Dear Bryan,
I assume that the Panzer General you mean is actually Geyr von
Schweppenburg. I hope that this brief biography - a translation I did
myself, so please excuse the partially clumsy wording - covers your
areas of interest:
Leo Reichsfreiherr [=Imperial Baron] Geyr von Schweppenburg was born
on 2 March 1886 in Potsdam as the son of a Major of the Prussian Life
Guards Hussars Regiment. He was descended from a family that also
produced two Prussian General Field Marshals, Karl Friedrich Freiherr
[=Baron] von dem Knesebeck and Gottlieb Graf [=Count] von Haesler.
On 29 June 1904, Schweppenburg joined the Dragoons Regiment "König"
(2nd Württembergish Reg.) No. 26 in Stuttgart as a Fahnenjunker
[=Ensign]. After serving in that regiment, he attended Berlin War
Academy from 1911 to 1911 and was promoted Oberleutnant [=1st
Lieutenant] during that time.
In 1914, he went to war in his regiment and took part in the campaigns
in Poland, France, Russia and on the Balkans. On 27 January 1915, he
was promoted Rittmeister [=Cavalry Captain], and in 1917 he was
transferred to the General Staff. In late 1918, Schweppenburg returned
to Berlin and was deployed to a company of General Staff officers
protecting the Ebert government.
In 1920, he was transferred to Munich as a teacher for tactics at the
Infantry School, and from 1922 to 1925 he was squadron leader in the
18th Horse Troopers Regiment in Stuttgart-Cannstatt. In the years 1925
to 1928, he was in the staff of the 3rd Cavalry Division in Weimar,
and from 1928 to 1930 he served in the General Staff of the 4th
Division and of the Wehrkreiskommando [=Military District] IV in
Dresden, where he was promoted Oberstleutnant [=Lieutenant Colonel].
Later, he went to the Soviet Union as a translator at the Soviet Tank
Troops School. On 1 February 1931, he was appointed commander of the
14th Horse Troopers Regiment in Ludwigslust. As such, he primarily
promoted field training for flexible combat and was promoted Oberst
[=Colonel].
Because of his excellent command of foreign languages, he was
appointed military attaché to Great Britain, Belgium and the
Netherlands with residence in London on 1 April 1933. In that position
he received promotion to the rank of Generalmajor [=Major General] on
1 September 1935.
Simulaneously with appointment as commander of the 3rd Panzer Division
in Berlin on 1 October 1939, he was also promoted Generalleutnant
[=Lieutenant General].
The Poland campaign demonstrated the division's outstanding training;
initial disagreements between Guderian and Schweppenburg were soon
overcome.
On 15 February 1940, Schweppenburg took over command of the XXIV
Motorized Army Corps; he was promoted General of the Cavalry on 20
April 1940 and later General of the Panzer Troops. With his army
corps, Schweppenburg participated in the campaign in France and, as
part of the Panzer Group 2 (Guderian) in the attack on the Soviet
Union. As early as 9 July 1941, he receives the Knight's Cross.
His corps advanced through the Rokitno Swamps and, together with the
tank forces coming from the south, closed the Kiev pocket. The corps
then formed the spearhead of the 2nd Army for the attack on Moscow.
The attack had to be discontionued in the Tula region on 5 and 6
December 1941. Due to illness, Schweppenburg resigned as corps
commander on 8 January 1942 and returned to Germany.
In July 1942, he took over the XXXX Panzer Corps and led it on the
advance through the Eastern Ukraine, over the Don River and towards
Manytsh and Caucasus. Another disease led to his re-transfer to the
Führerreserve [=Reserve of leading officers].
During 1943, he served as deputy commander of the LXXXVI Corps in
France and as General of the Panzer Troops at the Supreme Commander
West for a brief period of time. On 28 July 1943 he took over the LVII
Reserve Panzer Corps, from which later the Panzer Group West emaneted
which Schweppenburg commanded to the 5 July 1944, when he was
transferred to the Führerreserve again. He was appointed Inspekteur
[=Inspector] of the Panzer Troops of the Ersatzheer [=Replacement
Army]. As such, he became an American PoW in Bavaria in May 1945. He
was released in 1947.
In the post-war era, he continued spending time on the Panzer Troops
and wrote several important books on the issue of huge operational
military formations.
Leo Reichsfreiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg died on 27 January 1974 in
Ischenhausen near Munich.
Sources:
Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS: Leo
Reichsfreiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg
http://www.ritterkreuztraeger-1939-45.de/Infanterie/Schweppenburg-Geyr-von.htm
Generals.dk: Geyr von Schweppenburg
http://www.generals.dk/general/Geyr_von_Schweppenburg/Leo_Baron/Germany.html
Britannica Online: Normandy - Geyr von Schweppenburg
http://search.eb.com/normandy/articles/Geyr_von_Schweppenburg_Leo_Baron.html
Search terms used:
"Von Schweppenburg"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22Von+Schweppenburg%22+&btnG=Suche&meta=
I hope that this is useful for you!
Regards,
Scriptor |
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