Hans-Kurt Höcker

Hans-Kurt Höcker
Birth name	Hans-Kurt Hermann Höcker
Birth date	2 August 1894
Place of birth	Stadthagen, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, German Empire
Death date	10 August 1961 (aged 67)
Place of death	Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army Reichswehr Heer
Years of service	1912–1945
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	258. Infanterie-Division 17. Luftwaffe Feld-Division 167. Volksgrenadier-Division
Battles/wars	World War I World War II * Battle of France * Operation Barbarossa
Awards	Iron Cross German Cross in Gold Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Hans-Kurt Hermann Höcker (sometimes also Hans Kurt without a hyphen; 2 August 1894 – 10 August 1961) was a German officer of the Prussian Army, Imperial German Army, the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht, at last Lieutenant General and Recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II.

Military career (chronology)

Höcker was born in 1894 in Stadthagen as the son of Hermann Höcker (d. 1928; possibly Hermann Otto Wilhelm Höcker, the District Court Director or Landgerichtsdirektor in Bückeburg) and his wife Charlotte, née Meyer (d. 1924). He grew up in Obernkirchen and Lindhorst. He became interested in the military at an early age and so he decided to pursue a military career after attending a Gymnasium and achieving his Abitur.

Lieutenant General Hans-Kurt Höcker (right) with General der Panzertruppe Adolf-Friedrich Kuntzen

• 26 February 1912 Joined the Infanterie-Regiment „Graf Bülow von Dennewitz“ (6. Westfälisches) Nr. 55 in Detmold as an Officer Candidate
  • 1913 Commissioned in the 6th Company/II. Battalion in Bielefeld
• 1914 Deployed in WWI with his regiment to the Western Front, first seeing action in the Battle of Liège
• 1916 Served as a company commander and acting battalion commander
• 23 October 1917 to 18 February 1920 French prisoner of war
• 1920 Reichswehr-Infanterie-Regiment 14
• 18. Infanterie-Regiment
  • Rank List 1923 Platoon Leader in the 12th (Machine Gun) Company
  • Rank List 1924 Regimental Staff
  • Rank List 1926 Commander of the 14th Company/Ausbildungs-Bataillon (Lippisches) in Detmold
• 1 April 1934 Transferred as instructor to the Infantry School in Dresden
• 1 January 1935 Transferred as instructor to the War School (Kriegsschule) in Munich
• 6 October 1936 Commander of the III. Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment 116
• 12 October 1937 Commander of the III. Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment 88/15. Infanterie-Division
  • On this day, the 3rd Battalion of the 116th Infantry Regiment was renamed the 3rd Battalion of the 88th Infantry Regiment.
• 10 November 1938 Transferred as instructor to the War School (Kriegsschule) in Hannover
• August 1939 With the mobilization for World War II, Höcker was given command of the newly-formed Infanterie-Regiment 487/267. Infanterie-Division and took up positions in the Düren area and later in the Monschau area on the western defences (Westwall)
  • From 10 May 1940, the division took part in the Western Campaign. From the Aachen area, it marched as the army reserve of the 4th Army to Belgium via Maubeuge and Cambrai and Douai to Avallon. It was then deployed to protect the coast on the Channel coast. The division remained there until May 1941.
  • In May 1941, Höcker's Infanterie-Regiment 487 was transferred to Poland and from 22 June 1941 it took part in the Russian campaign. The next stop was the fight in June 1941 as part of the LIII Army Corps around Brest-Litovsk and Bialystok. In October 1941, an offensive began with the aim of Moscow, during which Höcker's regiment distinguished itself in the battles around Vyazma and Schelkovka, for which Colonel Höcker was awarded the German Cross on 26 December 1941. At about the same time, the attack had come to a complete standstill outside the gates of Moscow. Under the weight of heavy Russian counterattacks the regiment had to withdraw to the area around Moshaisk by January 1942 with heavy losses.
• 19 January 1942 Delegated with the leadership of the 258th Infantry Division
  • During the attack on Moscow, the division marched via Yukhnov, Gshatsk, Mohaisk and Rusa to the Nara south of Naro Fominsk. Here the division was hit by the Russian winter offensive and had to retreat via Wereja-Borovsk to Yukhnov.
• 1 April 1942 Appointed Commander of the 258th Infantry Division
  • Under General Höcker's command, the 258th Infantry Division then retreated via Wereja-Borowsk to Juchnow and fought in the Gshatsk area until February 1943. Despite heavy losses, the division was able to halt the Russian advance at several points, for which Lieutenant General Hans-Kurt Höcker was awarded the Knight's Cross on 14 April 1943.
• 1 October 1943 Führer-Reserve
• 5 November 1943 Appointed Commander of the 17. Feld-Division (Luftwaffe)/Heeresgruppe D
  • On 1 November 1943, the Luftwaffe field division had been taken over into the Heer. At the beginning of 1944, the division was converted into a local infantry division with the formation of the Jäger Regiment 47 (L). The division remained in its positions even after the start of the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. After the Allied forces broke out of the bridgehead near Caen, the division was drawn into the general German retreat and at the beginning of September 1944 was involved in heavy defensive battles against strong British and Canadian forces. Finally, the division was scattered between Ghent and St. Nicolas and officially disbanded on 28 September 1944. The remnants were used to set up the 167th Volks Grenadier Division in Slovakia.
• 17 October 1944 Appointed Commander of the 167. Volks-Grenadier-Division
  • The division was relocated to Slovakia for formation, was increasingly used against partisans (Bandenbekämpfung), especially on 23 November 1944 near Trentschin, and was to be transported west from Pistyan in Hungary on 14 December 1944.
  • At the beginning of January 1945, the division fought in Lutrebois in Luxembourg, and from January 10th, the division was involved in fighting between Bastogne and Schleiff, during which Lieutenant General Höcker personally coordinated operations of the Pioniere and the bicycle division.
  • After being destroyed in the Eifel on 2 March 1945, the staff was used for the Scharnhorst Division on 4 April 1945.
• 12 March 1945 Section leader (Abschnittsführer) on the Western Front near Düsseldorf-Köln
• 19 March 1945 Appointed Commander of the 59. Infanterie-Division
  • The division was on the eastern bank of the Rhine for refreshment in the Leverkusen-Leichlingen area. From 27 March, the division was then moved to the new operational area between Betzdorf and Siegen, where the division was now deployed on the Sieg front of the Ruhr pocket. Between 31 March 31 and 3 April, the Americans were able to cross the Sieg at Kirchen and Niederschelden and Gosenbach. With the major American attack across the river on April 6, the Sieg front could no longer be held anywhere and the division was pushed further and further into the Ruhr pocket. On 8 April, the divisional command post under Lieutenant General Hans-Kurt Höcker was still in Hünsborn and was pushed further and further to the northwest under strong American pressure. There were battles near Lindlar and along the Sülze on 11 April 1945. The last major combat encounters took place on 12 April on the Dhünn near Kottenmühle and on 13 April near Neumühle. The last remnants of the division were overrun early in the morning on the large Dhünnbach. The remaining parts of the division were taken prisoner on the railway line between Wermelskirchen and Burg. Lieutenant General Höcker and a few other men managed to escape and break out of the Ruhr pocket. Lieutenant General Höcker, who had fallen ill by then, had to be treated in a military hospital near Giesen and was taken prisoner by the Americans on 26 April 1945.
• 26 April 1945 to June 1947 Allied POW

Promotions

• 26 February 1912 Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
• 14 August 1912 Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 18 August 1913 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant) with Patent from 19 August 1911
• 5 October 1916 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
• 1 February 1924 Hauptmann (Captain)
• 1 October 1933 Major

Wehrmacht

• 1 April 1936 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)
• 1 January 1939 Oberst (Colonel)
• 1 April 1942 Generalmajor (Major General)
• 1 January 1943 Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General)

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 24 October 1914
  • 1st Class on 5 September 1915
• Lippe-Detmold War Merit Cross (Lippisches Kriegsverdienstkreuz; LK) on 24 December 1914
• Cross for Faithful Service (Fürstlich Schaumburg-Lippisches Kreuz für treue Dienste 1914; SLK) on the ribbon for combatants on 19 June 1915
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 1st Class (25-year Service Cross)
  • 2nd Class on 2 October 1936
  • 1st Class on 27 February 1937

WWII

• West Wall Medal (Deutsches Schutzwall-Ehrenzeichen) on 18 April 1940
• Repetition Clasp 1939 to the Iron Cross 1914, 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 1 June 1940
  • 1st Class on 21 June 1940
• Infantry Assault Badge (Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen) in Silver on 20 February 1942
• Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal on 22 August 1942
• German Cross in Gold on 26 December 1941 as Colonel and Commander of the Infanterie-Regiment 487
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 April 1943 as Lieutenant General and Commander of the 258. Infanterie-Division