Josef Harpe

Josef Harpe (21 September 1887 – 14 March 1968) was a German Generaloberst who served during World War I and World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. 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.

Harpe was born in Buer which is part of Gelsenkirchen, Province of Westphalia, and died in Nuremberg, Bavaria.

Military career
Herr Harpe joined the Prussian Army on 28 September 1909 as Fahnenjunker and was transferred to the Infantry Regiment 56 in 1911. Here he was promoted to Leutnant on 20 March and participated with this regiment in World War I. By the end of World War I he held the position of company commander.

After the war Harpe remained in the Reichswehr military service. In 1931, under the pseudonym Direktor Hacker, he held a leading position in the secret German-Russian Tank-School (Organisation Kama) in Kazan, Soviet Union. He was promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 August 1934 and became commander of Panzer-Regiment 3 on 15 October 1935. He was again promoted on 1 January 1937, he was put in charge of the 1st Panzerbrigade holding the rank of Oberst. In 1940 he took over as Commandant of the Panzer Troops School Wünsdorf. He served on the Eastern Front, where he commanded July 1942 until October 1943 XXXXI.Panzerkorps and from September 1944 to January 1945 Army Group A, when he was relieved of his command due to the inability of German forces to stop the Soviet Vistula–Oder Offensive. He ended the war as the General Officer Commanding 5th Panzer Army, Western Front, with the rank of Generaloberst and was held as a prisoner of war by the United States until 1948.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1914)
 * 2nd Class (21 September 1914)
 * 1st Class (3 September 1915)
 * Wound Badge (1914) in Black
 * Cross of Honor
 * Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung 4th to 1st Class
 * Anschluss Medal
 * Sudetenland Medal with Prague Castle Bar
 * Clasp to the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class
 * Panzer Badge in Silver
 * Eastern Front Medal
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
 * Knight's Cross on 13 August 1941 as Generalmajor and commander of the 12. Panzer-Division
 * 55th Oak Leaves on 31 December 1941 as Generalmajor and commander of the 12. Panzer-Division
 * 36th Swords on 15 September 1943 as General der Panzertruppe and commanding general of the XXXXI.Panzerkorps
 * German Cross in Gold on 19 February 1943 as General der Panzertruppe and commanding general of the XXXXI.Panzerkorps
 * Order of the Crown (Romania)
 * Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 1 January 1944