Rudolf Sieckenius Generalmajor Rudolf Sieckenius ( 16 May 1896 – 28 April 1945 ) was a German soldier , most famous for his command of 16 Panzer Division during Operation Avalanche ( Salerno Landings ) in September 1943 . Despite his widely acknowledged success , which almost resulted in the Allies being pushed back into the sea , Sieckenius was made a scapegoat by Hitler and sidelined until his death during the Battle of Berlin , when he commanded a reserve division ( 391 Sicherungs Division ) . Early life . Sieckenius was born in Ludwigsthal ( now Proczki in Poland ) in Schlesien ( Silesia ) on 16 May 1896 , the son of successful businessman , Alexander Sieckenius . As a youth , he studied accounting , maths and French at school , with a view to following his father into business . He had eight siblings , four brothers and four sisters . He had just turned eighteen when Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated . World War I . Sieckenius joined up immediately following the outbreak of World War I , enlisting in the 5th Foot Artillery Regiment of the 9th Silesian Infantry Division , during which time he took part in the Invasion of Lorraine . He would spend the best part of two years in the Cotes de Meuse before transferring to the cavalry and commencing officer training . Upon graduation in December 1916 , he returned to the infantry , who were short of officers . He was commissioned as a platoon commander in the 154th Infantry Regiment , where he served in a number of well known actions between then and the end of the war . He was discharged from the Army on 20 October 1919 and returned to his family home in Silesia . Interwar period . On 29 April 1920 , Sieckenius joined the local Silesian police ( Landespolizei ) and went on to serve with distinction for fourteen years . In 1934 he readily accepted an invitation to transfer back to the Army , as Hitler rearmed Germany . He joined the 11th Cavalry Regiment , initially based in Breslau and later in Stuttgart . On creation of the panzer regiments in late 1935 , he transferred into the panzer branch and was appointed a company commander in 2nd Panzer Regiment ( which he was later to command at Stalingrad ) based in Weimar , where he spent a year . After a further year as ADC / Orderly Officer to the commander of 1st Panzer Division , Generalmajor Maximilian von Weichs , he was appointed to command the first battalion of 15th Panzer Regiment at Oppeln . After a falling out with the regimental commander , Oberstleutnant Streich , in January 1939 Sieckenius was transferred to command of the 66th Panzer Battalion ( 2nd Light Division ) . World War II . Poland and France . Sieckenius took part in the Invasion of Poland with his battalion , focused in the south of the country . The invasion was over very quickly and on return , as a result of lessons identified in Poland , the 2nd Light Division converted to the 7th Panzer Division ( Generalmajor Erwin Rommel ) , with Sieckenius ’ battalion renaming as the III Battalion ( Abteilung ) of the 25th Panzer Regiment . As the Commander of this battalion , Sieckenius took part in the Battle of France , with his battalion reputed to be the only one able to keep up with the Divisional commander . The battalion remained in France until February 1941 . In February 1941 the battalion returned to Gera in Germany , where Sieckenius remained , refitting , until reappointed to 16 Panzer Division in April . He joined the Division in Bucharest , where he took over command of the 2nd Panzer Regiment , in which he had served as a company commander between the wars ( Oct 1935 – Oct 1936 ) . On assuming command the Regiment moved immediately to the Bug River , its start line for Operation Barbarossa . Russia . Invasion . The 16th Panzer Division crossed the River Bug immediately behind the 11th Panzer Division in the area of Sokal ( in Poland in 1941 , now in Ukraine ) , as part of the First Panzer Group ( von Kleist ) in von Rundstedt ’ s Army Group South . The First Panzer Group drove its armoured spearhead of 600 tanks right through the Soviet 6th Army with the objective of capturing Brody . On 26 June five Soviet mechanized corps with over 1 , 000 tanks mounted a counter - attack on the First Panzer Group . The Battle of Brody / Rovno was among the fiercest of the invasion lasting over four days ; in the end the Germans prevailed , though the Soviets inflicted heavy losses on the First Panzer Group , and themselves suffered huge tank losses – up to 243 reported to have been destroyed by Sieckenius ’ 2 Panzer Regiment , in what was the world ’ s largest tank battle before the Battle of Kursk . For this action Sieckenius was awarded the coveted Knight ’ s Cross . The Panzer Group moved quickly on , linking up with the 17th Field Army to encircle Uman and capturing 20 Soviet divisions and over 100 , 000 men , including two Army commanders , four corps commanders and eleven divisional commanders . Further swift advances were made , with Kiev being encircled on 16 September 1941 when Guderian ’ s XXIV Corps linked up with the First Panzer Group at Lokhvitsa , 120 miles east of Kiev . A further 450 , 000 soviet prisoners were taken , and four armies had ceased to exist . Complete breakthrough had now been achieved in the southern sector . Having been delayed by the Battle of Kiev , Hitler now focused his effort on Moscow ( Operation Typhoon ) , to where the attention of Army Groups North and Centre were switched . Meanwhile in the south 16 Panzer Division , still under the First Panzer Group , advanced from Kiev , and encircled Soviet troops at Melitopol in October , then attacked east along the shore of the Sea of Azov toward Rostov at the mouth of the River Don - the gateway to the Caucasus . Although slowed by rains and Soviet defence , the Panzer Group reached Rostov on 17 November 1941 , capturing the city ( Battle of Rostov ) four days later . A Russian counter - offensive on 27 November recaptured the city and pushed the Germans back to Taganrog , the first German reversal of the Eastern Front . 1942 Offensives . To follow ( 16 Jun 08 )