User:Gunbirddriver/Luck

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• London Times Obituary: Hans von Luck

Colonel Hans von Luck, wartime Panzer leader, died in Hamburg on August 1, 1997- aged 86. He was born at Flensburg on July 15, 1911. In his memoir, Panzer Commander, published in America in 1989, Hans von Luck recalls the astonishment he felt when, in the 1960s, he was invited to the Staff College at Camberley to lecture to young British officers on the Germanexperience of the Normandy battle of 1944. The consciousness of having been the servant of an evil regime,doubly drummed into him through five years as a prisoner of the Russians between 1945 and 1950, made him reticent about talking of his war. But when he stood up to address his first Staff College audience, it was to hear himself described by Camberley's CO as "a fair and courageous opponent". The awkwardness passed, and he was regularly invited back. Staff College audiences were particularly interested to hear what a German had to say about the controversial Operation Goodwood, the British 2nd Army's apparent attempt to break out of its bridgehead at Caen in July 1944. As commanding officer 125 Panzergrenadier Regiment, von Luck had played an important part in repelling the most massive Allied tank attack of the entire Normandy campaign. On one occasion he even ordered the commander of a flak battery at gunpoint not to train his 88mm guns skywards looking for aircraft, but to use them against the advancing British tanks. "Either you're a dead man or you can earn yourself a medal," von Luck told the reluctant flak commander, levelling his Luger pistol at him. Faced with this steely determination, the young officer complied, and the anti-aircraft guns became anti-tank guns, with devastating effect on the British armour. The repulse of Goodwood brought acute disappointment verging on outrage to the Chiefs of Staff, the press and the British public, and its effects reverberate among military commentators to this day. That three complete armoured divisions ­ whose way forward had supposedly been eased by an immense carpet of bombs dropped by 2,000 aircraft ­should have been stopped in their tracks by vastly inferior German forces, was considered a disgrace. Tedder, Eisenhower's deputy for the NW Europe campaign, furious at the squandering of such massive air power for such limited objectives, called for Montgomery's head. Montgomery, in a perhaps retrospective adjustment of his aims, said that no breakout had been planned; Goodwood had been a "battle of position" intended to draw German forces into a war of attrition and allow the Americans to break out on the western flank of the bridgehead ­ which indeed they later did.

On the German side, von Luck's initiative earned him the praise of the corps commander. Beside the flak battery, Luck had rounded up other artillery and got it pointing in the right direction. He was used to such notice. From early on in his career he had been a protégé of

• In 1942 Rommel had him brought from the Russian front to North Africa to command his 3rd Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion.

From Poland, 1939; France 1940; Russia 1941-42; North Africa 1942-43; NW Europe 1944; and finally the Eastern Front again just before the final collapse in 1945, von Luck had been in the thick of just about every campaign of the war.

Hans von Luck was born into the old Prussian officer class. An ancestor had fought against the Tartars in the 13th century; another had served Frederick the Great in the Seven Years War. Remarkably, given such a military background, his father was a naval officer, which accounts for von Luck's birth at Flensburg. But the father's career was an aberration. Hans von Luck went to army cadet school, from where he was posted to a cavalry regiment. But from this he was uprooted and sent to one of the first motorised battalions in the Reichswehr. At first he was disappointed not to be a cavalryman, but the move ensured that he was in at the birth of Germany's formidable Panzer forces.

• In Saxony in 1932 he met Erwin Rommel who trained him in infantry tactics.

In August 1939 von Luck's armoured reconnaissance regiment was on manoeuvres on the Polish frontier when it had its blank cartridges exchanged for live ammunition. At 0450 hours on September 1, it rolled over the Polish frontier to begin what would, for von Luck, be more than five-and-a-half years of almost continual fighting. By the middle of September, with the Polish armies routed, von Luck's unit was in Warsaw.

For the invasion of France and the Low Countries in the following spring, he found himself in a Panzer division commanded by Rommel. The young company commander had already made an impression on the famous general, and when, o

• On 28 May 1940, the commander of 37 Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion was killed in northern France. Over a number of more senior officers, Rommel appointed Luck to lead the unit.

• In the aftermath of Dunkirk, von Luck's battalion continued the pursuit of the French Army southwards, encompassing the surrender of Fécamp without having to bombard the picturesque resort.

Luck's third campaign began at 4am on June 22, 1941, when Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union.

• Luck's Panzer division was part of the Northern Army Group aiming for Minsk as a prelude to assaulting Moscow itself.
• Luck managed to insert a patrol into the suburbs of the Russian capital before counterattacks and the onset of winter flung the Germans back. By that time he knew that Rommel, in North Africa, was asking for him.
• Though his divisional general would not at first release him, by the spring of 1942 he was reporting to his old boss in his desert HQ.

For von Luck the fight against the British in the desert was always to be the most "sporting" contest of the war. The deep bitterness of the French campaign and the dehumanizing ethos of the Russian front, were absent. The to-and-fro nature of the struggle meant that both sides got to know each other's units ­ sometimes each other's personalities ­ quite intimately. A captured German medical officer might be "swapped" for a supply of synthetic quinine of which the British were in short supply. Towards the end of the campaign, in a Tunisian desert bivouac, a bedouin suddenly came to von Luck's tent and presented him with a letter. It was from the CO Royal Dragoons and read:

Dear Major von Luck, We have had other tasks and so were unable to keep in touch with you. The war in Africa has been decided, I'm glad to say not in your favour. I should like, therefore, to thank you and all your people, in the name of my officers and men, for the fair play with which we have fought against each other on both sides. I and my battalion hope that all of you will come out of the war safe . . .

After the close of the Tunisian campaign von Luck spent some time in Berlin before going to Normandy where, on D-Day, he was commanding a tank regiment of 21 Panzer Division near Caen. When he saw the massed parachutists and gliders of 6 Airborne Division descending on Normandy early on June 6, 1944, he longed to counter-attack at once. But his formation was forbidden to move without a direct order from Hitler, who slept in until noon. Later, after the repulse of Goodwood, he fought his way back to the Germany's Rhine frontier and was involved in some tough fighting against the Americans in the Vosges Mountains.

Had he finished his war there, his future might have been different. But

• In February 1945 his Panzergrenadiers were switched to the Eastern Front, where where he was taken prisoner by the Russians in the desperate fighting on the Oder around the fortress of Küstrin in April.
• He then faced almost five years' grim labour in the Soviet Union, first as a coalminer, then as a building worker in the Caucasus.

• Luck was released in the winter of 1949-50, but found his home town in ruins. His private life was in ruins, too.
• He had formed an attachment during the war to a girl he was not then allowed to marry, because she had a Jewish great-grandparent.
• By the time he returned from imprisonment her circumstances had changed. They remained friends but he found a new life as a coffee merchant, spending some time in Angola.
• He married and fathered three sons.
• His British Staff College visits brought him into touch with Major John Howard, whom, had his unit been allowed to move forward, he might well have driven off Pegasus Bridge in the small hours of D-Day.
• Through Howard he met the American historian and presidential biographer Stephen Ambrose who wrote a forward to Panzer Commander.

• Luck advised the Ministry of Defence on its 1979 instruction film Goodwood.
• He was then asked to lecture on the topic to the Swedish Military College.

this small neutral state regarded his July 1944 counter-attack as a classic of its kind, with a lesson for any country that might find itself subject to amphibious invasion.

• Howard and von Luck were often to be seen together, both at D-Day reunions, which initially he had been reticent about attending, and at seminars arranged by Ambrose when he was a professor at New Orleans.
• He was survived by his wife Regina and three sons.

Project

• Meyer, Hubert History of the 12th SS Hitler Youth Panzer Division Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole ; London: Greenhill, (2005).

Luck organized the defenses along the path of the Goodwood offensive (p=523)

• Hans von Luck

On 6 June 1944 the invasion of Normandy started. During the night Luck was startled by the reports of paratroopers landing in his area, and establishing a bridgehead on the east side of the Orne River. A quick attack was launched by the II Battalion, and it succeeded in disturbing the paratrooper operations, and capturing some prisoners. Luck was, however, hampered by the strict orders not to engage in major operations unless cleared to do so by high command. As the day wore on, the defenders on the coast were smashed, while 21 Panzer Division remained mostly motionless, apart from an order at 4:30 a.m. directing other elements of the unit to move against the paratroopers of the British 6th Airborne Division and thus farther away from the coast.

Around 10:30 a.m. General Erich Marcks, commander of the German LXXXIV Corps to which 21st Panzer Division was attached, ordered the entire 21st to attack east of the Orne River. This was later countermanded from 7th Army high command, ordering only Luck's detachment to attack east of Orne, while the rest of the division should attack on the west side of the river. This naturally caused much confusion and further delayed the German response. Nevertheless, at 1700 p.m. Luck attempted to break through to the Orne river bridges at Bénouville with his Schützenpanzerwagen (armoured personnel carriers), but heavy fire from the warships supporting the British paratroopers, under Major John Howard, holding the bridges drove his forces back. Added to this, more British paratroopers landed in the rear area of the Regiment, forcing Luck's II Battalion to fall back to avoid getting surrounded. This battalion lost its commander on the morning of 7 June.

On the morning of the 9 June Luck's command was designated Kampfgruppe von Luck, and in addition to the elements of 125th Panzer Grenadier Regiment already under Luck's command it consisted of Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion 21, 4th Company, Panzer Regiment 22, three batteries from Major Alfred Becker's Assault-Gun Battalion 200 and one company from Antitank Battalion 220 (88mm guns). With this force Luck was again tasked with assaulting the Orne bridges, and recapturing them from the British paratroopers. Starting one hour before dawn to avoid the worst of the British naval and aerial support, the Kampfgruppe advanced on the village of Ranville, dislodging the enemy there, but it could not penetrate the British lines to reach the bridges. The British paratroopers had been reinforced by the British 51st (Highland) Division on the evening of 8 June.

On 12 June Kampfgruppe von Luck, now further enlarged with an addition of a brigade of Nebelwerfers, successfully reclaimed the village of Sainte-Honorine, lying on an important hill overlooking the invasion beaches. A furious counterattack by a Canadian Division resulted in the Germans having to withdraw again, after fierce hand-to-hand fighting. After this final attack had been repulsed, Luck determined that the British bridgehead could not be eliminated, but due to the counterattacks launched by Kampfgruppe von Luck, the British/Canadian forces stopped any further advance in the sector, preferring to lay mines and dig themselves in. Apart from a failed German attack on 15 June, the sector was relatively quiet for the next two weeks.

With British attempts at breaking out around Caen taking place further south, Luck, holding the right flank of the German lines around Caen, did not see any major action until Operation Epsom was launched and the British 11th Armoured Division attacked the positions of 192nd Regiment on 27 June. The British armour advanced without infantry support, and was easily destroyed in the hedgerows of the area. However, some elements of the British forces managed to penetrate the western outskirts of Caen.

• Goodwood

In the beginning of July the area defended by Luck's Kampfgruppe came under the control of I SS Panzer Corps, commanded by Sepp Dietrich. Nearby was the Heavy Tank Battalion 503 equipped with Tiger I tanks. On 18 July British forces under command of Bernard Montgomery initiated Operation Goodwood, the attempt to break through the German defenses and sweep into the open plains of northern France. The offensive was opened by a massive bombardment from the 8th Airforce, followed by a naval and artillery barrage which was meant to destroy all defences in the path of the attack. On the morning of the offensive Luck was returning from a three-day leave in Paris. Arriving back on the morning of 18 July he noted has area was markedly quiet. He was informed at his command post of the heavy air raid and went forward to determine what was the situation. This was the opening of phase of Operation Goodwood. Luck states it was clear to him that a major offensive was underway. The Luftwaffe field division at the perimeter of the defensive position had been neutralized, and his Kampfgruppe positions had been hit, with the near total loss of Panzer Battalion 22 and the 1st battery of Major Becker's Assault Gun Battalion 200 had been destroyed. Though Becker's 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th batteries were still intact, there were no German forces at the point of the attack, and no action had been taken in Luck's absence. Luck set out for the front and saw a large group of British tanks rolling forward over what had been the dug in positions of I Battalion/125th Panzer Grenadier Regiment, moving to the northwest of Cagny. In the outskirts of the small village Luck came upon a Luftwaffe Flak battery of four 88mm guns, with their barrels pointed skyward. Luck ordered the commander to open fire on the flank of the British tanks. Initially the Luftwaffee officer refused, stating that his unit was for air defense only, but Luck persuaded him at pistol point to follow his clear order. Luck spent the day using the resources he had to check the gaps in the line. In the afternoon the first elements of the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler had moved up in support and the situation was somewhat stabilized.

Luck's Kampfgruppe, supported by the armour of 1st SS, held the British in check on 19 July, counterattacking on the flanks. Having suffered the loss of some 450 tanks, the British advance was checked. In the evening the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend relieved Luck's men. For his service during the Battle of Goodwood Luck was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and on August 8, 1944 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.

Assault Gun Battalion 200: Becker equipped five batteries with 10 vehicles each, composed of 4x 7.5cm PaK40 and 6x 10.5cm leFH16 each.

• Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit. Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 - 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II (en:The German Cross 1941 - 1945 History and holder Volume II) Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, 2001. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
• Keegan, John Six armies in Normandy : from D-Day to the liberation of Paris, June 6th-August 25th, 1944 New York: Viking Press (1982).

He most certainly played a major role in the battle.

• Daglish, Ian Goodwood : over the battlefield Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military (2005).
• Luck had a premonition that the British would be attacking through his sector soon, and did not wish to go on leave.
• Luck met with Sepp Dietrich, CO of 1t Panzer Corps, and was sent away on a 3 day leave as a reward. He had led his combat group with distinction for 6 weeks and his commander had put him up for the Knight's Cross. (Did he not already have this? Check Traces of War web site)
• note: Luck had moved his fiance to Paris for her safety (she was jewish), and he had friends there, Frenchmen, who would take care of her.
• Goodwood was the most important battle of Luck's career.
• 15 July Rommel inspects the defenses in the area and is satisfied.

• The personal energy and initiative of Colonel Luck were instrumental in halting the Guards.
• Advance by the Guards was blocked by the 88s Luck had positioned in Cagney.
• Luck is mentioned on page 100 of the book “Crucible at Normandy”
• Luck's headquarters was at Frenouville.

Iron Cross info

The 1939 Iron Cross Second Class was awarded practically 5,000,000 during the Second World War. 450,000 is a good estimate for the number of First Class decorations awarded. Compare these with the Knight’s Cross, whose award estimate is just over 7,300. There are even higher levels of the Knight’s Cross, including additions of the Oak Leaves (890 recipients), Oak Leaves & Swords (160 recipients), Diamonds (27), and Golden Diamonds (one to Stuka pilot Hans Ulrich Rudel). The Grand Cross went to Hermann Göring for the 1939 French Campaign. There also exists a Star to the 1939 Grand Cross. It was never awarded, but a prototype was discovered in a castle just outside Salzburg, Austria, by the Americans. It now resides in the West Point Museum, New York.

Hitler always proudly displayed the 1914 First Class he had earned on his otherwise simple uniform. For a corporal, this was a rare award. Interestingly, Hitler never bragged about having received it to anyone. In fact, he never mentioned it accept in passing. Was he modest? On the contrary. As with any story on the Iron Cross, this one has a twist. Hitler was recommended for the award by his unit commander, Lieutenant Hugo Gutmann. As the most esteemed award of the young corporal’s military career, Hitler could never talk about it. Hugo Gutmann was Jewish.

So the Iron Cross has a 1914 variant, which was awarded in the Great War, not necessarily in 1914, and there was a 1939 variant, which was awarded during the Second World War. The clasp was given

Possible other sources

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• Bernage, Georges; Leterreux, Frédéric & Wirton, Phillipe. Le Couloir de la Mort: Falaise-Argentan Bayeux: Editions Heimdal, 2007. ISBN 2-84048-217- 7.
• Bernage, Georges & Wirton, Philippe Goodwood: Normandy 1944 Bayeux: Editions Heimdal, 2006. ISBN 2-84048-189-8.
• Boniface, Jean-Michel & Jeudy, Jean-Gabriel. Scout Cars & Half-Tracks Paris: Éditions Presse Audiovisuel, 1989. ISBN: 2-85120-316-9.
• Cance, Hubert. L'Unic P-107, Un Tracteur A Travers La Guerre Steel Masters: Le Magazine des Blindes et du Modelisme Militaire, No. 39. (Histoire & Collections, Paris, Juin-Juillet, 2000.), Pp 28-32.
• Cance, Hubert Les Unic P-107 Blindés Allemands Steel Masters: Le Magazine des Blindes et du Modelisme Militaire, No. 40. (Histoire & Collections, Paris, Aout-Septembre, 2000.) Pp 26-30.
• Chamberlain, Peter & Doyle, H.L. Semi-Tracked Vehicles of the German Army 1939-45, Part 2: Leichter Schuetzenpanzerwagen, Light Armoured Personnel Carriers (SdKfz 250 & Others) Bellona Handbook No. 2. Berkshire: Bellona Publications Ltd., 1970.
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• Kortenhaus, Werner 21. Panzerdivision, 1943-45 Uelzen, Verlag Wolfgang Schneider, 2007. ISBN: 978-3-935107-11-2.
• Maerz, Dietrich The German Cross in Gold and Silver. Richmond, MI, B&D Publishing LLC, (2009) ISBN 978-0-9797969-2-0
• McKee, Alexander Caen: Anvil of Victory New York: Dorset Press (2001). Becker mentioned, built his assault guns, French chassis married to German guns. Chapter 16
• Morgan, Joe. "Unic-Fication: A Yummy French treat from H&K" Military Miniatures in Review, No. 13. (Ampersand Publishing, Delray Beach, FL, Summer 1997.) Pp. 29-31.
• Spielberger, Walter J. Beute-Kraftfahrzeuge und Panzer der Deutschen Wehrmacht. Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag, 1989.
• Vauvillier, François & Touraine, Jean-Michel L'Automobile sous l'Uniforme 1939-1940 Paris: Editions Ch. Massin, 1992. ISBN: 2-7072-0197-9.
• Zaloga, Steven & Balin D-Day Tank Warfare: Armoured Combat in the Normandy Campaign June-August, 1944 Hong Kong: Concord Publications Co., 1997. No ISBN
• Zaloga, Steven Panzers in the Gunsights: German AFVs in the ETO 1944-45 in US Army Photos Hong Kong: Concord Publications Co., 2005. ISBN 962-361-093-9.

• Jentz, Thomas Artillerie Selbstfahrlafetten Boyds, MD (2002).
• Chamberlain, Peter and H.L.Doyle Profile AFV Weapons 55 German Self-Propelled Weapons Windsor: Profile, (1973).
• Zetterling, Niklas Normandy 1944: German military organization, combat power and effectiveness Winnipeg, Man. : J.J. Fedorowicz Pub., (2000).
• de Sisto, Frank V. German Artillery at War 1939-45 vol.1

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