Horst von Usedom

class="fn" colspan="2" style="background-color: #B0C4DE; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Horst von Usedom
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Birth date	9 March 1906(1906-03-09)
Place of birth	Celle, Province of Hanover, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date	14 October 1970 (aged 64)
Place of death	Gauting near Munich, Bavaria, West Germany
Allegiance	Weimar Republic (to 1933) National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	File:War Ensign of the Reichswehr, 1919 - 1935.png Reichswehr File:Balkenkreuz.png Heer
Years of service	1925–1945
Rank	Generalmajor
Commands held	Panzer-Brigade "Kurland" 12. Panzer-Division
Battles/wars	World War II Poland Campaign Battle of France Balkan Campaign Operation Barbarossa Battle of Moscow Case Blue Courland Pocket (de)
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Horst Viktor von Usedom (9 March 1906 – 14 October 1970) was a German officer of the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht, finally Generalmajor (Major General), division leader and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves in World War II.

Life

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File:Horst von Usedom IV.png

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File:Horst von Usedom V.png

• 1906 Born as son of later Generalmajor Ewald von Usedom (1881–1973) and his wife Lilli, née Lindenberg (d. 30.6.1937)
• 1.4.1925 Joined the 10. (Preußisches) Reiter-Regiment (Züllichau)
  • later in the 2. Eskadron (later known as 2. Reiter-Schwadron)/10. (Preußisches) Reiter-Regiment (Torgau)
  • attended the Führergehilfenausbildung, the war academy for officers of the Reichswehr, officially banned by the Versailles Treaty
• 1.5.1933 Staff of the 10. Reiter-Regiment (Züllichau)
• 1.10.1934 II. Abteilung/11. Reiter-Regiment (Weimar)
• 15.10.1935 Staff of the Schützen-Regiment 1 (Gera)
• 12.10.1937 Chef der 9. (MG) Kompanie/Schützen-Regiment 1 (Weimar)
• 31.10.1939 Leader of the II. Bataillon/Schützen-Regiment 111
• 20.12.1939 Adjutant of the Schützen-Regiment 110
• 20.5.1940 Commander of the I. Bataillon/Schützen-Regiment 111
• 1.8.1940 Adjutant of the Schützen-Brigade 11
• 12.5.1941 Commander of the Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 231/11. Panzer-Division
  • His battalion was nicknamed the "Usedom Hussars", a fitting nickname, as Usedom was a cavalry officer whose ancestors had commanded a regiment of hussars (Husaren) bearing his name in 1806. He was also known to carry around a pet cocker spaniel during his campaigns in World War II. On 1 December 1941, the rest of the Abteilung, hit hard during the fighting on the Eastern Front, was dissolved and incorporated into the Kradschützen-Bataillon 61.
• 28.11.1941 Commander of the Kradschützen-Bataillon 61
  • While leading the advance of the Vorausabteilung of his Division, von Usedom encountered a numerically superior Soviet force on the retreat. He was able to exploit the element of surprise and smashed through this group, with the objective of the river crossings just beyond. The road bridge proved too damaged to be of use, but von Usedom was able to reroute his forces to the south and they succeeded in seizing the railroad bridge there intact. They were then able to establish a bridgehead over the river. With this von Usedom and his Abteilung played a key role in facilitating the rapid advance of Kampfgruppe Angern and their subsequent penetration of the Stalin Line. He was thus awarded the Knight's Cross.
• 1.4.1942 Commander of the Kradschützen-Bataillon "Großdeutschland"
  • Raised on 1 March 1942 at the Truppenübungsplatz Wandern with 5 companies and assigned to the Infanterie-Division "Großdeutschland". On January 14, 1943 renamed Panzeraufklärungs-Abteilung "Großdeutschland".
• 5.10.1942 Commander of the Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 67/26. Panzer-Division
• 3.3.1944 Führer-Reserve
• 22.5.1944 Commanded to the Panzertruppenschule (brigade commander training)
• 22.8.1944 Führer-Reserve
• 4.9.1944 Commander of the Panzer-Brigade 112
  • The 112 Panzer Brigade, which had been bled dry, was disbanded by mid-October 1944. The brigade, with the majority of its unarmored elements, was absorbed into the combat group of the 21st Panzer Division.
• 26.9.1944 Führer-Reserve
• 13.10.1944 Commander of the Panzergrenadier-Regiment 108/14. Panzer-Division/18. Armee (Courland)
• 20.3.1945 Führer-Reserve
• 21 March 1945 Leader of the Panzer-Brigade "Kurland" (other sources state in January 1945)
  • Raised in Latvia in January 1945 from armored and motorized units of the 12th Panzer Division and the 14th Panzer Division and army troops of the 16th Army. The reason was the lack of reserves after the evacuation of the 4th and 11th Panzer Divisions and the 4th SS Police Division. At first it was called the "Kurland" tank reconnaissance group. This was subordinated to the Grenadier Assault Battalion "Kurland". Only then was the brigade staff formed from the remnants of the staff of the 29th Panzer Regiment. It also commanded 2 motorized army engineer battalions and 2 tank destroyer detachments, which were equipped with around 30 Hetzer tanks. When deployed in crisis situations, the brigade was reinforced by the allocation of 8.8 Luftwaffe anti-aircraft (Flak) combat troops. The brigade was deployed as a whole at the end of February 1945 when, with the subordinate assault battalion of AOK 16, it cleaned up threatening burglaries around Itzried-Bunka, about 40 kilometers south-east of Libau, and then defended the bar. Then, at the end of April 1945, operations to support the infantry followed. The Panzer Brigade "Kurland" went into Russian captivity together with the 14th Panzer Division in the Kurland Pocket.
  • Oak Leaves: During the fighting at the Courland pocket the Soviets launched an attack aimed towards Tuckum with four rifle divisions, and succeeded in breaking through the German line. Von Usedom and his Panzer Brigade were ordered to counterattack this thrust, and they succeeded in retaking the old German line. In the process they destroyed or captured 3 assault guns, 28 infantry guns and 114 anti-tank guns. The Soviets also lost 216 prisoners and 445 dead.
• 5.4.1945 to 5.5.1945 Commanded to the 18. Divisions-Führer-Lehrgang
  • His attendance at the 18. DFL was cancelled and he was tasked mstFb (charged with deputy leadership) of the 12. Panzer-Division
• 12.4.1945 Leader of the 12. Panzer-Division/VI. Waffen-Armeekorps der SS (lett.)/16. Armee/Heeresgruppe „Kurland“

Post-war

On 8 May 1945, Generalmajor von Usedom was taken prisoner by the Soviets, from which he was not released back to his homeland until October 1955. The fate of his wife Nia von Usedom, in their house in Weimar as of 1945, could not be ascertained.

Promotions

• 1.4.1925 Fahnenjunker
• 1.4.1929 Leutnant
• 1.4.1933 Oberleutnant
• 1.4.1936 Hauptmann
• 1.4.1941 Major
  • 30.1.1942 received new rank seniority (RDA) from 1.7.1940
• 1.8.1942 Oberstleutnant
• 1943/44 Oberst with rank seniority (RDA) from 1.9.1943
• 20.4.1945 Generalmajor

Awards and decorations

• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 3rd Class for 12 years in 1937
• Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class (22 September 1939)
  • 1st Class (30 May 1940)
• Infantry Assault Badge (Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen) in Silver
• Eastern Front Medal
• Wound Badge (Verwundetenabzeichen 1939) in Black
• Cuff band "Kurland" (Ärmelband „Kurland“) in March 1945
• German Cross in Gold on 29 January 1945 as Oberst in Panzergrenadier-Regiment 108
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 31 December 1941 as Major and commander of Kradschützen-Bataillon 61
  • 809th Oak Leaves on 28 March 1945 as Oberst and commander of Panzer-Brigade "Kurland"

Further reading

• Franz Thomas: Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945, Band 1: A–K (in German), Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1998, ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6
• Walther-Peer Fellgiebel: Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile (in German), Podzun-Pallas, Wölfersheim 2000, ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6
  • English: The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches, expanded edition, 2000
• Klaus D. Patzwall / Veit Scherzer: Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941–1945 Geschichte und Inhaber, Band II (in German), Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt 2001, ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8
• Veit Scherzer: 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 (in German), Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag, Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2