Paul Hausser award received Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
Hausser served during the 1939 invasion of Poland as an observer with the mixed Wehrmacht/SS Panzer Division Kempf. In October 1939 the SS-VT was formed as a motorized infantry division known as the SS-Verfügungs-Division with Hausser in command. He led the division, later renamed 2nd SS Division Das Reich, through the French campaign of 1940 and in the early stages of Operation Barbarossa. For his service in the Soviet Union, Hausser was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in 1941 and the Oak Leaves in 1943 (he received the Swords for his service in Normandy). He was severely wounded, losing an eye.After recovering, he commanded the newly formed SS-Panzer Corps (renamed II SS Panzer Corps in June 1943) and against Hitler's explicit orders withdrew his troops from Kharkov to avoid encirclement. He led the 1st, 2nd and 3rd SS divisions during the Battle of Kursk. After Kursk, his Corps was re-formed (substituting the 1st, 2nd and 3rd SS Panzer Divisions with the 9th and 10th SS divisions) and sent to Italy, then to France where he commanded them in the early stages of the Normandy Campaign.After the death of Friedrich Dollmann, commander of the Seventh Army, Hausser was promoted to its command. During the Falaise encirclement in 1944, Hausser was seriously wounded (shot through the jaw). Hausser was promoted to SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer in August 1944 and subsequently commanded Army Group Oberrhein and later Army Group G until 3 April 1945. On the day he was relieved, Joseph Goebbels wrote, "He has definitely not stood the test." He ended the war on the staff of Field Marshal Albert Kesselring. At the Nuremberg Trials, he claimed that the Waffen-SS only had a military role and denied that it was involved in war crimes and atrocities.Decorations
Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st Class
Bavarian Military Merit Order 4th Class with Swords
Albert Order 1st Class with Swords
Friedrich Order 1st Class with Swords
Frederickscross
House Order of Hohenzollern
Austrian Order of the Iron Crown 3rd Class with war decoration (11 July 1918)
Wound Badge in Silver (9 May 1942)
Clasp to the Iron Cross (2nd Class & 1st Class)
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
Knight's Cross on 8 August 1941 as commander of SS Division Das Reich
Oak Leaves on 28 July 1943 as commanding general of the SS Panzer Corps
Swords on 26 August 1944 as commander of the 7th Army
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