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ABSTRACT
The German campaign against the Soviet Union is typically reconstructed from military files that offer a largely dispassionate view, recording events rather than opinions. Gaining insights into the minds of key German commanders is much more difficult and often a matter of speculation, which all too often reflect the supposition of the author rather than anything concrete about the protagonist. Yet almost every German general wrote letters home to their wives and families in which – from the surviving examples – they offered surprising frank commentaries on the conduct of their operations. One such insightful collection is by Colonel-General Erich Hoepner, the commander of Panzer Group 4 in 1941.
Notes
1 For the estimated strengths of the panzer divisions see my discussion in: David Stahel, Kiev 1941: Hitler’s Battle for Supremacy in the East (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012) pp. 323-325.
2 Walter Chales de Beaulieu, Generaloberst Erich Hoepner: Militärisches Porträt eines Panzer-Führers (Neckargemünd, 1969) pp. 191-192.
3 Franz Halder, Kriegstagebuch: Tägliche Aufzeichnungen des Chefs des Generalstabes des Heeres 1939-1942. Band III Der Russlandfeldzug bis zum Marsch auf Stalingrad (22.6.1941 – 24.9.1942), Hans-Adolf Jacobsen and Alfred Philippi (eds.), (Arbeitskreis für Wehrforschung, Stuttgart, 1964) p. 233 (15 September 1941).
4 David Stahel, Operation Typhoon: Hitler’s March on Moscow, October 1941 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012) p. 42. My book stated 450 tanks, which was true of the source cited, but subsequent research has suggested the figure was probably not more than 400 tanks between them.
5 ‘Erich Hoepner’s letters to his wife Irma’ BArch N 51-9 (6 October 1941).
6 Ibid.
7 This was Hoepner’s son Joachim (referred to as Achim in the letters), who was serving in the Sixth Army with Army Group South.
8 Commander of Panzer Group 3.
9 Marshal S. Timoshenko had in fact been transferred to the command of the Soviet South-Western Front in mid-September.
10 Commander of Army Group Centre.
11 Commander of the Fourth Army.
12 Bock had had a long-standing stomach complaint and had been largely bed-ridden from September 1940 until February 1941.
13 Leningrad.
14 Tobis Film was one of the four major film companies in the Nazi era (along with Terra Film, Bavaria Film and UFA). In 1942 all these companies were merged into a single state-controlled industry bringing an end to Tobis’ independent existence, though films continued to be released under the Tobis banner.
15 This was Hoepner’s daughter (born 1917).
16 Having reviewed the senior Germans controlling the General Government at this time, none have names starting with ‘N’. It is possible, however, that Hoepner simply meant ‘Nazis’.
17 Hoepner’s birthday was 14 September 1886.
18 Army High Command.
19 Commander of the IX Army Corps.
20 Lieutenant-General Wilhelm von Dommes (1867-1959) was a German divisional commander in the First World War and from 1932 until the death of Wilhelm II in 1941 was the administrative head of the exiled Prussian royal house.
21 Chief of staff at Panzer Group 4.
22 Commander of the Second Panzer Army.
23 Danziger Goldwasser was a registered tradename (now simply ‘Goldwasser’), which was produced from 1598 to 2009 in Danzig (Gdańsk post-1945). It is a strong (40% ABV) root and herbal liqueur.
24 Commander of Panzer Group 3.
25 In 1917 Hoepner served on the general staff of the Seventh Army, but in the summer of 1918 that changed when he became the first general staff officer (Ia) of the 105th Infantry Division and endured the final Allied offensives of the war.
26 Brauchitsch was the Commander-in-Chief of the German Army.
27 Commander of Army Group South until 1 December 1941.
28 Commander of the Sixth Army.
29 Friedrich Mathaesius (ed.), Mit Napoleon in Rußland (Bielefeld: Velhagen & Klasing, 1938).
30 Commander of the Second Army.
31 It is not exactly clear who Hoepner is referring to here. As of 1 January 1942, the last two ‘panzer groups’ on the Eastern Front were made ‘panzer armies’ (including Hoepner’s Fourth Panzer Group).
32 Oberbefehlshaber.
33 Commander of the Ninth Army.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
David Stahel
David Stahel is a Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales in Australia. He has written extensively about German operations on the Eastern Front and has recently completed a forthcoming book about Hitler’s panzer generals based on the private correspondence of panzer group commanders like Hoepner, Guderian, Reinhard and Schmidt.