Otto Hartmann

Otto Hartmann (11 September 1884 – 10 July 1952) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.

Family Otto Hartmann was born on 11 September 1884 in Munich in the Kingdom of Bavaria as the son of Generalmajor Richard Hartmann and Rose Maria, née Schönlin. He was married in 1911 to Franziska, née Steger. The couple had one daughter and one son.

Military career Royal Bavarian Army Hartmann passed out of the Bavarian Cadet Corps and entered the 10. Feldartillerie-Regiment of the Royal Bavarian Army in Erlangen as a Fähnrich (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 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 Generalmajor, 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. At the start of the Battle of France, 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 Maginot Line, fighting in France until the Armistice of 22 June 1940.

On 5 August 1940, Hartmann was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 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 (Leaders Reserve) of the OKH 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. 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: Iron Cross 2nd Class (14 November 1914) Iron Cross 1st Class (23 November 1916) Kingdom of Bavaria: Jubilee Medal of the Bavarian Army (12 March 1905) Military Merit Order, 4th class with Crown and Swords (24 June 1918) Nazi Germany: Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (18 December 1934) Wehrmacht Long Service Award, 4th to 1st Class (2 October 1936) Anschluss Medal (21 November 1938) 1939 Clasp to the Iron Cross 2nd Class 1939 Clasp to the Iron Cross 1st Class Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 August 1940 as General der Artillerie and Commanding General of XXX. Armeekorps Ottoman Empire: Liakat Medal in Silver with Sabers (May 1918) War Medal (so-called "Iron Crescent" or "Gallipoli Star") (27 January 1918) Kingdom of Romania: Order of the Crown of Romania, Grand Cross with Swords