Hasso von Manteuffel Hasso - Eccard Freiherr von Manteuffel ( 14 January 1897 – 24 September 1978 ) was a German soldier and classical liberal politician of the 20th century . He served in both world wars , and during World War II was a distinguished general . He was a tank commander noted for his tactical skill and was one of only 27 holders of the Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves , Swords , and Diamonds . After the war , he was elected to the Bundestag ( West German legislature ) and was the spokesman for defense of the Liberal Party . A prominent proponent of rearmament , he was responsible for coining the new name for the post - World War II German armed forces , the Bundeswehr . Military career . Von Manteuffel was born in Potsdam to a respected Prussia n aristocratic family . In 1908 , he became a cadet in a military school . World War I . He joined the Imperial German Army on 22 February 1916 as an officer in a Hussar regiment . His World War I service began in April 1916 with the 5th Squadron of 3rd Hussar Regiment , attached to the 6th Prussian Infantry Division on the Western Front . He was wounded on 12 October fighting in France . After recuperating , he returned to active service in February 1917 and was posted to the Divisional General Staff . Inter - war years . With the outbreak of the German Revolution in November 1918 , he was assigned to guard the bridge over the Rhine at Köln against the revolutionaries and thus enable a safe withdrawal of the army from France and Belgium to Germany . Following the dissolution of the Imperial Army , he entered the Freikorps in January 1919 . After the establishment of the Weimar Republic , he joined the newly created Reichswehr and was assigned to the 25th Cavalry Regiment at Rathenow in May 1919 . During the early 1920s , he was a squad leader with the 3rd Prussian Mounted Regiment , later becoming the Regimental Adjutant . On 1 February 1930 , he became the commander of the Technical Squad . On 1 October 1932 , von Manteuffel was transferred to the 17th Bavarian Mounted Regiment at Bamberg , serving as a squadron commander . Two years later , on 1 October 1934 he was transferred again , this time to the Mounted Regiment " Erfurt " . On 15 October 1935 he was appointed commander of the 2nd Motorcycle Rifle Battalion of Heinz Guderian ’ s 2nd Panzer Division . From 1936 to 1937 he served as a major on the staff of the 2nd Panzer Division and as a training officer of cadets and cadet officers . On 25 February 1937 he became a consultant in the Panzer Troop Command of the OKH , and on February 1 , 1939 a senior professor at Panzer Troop School II in Berlin - Krampnitz . He remained there until 1941 , thus missing out on the campaigns in Poland and France . World War II . On May 1 , 1941 , von Manteuffel was appointed commander of the 1st Battalion , 7th Rifle Regiment of the 7th Panzer Division . With this unit , he served under Hermann Hoth ’ s Panzer Group 3 of the Army Group Centre in Operation Barbarossa , the invasion of the Soviet Union . On 25 August 1941 , he took over the 6th Rifle Regiment of the 7th Panzer Division after its commander was killed in action . In May 1942 , after having engaged in heavy fighting around Moscow in the winter of 1941 – 1942 , the 7th Panzer Division was transferred to France for refitting . On 15 July 1942 , while the division was still in France , von Manteuffel was made the commander of the 7th Panzer Grenadier Brigade of the 7th Panzer Division . In early 1943 , von Manteuffel was sent to Africa , where on 5 February he became the commander of the Division von Broich / von Manteuffel , serving in Hans - Jürgen von Arnim ' s 5th Panzer Army of Erwin Rommel ' s Army Group Afrika . Here von Manteuffel took part in defensive operations during the Battle of Tunisia , conducting a series of successful counteroffensives that tied down Allied forces . In the midst of heavy fighting , he collapsed from exhaustion on March 31 , and was evacuated back to Germany . On 1 May 1943 , von Manteuffel was promoted to the rank of Major General for his exploits in Africa . After recuperating , von Manteuffel was made the commander of the 7th Panzer Division on 22 August 1943 and was once again on the Eastern Front , which had by then collapsed following the Battle of Kursk and the resulting Soviet counteroffensive . Despite being wounded in the back in a Soviet air attack on 26 August 1943 he stayed on , battling in Ukraine . After ferocious fighting at Kharkov , Belgorod , and along the Dnieper River , he succeeded in bringing the Red Army offensive to a halt . In late November , he managed to recapture Zhitomir , thus saving the almost encircled 8th Panzer Division north of the city . As a result , von Manteuffel was made the commander of the élite Grenadier Division " Großdeutschland " on 1 February 1944 . His command engaged in a series of intense defensive battles west of Kirovograd , then withdrew across Ukraine , and reorganized in Romania in late March 1944 . It engaged in a series of successful defenses in northern Romania through June , when the exhausted " Großdeutschland " was moved into reserve for a refit . In late July " Großdeutschland " was ordered to East Prussia , which was being threatened after the Red Army crushed Army Group Centre in Operation Bagration . Here he launched a successful but costly counterattack into Lithuania , managing to stabilize the front , but failing to break through to the Courland Pocket , where Army Group North was trapped after the decimation of Army Group Centre . On 1 September 1944 , von Manteuffel was promoted to General of Panzer Troops ( " General der Panzertruppen " _ US equivalent Lieutenant General ) and given command of the Fifth Panzer Army , fighting on the Western Front . After engaging in heavy combat in Lorraine against George S . Patton ’ s Third Army , the unit was withdrawn to reserve and began refitting for the upcoming Ardennes Offensive . Although he was assigned a support role , von Manteuffel ’ s 5th Panzer Army achieved one of the deepest penetrations of Allied lines during the offensive , almost reaching the Meuse River . This penetration included the Battle of Bastogne . On 10 March 1945 von Manteuffel was made the commander of the Third Panzer Army on the Eastern Front . Von Manteuffel ' s army was part of Army Group Vistula , commanded by General Gotthard Heinrici . The Third Panzer Army was assigned to defend the banks of the Oder River north of the Seelow Heights . This position , if held , would prevent a Soviet thrust into Western Pomerania and then into Berlin . But von Manteuffel was faced with an overwhelming attack launched by General Konstantin Rokossovsky ' s 2nd Belorussian Front during the Battle of Seelow Heights , the prelude to the Battle of Berlin . At one point in the battle , six Soviet soldiers entered his headquarters , killing four of his staff , and wounding four more , including Manteuffel himself . Despite his injuries , he shot one Soviet soldier and used his trench knife to kill another Soviet soldier . On 25 April the 2nd Belorussian Front broke through Third Panzer Army ' s line around the bridgehead south of Stettin . The Soviets crossed the swampy Randow river valley . Von Manteuffel was forced to retreat to Mecklenburg . Around April 28 , he was offered Heinrici ' s command of Army Group Vistula but turned down the promotion out of protest for Heinrici being wrongly punished by OKW . On 3 May 1945 von Manteuffel surrendered his troops to the western Allies and thus escaped capture by the Soviets . Post - war . Manteuffel was held in an Allied POW camp until September 1947 . After his release , he entered politics and was a representative of the Free Democratic Party of Germany ( FDP ) in the German Bundestag from 1953 to 1957 . In 1957 he joined the German Party . In the early 1950s Manteuffel advised on the redevelopment of the Bundeswehr ( see : Searle ' s " Wehrmacht Generals " ) . Manteuffel was not charged with war crimes by the Allies although in 1959 he was brought to trial for having a deserter shot in 1944 . He was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison . This trial was highly controversial however . Supporters argued that these actions did not constitute a violation of the " laws or customs of war " clause in the Nuremberg Principles , the rules governing what constituted war crimes that occurred during the war , since it was legal in the German military and that Allied armies had similar provisions in their military codes at the time . German political leaders lobbied for an overturn of the conviction and he was eventually released after serving four months . He spoke fluent , even sophisticated , English , and was an honored guest in the United States , visiting the Pentagon and , by the invitation of President Dwight D . Eisenhower , the White House . In 1968 he lectured at the United States Military Academy at West Point , speaking about combat in deep snow winter conditions ( from personal experience ) and worked as a technical adviser on war films and was featured in Cornelius Ryan ' s " The Last Battle " . He also featured in the acclaimed documentary , " The World at War " . Hasso von Manteuffel died while on a trip to Reith im Alpbachtal , Tyrol , Austria on 24 September 1978 . Personal life . He married Armgard von Kleist , the niece of Ewald von Kleist , on 23 June 1921 . They had two children .