Langkeit, Willy.

Langkeit, Willy, born on 02-06-1907 in Schuchten, District Treuburg in East Prussia, as the son of a Prusian farmer, joined the Army on 01-10-1924, age 17, in the Kraftfahr-Abteilung 1, Transport Battalion, in Königsberg. From 01-09-1934 Willy had the post of Company Chief in the Panzerjäger-Abteilung “Allenstein”. In April 1934 until 01-10-1934 he took the command of the 1^st Panzerjäger-Abteilung

    here with General der Panzertruppen Hasso von Manteuffel.

   01-11-1938 he is transferred to Chief of the 8^th Company of the 36^th Panzer-Regiment and involved in the battles for Poland, West and East Front. Langkeit was four years on the Eastern Front and promoted to to Major on 01-01-1942 for his excellent leading in the decisive battle for the bridgehead of Alexandrowska. Major Langkeit is assigned as commander of the II Battalion of the 36^th Regiment and received the Ritterkreuz.

    He with his Regiment closed the pocket around Charkow which brought the Russian a great lost of men and material. For his leading he now is awarded with the Knight Cross of the Iron Cross, on 09-12-1942 and on 01-12-1942 promoted to Oberstleutnant. He becomes the commander of the Panzer Regiment “Gross Deutschland” on 01-09-1942 until 15-10-1944, as he is succeeded by Oberstleutnant der Wehrmacht, Bruno Kahl, he died old age 84, on 27-02-1999.

Willy participated in the battle of Stalingrad. The Battle of Stalingrad (23-08-1942 – 02-02-1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later renamed Volgograd) in Southern Russia. The battle was marked by fierce close-quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians in air raids, with the battle epitomizing urban warfare. It was the bloodiest battle of the Second World War, with both sides suffering enormous casualties. Today, the Battle of Stalingrad is universally regarded as the turning point in the European theatre of war, as it forced the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (German High Command) to withdraw considerable military forces from other areas in occupied Europe to replace German losses on the Eastern Front, ending with the rout of the six field armies of Army Group B, including the destruction of Nazi Germany’s General Friedrich Paulus‘s

 6th Army and an entire corps of its 4th Panzer Army.

The Soviet victory energized the Red Army and shifted the balance of power in the favour of the Soviets.

Langkeit was trapped in the pocket and was lucky to leave by plan at the end, He flew out of the Stalingrad encirclement with a Heinkel IIIl   from Gumrak airport. The same day Generaloberst der Panzertruppe, Hans Hube  was also evacuated from Stalingrad. New promoted Generalfeldmarschall der Panzertruppe, Friedrich Paulus   surrended with the 6^th Army. As the 384^th he received the Oak Leaves on 07-12-1943 .

The Axis suffered 747,300–868,374 combat casualties (killed, wounded or captured) among all branches of the German armed forces and their allies:

• 282,606 in the 6th Army from 21 August to the end of the battle; 17,293 in the 4th Panzer Army from 21 August to 31 January; 55,260 in the Army Group Don from 1 December 1942 to the end of the battle (12,727 killed, 37,627 wounded and 4,906 missing) Walsh estimates the losses to 6th Army and 4th Panzer division were over 300,000; including other German army groups between late June 1942 and February 1943, total German casualties were over 600,000. Louis A. DiMarco estimated the German suffered 400,000 total casualties (killed, wounded or captured) during this battle.
• According to Frieser, et al.: 109,000 Romanians casualties (from November 1942 to December 1942), included 70,000 captured or missing. 114,000 Italians and 105,000 Hungarians were killed, wounded or captured (from December 1942 to February 1943).
• According to Stephen Walsh: Romanian casualties were 158,854; 114,520 Italians (84,830 killed, missing and 29,690 wounded); and 143,000 Hungarian (80,000 killed, missing and 63,000 wounded). Losses among Soviet POW turncoats Hiwis, or Hilfswillige range between 19,300 and 52,000.

235,000 German and allied troops in total, from all units, including Manstein’s ill-fated relief force, were captured during the battle.He lands in the Brigade Reserve “Grossdeutschland”, under General der Panzertruppe, Hasso von Manteuffel  and joined with his Kampfgruppe Langkeit, 4.750 men and Jagdpanzer and Artillery, the battles for Sternberg. He had to release the SS Mountain Corps under Friedrich Krüger around Sternberg, Krüger committed suicide age 51, on 09-05-1945 and Langkeit succeeded to make contact with this SS Corps. On 01-06-1944 he is awarded by the Romanian king with the  decoration “King Michael the Brave” third Class. His Kampfgruppen was refreshed in the region of Cottbus and transferred into the Panzergrenadier-Division “Kurmark”

He is promoted to Major General on 20-04-1945 one day of Hitler’s last birthday. In the retreating battles near the River Oder, the Division loses half his strength and only few reached the save American lines.

Langkeit himself landed also in American prison, on 05-05-1945 and transferred to British captivity from 25-05-1945 until 08-07-1947. After the war Langkeit is allowed in the new Bundeswehr  and retired on 30-06-1967. Willy Langkeit is in the guard of honor as former Chancellor Konrad Adenaur

Death and burial ground of Langkeit, Willy.

   Willi Langkeit himself died on 27-10-1969, age 62, in Bad Bramstedt  and is buried with his wife Edith, who died age 64 in 1981, on the Stadtfriedhof of Bad Bramstedt.