Wilhelm Hasse

Wilhelm Hasse (24 November 1894 – 21 May 1945) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II.

Wilhelm Hasse
Born	24 November 1894 Neisse, Province of Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	21 May 1945(1945-05-21) (aged 50) Písek, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
Branch	German Army
Service years	1914–1945
Rank	General der Infanterie
Unit	Army Group North
Commands	30th Infantry Division II Army Corps 17th Army
Conflicts	World War I World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Operation Barbarossa Siege of Leningrad Battle of Narva (1944) Riga Offensive (1944) Courland Pocket
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Hasse was born in Neiße, then part of the German Province of Silesia (today, Nysa, Poland) in 1894. He entered the Imperial German Army in 1914 and fought in World War I as a junior officer and a regimental adjutant. At the end of the war, he remained in the peacetime Reichswehr as a career officer and served in several staff postings on the general staff. In World War II, he was a divisional and corps commander, and commanded the 17th Army in the final months of the war in Europe. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Captured by the Red Army, Hasse died in a prisoner of war camp on 21 May 1945 of wounds sustained earlier that month.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (17 September 1914) & 1st Class (21 April 1915)
• Knight's Cross of the House Order of Hohenzollern with swords
• Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg
• Wound Badge, in black (1914)
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (11 September 1939) & 1st Class (2 October 1939)
• German Cross in Gold on 26 January 1942 as Oberst im Generalstab (in the General Staff) of AOK 18
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 12 August 1944 as Generalleutnant and commander of 30 Infanterie-Division
  • Oak Leaves on 14 January 1945 as General der Infanterie and commander of II. Armeekorps

References

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• 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.
• 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.
• Webb, James Jack (2024). Generals and Admirals of the Third Reich: For Country or Fuehrer. Vol. 2: H–O. Havertown, PA: Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-952-71517-4.