Fritz-Hubert Gräser

Fritz-Hubert Gräser
Fritz-Hubert Gräser
	File:GraeserFritzHubert.jpg Fritz-Hubert Gräser
Born	3 January 1888
Died	4 November 1960 (aged 72)
Place of birth	Frankfurt (Oder), Kingdom of Prussia
Place of death	Göttingen, Germany
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918); Weimar Republic (to 1933); Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Wehrmacht
Years of service	1907–1945
Rank	General der Panzertruppe
Battles/wars	World War I; World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Fritz-Hubert Gräser (3 January 1888 – 4 November 1960) was a German officer. Having served in World War I, he was a general during World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Awards

Iron Cross (1914)
- 2nd Class (16 September 1914)^[1]
- 1st Class (9 October 1916)^[1]
Wound Badge (1914)
- in Black
Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
Wehrmacht Long Service Award, 4th to 1st Class
Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class (24 September 1939)^[1]
- 1st Class (23 October 1939)^[1]
Wound Badge (1939)
- in Silver
- in Gold
Infantry Assault Badge in Bronze
German Cross in Gold on 8 February 1942 as Oberst in Infanterie-Regiment 29^[2]
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
- Knight's Cross on 19 July 1940 Oberst and commander of the Infanterie-Regiment 29 (mot.)^[3]
- 517th Oak Leaves on 26 June 1944 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 3. Panzergrenadier-Division^[4]
- 154th Swords on 8 May 1945 as als General der Panzertruppe and commanding officer of the 4. Panzerarmee^[5]^{[Notes 1]}
Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht (9 September 1944)

Wehrmachtbericht reference

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
9 September 1944 (addendum)	Im Weichselbrückenkopf, westlich Baranow, haben die unter dem Oberbefehl des Generals der Panzertruppen Balck, und dem Befehl der Generale der Panzertruppen Breith und Gräser sowie des Generals der Infanterie Recknagel stehenden Truppen im vergangenen Monat den Durchbruch massierter sowjetischer Kräfte vereitelt und den feindlichen Brückenkopf durch erfolgreiche Gegenangriffe eingeengt.^[7]	In the Vistula bridgehead west of Baranov, troops under the command in chief of General of Panzer Troops Balck, and commanded by the Generals of Panzer Troops Breith and Gräser as well as the General of the Infantry Recknagel prevented the break out last month of massed Soviet forces and narrowed the enemy bridgehead by counterattacks successfully.

Notes

↑ Fritz-Hubert Gräser's nomination by the troop was received by the Heerespersonalamt (HPA—Army Personnel Office) on 29 April 1945. General Ernst Maisel noted: "I approve the nomination! 30 April". The nomination list for the higher grades of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross only notes the nomination entry date as 29 April 1945. There is no indication that the award was granted. The paperwork was not finalized by the end of the war. The Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) claims that the award was presented in accordance with the Dönitz-decree. This is illegal according to the Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) and lacks legal justification. The sequential number "154" and presentation date were assigned by the AKCR.^[6]

References

Citations

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Thomas 1997, p. 212.
↑ Patzwall and Scherzer 2001, p. 146.
↑ Fellgiebel 200, p. 200.
↑ Fellgiebel 200, p. 85.
↑ Fellgiebel 200, p. 48.
↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 134.
↑ Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, p. 237.

Bibliography

Berger, Florian (2000). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5.
Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 - 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II. Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
Schaulen, Fritjof (2003). Eichenlaubträger 1940 - 1945 Zeitgeschichte in Farbe I Abraham - Huppertz (in German). Selent, Germany: Pour le Mérite. ISBN 3-932381-20-3.
Scherzer, Veit (2007) (in German). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives]. Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 3-7648-2299-6.
Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, 1. Januar 1944 bis 9. Mai 1945 (in German). München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3.

External links

Fritz-Hubert Gräser @ Lexikon der Wehrmacht

Military offices
Preceded by none	Commander of 3. Panzergrenadier-Division 1 March 1943 – March 1944	Succeeded by Generalmajor Hans Hecker
Preceded by General der Panzertruppen Walther Nehring	Commander of XLVIII Panzer Corps 19 August 1944 – 20 September 1944	Succeeded by General der Panzertruppen Maximilian Reichsfreiherr von Edelsheim
Preceded by General der Panzertruppen Hermann Balck	Commander of 4. Panzer-Armee 21 September 1944 – 8 May 1945	Succeeded by none

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[7] Fritz-Hubert Gräser's nomination by the troop was received by the Heerespersonalamt (HPA—Army Personnel Office) on 29 April 1945. General Ernst Maisel noted: "I approve the nomination! 30 April". The nomination list for the higher grades of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross only notes the nomination entry date as 29 April 1945. There is no indication that the award was granted. The paperwork was not finalized by the end of the war. The Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) claims that the award was presented in accordance with the Dönitz-decree. This is illegal according to the Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) and lacks legal justification. The sequential number "154" and presentation date were assigned by the AKCR.^[6]

[Thomas_p212-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Thomas 1997, p. 212.

[2] Patzwall and Scherzer 2001, p. 146.

[3] Fellgiebel 200, p. 200.

[4] Fellgiebel 200, p. 85.

[5] Fellgiebel 200, p. 48.

[6] Scherzer 2007, p. 134.

[8] Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, p. 237.

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