Meinrad von Lauchert

Meinrad von Lauchert
Born	29 August 1905 Potsdam
Died	4 December 1987(1987-12-04) (aged 82) Stuttgart
Allegiance	Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1924–1945
Rank	Generalmajor
Commands held	2. Panzer-Division
Battles/wars	World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Battle of Białystok–Minsk Battle of Kiev (1941) Battle of Moscow Battle of Kursk Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive Cherkassy Pocket Battle of the Bulge
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Meinrad von Lauchert (born 29 August 1905 in Potsdam - died 4 December 1987 in Stuttgart) was a highly decorated Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Career

He entered on active duty as a Fahnenjunker (Officer Cadet) on 1 April 1924. By the eve of World War II, he had advanced to the rank of Hauptmann (Captain) and commanded the 2nd Company of Panzer Regiment 35. The first day of fighting in Poland brought his elevation to battalion commander after the previous commander, Hauptmann Stenglein, received a serious head wound - a common injury for armor commanders.

Lauchert served with Panzer Regiment 35 of the 4th Panzer Division throughout the Polish and French Campaigns. During the first drive into Russia in the summer of 1941, he earned the Knight's Cross to the Iron Cross.

Lauchert's skill and energy as a Panzer leader caught the attention of such armor notables as Guderian and Eberbach. When Germany developed a new tank to regain its lost superiority on the battlefield, Major Lauchert was chosen to form and train the first two battalions of Panthers.

Hitler ordered the delay of the 1943 summer offensive until Lauchert's Panthers arrived to spearhead the southern arm of the attack. Unfortunately, the failure of the commanders whom Lauchert was supporting to familiarize themselves with this new weapon caused the Panther's debut at the Battle of Kursk to be less than decisive.

Lauchert continued to command a battle group of Panthers after Kursk, was promoted to Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) and eventually was named as the commander of Panzer Regiment 15 of the 11th Panzer Division. While with this unit, he earned the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross.

In the summer of 1944, Lauchert was called upon to command Panzer Brigade 101, one of several new armored units hastily formed to restore the German Army's precarious situation in the East. As part of Panzerverband von Strachwitz and later as its commander, Lauchert helped restore the land connection between Army Groups North and Center.

Just one day before the start of the Battle of Bulge, Oberst (Colonel) Lauchert was tasked with taking charge of the 2nd Panzer Division. His division punched through the American lines on 16 December 1944 and by the time the offensive had literally run out of gas Lauchert's men had achieved the deepest penetration into Allied-held territory of any of the German formations.

Afterwards, Lauchert's division fought a continuous rearguard action against the US forces as they pushed him back across the German frontier. During the fighting in February and March 1945, the 2nd Panzer Division was bled white and ceased to exist as much more than a marker on the map.

By the end of March, as the remnants of his division were backed up against the Rhine without a secure crossing point, Generalmajor Lauchert ordered a breakout eastwards in small groups. Lauchert swam the Rhine with a small number of his staff and, apparently fed up with the hopelessness of the situation, quit the war and walked home to Bamberg, the home garrison of Panzer Regiment 35.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (22 September 1939)
  • 1st Class (23 October 1939)
• Panzer Badge in Silver
• Eastern Front Medal
• Honour Roll Clasp of the Army (8 August 1941)
• German Cross in Gold (5 September 1943)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 8 September 1941 as Major and commander of I. Abteilung/ Panzer-Regiment 35
  • 396th Oak Leaves on 12 February 1944 as Oberstleutnant and commander of Panzer-Regiment 15
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht (25 October 1944)

Sources

• 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 (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, 2001. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
• Schaulen, Fritjof (2004). Eichenlaubträger 1940 - 1945 Zeitgeschichte in Farbe II Ihlefeld - Primozic (in German). Selent, Germany: Pour le Mérite. ISBN 3-932381-21-1.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Battle of the Bulge at IMDB
• Elliot P. Geisinger (editor) and Jay Anson, (writer), The Filming of "Battle of the Bulge." Professional Film Services, Inc., December 1965 (promotional documentary included as a special feature on the 2005 Battle of the Bulge DVD from Warner Video).
• Marcus Wendel (14 May 2006), "Heer Units". Viewed December 26, 2006.

Military offices
Preceded by Generalmajor Henning Schönfeld	Commander of 2. Panzer-Division December 15, 1944 - March 20, 1945	Succeeded by Generalmajor Oskar Munzel

Persondata
Name	Lauchert, Meinrad Von
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	29 August 1905
Place of birth	Potsdam, Germany
Date of death	4 December 1987
Place of death	Stuttgart, Germany