Meinrad von Lauchert

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Major General Meinrad von Lauchert (born 29 August 1905 in Potsdam - died 4 December 1987 in Stuttgart) was a Heer officer put in command of the German 2nd Panzer Division the day before the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. And one half hour prior to that battle's launch, he received a personal phone call from Adolf Hitler instructing the general that, when he directed his forces toward Malmedy in Belgium, "The battle must be fought with brutality and all resistance shall be broken in a wave of terror."

But this would prove to be von Lauchert's last engagement. He commanded the 2nd Panzer Division for only three months—from December 15, 1944, to March 20, 1945—when he was replaced by Major General Oskar Munzel. Following the German defeat, von Lauchert fled 400 miles from the Ardennes until he was captured and imprisoned.

After the war he was tried for war crimes at Nuremberg and acquitted.

In 1965 he served as the lead German technical adviser for the Hollywood film Battle of the Bulge.

[edit] Awards

[edit] Sources

  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
  • Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit. Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 - 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, 2001. ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
  • Battle of the Bulge at IMDB
  • Elliot P. Geisinger (editor) and Jay Anson, (writer), The Filming of "Battle of the Bulge." Professional Film Services, Inc., December 1965 (promotional documentary included as a special feature on the 2005 Battle of the Bulge DVD from Warner Video).
  • Marcus Wendel (14 May 2006), "Heer Units". Viewed December 26, 2006.
Military offices
Preceded by
Generalmajor Henning Schönfeld		 Commander of 2. Panzer-Division
December 15, 1944 - March 20, 1945		 Succeeded by
Generalmajor Oskar Munzel
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