Otto Hartmann (11 September 1884 – 10 July 1952) was a German general in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Family

Otto Hartmann was born on 11 September 1884 in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

in the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

as the son of ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

'' Richard Hartmann and Rose Maria, ''née'' Schönlin. He was married in 1911 to Franziska, ''née'' Steger. The couple had one daughter and one son.German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), Personalakte von Otto Hartmann, BArch PERS 6/181

Military Career

Royal Bavarian Army

Hartmann passed out of the Bavarian Cadet Corps and entered the ''10. Feldartillerie-Regiment'' of the

Royal Bavarian Army The Bavarian Army () was the army of the Electorate (1682–1806) and then Kingdom (1806–1918) of Bavaria. It existed from 1682 as the standing army of Bavaria until the merger of the military sovereignty () of Bavaria into that of the German ...

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

as a ''

Fähnrich Fähnrich () is an officer candidate rank in the Austrian Bundesheer and German Bundeswehr. The word comes from an older German military title, (flag bearer), and first became a distinct military rank in Germany on 1 January 1899. Howeve ...

'' (officer candidate) on 6 July 1903. He was commissioned a ''Leutnant'' on 8 March 1905. He was promoted to ''Oberleutnant'' on 28 October 1912 and sent to the Bavarian War Academy on 1 October 1913 for general staff training. Hartmann's course of instruction was interrupted by the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and he returned to his regiment in the field on 8 August 1914. On 24 August 1914, he was assigned as an aide-de-camp on the staff of the Bavarian 5th Field Artillery Brigade and then from 16 September 1914 as 2nd adjutant of the 5th Bavarian Infantry Division. He was promoted to ''

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

'' on 14 January 1916 and on 19 June 1916 he was sent to the

1st Bavarian Landwehr Division The 1st Bavarian Landwehr Division (''1. Bayerische Landwehr-Division'') was a unit of the Bavarian Army, part of the Imperial German Army, in World War I. The division was formed on August 21, 1914, as the "Reinforced Bavarian Landwehr Division" ...

to serve as the division's 2nd General Staff Officer. On 11 September 1917, he was sent to the Ottoman Empire and tasked as an Ottoman general staff major, first on the general staff of the

Yildirim Army Group The Yıldırım Army Group or Thunderbolt Army Group of the Ottoman Empire or Army Group F (German: ''Heeresgruppe F'') was an Army Group of the Ottoman Army during World War I. While being an Ottoman unit, it also contained the German Asia Cor ...

, also called Army Group F, and then from 25 November 1917 on the general staff of the Ottoman 6th Army. From 21 February to 13 May 1918, he was on the general staff of the Ottoman XIII Army Corps. On 4 June 1918, Hartmann was assigned to the general staff of the Ottoman Eastern Army Group as ''Oberquartiermeister''. On 25 October 1918, he was sent back to the Western Front in France and on 1 November he became 3rd General Staff Officer on the general staff of the

XV Royal Bavarian Reserve Corps The XV Royal Bavarian Reserve Corps / XV Bavarian RK () was a corps level command of the Royal Bavarian Army, part of the German Empire, German German Army (German Empire), Army, in World War I. History The Corps was formed on 1 September 1914 ...

Interwar Years

After the end of World War I, Hartmann remained in service in the ''

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' (; ) was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first two years of Nazi Germany. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

'', serving primarily as a staff officer. On 26 September 1919, he received a backdated Patent as ''Hauptmann'' of 24 December 1914. In May 1920 he was assigned as a staff officer on the staff of ''Wehrkreiskommando VII'' (Military District Command VII) in Munich. On 1 October 1921, he was sent to the staff of the City Commandant of Munich and in the following year to the staff of the Reichswehr's 7th Division. On 1 February 1922, his seniority date as ''Hauptmann'' in the ''Reichshwehr'' was fixed at 8 November 1914. On 1 October 1922, Hartmann was transferred to the ''7. (Bayerisches) Artillerie-Regiment'' as a battery commander. From 16 October 1924, he was commanded to the staff of the 7th Division. While remaining in his assignment to the 7th Division, he was transferred on 1 April 1925 to the staff of Group Command 2. On 1 February 1926, he was promoted to ''Major'', and on 1 October 1926, he was transferred to the

Ministry of the Reichswehr The Ministry of the Reichswehr () was the defence ministry of Germany from 1919 to 1938 during the Weimar Republic and early Nazi Germany periods. It was responsible for the '' Reichswehr'' under the leadership of the Minister of Defence and base ...

, where he served as an intelligence and counterintelligence officer. On 1 November 1930, he was promoted to ''

Oberstleutnant () (English: Lieutenant Colonel) is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, ...

''. Hartmann was transferred to the staff of the ''7. (Bayerisches) Artillerie-Regiment'' on 1 October 1931 but one year later returned to the intelligence section of the Ministry of the Reichswehr. In this capacity, he underwent preparation for

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

duties and on 1 April 1933 he was promoted to ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...

'' and assigned as military attaché at the German Embassy in Moscow. His duties included gathering information on the Soviet Army, but also facilitating the secret

cooperation Cooperation (written as co-operation in British English and, with a varied usage along time, coöperation) takes place when a group of organisms works or acts together for a collective benefit to the group as opposed to working in competition ...

between the Reichswehr and the Soviet Army prior to German rearmament. On 30 September 1935, Hartmann's activity in Moscow came to an end and he passed on his responsibilities to his successor Ernst-August Köstring, who took over the position on 1 October.Manfred Kehring: "Die Wiedereinrichtung des deutschen militärischen Attachédienstes nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg (1919-1933)", Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1966, pp. 227ff. Hartmann returned from the USSR in October 1935. Initially placed at the disposal of the Supreme Command of the Army, he was named ''Artillerie-Kommandeur 1'' on 15 October 1935. On 1 April 1936, he was promoted to ''

'', and later in the year on 12 November 1936 given command of the 7th Infantry Division. On 1 March 1938, he was promoted to ''

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

''.

World War II

With the 26 August 1939 mobilization of the Wehrmacht for World War II, Hartmann was given command of the newly-formed XXX. Armeekorps. The corps was assigned to Army Detachment A on the

Lower Rhine Lower Rhine (, ; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Bonn in Germany and the North Sea at Hook of Holland in the Netherlands, including the '' Nederrijn'' () within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta; alternat ...

along the border with the Netherlands, and later to the

1st Army First Army may refer to: China * New 1st Army, Republic of China * First Field Army, a Chinese Communist Party unit in the Chinese Civil War * 1st Group Army, People's Republic of China Germany * 1st Army (German Empire), a World War I field Army ...

along the

Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name * Sarr Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player * Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist * Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), E ...

front opposed to the

Maginot Line The Maginot Line (; ), named after the Minister of War (France), French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by French Third Republic, France in the 1930s to deter invas ...

. On 1 April 1940, Hartmann was promoted to ''

General der Artillerie (English language, en: General of the artillery) may mean: A rank of three-star rank, three-star General of the branch, general, comparable to modern armed forces OF-8 grade, in the Imperial German Army and its contingency armies of Prussian A ...

'' and formally named commanding general of the corps.German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), Generalskartei von Otto Hartmann, BArch PERS 6/299795 At the start of the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

, the corps initially remained on the defensive, with the goal of tying down French forces, and then from 12 June 1940 commenced offensive operations against the

, fighting in France until the

Armistice of 22 June 1940 The Armistice of 22 June 1940, sometimes referred to as the Second Armistice at Compiègne, was an agreement signed at 18:36 on 22 June 1940 near Compiègne, France by officials of Nazi Germany and the French Third Republic. It became effective a ...

. On 5 August 1940, Hartmann was decorated with the

in recognition of his command's performance. In the meantime, the corps had been transferred first to occupied Poland and then, in January 1941, to Bulgaria. Due to serious illness after a reaction to a typhus immunization, Hartmann was hospitalized in early 1941 and thus left the corps before the start of the campaign against Greece. He was transferred to the ''

Führerreserve The (“Leaders Reserve” or "Reserve for Leaders") was set up in the German Armed Forces during World War II in 1939 as a pool of temporarily unoccupied high-ranking military officers awaiting new assignments. The various military branches ...

'' (Leaders Reserve) of the

OKH The (; abbreviated OKH) was the high command of the Army of Nazi Germany. It was founded in 1935 as part of Adolf Hitler's rearmament of Germany. OKH was ''de facto'' the most important unit within the German war planning until the defeat ...

on 9 May 1941. At the end of 1942 he was cleared for duty and he was named Commanding General of Security Troops and Commander in Army Area A on 1 January 1943. On 17 September 1943 he was again transferred to the ''Führerreserve''. From February 1944, he served as commander of the Special Staff Hartmann under the Supreme Command Southwest (''Oberbefehlshaber Südwest'') and

Army Group C Army Group C () was an army group of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. In its first deployment between 1939 and 1941, its main assignment was the defense of the Franco-German border during the Phony War and the Western Campaign, after whi ...

. On 2 May 1945, Hartmann went into Allied captivity.

Later years

Hartmann remained in Allied captivity until 4 Januar 1947. He died on 10 July 1952 in Miesbach, Bavaria.

Decorations and awards

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

: **

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

2nd Class (14 November 1914) ** Iron Cross 1st Class (23 November 1916) *

: ** Jubilee Medal of the Bavarian Army (12 March 1905) ** Military Merit Order, 4th class with Crown and Swords (24 June 1918) *

: **

Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (), commonly referred to as the Hindenburg Cross or the German WWI Service Cross, was established by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, President of the German Weimar Republic, by an order dated 13 July ...

(18 December 1934) **

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a List of military decorations of the Third Reich, military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March 1936, Adolf ...

, 4th to 1st Class (2 October 1936) **

Anschluss Medal The ''Anschluss'' Commemorative Medal () was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded during the interwar period, and the first in a series of German Occupation Medals, Occupation Medals. Description Instituted on 1 May 1938, the medal commemorated ...

(21 November 1938) ** 1939

Clasp to the Iron Cross Clasp, clasper or CLASP may refer to: * Book clasp, fastener for a book cover * Folding clasp, a device used to close a watch strap * Lobster clasp, fastener for jewellery * Wrist clasp, a dressing accessory * Medal bar, an element in militar ...

2nd Class ** 1939 Clasp to the Iron Cross 1st Class **

on 5 August 1940 as ''

'' and Commanding General of XXX. Armeekorps *

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

: **

Liakat Medal The Liakat Medal () translated as "Medal of Merit," was a decoration of the Ottoman Empire established in 1890. It could be awarded in two classes, gold or silver. The medal was a common military decoration of the late Ottoman Empire, through the ...

in Silver with Sabers (May 1918) ** War Medal (so-called "Iron Crescent" or "Gallipoli Star") (27 January 1918) *

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

Order of the Crown of Romania The Order of the Crown of Romania is a chivalric order set up on 14 March 1881 by King Carol I of Romania to commemorate the establishment of the Kingdom of Romania. It was awarded as a state order until the end of the Romanian monarchy in 1947. ...

, Grand Cross with Swords

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * Scherzer, Veit: ''Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945. Die Inhaber des Eisernen Kreuzes von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündete Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchivs''. 2. Auflage, Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis/Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2, p. 220. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartmann, Otto 1884 births 1952 deaths German Army generals of World War II Generals of Artillery (Wehrmacht) German Army personnel of World War I German prisoners of war in World War II Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Military personnel from Munich Military personnel from the Kingdom of Bavaria Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the Silver Liakat Medal Reichswehr personnel