Hans-Jürgen von Arnim

Hans-Jürgen von Arnim
General von Arnim
Born	(1889-04-04)4 April 1889 Ernsdorf, Province of Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire Dzierżoniów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland
Died	Bad Wildungen, Hesse, West Germany
Buried	Bad Wildungen, Village Cemetery
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1907–43
Rank	Generaloberst
Commands held	52nd Infantry Division 17th Panzer Division XXXIX Panzer Corps 5th Panzer Army de
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Hans-Jürgen Bernhard Theodor von Arnim (German: [ˈaɐ̯niːm]; 4 April 1889 – 1 September 1962) was a German colonel-general (Generaloberst) who served during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes).

Early life

Arnim was born in Ernsdorf in the Prussian Province of Silesia (now Dzierżoniów, Poland), the son of General Hans von Arnim (1861–1931) and Martha Honrichs von Arnim (1865–1953).

Military career

Arnim joined the German Army in 1907. During the First World War he saw action on both the Eastern and Western fronts. After the war, he remained in the Reichswehr and rose to command the elite 68th Infantry Regiment in Berlin. With the rise of Nazi Germany, Arnim was made a major-general in 1938.

World War II

Arnim commanded the 52nd Infantry Division in both the Battles for Poland and France. In October 1940, Arnim was given command of the 17th Panzer-Division. With the outbreak of the war against the Soviet Union, he was promoted to lieutenant general under Heinz Guderian, and was seriously wounded a few days after the start of the campaign.

On 1 October 1941, he was promoted to General der Panzertruppe and placed in command of XXXIX. Panzerkorps until November 1942, when he was appointed commander of the 5th Panzer Army under Erwin Rommel in North Africa. When Adolf Hitler refused to allow Rommel to return to Tunisia, Arnim was promoted to full general (Generaloberst) on 4 December 1942, and made Commander-in-Chief of de from 23 February 1943 until his surrender to the Royal Sussex Regiment of the 4th Indian Division two months later on 12 May 1943. After he was captured, Arnim allegedly expected to be met by his opposite numbers and asked to see Dwight D. Eisenhower. The American general replied to his aides to get as much information out of him as they could, but a personal meeting was out of the question. Eisenhower would not meet with any German officers until the final surrender. Instead Arnim was brought to the British 1st Army commander-in-chief, General Kenneth Anderson.

Von Arnim served the rest of the war as a British prisoner of war interned along with 24 other German general officers at Camp Clinton, Mississippi, and was released on 1 July 1947. He returned to Germany, where the estates he had held before the war had been taken and divided by the Soviet occupation authorities as part of a process of land reform. He died in Bad Wildungen, Hesse.

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  Colonel-General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim (right) welcomes General Gustav von Vaerst; PK "Africa"

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  Von Arnim (left), leaves Tunisia for England after his surrender

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  Generaloberst Hans-Jürgen von Arnim (left) and General der Panzertruppe Hans Cramer (centre) in British captivity at Trent Park camp in 1943

Awards

General von Arnim's Staff Car at the Eastbourne Redoubt.

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (16 September 1914)
  • 1st Class (2 November 1914)
• Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg
• Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords (7 September 1918)
• Wound Badge in White (6 August 1918)
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (15 November 1934)
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 1st Class (2 October 1936)
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (8 October 1939)
  • 1st Class (3 November 1939)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 4 September 1941 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 17. Panzer-Division
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht (addendum) on 13 May 1943
• Ärmelband "Afrika"
• Eastern Front Medal 1941/42

See also

• Eastbourne Redoubt

External links

• Redoubt Fortress Museum

Military offices
Preceded by Generaloberst Karl-Adolf Hollidt	Commander of 52. Infanterie-Division September 8, 1939 – October 5, 1940	Succeeded by Generaloberst Lothar Rendulic
Preceded by General der Panzertruppen Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma	Commander of 17. Panzer-Division September 15, 1941 – November 11, 1941	Succeeded by Generalleutnant Rudolf-Eduard Licht
Preceded by Generaloberst Rudolf Schmidt	Commander of XXXIX. Panzerkorps November 11, 1941 – November 30, 1942	Succeeded by General der Artillerie Robert Martinek
Preceded by Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel	Commander of Heeresgruppe Afrika March 10, 1943 – May 13, 1943	Succeeded by disbanded