Dietrich von Saucken
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Dietrich von Saucken | |
|---|---|
East Prussia, German Empire | |
| Died | 27 September 1980 (aged 88) Pullach, West Germany |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  German Empire  Weimar Republic Nazi Germany |
| Service/ | |
| Years of service | 1910–45 |
| Rank | |
| Battles/wars | See battles
|
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds |
Dietrich Friedrich Eduard Kasimir von
Early life and career
Saucken was born on 16 May 1892 in
Following graduation, Saucken joined the Prussian Army on 1 October 1910 as a Fahnenjunker (Cadet) in Grenadier-Regiment König Friedrich Wilhelm I. (2. Ostpreußisches) Nr. 3 (2nd East Prussian Grenadier Regiment King Frederick William I Nr. 3), one of the oldest Prussian regiments, subordinated to the 1. Division (1st Division) and based in Königsberg. There, he was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) on 19 June 1912.[1]
World War I and interwar period
With the outbreak of World War I, the division was deployed on the Eastern Front. With the division, Saucken fought in the battles of Stallupönen, Gumbinnen, and Tannenberg and earned the Iron Cross 2nd Class in October 1914.[1]
Saucken then fought in the Battle of Verdun and in the battles of the Carpathian Mountains in September 1917, and received the Iron Cross 1st Class in May 1916. For combat in the German spring offensive and Hundred Days Offensive on the Western Front, he received the Prussian Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords and the Austrian Military Merit Cross. In 1918, he also served with the Baltic Sea Division under the command of General Rüdiger von der Goltz which fought in the Finnish Civil War (27 January – 15 May 1918).[1]
After the
World War II
Saucken took part in
Saucken became acting commander of the
In June and July, Saucken formed Kampfgruppe von Saucken (Battlegroup von Saucken) an ad hoc unit composed of the remnants of several units that had been destroyed in the Soviet
Saucken left the XXXIX Panzer Corps in late September 1944, when he took command of the forming
A month later, Saucken commanded the 2nd Army in Prussia and provided logistical support to the Evacuation of East Prussia. In April, his army was renamed to Army East Prussia. On 8 May, Saucken received notice that he had been awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, making him the last of 27 officers to receive this award. Though an airplane stood by to evacuate him, he refused to leave his troops when they surrendered to the Red Army on the following day of 9 May 1945.
Later life
After surrendering on the Hel Peninsula, Saucken went into Soviet captivity. Initially he was imprisoned in the Lubyanka Building and the Oryol Prison before being transferred to the Siberian Tayshet camp in 1949. Released from Soviet captivity in 1955, he settled in Pullach near Munich. He died there in 1980.
Character traits
A cavalry officer who regularly wore both a sword and a monocle, Saucken personified the archetypal aristocratic Prussian conservative who despised the braune Bande ("brown
When Hitler told him that he must take his orders from Albert Forster, the Gauleiter (Nazi governor, or "District Leader") of Danzig, Saucken returned Hitler's gaze....and striking the marble slab of the map table with the flat of his hand, he said, 'I have no intention, Herr Hitler, of placing myself under the orders of a Gauleiter'. In doing this he had bluntly contradicted Hitler and not addressed him as Mein Führer.[2][4]
To the surprise of everyone who was present, Hitler capitulated and replied, "All right, Saucken, keep the command yourself." Hitler dismissed the General without shaking his hand and Saucken left the room with only the merest hint of a bow.[2][4]
However, this alleged incident is disputed by Heinz Linge in his book 'In the footsteps of the Führer'. General Von Saucken was considered a loyal commander to whom this behavior certainly did not fit (he received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds on May 8). In addition, the fact that he would not have addressed Hitler with 'Mein Führer' and with the flat hand on the chart table, Linge describes as completely unbelievable.[5]
Awards
- Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (19 October 1914) & 1st Class (23 May 1916)[6]
- Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (13 September 1939) & 1st Class (3 October 1939)[6]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds
- Knight's Cross on 6 January 1942 as Generalmajor and leader of the 4. Panzer-Division[7]
- 281st Oak Leaves on 22 August 1943 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 4. Panzer-Division[7]
- 46th Swords on 31 January 1944 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 4. Panzer-Division[7]
- 27th Diamonds on 8 May 1945 as General der Panzertruppe and commander in chief of AOK Ostpreußen[7]
- Promotions
| 1 January 1942: | Generalmajor[8] |
| 1 April 1943: | Generalleutnant [8] |
| 1 August 1944: | General der Panzertruppe (General of Armoured Troops)[9] |
Notes
- preposition which approximately means of or from and usually denotes some sort of nobility. While von (always lower case) is part of the family name or territorial designation, not a first or middle name, if the noble is referred to by his last name, use Schiller, Clausewitz or Goethe, not von Schiller, etc.
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d Stockert 1997, p. 344.
- ^ a b c Beevor 2002, pp. 80–82
- ^ Boldt 1973, pp. 80–81.
- ^ a b Boldt 1973, pp. 81–82
- ^ Linge, Heinz, Werner Maser, With Hitler till the end.(2009).Frontline Books–Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60239-804-7.
- ^ a b Thomas 1998, p. 240.
- ^ a b c d Scherzer 2007, p. 651.
- ^ a b Stockert 1997, p. 345.
- ^ Stockert 1997, p. 349.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-670-03041-5.
- ISBN 0-275-96856-1.
- Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
- Stockert, Peter (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 3 [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 3] (in German). Bad Friedrichshall, Germany: Friedrichshaller Rundblick. ISBN 978-3-932915-01-7.
- 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.
- Williamson, Gordon (2006). Knight's Cross with Diamonds Recipients 1941–45. Oxford, UK: ISBN 978-1-84176-644-7.
- Boldt, Gerhard (1973). Hitler: The Last 10 Days. Berkley Publishing. ISBN 978-0425024041.
External links
- Dietrich von Saucken in the German National Library catalogue
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