1. Heinrich Eberbach was a German general during World War II who commanded the 5th Panzer Army during the Allied invasion of Normandy.
19 Facts About Heinrich Eberbach
1. 2.
Heinrich Eberbach was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.
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Heinrich Eberbach was born on 24 November 1895 in Stuttgart, in the German Empire.
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On 1 July 1914, Heinrich Eberbach joined the Army of Wurttemberg.
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On 16 October 1914, Heinrich Eberbach was wounded in his thigh by artillery shrapnel.
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In September 1915, Heinrich Eberbach was severely wounded, losing part of his nose, and was taken prisoner of war by French forces.
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In 1938 Heinrich Eberbach became commander of a Panzer regiment, in the newly formed 4th Panzer Division under General Georg-Hans Reinhardt.
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Heinrich Eberbach participated in the German Invasion of Poland in September 1939 and then in 1940 in the Battle of France.
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Heinrich Eberbach's unit supported General Hasso von Manteuffel's offensive across the Meuse River in May Shortly after the start of Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, he was assigned as commander of the 5th Panzer Brigade in Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg's XXIV Panzer Corps.
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Heinrich Eberbach demonstrated his flexibility as a troop leader by detaching two battalions to assist the 3rd Panzer Division's efforts in the same area of operations near Bryansk, despite serving under a different division.
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Kampfgruppe Heinrich Eberbach's losses had been light: 6 tanks knocked out, 34 men killed and 121 wounded.
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In late November 1942 Heinrich Eberbach was appointed commander of the XLVIII Panzer Corps that had just been overrun in the initial days of Operation Uranus, near the midpoint of the Battle of Stalingrad.
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Heinrich Eberbach then became Inspector of the Armored Troops in the Home Army, was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and promoted to lieutenant general.
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In November 1943, Heinrich Eberbach became commander of troops around Nikopol and fought in battles around Zhitomir in the Soviet Union.
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In early 1944 Heinrich Eberbach was promoted to the rank of General der Panzertruppe.
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Heinrich Eberbach was directed to lead this force in the counterattack through Mortain toward Avranches that was intended to cut off the Allied forces which had broken out of Normandy.
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Heinrich Eberbach was later presented to Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks.
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Heinrich Eberbach participated in the work of the US Army Historical Division, where, under the guidance of Franz Halder, German generals wrote World War II operational studies for the US Army, first as POWs and then as employees.
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Heinrich Eberbach was the father of the naval officer Heinz-Eugen Heinrich Eberbach, commander of U-967 and U-230 during World War II.