Harpe, Josef.

Harpe, Josef, born 21-09-1887, in Buer, Recklinghausen, as the son of a bailiff, Josef Harpe’s interest in the military was cultivated early on. Josef joined the Prussian Army on 28-09-1909, age 22, as Fahnenjunker in the Infanterie-Regiment „Vogel von Falckenstein“, 7. Westfälisches, Nr. 56 in Wesel and was transferred to the 56^th Infantry Regiment  in 1911. Here he was promoted to Leutnant on March 20 and participated with this Regiment in World War I, on the Western front. In the battle for Soissons and Reims, Harpe was wounded on 02-06-1918 and landed in hospital. By the end of World War I he held the position of company commander and was awarded with the Iron Cross I and II Class and the Wounded Badge in Black After the war Harpe remained in the Reichswehr military service and rose steadily, but not spectacularly, through the ranks. In 1931, under the pseudonym Direktor Hacker, he held a leading position in the secret German-Russian Tank-School, Organisation Kama in Kazan, Soviet Union. Led by German instructors, the school’s curriculum was based around lectures, war games, and technological testing. Soviet and German students studied and worked side by side; German officers in fact often wore the Soviet uniform while at the school, to show solidarity with their fellow officers. Among the German alumni of the school were many of the most famous practitioners of mobile warfare during World War II, such as Heinz Wilhelm “Schneller Heinz” “Fast Heinz” Guderian,   Erich “von Lewinski”, “The Pisspot Strategist” Manstein,   Paul Ludwig “Ewald” von Kleist   Kleist on the right with his hand in his blouse and Otto Moritz Walter, call sign Walter Model.

This system of education proved highly innovative. During seven years of operation, the school produced a number of extremely important technological and tactical innovations. Among the new technologies were a new tank chassis system, superior guns, and – perhaps most importantly- a radio that could function within a tank. Prior to Kama, tank officers would use flags to communicate with their units. The implementation of radios in tanks gave the Germans a tremendous advantage when they invaded France and Poland, neither of whose militaries had fully adopted an in-tank radio.

Harpe developed a reputation for his tactical thinking and deep understanding of combined arms warfare. By the time World War II began, Harpe was well-equipped to contribute significantly to Germany’s military efforts. Harpe was promoted to Oberstleutnant on 01-08-1934 and became commander of 3^rd Panzer-Regiment, on 15-10-1935. He was again promoted on 01-01-1937, he was put in charge of the 1^st Panzer Brigade holding the rank of Oberst. Following the commander of the new 1^st Panzer Brigade. With this Brigade he was involved in the Poland invasion. In 1940 he took over as Commandant of the Panzer Troops School Wünsdorf and promoted to Generalmajor on August 30^th. He was commander of the 2^nd Motorized Infantry Division   from October until January 1941, he succeeded General der Artillerie, Paul Bader, and the Brigade was  renamed in the 12^th Panzer Division  . Paul Bader died old age 87 on 28-02-1971, in Emmendingen. Harpe led this Division in the battle of Minsk and received the Knight Cross of the Iron Cross on 13-08-1941. After successful battles in November for Tichwin, he was awarded with the Oak Leaves of the Iron Cross on 31-12-1941. On 15-01-1942 Harpe was appointed to Generalleutnant with the command of the XXXXI Panzer Corps   until 16-10-1943, he succeeded Marschall, Walter Model  and high appreciated awarded with Swords of the Iron Cross on 15-11-1943.  He got the German Cross in Gold  on 19-02-1943 and became a General of the Panzer Troops. After serving on the Eastern Front, by 1945 he ended up as the General Officer Commanding 9^th Army  on the Western Front, with the rank of Generaloberst, he succeeded the famous General der Panzertruppe, Hasso von Manteuffel.

  As the German Army had to retreat in March 1944 he was responsible for the  forced recruiting and deportation of  many civilians in the region of Osaritschi/Bobruisk, with the effect to get rid of the ill, invalid, older people, and women with more then two children, 9.000 died in the Osaritschi concentration camp, between 12 and 19-03-1944. Harper became the commander of the 4^th Panzer Army from 01-05-1944 to 28-06-1944, he succeeded General der Panzertruppe, Walther Nehring. He was succeeded again by General der Panzertruppe, Kommandeur Heeresgruppe Balck, Hermann Balck

,  and got the command of the Army Group North Ukrain, which he led in the retreating battles, up to the river Weichsel in the summer of 1944. The Army Group was renamed in  Army Group A and after the collapse, when the Russian forces break through in the bridge head of Baranow, blamed blamed by Hitler (see William Hitler)   as the scapegoat and released on 17-01-1945 of his command, and succeeded by Generaloberst Ferdinand Schörner,

and in the Reserve. His last command was from 09-03-1945 of the 5^th Panzer Army, he succeeded again Hasso von Manteuffel and fighting with the remains of this Army in the Ruhr pocket, he on 17-04-1945 landed in US captivity. He was held as a prisoner of war by the United States until 1948. He wasn’t condemned for his war crimes.

Death and burial ground of Harpe, Josef.

  Josef Harpe, here left lived in Eschau were he at the old age of 80 died, on 14-03-1968 and is buried, with his wife Guste, who died young age 47 on 20-02-1947, on the old section of the Stadtfriedhof of Eschau, but alas he gravestone is removed. Wolfgang Linke from Frankfurt am Main, a war grave searcher like me, found out that the gravestone is placed in the building of public work and will later be placed on the wall of the cemetery office/chapel building and a daughter of Harpe is paying the costs.