Rudolf Sieckenius

Rudolf Alexander Karl Wilhelm Sieckenius (18 August 1896 – 29 April 1945) was a German Generalmajor during World War II who commanded the 16 Panzer Division during Operation Avalanche (Salerno Landings) in September 1943. Despite his widely acknowledged success, which almost resulted in the Allies being pushed back into the sea, Sieckenius was made a scapegoat and sidelined until his death during the Battle of Berlin, when he commanded the 391st Wehrmacht security division.

Early life and World War I

Sieckenius was born in 1896 in Ludwigsthal, Silesia, as the second of nine siblings. His parents were Alexander Sieckenius, a businessman, and Olga Camilla Luise Rittner, granddaughter of Saxon politician Carl August Rittner. Through maternal lineage, he was a cousin to General Heirnrich von Prittwitz und Gaffron, whose grandmother, Maria Camilla Rittner, was a sibling of Sieckenius's grandfather.

Due to investment errors, his father's business deteriorated and eventually declared bankruptcy in 1913. Despite the reported debts amounting to 340,000 Reichsmarks, Sieckenius and his brothers continued their costly Gymnasium education in Bunzlau until 1914, when the war interrupted the summer vacation. 18-year-old Sieckenius and his elder brother Otto-Heinrich joined up immediately on 22 August 1914 as Kriegsfreiwilliger, both enlisting in the Feldartillerie Regiment Nr.5, with which he served in the Russian front. In November 1915, he was transferred as corporal to the 154th Infantry Regiment in France, serving successively as a platoon leader, company commander, and battalion adjutant. One of his comrades was Rudolf Carnap, who mentioned a wounded Sieckenius in his war diary:

We are both sitting in a shell hole. He carefully bandages me while I wave with my raised arm to Riedel, who is lying in a hole to my left, shooting. But he doesn't see it. If I'm not mistaken, I also saw the younger Sieckenius running around with his head bandaged. (May 8, 1917, Battle of Winterberg)

After Germany's defeat, Sieckenius volunteered to join Freikorps Regiment Graf Yorck of the Border Guard (Grenzschutz). He did not remain in the 100,000-man Heer but was discharged in October 1919 with the rank of Leutnant der Reserve.

Between the Wars

On 29 April 1920, Sieckenius joined the police force where he served for fourteen years in Elberfeld and Wuppertal. According to his sister, during the difficult years between the wars, Sieckenius became the main support for the family. His deep sense of responsibility towards his parents may have been the reason he never married.

There is not much information about this period of his life; only a few details can be gleaned from newspapers and archives. A keen sportsman, Sieckenius became the chairman of “Elberfeld-Barmen Police Sports Club” in 1923, attended physical fitness and riding training schools, and often appeared in local newspapers on equestrian events.

In 1926 police Oberleutnant Sieckenius came under criticism by the Social Democratic Party for singing "We don't need a Jewish republic!" in the street. This line comes from the infamous Ehrhardt-Lied sung wherever people wanted to demonstrate a nationalistic and anti-republican stance. However, Sieckenius did not join any political party according to his 1933 questionnaire.

In 1934 Sieckenius transferred back to the army as a cavalry captain. On creation of the armored troops in late 1935, he transferred into the Panzer branch and was appointed a company commander in Panzer-Regiment 2 under his cousin Heirnrich von Prittwitz und Gaffron. After a further year as Major beim Regiments-Stab (major in the regimental headquarter), he was appointed to command the first battalion of the newly-formed Panzer-Regiment 15 at Sagen. In November 1938 Sieckenius was transferred to command of the 66th Panzer Battalion (Panzer-Abteilung 66) based in Eisenach.

World War II

At the outset of the war Sieckenius served in the 2nd Light Division and participated in the polish campaign. On September 15, he was awarded the first Iron Cross of the division as the commander of Panzer-Abteilung 66. Following the campaign, the 2nd Light Division was reformed as the 7th Panzer Division under General Erwin Rommel. Oberstleutnant Sieckenius remained in command of a Panzer battalion and took part in the Battle of France.He received wound on the right leg on 18 May 1940 after days of intensive fighting without proper food and sleep, which was vividly accounted in his own combat report. He returned to his battalion in August 1940 and remained in France until February 1941, when it was placed in reserve and returned to Germany.

From May 1941 Sieckenius commanded Panzer-Regiment 2 of 16th Panzer Division under Generalmajor Hube, with which he took part in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. After Battle of Uman, on August 12, the 16th Panzer Division and the 1st SS Panzer Division advanced side by side towards the Black Sea port of Nikolayev. Despite being cut off from main forces, Sieckenius and his men engaged in an unprecedented three-day battle against the Soviet forces, eventually capturing Nikolayev on August 16, seizing the first Black Sea port for Germany. This victory earned him the Knight's Cross, making him the second member of the regiment to receive this honor, following Graf von Strachwitz.

On 17 December 1941 Sieckenius was promoted to Oberst, with seniority to date back from 1 February 1941. On 12 April 1942, he received the following assessment from General of the Infantry Gustav von Wietersheim, commander of the XIV Panzer Corps: ''"Particularly valuable personality as a man and soldier. Exemplary tank commander."''

Stalingrad pocket

In mid-May 1942, the German offensive resumed. By the time of the Battle of Kalach in early August, the 16th Panzer Division had already destroyed 1,000 tanks on the Eastern Front, mostly credited to Sieckenius’regiment.

On 23 August, the 16th Panzer Division carried out a 60-kilometer assault directly to the Volga River, with Kampfgruppe Sieckenius as the armored spearhead. By 6:35 p.m., the leading tanks of the division had reached the western bank of the Volga, north of Stalingrad - marking the first time German forces had arrived at this fateful river.

By November 1942, most of the 16th Panzer Division units had been trapped in Stalingrad. In anticipation of Operation Donnerschlag, Oberst Sieckenius was given command of all the operational armored vehicles remaining in the pocket (around 100) to form the breakout spearhead. Hitler and the OKW, however, had forbidden the breakout attempt. Operation Donnerschlag was called off.

On 18 January, General Hube, now commander of XIV Panzer Corps, received an unexpected evacuation order from the Don Army Group, ostensibly to reorganize the supplies for the 6th Army. Hube seized the opportunity to evacuate a few individuals: his orderly and his clerk, his Chief of Staff Colonel Hans-Jürgen Dingler, and Rudolf Sieckenius. At 9:30 a.m. on 20 January, the Don Army Group headquarters received a telegram confirming Sieckenius' arrival. Two days later, no more planes landed in the pocket.

Reflecting on the events, one of Sieckenius' subordinate battalion commanders, Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven, remarked, "Sometimes he was inevitably nervous and gruff, but at heart, he was a caring superior. Stalingrad demanded terrible sacrifices from his men, and he endured immense suffering because of it." When Loringhoven met his commander outside the encirclement for the first time, Sieckenius embraced him with "tears welling up in his eyes".

Salerno to Termoli

On 5 March 1943, Sieckenius was appointed commander of the new 16th Panzer Division, which was reorganized in France after its destruction in Stalingrad. He was promoted to Generalmajor on 1 June 1943 and led his division to Italy in the same month.

The 16th Panzer Division performed adequately in Italy for six months between June and November 1943, seeing action at Salerno, Naples and Termoli before being sent back to the Eastern Front.

According to Major Udo von Alvensleben, the divisional Intelligence Officer, it was their commanding general Traugott Herr who made Sieckenius a scapegoat for Salerno and Termoli. General Sieckenius had a leadership style that sometimes clashed with that of his opportunist superiors. On 13 September 1943, for no good reason, 10th Army commander Heinrich von Vietinghoff came to believe that the invaders were about to re-embark and sent this misinformation to Berlin, and General Herr promptly ordered the 16th Panzer Division to launch a counterattack. Only Sieckenius remained doubtful; he and his staff did not believe in the enemy's retreat. He argued that a full-scale counterattack would only lead to meaningless loss of life and ammunition, and he formally protested against Herr's directive. Nevertheless, Herr ordered the division to advance towards the coast. Initially successful, the counterattack was soon halted by devastating enemy naval fire.

In early October 1943, the Allies made a sudden landing at Termoli, drawing intense concern from Hitler. Field Marshal Kesselring ordered the 16th Panzer Division to march over 120 kilometers to retake the port at all costs. General von Vietinghoff objected this deployment and put off Kesselring's order for one day. Compounding the situation, heavy rain and inadequate petrol supplies—due to a shortsighted quartermaster—further delayed the division. The exhausted troops arrived at Termoli 24 hours later than planned, ultimately failing to repel the enemy landing.

The defeat at Termoli drew direct attention from Hitler, causing many panicked generals to hastily shift the blame onto Sieckenius, despite his relatively minor role in the failure. General Richard Heidrich, the commander of the 1st Parachute Division, criticized the 16th Panzer Division's command so strongly that an enraged Sieckenius considered legal action against him.

On 7 November 1943, Sieckenius was relieved of his command and placed in the " Reserve of Higher Commanders." He was also forced to take a training course for division commanders, which was an insult to a general who had already led a division in combat. After completing the course, he was granted a 40-day home leave to Bunzlau. However, tragically, his parents had both passed away in the preceding month.

Clash with Schörner

Sieckenius did not receive another formal command until 21 May 1944, when he was assigned commander of the 263rd Infantry Division under Army Group North.

In the summer of 1944, the division was badly mauled and suffered massive casualties during the heavy soviet offensive in Latvia. Faced with orders from his superiors forbidding any retreat, Sieckenius was compelled to take extreme measures. On one occasion, he held his soldiers at gunpoint, insisting that if they ran out of ammunition, they would have to fight with stones rather than fall back.

Yet, this was not enough to satisfy the Army Group Commander Ferdinand Schörner. On 9 August 1944, the tenth day of almost non-stop intense fighting, Schörner, known for his brutality and harsh disciplinary measures against his own troops, showed up at the 263rd Division HQ. He harshly demanded that Sieckenius push his exhausted soldiers to hold their positions for once.

Sieckenius pointed out that the division had always fulfilled its duty, yet the soldiers's strength was waning. He emphasized the urgent need of soldiers for an hour's rest, stating that mere encouragement was no longer effective. Schörner, unmoved by this protest, immediately relieved him of his command.

In September 1944, Generalmajor Sieckenius was reassigned as commander of the rear-area 391.Sicherungs-Division, which was then engaged in constructing defences near Warsaw. It marked a considerable demotion for a former Panzer-Division commander.

Final Days

From November 1944 to January 1945 the 391st Division under Sieckenius was on anti-partisan duty in the Lowicz area and built up the Bzura-Rawka position. This was followed by repelling the Russian offensive from the Baranow bridgehead and retreating via Kolo, Wreschen and Posen to Lissa and from there to the Oder Front.

In the last weeks of the war, the Division HQ was situated on an estate near Frankfurt an der Oder, presumably Gut Bomsdorf, owned by the von Kunow family. General Sieckenius left a lasting impression on his hosts. Years after the war, his landlady wrote to his sister Annemarie:

With several conversations, I came to appreciate your brother. He was an honest, reliable, and fair man with a remarkably gentle chivalry—a pleasant surprise after hosting the SS for six months.
He borrowed books from my bookshelf, and through his reading, I learned more about him. My children and I developed a genuine fondness for this very reserved man."

In late April, the 391st Division, part of the Ninth Army, found itself hopelessly surrounded in the Halbe Pocket near Berlin. Amidst the chaos, where organization and command had utterly collapsed, Generalmajor Sieckenius "once again showed himself to everyone as the exemplary, brave commander". On April 29, 1945, when Army Commander General Theodor Busse had already fled with heavy Panzers to save his own skin, Sieckenius stayed with his men and organized the remaining armoured cars and troops for a break out. They managed to break through Halbe and advance into the forests south of Lake Teupitz, where they encountered an ambush by Soviet tanks and anti-tank guns.

One of his officers recounted the events in a post-war letter:

Towards the evening of a Sunday (29 April 1945 was Sunday), I can no longer recall the exact date, General Sikenius(sic) and General von Roden organized all the units in and around Halbe to a breakout attempt...After marching for about two hours, the spearhead was attacked by some Russian tanks which fiercely resisted. In the midst of fighting, General Sikenius left his SPW and personally attack the enemy tank with a Panzerfaust in the forest.

He then suffered a severe abdominal wound and, as a staff officer who had remained with him witnessed, chose to take his own life. This occurred in the early hours of April 30.

We felt we were safe and proceeded north along the road (south of Lake Teupitz, west of the Autobahn) into the forest. Suddenly, we encountered tanks and anti-tank guns awaiting. We were caught in intense fire and had to jumped out. Your brother jumped to the right onto a forest clearing, while I went left. More insane enemy fire. I was wounded again and rolled away. Suddenly I heard your brother calling my name. I crawled towards him. Still a few steps away, I saw him shoot himself in the head with his pistol. He had a serious stomach injury. I tried to recover some of his belongings, but intense fire resumed in that area. Then the Russians attacked and we had to retreat. Believe me, there was nothing more that could be done. ..
He had always said, 'If I get wounded, I will shoot myself.' He left the question of falling into captivity without injury unanswered.

May I also tell you that I feel he foresaw his end? He did not want to start over; he said so himself in his final days. He knew he was already at his peak.

Later, while in a POW camp, this staff officer heard that local villagers had buried a general, who must be Sieckenius. He was laid to rest in a mass grave at today's Kriegsgräberstätte Teupitz.

Personal life

Sieckenius never married and was survived by two brothers and four sisters. Brazilian computer scientist Clarisse Sieckenius de Souza is his grand-niece.

He was called 'Lothar' by his family.

He once owned a mini dachshund, a tiny female, yet he called her 'Löwe (Lion).'

During the occupation of France in 1940/41, Sieckenius and his staff were quartered at a castle near Paris, where he often went horseback riding with the owners of the residence. After he had left, a filly was born, and the French named her 'Siecki' out of friendship for him.Annemarie Sieckenius: Letters to Ronald Hirst, dated 1967, Hoover Institution

Awards

*Eastern Medal
*Wound Badge in Silver
*Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 17 September 1941 as ''Oberstleutnant'' and commander of Panzer-Regiment 2

References

Citations

Bibliography

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sieckenius, Rudolf
1896 births
1945 deaths
Major generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht)
German Army personnel of World War I
Military personnel from the Province of Silesia
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
German Army personnel killed in World War II