GENERAL DER PANZERTRUPPEN HANS-KARL FREIHERR VON ESEBECK

Hans-Karl Asmus Werner Freiherr von Esebeck (10 July 1892 – 5 January 1955) was a German General who commanded the 15th Panzer Division in the AfrikaKorps. He was also a conspirator against Adolf Hitler.


Von Esebeck had knowledge of and was sympathetic to the anti-Hitler conspiracy. He was arrested on 21 July 1944 and spent the rest of the war in concentration camps. Liberated at the end of the war he lived the rest of his life in poverty and died on 5 January 1955.

In the picture on the left he wears is various German war awards like the Cavalier Cross 1939, the First Class Iron Cross 1914 and the silver insignia from the Panzer Divisions. Commander in Chief of the 6st Schützen-Brigade and from the 15th Schützen-Brigade (1939-1941) Commander in Chief of the 57th Panzer-Korps (30-noviembre-1943/19-February-1944) Born: 10 July 1892, Potsdam Died: 5 January 1955, Dortmund-Bodelschwingh Promotions: Fahnenjunker: 25 September 1911 Fähnrich: 16 June 1912 Leutnant: 18 February 1913 (Patent 22 February 1911) Oberleutnant: 6 June 1916 Rittmeister: 1 March 1923 Major: 1 June 1933 Oberstleutnant: 1 Jnuary 1936 Oberst: 1 June 1938 Generalmajor: 15 April 1941 (RDA 1 October 1941) Generalleutnant: 1 February 1942 General der Panzertruppe: 1 February 1944

Commands & Assignments:

• 25 September 1911: Entered the Army as a Fahnenjunker in the Garde-Ulanen-Regiment Nr.3.
• 4 May 1912-18 January 1913: Detached to the War School Anklam.
• 16 February 1915-13 March 1915: Detached to the Garde-Jäger-Bataillon.
• 5 August 1917-18 August 1917: Deputy Adjutant of the 2nd Guard Cavalry Brigade.
• 19 August 1917: Transferred to the General Command of the VI Army Corps.
• 24 February 1918: Adjutant of 3rd Guard Cavalry Brigade.
• 8 September 1918-27 September 1918: At the same time, detached to the Military Commission St. Petersburg.
• 14 January 1919: Leader of the Volunteer Squadron in the Garde-Ulanen-Regiment.
• 16 October 1919: Adjutant of Kavallerie-Regiment 115.
• 15 April 1920: Transferred to Reiter-Regiment 4.
• 30 May 1923: Detached to the staff of the 1st Cavalry Division.
• 1 October 1923: Squadron Chief in Reiter-Regiment 4.
• 1 October 1931: Garrison Senior of Perleberg.
• 1 April 1934: Instructor at the Infantry School.
• 1 January 1935: Instructor at the War School Hannover.
• 6 October 1936: Commander of Reiter-Regiment 1.
• 1 April 1939: Commander of the 6. Schützen-Brigade.
• 13 March 1941: Commander of the 15. Schützen-Brigade.
• 13 April 1941: Delegated with the leadership of the 15. Panzer-Division.
• 13 May 1941: Wounded/in hospital.
• 25 July 1941: Führer Reserve.
• 24 August 1941: Commander of the 11. Panzer-Division.
• 29 December 1941: Führer Reserve.
• 17 February 1942: Commander of the 2. Panzer-Division.
• 20 October 1942: Führer Reserve.
• 20 November 1942: At the same time, delegated with the leadership of the XXXXVI Panzer Corps.
• 20 June 1943: Detached to Army Group Center to lead a battle group.
• 1 December 1943: Delegated with the leadership of the LVIII Reserve Panzer Corps.
• 10 February 1944: Führer Reserve.
• 16 February 1944: At the disposal of the Commander-in-Chief West for carrying out a special task [Sonderaufgabe].
• 1 April 1944: Führer Reserve.
• 6 July 1944: Commanding General of the Deputy XVII Army Corps and Commander of Wehrkreis XVII.
• 20 July 1944: Imprisoned in concentration camps until the end of World War II for the assassination attempt on Hitler.
• 31 December 1944: Released from the Wehrmacht.

Decorations & Awards (included):

• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross: 4 July 1940, Oberst, Commander of the 6. Schützen-Brigade
• German Cross in Gold: 23 August 1942, Generalmajor, Commander of the 2. Panzer-Division
• Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class (1914) with 1939 Bar
• Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class (1914) with 1939 Bar
• Württemberg Friedrich Order, Knight 2nd Class with Swords
• Waldeck Merit Cross, 4th Class with Swords
• Cross of Honor for Combatants 1914-1918
• Armed Forces Long Service Award, 1st Class (25-year Service Cross)
• Armed Forces Long Service Award, 3rd Class (12-year Service Medal)
• Austrian Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class with War Decoration
• Wound Badge, 1939 in Black

Notes:

• Campaigns: Poland (1939); West (1940); North Africa (1941); Russia (1941/1944)
• After World War I he was able to stay as officer in the small army of 100.000 in the so called "Weimarer Republik" of Germany.
• In 1936 (6th of october) he became commander of the "Reiter-Regiment 1" (Cavalery Regiment 1) with armors.
• In february 1944 he became second commander of the 17th German Army-Corps (XVII Armee-Korps).

Rommel (left and Von Esebeck (right) July 1942

 Thanks to Francisco de Asís Romero y Medina, Ken McCanliss, Thomas, Jefrey Wendt & Yves Gaulin