Heinrich Freiherr von Luttwitz (6 December 1896 – 9 October 1969) was a General der Panzertruppe of Nazi Germany during World War II.
Biography[]
Heinrich Freiherr von Luttwitz was born in Krumpach, Silesia, German Empire (now Prusice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland) on 6 December 1896, coming from the old aristocratic Luttwitz family. He joined the Imperial German Army in 1914 and fought in World War I, ending the war as a platoon leader. Von Luttwitz joined the Freikorps in 1918 before serving in the Reichswehr, and he became a lieutenant in 1925, a major in 1936, and a lieutenant-colonel in 1939. He was wounded in the leg during the Invasion of Poland, and he was transferred into to the Fuhrerreserve. In 1941, he took command of an Abwehr regiment during Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, and he commanded the 20th Panzer Division (as a Generalmajor) from 1 November 1942 to 4 May 1943. In 1944, he led the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich just before the Battle of Normandy, and he took command of the XXXXVII Panzer Corps on 4 September 1944. During the Battle of the Bulge, he fought at the Siege of Bastogne, and he was captured in the Ruhr Pocket in April 1945. He was released from US Army captivity in 1947, and he died in 1969.