Walter Hartmann

Walter Hartmann (23 July 1891 – 11 March 1977) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany.

During the evacuation of Crimea in 1944, he escaped on the Romanian minelayer Amiral Murgescu and reached the Romanian port of Constanța.¹

Life

Hartmann joined the 1st Field Artillery Regiment No. 12 of the Saxon Army on 1 October 1910 as an officer candidate. On May 4, 1912, he was promoted to lieutenant by patent of May 24, 1910. During the First World War, Hartmann fought with his regiment on the Eastern Front and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military St. Order of Henry.² In the course of the war, he became a lieutenant colonel on 13 March 1916 and came a month later as an observer to the Flieger-Ersatzabteilung 7. From January 1917 he served as First Adjutant of the Artillery Air School East and on 1 June 1918 he was transferred to Fliegergruppen-Commander 21 and commanded for training in the General Staff Service. For his achievements, Hartmann received both classes of the Iron Cross and the Knight's Cross 2nd Class of the Order of Albrecht with Swords.³

After the war he was transferred to the Reichswehr and promoted to captain on 1 December 1921. In 1924 and 1925 he served on the staff of the 4th Division in Dresden. From the spring of 1927 he was assigned to the 4th Artillery Regiment and was appointed Major in 1932. From October 1934 he was commander of the Artillery Regiment Naumburg, after its renaming of the Artillery Regiment 60, where he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in June 1936. From October 1937 he was with the Artillery Regiment 24, where he was promoted to colonel in June 1938.

With this regiment he took part in the Invasion of Poland and in the Western Campaign. In November 1940, he was transferred to another artillery unit, which was involved in the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. On July 15, 1941, he lost an arm and a leg due to a wound. On 10 August 1941 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and was promoted to Major General on 1 October 1941. After his health was restored, as far as possible, he returned to service at his own request and took command of a reserve division on May 1, 1942, and the in September 1942, where he was promoted to lieutenant general in February 1943. From April 1943 he took command of the , which was deployed at Welisch, from Lieutenant General Werner Richter. In November 1943 he was awarded the Oak Leaves for the Knight's Cross (340th Award). A few days earlier, he had been transferred to the Führerreserve and took part in a course in January 1944. On January 20, 1944, he took over from the leadership of the .