915)
 * Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords
 * Ritterkreuz der Königlich Sächsischer Militär-St. Heinrichs-Orden
 * Cross of Honor
 * Sudetenland Medal with Prague Castle Bar
 * Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (21 September 1939)
 * 1st Class (2 October 1939)
 * Wound Badge (1939)
 * in Black
 * Eastern Front Medal
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
 * Knight's Cross on 27 October 1939 as Generalleutnant and commander of 4. Panzer-Division
 * 73rd Oak Leaves on 17 February 1942 as General der Panzertruppe and commander of 3. Panzergruppe
 * 68th Swords on 26 May 1944 as Generaloberst and commander of 3. Panzer-Armee
 * Mentioned three times in the Wehrmachtbericht (18 October 1941, 19 October 1941 and 21 January 1944)
 * Great Cross of Merit (24 November 1962)