Hans von Tettau


Hans von Tettau was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who held commands at the divisional and corps level. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Tettau surrendered to the Allied forces in May 1945; he was released in 1947. He wrote a book with General Kurt Versock called The History of the 24th Infantry Division.
Although much decorated, Tettau's reputation is debatable. Some German historians argue that he had little real military experience up to his countermeasures at the Battle of Arnhem in 1944, the Allied Operation Market Garden. Fellow generals spoke of Tettau -whose regular work in the army was more that of an inspector than of a commanding officer - in a negative way when he organised his defences in the Netherlands under the name of Westgruppe, which was no formal army division at all. This was seen as a political move by Tettau to gain credit in Berlin.

Awards and decorations