Hans von Funck

Hans von Funck (23 December 1891 – 14 February 1979) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II, who commanded the 7th Panzer Division and the XXXXVII Panzer Corps.

Hans von Funck
Born	23 December 1891 Aachen, Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	14 February 1979 (aged 87) Viersen, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire  Weimar Republic  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	1914–1945
Rank	General der Panzertruppe
Commands held	7th Panzer Division XXXXVII Panzer Corps
Battles/wars	World War I Spanish Civil War World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Career

Hans von Funck joined the German army in August 1914 and during World War I he was awarded the Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd Class. Funck was retained in the Reichswehr after the war. In July 1933 he was appointed to the General Staff. In 1936 he served in the Spanish Civil War as a leader of the German National Army in Spain. In 1940 he was appointed as the commander of the 3rd Panzer Brigade.

In 1941 Funck was given command of the 7th Panzer Division as the successor to Erwin Rommel. Originally he was to have commanded the Afrika Corps, but Hitler loathed von Funck, as he had been a personal staff officer of Werner von Fritsch until von Fritsch was dismissed in 1938.[1] He held this command on the central and southern sections of the Eastern Front. On 15 July 1941 he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

On 1 February 1944 Funck was promoted to General der Panzertruppe and appointed as the commanding general of the XXXXVII Panzer Corps, initially on the eastern and later the western fronts. During the Battle for Normandy he (who was thoroughly disliked) accused Gerhard von Schwerin of passive resistance, cowardice and incompetence over the Vire counterattack on 28 July. Less than four hours before the start of Operation Luttich, Gunther von Kluge received an order from Hitler that Heinrich Eberbach rather than Funck was to lead it, although Kluge managed to persuade OKW to postpone the transfer of command.[1]

On 4 September 1944 he was moved into the reserve of the OKH. Funck was interned as a war criminal in the Soviet Union from August 1945 until his release in 1955.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (12 June 1915) & 1st Class (2 December 1917)[2]
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class & 1st Class (May 1940)[2]
• German Cross in Gold on 14 March 1943 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 7. Panzer-Division[3]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 15 July 1941 as Generalmajor and commander of the 7. Panzer-Division[4]
  • 278th Oak Leaves 22 August 1943 on 22 August 1943 as Generalmajor and commander of 7. Panzer-Division[4]

References

Citations

1. Beevor 2009, pp. 405.
2. Thomas 1997, p. 187.
3. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 127.
4. Scherzer 2007, p. 324.

Bibliography

• Beevor, Antony (2009). D-Day: The Battle for Normandy. London: Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-88703-3.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.