Josef Harpe

Josef Harpe
Josef Harpe
Born	(1887-09-21)21 September 1887 Buer
Died	Nuremberg
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1909–45
Rank	Generaloberst
Commands held	9. Armee 12. Panzerdivision XXXXI. Panzerkorps
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

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 (Kama tank school) 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 (20 May 1918)
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 1st Class (2 October 1936)
• Anschluss Medal
• Sudetenland Medal with Prague Castle Bar
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• Panzer Badge in Silver
• Eastern Front Medal (20 July 1942)
• 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
• Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown (Romania) with Swords
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 1 January 1944

Wehrmachtbericht reference

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht entry	English translation
1 January 1944	Nordwestlich Retschiza haben Truppen des Heeres unter Führung des Generals der Panzertruppe Harpe in siebentägigen schweren Kämpfen eine seit Wochen bestehende Frontlücke geschlossen und dabei starke feindliche Kräfte vernichtet.	Northwest of Rechitsa, troops of the army under the command of General of Panzer Troops Harpe closed a weeks-long gap in the front in seven days of heavy fighting, while destroying powerful enemy forces.

External links

• Josef Harpe @ Lexikon der Wehrmacht
• Josef Harpe @ das-ritterkreuz.de
• Josef Harpe @ Axis Biographical Research at the Wayback Machine (archived October 29, 2009)

Military offices
Preceded by Paul Bader	Commander of 2. Infanterie-Division 5 October 1940 – 10 January 1941	Succeeded by 12. Panzerdivision
Preceded by 2. Infanterie-Division	Commander of 12. Panzerdivision 10 January 1941 – 15 January 1942	Succeeded by Generalleutnant Walter Wessel
Preceded by none	Commander of XXXXI Panzerkorps 10 July 1942 – 15 October 1943	Succeeded by General of Artillery Helmuth Weidling
Preceded by Generaloberst Erhard Raus	Commander of 4. Panzer-Armee 18 May 1944 – 28 June 1944	Succeeded by General der Panzertruppen Walther Nehring
Preceded by Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model	Commander of 9. Armee 4 November 1943 – 19 May 1944	Succeeded by General Hans Jordan
Preceded by General der Panzertruppen Hasso von Manteuffel	Commander of 5. Panzer-Armee 8 March 1945 – 17 April 1945	Succeeded by none