Hans-Jürgen von Arnim

Infobox Military Person
name=Hans-Jürgen von Arnim
lived=birth date|1889|4|4|df=y — death date and age|1962|9|1|1889|4|4|df=y
placeofbirth=Ernsdorf, Silesia, Prussia
placeofdeath=Bad Wildungen, Hesse


caption=General Von Arnim
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|German Empire German Empire (to 1918)
flagicon|Germany Weimar Republic (to 1933)
flagicon|Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
branch=Heer
serviceyears=1907-1945
rank=Generaloberst
commands=17. Panzer Division
unit=
battles=World War I
World War II
awards="Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross"
laterwork=

Hans-Jürgen von Arnim (4 April, 1889 – 1 September, 1962) was a German colonel-general of cavalry who served during World War II.

Life

Arnim was born in Ernsdorf in the Prussian Province of Silesia, the son of General Hans von Arnim (1861–1931) and Martha Honrichs (1865–1953). He served in the German Army from 1907 until the end of World War II. 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. He commanded the 52nd 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, but was seriously wounded a few days after the start of the campaign. He commanded the XXXIX Panzer-Corps until November 1942, when he was placed in command 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 Army Group Africa and "de facto" commander of the Afrika Korps from March 1943 until his capture by the British Indian Army's 4th Infantry Division two months later in May 1943 [ [http://www.thewarillustrated.info/156/i-was-there-how-von-arnim-surrendered-at-last.asp I Was There! - How Von Arnim Surrendered at Last] , The War Illustrated, June 11, 1943.] . Arnim served the rest of the war as a British prisoner of war and was released in July 1947. He returned to Germany and died in Bad Wildungen, Hesse.

After he was captured, Arnim allegedly expected to be feted 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. He would not meet with any Nazi officers until the final surrender. [ ALLIES, by John S. D. Eisenhower ]

Arnim's Steyr 1500A Afrika Korps staff car from the north African campaign is exhibited at Eastbourne Redoubt in the United Kingdom.

Awards

* Iron Cross (1914)
** 2nd Class (2 November 1914)
** 1st Class (16 September 1914)
* House Order of Hohenzollern (7 September 1918)
* Wound Badge in Silver (1918)
* Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
** 2nd Class (8 October 1939)
** 1st Class (3 November 1939)
* German Cross in Gold (18 May 1942)
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (4 September 1941)
* Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht (addendum) on 13 May 1943

References

* Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. "Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945". Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
* Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit. "Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 - 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II". Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, 2001. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.

ee also

* Eastbourne Redoubt

External links

* [http://www.eastbournemuseums.co.uk/ Redoubt Fortress Museum]