Arthur Hauffe


Ernst Fritz Arthur Hauffe was a German general during World War II and commanded the XIII Army Corps. He was recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.

Life

Arthur was the son of Reich railway official and stationmaster Friedrich Moritz Hauffe and his wife Emma Alwine, née Schellbach. He had seven siblings.
After achieving his Abitur in Altenburg, Hauffe joined the 2nd Upper Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 171 as an officer candidate on 25 April 1912 and was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant in December 1913. With the outbreak of the First World War, he and his regiment were sent to the front. From 24 June 1915, Hauffe served as battalion adjutant in the Replacement Infantry Regiment No. 29, the former Regiment "von Rath" under Leopold Richard Gustav Ludwig von Rath, now under Colonel Wilhelm Friedrich Alberti. There, he served as deputy regimental adjutant from 22 November 1915, and as regimental adjutant from 29 November 1915. In this position, he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in January 1917. As such, he was transferred to the General Staff of the Commander-in-Chief East on 7 December 1917 where he was appointed orderly officer. From 1919 to 1935, he served in the Reichswehr, both in the infantry and cavalry. He also served in the Reichswehr Ministry and received disguised general staff training beginning on 1 December 1920.

Role in German defeats in northern Ukraine

Hauffe was General of Infantry during the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive. The Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive was a major Red Army operation to force the German troops from Ukraine and Eastern Poland which was launched in mid-July 1944. During this military engagement, General Hauffe failed to prepare for the withdrawal of his troops when they were threatened by encirclement. He also failed to show up at headquarters during the final phase of the offensive from 20 July 1944 to 22 July 1944 thus forcing Lieutenant General Wolfgang Lange to assume command of the XIII Army Corps. His inaction led to the encirclement of his troops in the Brody pocket, where they were destroyed. He was captured by Soviet troops on 22 July 1944 and died later the same day when he stepped on a land mine.

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