Hans-Karl Freiherr von Esebeck

Hans-Karl Freiherr von Esebeck (10 July 1892 – 5 January 1955) was a German general who commanded the 15th Panzer Division in the Afrika Korps.

Hans-Karl Freiherr von Esebeck
Born	10 July 1892 Potsdam, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	5 January 1955(1955-01-05) (aged 62) Iserlohn, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire  Weimar Republic  Nazi Germany
Service / branch	Army
Years of service	1911-1944
Rank	General der Panzertruppe
Commands	15th Panzer Division 11th Panzer Division 2nd Panzer-Division XXXXVI Panzer Corps LVII Panzer Corps LVIII Panzer Corps
Battles / wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Esebeck had knowledge of and was sympathetic to the anti-Hitler conspiracy in the military. He was arrested on 21 July 1944 and spent the rest of the war in concentration camps. Liberated at the end of the war he lived the rest of his life in poverty and died on 5 January 1955.^[1]

Awards

• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 4 July 1940 as Oberst and commander of the 6. Schützen-Brigade^[2]

References

Citations

1. Mitcham 2007, p. 34.
2. Scherzer 2007, p. 299.

Bibliography

• Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). Rommel's Desert Commanders — The Men Who Served the Desert Fox, North Africa, 1941–42. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0-8117-3510-9.
• 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.

Military offices
Preceded by Generalleutnant Heinrich von Prittwitz und Gaffron	Commander of 15. Panzer-Division April 13, 1941 - May 26, 1941	Succeeded by Generalleutnant Walter Neumann-Silkow
Preceded by Generalleutnant Günther Angern	Commander of 11. Panzer Division 24 August 1941 - 20 October 1941	Succeeded by Generalleutnant Walter Scheller
Preceded by General der Panzertruppe Rudolf Veiel	Commander of 2. Panzer-Division February 17, 1942 - June 1, 1942	Succeeded by Generalleutnant Arno von Lenski
Preceded by General der Infanterie Hans Zorn	Commander of XXXXVI Panzer Corps November 20, 1942 - June 20, 1943	Succeeded by General der Infanterie Hans Zorn
Preceded by General der Panzertruppe Friedrich Kirchner	Commander of LVII Panzer Corps November 30, 1943 - February 19, 1944	Succeeded by General der Panzertruppe Friedrich Kirchner
Preceded by General der Panzertruppen Leo Freiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg	Commander of LVIII Panzer Corps December 1, 1943 - February 10, 1944	Succeeded by General der Panzertruppen Walter Krüger