Georg - Hans Reinhardt Georg - Hans Reinhardt ( 1 March 1887 – 23 November 1963 ) was a German general of World War II . He commanded Third Panzer Army from 1941 to 1944 , and Army Group Centre in 1944 and 1945 . His highest rank was " Generaloberst " ( Colonel General ) . He was also a recipient of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords ( ) . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership . After the war , he was successfully prosecuted for war crimes in the High Command trial , and served several years in prison for those crimes . Biography . Reinhardt was born in Bautzen , Saxony , and fought during World War I in an infantry regiment . In February 1934 Reinhardt was promoted to Colonel and soon after to Major General in the German army . He commanded the 4th Panzer Division during the Polish campaign of September 1939 . 4th Panzer was initially repulsed in the two - day battle of Mokra and Ostrowy on 1 – 2 September , but broke through Polish defenses near Częstochowa . 4th Panzer then advanced to the outskirts of Warsaw by September 8 , the first German force to reach the city . 4th Panzer ' s initial unsupported attack on the city failed , and the division was redeployed to assist in the Battle of the Bzura to the west . After the Polish campaign , Reinhardt was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross and promoted to Lieutenant General . In the 1940 Battle of France , Reinhardt commanded the XXXXI Panzer Corps , which was one of the three Panzerkorps that broke through the Ardennes and drove west to the sea in May . For this success , he was promoted to General der Panzertruppe on 1 June 1940 . In late 1940 , Reinhardt and XXXXI Panzer Corps were designated to participate in Operation Sea Lion , the proposed invasion of Great Britain . Reinhardt ' s force was to be in the first landing wave . However , the operation never occurred . In 1941 , Reinhardt and XXXXI Panzer Corps were deployed on the Eastern Front for Operation Barbarossa , the invasion of the Soviet Union in June . His force led the advance of Army Group North to the outskirts of Leningrad in October . On October 5 he was given command of Third Panzer Army in Army Group Centre . Third Panzer Army then joined in the German attack on Moscow . After great initial success , the attack bogged down in mud , and was halted in December by severe cold and Soviet reserves just outside the city . Third Panzer Army was driven back by Soviet counter - attacks during the winter of 1941 / 42 , but Reinhardt was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight ' s Cross for his expert defensive operations . From early 1942 until June 1944 , Third Panzer Army held its ground around Vitebsk and Smolensk , defeating most Soviet attacks and withdrawing only a short distance in 1943 . On 26 May 1944 , Reinhardt was awarded Swords to his Knight ' s Cross for this relative success . But in June 1944 , Third Panzer and the rest of Army Group Centre were shattered by a huge Soviet attack and driven back into Poland and East Prussia . On 16 August 1944 , Reinhardt was given command of Army Group Centre . In December , renewed Soviet attacks drove Army Group Centre out of Poland and back into northern Prussia . Reinhardt ' s shattered forces could not stem these overwhelming attacks , and this caused disputes with Hitler . Reinhardt retired from active duty in January 1945 . War crimes . In June 1945 , Reinhardt was arrested by the United States Army as a war criminal . In 1947 , he and thirteen other top German commanders were tried before a U . S . military court in Nuremberg . Reinhardt was found guilty of murder and ill - treatment of prisoners of war , and of murder , deportation , and hostage - taking of civilians in occupied countries . He was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment , but was released in 1952 . He served as president of the " Gesellschaft für Wehrkunde " ( Society for Military Science ) , present - day " Gesellschaft für Wehr - und Sicherheitspolitik e . V . " , since 1954 and wrote numerous memoranda . For these services he received the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany on 24 November 1962 .