Hermann Hoth
Encyclopedia
Hermann "Papa" Hoth was an officer
in the German
military
from 1903 to 1945. He attained the rank of Generaloberst during World War II
. He fought in France
, but is most noted for his later exploits as a panzer
commander on the Eastern Front
. Hoth commanded the 4th Panzer Army during Operation Barbarossa
in 1941, and later during the Wehrmacht's
1942 summer offensive
. Following the encirclement of the 6th Army
in Stalingrad
in November 1942, Hoth commanded the panzer army during Operation Wintergewitter
. After Stalingrad, Hoth was involved in the Kursk counter offensive
in the summer of 1943 and the Battle of Kiev
. The Fourth Panzer Army under his command at Kursk was the largest tank formation ever assembled. Hoth was dismissed from command by Adolf Hitler
in 1943, only to be reinstated for a short time during the last weeks of the war. After the war, he served six years in prison for war crime
s, and became a writer on military history
.
, the son of an army medical officer. He joined the army in 1903 and at the start of World War I
was promoted to Captain and he won both classes of Iron Cross. He remained in the Reichswehr
(the armed forces of the Weimar Republic
) in the interwar period. Following the reorganization of the German military into the Wehrmacht
in 1935, he was promoted to Major-General and appointed to command the 18th Infantry Division
.
of spring 1940, and was promoted to full General on 19 July 1940.
In Operation Barbarossa
in 1941, Hoth commanded the Third Panzer Group which captured Minsk
and Vitebsk
. In October he replaced General Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel
as commander of the Seventeenth Army in Ukraine
. As its commander he called upon his men to understand the need for "harsh punishment of Jewry". His army was driven back by the Russian offensives of early 1942 (see Second Battle of Kharkov
).
In June 1942, he took over from General Erich Höpner
as commander of Fourth Panzer Army. As part of Operation Blue
, the German offensive in southern Russia, the army reached the Don River
at Voronezh
. Hoth was then ordered to swing south to support the First Panzer Army's own crossing of the Don, and the Sixth Army's attempt to capture Stalingrad
.
In November 1942, the Soviet winter counteroffensive
smashed through the German lines and trapped the Sixth Army in Stalingrad. Hoth's panzer army was the centerpiece of Operation Winter Storm
, the attempt to relieve the Sixth Army, under the overall command of Field Marshal Erich von Manstein
's Army Group Don
. The operation failed, as Soviet reinforcements and worsening weather ground down the German advance. On 25 December, the Soviets resumed their offensive, forcing the Germans back and sealing the fate of Sixth Army.
In July 1943, Hoth commanded the Fourth Panzer Army in the Battle of Kursk
. His divisions, now reinforced by the II SS Panzer Corps
, made a significant penetration of the Soviet lines, before being brought to a halt at Prokhorovka
. Manstein urged that the attack continue, but the slow progress of the German Ninth Army to the north of Kursk, heavy losses and the Allied invasion of Sicily
meant that the operation was called off.
In the aftermath of Kursk, the Red Army mounted a series of successful offensives
that crossed the Dnieper, retook Kiev
and pushed the Germans out of eastern Ukraine. Despite his distinguished record, Hoth, now Generaloberst, was blamed by Hitler
for part of the losses, and relieved of command. He was reassigned to the reserves in November.
In April 1945, he was recalled to active duty and assigned to command the defense of the Harz Mountains, a position he held until the end of the war.
, found guilty of war crimes in the High Command Trial
, and on 27 October 1948 sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released in 1954 and spent his retirement writing. He died at Goslar
, where he is buried.
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
in the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
from 1903 to 1945. He attained the rank of Generaloberst during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He fought in France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, but is most noted for his later exploits as a panzer
Panzer
A Panzer is a German language word that, when used as a noun, means "tank". When it is used as an adjective, it means either tank or "armoured" .- Etymology :...
commander on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
. Hoth commanded the 4th Panzer Army during Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
in 1941, and later during the Wehrmacht's
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
1942 summer offensive
Operation Blue
Case Blue , later renamed Operation Braunschweig, was the German Armed Forces name for its plan for a 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and November 1942....
. Following the encirclement of the 6th Army
Operation Uranus
Operation Uranus was the codename of the Soviet strategic operation in World War II which led to the encirclement of the German Sixth Army, the Third and Fourth Romanian armies, and portions of the German Fourth Panzer Army. The operation formed part of the ongoing Battle of Stalingrad, and was...
in Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
in November 1942, Hoth commanded the panzer army during Operation Wintergewitter
Operation Wintergewitter
Operation Winter Storm was a German offensive in World War II, undertaken between 12–23 December 1942, in which the German 4th Panzer-Armee failed to break the encirclement of Axis forces during the Battle of Stalingrad....
. After Stalingrad, Hoth was involved in the Kursk counter offensive
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
in the summer of 1943 and the Battle of Kiev
Battle of Kiev (1943)
The 1943 Battle of Kiev describes three strategic operations by the Soviet Red Army, and one operational counterattack by the Wehrmacht which took place in the wake of the failed German offensive at Kursk during World War II...
. The Fourth Panzer Army under his command at Kursk was the largest tank formation ever assembled. Hoth was dismissed from command by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
in 1943, only to be reinstated for a short time during the last weeks of the war. After the war, he served six years in prison for war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s, and became a writer on military history
Military history
Military history is a humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing intra and international relationships....
.
Before the war
Hoth was born in NeuruppinNeuruppin
Neuruppin is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. Located on the shore of Ruppiner See , it is the capital of the district of Ostprignitz-Ruppin. Population: 32,800 .-Overview:...
, the son of an army medical officer. He joined the army in 1903 and at the start of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
was promoted to Captain and he won both classes of Iron Cross. He remained in the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
(the armed forces of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
) in the interwar period. Following the reorganization of the German military into the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
in 1935, he was promoted to Major-General and appointed to command the 18th Infantry Division
German 18th Infantry Division
The German 18th Infantry Division was formed on 1 October 1934 as Infanterieführer III in Liegnitz and renamed 18. Infanterie-Division on 15 October 1935. Mobilized in August 1939 it participated in the Invasion of Poland and in 1940 in the Battle of France...
.
World War II
Hoth was promoted to Lieutenant-General and given command of the XV Motorised Corps from 10 November 1938, leading it in the invasion of Poland the following year. He was successful in the Western OffensiveBattle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
of spring 1940, and was promoted to full General on 19 July 1940.
In Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
in 1941, Hoth commanded the Third Panzer Group which captured Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
and Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
. In October he replaced General Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel
Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel
Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel, was a German general and a member of the July 20 Plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.-Early life:...
as commander of the Seventeenth Army in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. As its commander he called upon his men to understand the need for "harsh punishment of Jewry". His army was driven back by the Russian offensives of early 1942 (see Second Battle of Kharkov
Second Battle of Kharkov
The Second Battle of Kharkov, so named by Wilhelm Keitel, was an Axis counter-offensive against the Red Army Izium bridgehead offensive conducted from 12 May to 28 May 1942, on the Eastern Front during World War II. Its objective was to eliminate the Izium bridgehead over Seversky Donets, or the...
).
In June 1942, he took over from General Erich Höpner
Erich Hoepner
Erich Hoepner was a German general in World War II. A successful panzer leader, Hoepner was executed after the failed 20 July Plot in 1944.- Life :Hoepner was born in Frankfurt an der Oder, Brandenburg...
as commander of Fourth Panzer Army. As part of Operation Blue
Operation Blue
Case Blue , later renamed Operation Braunschweig, was the German Armed Forces name for its plan for a 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and November 1942....
, the German offensive in southern Russia, the army reached the Don River
Don River (Russia)
The Don River is one of the major rivers of Russia. It rises in the town of Novomoskovsk 60 kilometres southeast from Tula, southeast of Moscow, and flows for a distance of about 1,950 kilometres to the Sea of Azov....
at Voronezh
Voronezh
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
. Hoth was then ordered to swing south to support the First Panzer Army's own crossing of the Don, and the Sixth Army's attempt to capture Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
.
In November 1942, the Soviet winter counteroffensive
Operation Uranus
Operation Uranus was the codename of the Soviet strategic operation in World War II which led to the encirclement of the German Sixth Army, the Third and Fourth Romanian armies, and portions of the German Fourth Panzer Army. The operation formed part of the ongoing Battle of Stalingrad, and was...
smashed through the German lines and trapped the Sixth Army in Stalingrad. Hoth's panzer army was the centerpiece of Operation Winter Storm
Operation Wintergewitter
Operation Winter Storm was a German offensive in World War II, undertaken between 12–23 December 1942, in which the German 4th Panzer-Armee failed to break the encirclement of Axis forces during the Battle of Stalingrad....
, the attempt to relieve the Sixth Army, under the overall command of Field Marshal Erich von Manstein
Erich von Manstein
Erich von Manstein was a field marshal in World War II. He became one of the most prominent commanders of Germany's World War II armed forces...
's Army Group Don
Army Group Don
Army Group Don was a short-lived German army group during World War II.Army Group Don was created from the headquarters of the Eleventh Army in the southern sector of the Eastern Front on 22 November 1942. The army group only lasted until February 1943 when it was combined with Army Group B and...
. The operation failed, as Soviet reinforcements and worsening weather ground down the German advance. On 25 December, the Soviets resumed their offensive, forcing the Germans back and sealing the fate of Sixth Army.
In July 1943, Hoth commanded the Fourth Panzer Army in the Battle of Kursk
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
. His divisions, now reinforced by the II SS Panzer Corps
II SS Panzer Corps
The II SS Panzer Corps was a Nazi German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on both the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II.- Formation - Kharkov :...
, made a significant penetration of the Soviet lines, before being brought to a halt at Prokhorovka
Battle of Prokhorovka
The Battle of Prokhorovka was fought on the Eastern Front during the Second World War as part of the Battle of Kursk in the Soviet Union . Principally, the German Wehrmachts Fourth Panzer Army clashed with the Soviet Red Army's 5th Guards Tank Army...
. Manstein urged that the attack continue, but the slow progress of the German Ninth Army to the north of Kursk, heavy losses and the Allied invasion of Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
meant that the operation was called off.
In the aftermath of Kursk, the Red Army mounted a series of successful offensives
Battle of the Dnieper
The Lower Dnieper Offensive took place in 1943 during the Second World War. It was one of the largest Second World War operations, involving almost 4,000,000 troops on both sides and stretching on a 1400 kilometer long front...
that crossed the Dnieper, retook Kiev
Battle of Kiev (1943)
The 1943 Battle of Kiev describes three strategic operations by the Soviet Red Army, and one operational counterattack by the Wehrmacht which took place in the wake of the failed German offensive at Kursk during World War II...
and pushed the Germans out of eastern Ukraine. Despite his distinguished record, Hoth, now Generaloberst, was blamed by Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
for part of the losses, and relieved of command. He was reassigned to the reserves in November.
In April 1945, he was recalled to active duty and assigned to command the defense of the Harz Mountains, a position he held until the end of the war.
After the war
Following the end of the war, Hoth was put on trial at the Subsequent Nuremberg TrialsSubsequent Nuremberg Trials
The Subsequent Nuremberg Trials were a series of twelve U.S...
, found guilty of war crimes in the High Command Trial
High Command Trial
The High Command Trial was the last of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Nuremberg after the end of World War II. These twelve trials were all held before U.S...
, and on 27 October 1948 sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released in 1954 and spent his retirement writing. He died at Goslar
Goslar
Goslar is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines of Rammelsberg are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.-Geography:Goslar is situated at the...
, where he is buried.
Awards
- House Order of HohenzollernHouse Order of HohenzollernThe House Order of Hohenzollern was an order of chivalry of the House of Hohenzollern. It was both a military and a civil award...
with Swords - Austrian Military Merit CrossMilitary Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary)The Military Merit Cross was a decoration of the Empire of Austria and, after the establishment of the Dual Monarchy in 1867, the Empire of Austria-Hungary. It was first established on October 22, 1849 and underwent several revisions to its design and award criteria over the years of its existence...
(3. Class) - Bavarian Military Merit CrossMilitary Merit Cross (Bavaria)The Bavarian Military Merit Cross was that kingdom's main decoration for bravery and military merit for enlisted soldiers...
(2. Class) - Panzer BadgePanzer BadgeThe Panzer Badge was a German medal awarded to armour troops during World War II. It was introduced during World War II in December 1939 .- History :The Tank Combat Badge, or Panzer Badge, first existed in the German Army during World War I, and was later...
in Silver - Bulgarian War Merit Order (4. Class)
- Turkish War Merit Cross
- Wound BadgeWound BadgeWound Badge was a German military award for wounded or frost-bitten soldiers of Imperial German Army in World War I, the Reichswehr between the wars, and the Wehrmacht, SS and the auxiliary service organizations during the Second World War. After March 1943, due to the increasing number of Allied...
in Black - Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
2. and 1. class - Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and SwordsKnight's Cross of the Iron CrossThe Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
- Knight's Cross (27 October 1939)
- 25th Oak Leaves (17 July 1941)
- 35th Swords (15 September 1943)
- Mentioned five times in the WehrmachtberichtWehrmachtberichtThe Wehrmachtbericht was a daily radio report on the Großdeutscher Rundfunk of Nazi Germany, published by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht regarding the military situation on all fronts of World War II....