Prussian hussars before the First World War

His retirement lasted a full year and a half, until in August 1939, unexpectedly for many, he was again called up for military service. Hitler can rightly be accused of many sins, but he cannot be accused of idiocy. An astute and very intelligent politician (at least until the early 40s), he had a keen sense of people. He thought that a pro like Kleist would bring a lot of benefits, and he thought absolutely rightly. The latter, despite his rejection of Nazism, never betrayed his oath and the Reich Chancellor. Just before the war, Hitler placed von Kleist in charge of the 2nd Army Corps, which consisted of 3 divisions, one of which was a tank. And the former guards cavalryman, who had not commanded mechanized formations for a single hour in his life, immediately finds the correct proportion of interaction between tanks and infantry. The results were brilliant - the corps was part of the 14th Army of General W. List and operated in the southern part of Poland. After defeating the enemy in the Lvov area, Kleist made a swift rush to the river. Bug, where on September 16 it united with the corps of General G. Guderian advancing from the north. The result of this maneuver was the strategic encirclement of the main forces of the Polish army west of the Vistula.

Ewald von Kleist

In the French company, Kleist becomes the head of the group of the same name, thus de facto the first German leader of the tank army (the term itself will be introduced de jure much later). The group made a breakthrough through the Ardennes into southern Belgium, defeated the enemy on the Meuse River, distinguished itself in creating the Dunkirk Pocket, and then quickly turned around and headed deep into France. The company for Kleist in Lyon and Saint-Etienne ended.
Even his ill-wishers could not help but recognize his military prowess. The rank of Colonel General after the company is more than deserved.
Further more. In the Balkan Company, the troops of the Colonel General capture the city of Nis, and then enter Belgrade.
Kleist's 1st Panzer Group began the war with the USSR as part of the troops of Army Group South. The successful tank battle of Lutsk-Rovno-Dubno, Zhitomir, the Uman cauldron, the Kiev cauldron, Berdyansk and finally the first capture of Rostov-on-Don - Kleist had a direct hand in all of this. True, on November 28, the future field marshal was forced to retreat from Rostov, thus becoming the first beaten German general on the Eastern Front, but there was no defeat there, and, in the end, the Germans soon regained Rostov in the summer of 42. However, this retreat was worth the post commander of Army Group von Rundstedt, and almost cost Kleist his career. The commander of the 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler" Joseph "Sepp" Dietrich personally stood up for him, who said that with his maneuver Kleist saved the German troops from complete defeat. The Reich Chancellor listened to his miniature but very charismatic former bodyguard and left Kleist in the active forces. And I must say, I didn’t regret it. In the summer of 1942, Kleist took part in the battle of Kharkov and took Maikop, and on November 22, after the disaster at Stalingrad, Ewald von Kleist was appointed commander of Army Group A. The tasks assigned to him were difficult, but he completed them. Through a narrow corridor near Rostov, he managed to withdraw the 1st Tank Army from the Caucasus, and withdraw the troops of the 17th Army in an organized manner to the lower reaches of the Kuban and firmly gain a foothold there, thus avoiding new cauldrons, encirclements and defeats. Moreover, everything was done in the shortest possible time and with the most minimal losses. If titles and awards are not given for this, then what for? Despite the fact that Kleist, to put it mildly, was not one of his favorites, on January 31, 1943, Hitler promoted him to field marshal general.


Sepp Dietrich (center) surrounded by his two faithful SS comrades - Gerhard Pleiss and Fritz Witt

In September of the same year, Kleist carried out another brilliant operation - the evacuation of the 17th Army from the Taman bridgehead to the Crimea. Again, everything was done quickly and with virtually no losses. And the numerical strength was very large - about 260 thousand people, 70 thousand horses, all the equipment, artillery and food supplies. It was not easy to even get the decision to retreat from Hitler, and to carry it out correctly is a very difficult task. However, Hitler did not forget the retreat. And when in March 1944, von Kleist gave the order, under the blows of superior Soviet forces, to begin a systematic retreat from the Southern Bug to the Dniester, he summoned him to Berlin and sent him into retirement, accusing him of being too passive in military operations and ignoring the Fuhrer’s orders about the impossibility retreat. True, the resignation was flavored with a high reward - Hitler became generous and awarded von Kleist the Knight's Cross with oak leaves and swords, bypassing the stage of awarding the Knight's Cross with oak leaves, which was a violation of the statute of the order and a rather rare occurrence. But, nevertheless, resignation is resignation. This is partly due to the fact that Kleist suggested that Hitler urgently seek peace with the USSR, suggesting that things would only get worse, but Hitler had a different opinion.


Kleist at an operational meeting with the Reich Chancellor.

For 4 months the field marshal lived in peace on one of the family estates, and after the failure of the July putsch he was imprisoned. However, he had absolutely nothing to show, and, despite all the hatred of many party functionaries towards him, he was released and left alone. He was captured by the Americans on April 25, 1945, and at first he was only involved as a witness in the Nuremberg trials - no particularly serious charges were brought against him. But in September 1946, unexpectedly for many, he was extradited to Yugoslavia and in August 1948 he was sentenced by the Yugoslav People's Court to 15 years of hard labor. In March 1949, he was transferred to the USSR, where on February 21, 1952, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR sentenced him to 25 years of imprisonment in camps. He behaved with dignity in prison, as befits an aristocrat and an officer. He changed about 25 places of detention and transfer and died on November 13, 1954 in the well-known Vladimir Central, thus becoming the highest-ranking German military man to die in Soviet captivity. The burial place is unknown.
To be honest, I am surprised by such excessive severity towards von Kleist. It can definitely be said that he absolutely clearly and unequivocally ordered not to apply any punitive measures to prisoners of war and especially to the civilian population. Apparently the fact is that he, as a good leader, never substituted his subordinates and took responsibility for himself, and different people served under him. A negative background for him was his active policy of attracting the Cossacks and mountain peoples of the North Caucasus to the side of the German army, in which certain results were achieved, so people believed this general, just as the soldiers and officers under his command believed him. He was strict and fair. Well, the last factor is apparently political - since such a large army bird fell into the hands of our justice - then he had to take the rap for everyone.

Walter Model

The complete opposite of von Kleist in terms of his relationship with National Socialism was Otto Moritz Walter Model, nicknamed “Hitler’s Fireman.” He is No. 2 on our list, and in general, in life, among the top generals of the Wehrmacht, he was Nazi No. 2 in fanaticism, after Reichenau. For me, Model is the most controversial person on the list, as I already wrote about in the very first part. What are the contradictions? Let's figure it out.
He comes from a simple, and one might even say poor, family and his origins were very different from most of the senior officers of the Wehrmacht, brought up in “Prussian military traditions.” He spent almost the entire First World War on the front line with the rank of lieutenant and commanded a company. Such as he called the trenches, or the “black bone” of war. He repeatedly showed personal courage, was wounded 3 times and was awarded many orders and medals. At the very end of the war he was transferred to the General Staff, and given that he did not graduate from the Military School, this is a very, very rare case. Literally on the fingers of one hand you can remember something similar - apparently he was really talented.
After the war he remained in the Reichswehr and it must be said that his career turned out quite well for someone who came from the bottom. By 1933, he had the rank of lieutenant colonel, was a recognized expert in technical matters, and also the author of a historical book about the famous German field marshal of the Napoleonic Wars era A. Gneisenau. Around this time, Model personally met Dr. Goebbels and literally fell captive to his mind and ideas. Goebbels also liked the young and competent colonel, and he brought him directly to Hitler. This was a turning point in Model’s life. He becomes a convinced Nazi, and the Reich Chancellor provides all possible protection to the promising military man. In 1934, Model received the rank of colonel, and in 1938 he was promoted to major general. The future field marshal met the Polish and French companies as the chief of staff of the 4th Army Corps and the 16th Army, respectively. The bosses were very impressed by his thoughtfulness, ability to pay attention to the smallest details and good professional knowledge. However, Model himself was somewhat burdened by exclusively desk work and repeatedly asked to participate in the case. In November 1940, he was appointed commander of the 3rd Panzer Division and promoted to lieutenant general. As the commander of this division as part of the 2nd Panzer Group of General G. Guderian, he entered the territory of the Soviet Union. Bialystok, Minsk, Smolensk, Bobruisk, Kyiv - this is his path through our country. In October, for his exemplary work, he received the rank of general of tank forces and a new position as commander of the 41st Tank Corps. At the same time, he is awarded the Knight's Cross - Hitler does not forget one of his favorites. His corps operates in the Moscow direction and in winter 41 receives serious damage. This is the first blow to the nose for the Model, but by no means the last! However, his actions are considered successful, and he will again be promoted - on January 16, 1942, he was appointed commander of the 9th Army. It was not without the personal initiative of Hitler, who appointed Module bypassing accepted customs, one might say out of turn. And this turned out to be one of Hitler's most brilliant decisions. It was from this time that Model’s fame began as an excellent commander, whom his opponents feared and respected, and whom the Germans themselves called only “The Genius of Defense.” To begin with, he saved his army from the threat of encirclement and defeat, and then he himself smashed the Soviet 30th Army to smithereens. The infamous Rzhev ledge, on which all the attacks of our troops crashed one after another, is the Model. The masterful evacuation of 17 of its divisions from this ledge in March 43 is also a Model.


Rzhevsky ledge

The second time they seriously hit Model on the head was during Operation Citadel. We, dear readers, when we talked about Klug, looked at how he “technically merged” with the management of a futile operation, and it was up to Model to manage it. He commanded the 9th Army and was supposed to strike on the northern face of the Oryol ledge. He was opposed by K. Rokossovsky...there seems to be no need to write anything more. It was an epic fake! Although in fairness the Model was able to retreat in more or less decent order. And then he begins to be transferred from front to front to plug the holes in the Nazis’ defense that was bursting at the seams and put out multiple “fires” (which is why the nickname is Hitler’s fireman). First, he stopped the advance of Soviet troops at the Dnieper line, then in January 1944 he was appointed commander of Army Group North, replacing Field Marshal G. von Küchler in this post. In this post, he was able to stabilize the front in the Baltic states, preventing the complete defeat of the army group. Based on the totality of his merits, on March 1, 1944, Model was promoted to field marshal general and awarded swords to the Knight's Cross (he received oak leaves back in February 1942 for Rzhev).

Knight's cross with oak leaves, swords and diamonds

Then he was transferred to Ukraine, where on March 30, 1944, Model was appointed commander of Army Group South instead of Manstein. And then he managed to straighten the front and stabilize the situation until the summer of ’44.
Then he is appointed commander of the Army Group “Center” instead of Bush, and here it must be said that he showed himself very well. Despite the catastrophe of the Germans in Belarus after Operation Bagration, Model was able to consolidate the Vistula line and, moreover, seriously batter the 2-tank army near Warsaw. After this, Hitler called Model “the savior of the Eastern Front” and awarded him diamonds for the Knight’s Cross, after which ... he transferred him to the Western Front, where the situation was also dire. Model managed to partially withdraw troops from the Falaise pocket, and also defeated the landing force near Arnhem. However, every day the end became more and more inevitable. After the failure of the Arden operation, which Model was strongly opposed to, he fell into a state of complete defeat. The Ruhr offensive operation of the Allies finally finished him off. Model finally realized that no one and nothing could save the Third Reich anymore, he disbanded his headquarters and shot himself in the forest near Duisburg. His body was buried by the adjutant in an unknown place, and after the war it was handed over to the son of Field Marshal G. Model, who reburied the remains of his father in the soldiers' cemetery in the Hürtgen forest. Thus ended his life.
Well, why do I consider his figure controversial, you ask me? A talented, truly skilled commander, beloved by the soldiers and inspiring fear in the officers. A good staff officer, an energetic and strong commander. All this is true. But he is also a real executioner and war criminal! The “scorched earth” orders and patronage of punitive forces and the Gestapo are also a Model. The abduction of civilians into slavery and the destruction of entire population groups is the Model. Destruction of everything and everyone - and this is the Model. He is the executioner of Ukraine, no more, no less. That's it.


V. Model and G. Guderian

Well, number 1, as you all already guessed, my dear readers, was Erich Friedrich Lewinsky von Manstein, although honestly, it was very difficult for me personally to choose the best from the top three you presented, since all these generals, on the one hand, are really excellent military leaders, and on the other hand, very ambiguous personalities. Oh well :-) What has grown has grown :-)
As you noticed, when talking about No. 1, I transliterated his initials with two surnames: Lewinsky and von Manstein. There is no mistake here. The fact is that he is the born son of General Fritz Erich von Lewinsky (to clarify, Monica Lewinsky has nothing to do with this family. Just like Bill Clinton), a descendant of an ancient family with Polish roots and Helena von Sperling. This Helena had a sister, Edwiga, who was married to another Prussian general (more precisely, a lieutenant general) and military attaché in the North American United States, Georg von Manstein, and this marriage was childless. So Georg and Edwiga, by agreement with their biological parents, adopted the newly born Erich (and this happened on November 24, 1887) and began to raise them as their own son. By the way, their family already had one adopted child (more precisely, an adopted child) - little Martha, the daughter of Helena and Edwiga’s deceased older brother. This is how the situation turned out.
There were about 30 generals in the families of Lewinsky, Manstein and Sperling - just remember the hero of the Austro-Prussian war Albrecht Gustav Manstein, and Commandant Revel, as well as Lieutenant General in the Russian service Ernst Sebastian von Manstein, and the famous author of “Notes on Russia, 1727” -1744" by Christoph Hermann Manstein. Well, let’s not forget that Paul von Hindenburg himself, the future President of Germany, was young Erich’s uncle. Military caste, and Erich is the flesh of his flesh!

Georg von Manstein

Erich Lewinsky von Manstein began his military career in 1906 as a cadet in the elite 3rd Guards Infantry Regiment, which he joined after graduating from the cadet corps. In 1907 he was promoted to officer. In 1914 he graduated with honors from the Military Academy and was appointed adjutant of the 2nd Guards Reserve Infantry Regiment.
He actively participated in the First World War, mostly on the Eastern Front, and was seriously wounded in 1914. He ended the war with the rank of captain and the position of chief of the operational department of the headquarters of the 213th Infantry Division on the Western Front. For military merits and heroism he was awarded several orders, including the Iron Cross of the 2nd and 1st degrees, as well as the Knight's Cross of the Royal Prussian Order of the House of Hohenzollern with swords.
After the war, he was left to serve in the Reichswehr in various staff positions and by 1933 had the rank of colonel. The Nazis' coming to power was not very well received, as he disagreed with them in many positions. Already in 1934, he openly opposed discrimination against Jewish military personnel, thereby incurring the wrath of the Fuhrer himself. Blomberg and Reichenau wanted to expel him from military service for such an initiative, but von Fritsche’s patronage and the mute discontent of the Prussian officers saved him. They kept me in the service, but they put me on the “black list.” However, this has not yet interfered with his career - in 37 Manstein became the Quartermaster General of the General Staff, that is, 1st Deputy Chief of the General Staff with the rank of Major General. The following year, with the beginning of the so-called “General Purge,” he was on the list for dismissal from the army, but even then he was not touched - he was simply demoted to commander of the 18th Infantry Division in Silesia. Even the Fuhrer did not risk dismissing one of the best (if not the best) General Staff of his army from service.

cadet Erich Lewinsky von Manstein

Before the start of WWII, Manstein was already a lieutenant general, chief of staff of Army Group South under the leadership of von Rundstedt and one of the developers of the plan for the attack on Poland. But his star truly rose before the French company. During the discussion of the “Gelb” plan developed for the operation against the French, Manstein sharply spoke out that this plan was absolutely unsuccessful and immediately proposed his own - delivering the main attack not with the right flank, through Belgium, as planned by the General Staff, but in the center, through the Ardennes. At the same time, he proposed creating a powerful tank group in the direction of the main attack. According to legend, literally stunned by such a violation of subordination and tradition, von Brauchitsch literally kicked Manstein out of the meeting, and then, along with Halder, ensured that the insolent man was removed from his post and sent “into exile” - the commander of the 38th Army Corps. But then something strange happened. Hitler once again showed that he has simply a fantastic instinct and his operational and strategic art is not so bad (as, by the way, Manstein himself later talked about this in his memoirs). He accepts the “Manstein amendment” and orders a complete reworking of the plan for attacking France. At the end of the campaign, Erich himself receives an “indulgence” and awards - the Knight's Cross and the rank of general of infantry.

Near Stalingrad

Everyone recognizes Manstein's tactical genius and operational skill. However, the latter is rushing out of his offices and wants to directly participate in hostilities. In February 1941, he was appointed commander of the 56th Motorized Corps, consisting of the 8th Panzer Division, the 3rd Motorized Division and the 250th Infantry Division.
By the beginning of the war with the USSR, Manstein’s corps was part of E. Gepner’s 4th Tank Group of Army Group North. The first days he performed simply excellent. In 5 days, his motorized corps made a throw of 250 km and captured a bridgehead in the Daugavpils area. Then came a new rush to Lake Ilmen. But then Manstein ran into a counterattack near Soltsy and was properly “received.” Most of the blame there lay with Gepner, but, nevertheless, the fact remains that the defeat was not weak.
Later, however, he restored his reputation by participating in the defeat of the 34th Army of the Red Army near Demyansk.
On September 13, 1941, Manstein was appointed commander of the 11th Army, advancing in the Crimean direction. In addition, the 3rd Romanian Army was also under his operational command.
And then he showed himself 100%. Having defeated a numerically superior enemy, Manstein immediately captured the entire Crimea (with the exception of Sevastopol). It was a complete epic win, especially considering that the future field marshal didn’t seem to have any tanks in the army at all. Further more. In October, together with Kleist, Manstein destroyed the 9th and 18th armies near Berdyansk, and in May 1942, a new brilliant victory - the defeat of the Crimean Front and the capture of the Kerch Peninsula. Finally, on July 3, 1942, Sevastopol fell. This would be the apogee of Manstein's glory. On July 1, 1942, he was promoted to field marshal general.

Memoirs of the subject. Interesting, by the way

Then everything went downhill. He failed at Leningrad. In November 1942, he was appointed commander of Army Group Don to save the 6th Army at Stalingrad. If in the place of Paulus there had been a person a little more experienced in real command and control of troops and a little more decisive, Manstein might have brilliantly completed the task assigned to him - but it happened as it happened. Moreover, only with great difficulty did Manstein manage to hold Rostov and prevent the complete defeat of the entire southern wing of the German Eastern Front. True, in February - March 1943, Erich carried out a successful counter-offensive in the Kharkov direction, pushing back Soviet troops across the Seversky Donets River and capturing Kharkov, for which he was awarded oak leaves to the Knight's Cross (March 12, 1943). True, this was followed by Kursk, which ended sadly for the Germans.
On September 3, 1943, Manstein, together with von Kluge, quite bravely and somewhat adventurously proposed to Hitler to carry out a radical reorganization of the top military leadership of the Wehrmacht and establish the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Front. Hitler remained silent, but noted to himself that Mantstein was beginning to become a more dangerous person for him, crossing the line into military issues and beginning to act in the political field. In October 1943, near Krivoy Rog, Manstein won his last victory in the war. Next was the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky cauldron, terrible for the Germans. Its consequences would have been even more terrifying for the Nazis if Manstein, contrary to Hitler’s orders, had not ordered a retreat and thus retained part of the troops. True, such (and repeated) violation of orders was the last straw for Hitler, at this point the Reich Chancellor’s patience ran out, and he sent the obstinate field marshal to the reserve, awarding him, however, with swords for the Knight’s Cross with oak leaves. The war ended for Erich von Manstein.
In the last days of the war, Manstein was arrested by British soldiers, and in 1949 he appeared before an English military court in Hamburg, which sentenced him to 18 years in prison for war crimes. However, already in 1953 he was released, which is somewhat surprising. Manstein, at the end of his career, became a war criminal, and under his command the “scorched earth” tactics were carried out.
Then Adenauer invited him to become an adviser and Manstein participated in the creation and development of the Bundeswehr. Died of a stroke on June 9, 1973.
With this, you and I have finally finished with the Field Marshals of the Wehrmacht, but have not yet “finished off” all the Field Marshals of the Third Reich.
Have a nice day!
To be continued….

Moscow

Transcript

Kleist Ewald, born in 1881, native of the town of Braunfeld, province of Thyssen (Germany), German, German subject, non-partisan, with a higher military education, former commander of the German army group “A” on the Soviet-German front, field marshal general.

The interrogation began at 12 o'clock .

Question: What position did you hold most recently in the German army?

Answer: With the rank of Field Marshal of the former German Army, until April 1, 1944, I commanded Army Group “A” on the Soviet-German front, and after April 1, 1944, I was in the OKH reserve.

Question: Do you have relatives?

Answer: Yes. I have a wife von Kleist Gisela, née Wachtel, born in 1898 and two sons: Ewald, born in 1917, a native of the mountains. Hanover, captain (captain) of the former German army, who was being treated in a mountain hospital before the capitulation. Breslau, and Heinrich, born in 1921, also a native of the mountains. Hanover, who studied at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Breslav and was in Bavaria, where he was sent to do agricultural work.

My father, von Kleist Hugo, born in 1848, was the director of a gymnasium in the city. Aurich (Germany), he died in the 20s. My mother is von Kleist Elisabeth, nee Gley, born in 1855, lives in the mountains. Stadt (Germany). Sister - Hertha Schwering, born in 1884, lives with her mother also in the mountains. Stadt. My sister's husband, Schwering Karl, was a Landrat in the mountains. Stadt, died in 1947. I have no other close relatives.

Question: When did you enlist in the German army?

Answer: I entered the German army voluntarily in 1900, immediately after graduating from high school, and served in it until the day I was captured by American troops on April 25, 1945.

Question: Tell us about your military service?

Answer: After graduating from high school in the city in 1900. Aurich, in the same year I joined an artillery regiment in the mountains as a volunteer. Brandenburg. In 1901 he graduated from military school, received the rank of lieutenant, and until 1907 he served in the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, most recently as an adjutant to the commander of a horse artillery battalion.

From 1907 to 1909 he studied at the cavalry school in the city. Hanover, from 1910 to 1913 at the Military Academy in Berlin. After graduating from the Academy, he was sent to the 14th Hussar Regiment in the mountains. Kassel, where, with the rank of senior lieutenant, he held the position of assistant commander of a cavalry squadron.

In March 1914 he received the rank of captain, and in May of the same year he was transferred to the position of reserve officer, candidate for squadron commander in the 1st Hussar Regiment, in the town of Langfuhr near Danzig.

In August 1914, he was appointed to the position of squadron commander and sent to the front in East Prussia. He took part in battles with Russian troops in East Prussia, Poland and Belarus, most recently as an officer of the General Staff at the headquarters of a cavalry division.

During the negotiations for the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty, in the fall of 1917, my division was recalled to Germany, where I remained until the spring of 1918, and then was sent to France, where I [served] as a General Staff officer at the headquarters of the 225th Division , and later the head of the operational department (“1a”) of the VII Corps, took part in the battles against the French and British on the Somme and in the Vosges. After the end of the war and the conclusion of the Treaty of Versailles, he remained in service in the Reichswehr, where he held various command positions up to and including squadron commander.

In 1921 he received the rank of major, and in October 1925 he was sent to the post of head and teacher of tactics and military history of a military school in the city. Hanover. In April 1928, he was appointed chief of staff of the 2nd Cavalry Division, stationed in the city. Breslau, and in July 1929 he was transferred to the same position in the 3rd Infantry Division in the city. Berlin. At the same time he received the rank of lieutenant colonel. In January 1931, I was awarded the rank of colonel and appointed to the post of commander of an infantry regiment in the city. Potsdam. In January 1932, he was appointed to the post of commander of the 2nd Cavalry Division, stationed in the city. Breslau, and, at the same time, was promoted to major general.

In mid-1934 he received the rank of lieutenant general, and in 1935 he was appointed commander of the VIII Corps in the city. Breslau. In 1936 he received the rank of cavalry general. He served as commander of the VIII Corps until February 1938, and then, together with generals Blomberg, Fritsch and others, was dismissed.

Question: What did you do after you retired?

Answer: Until August 1939, he lived on his estate, located in Lower Silesia, seven kilometers from the mountains. Breslau.

Question: And then?

Answer: At the end of August 1939, I was again drafted into the army and was assigned to form the XXII Corps headquarters with a location in the mountains. Hamburg.

At the end of August 1939, I completed the formation of the headquarters and joined him at the disposal of Field Marshal List, who was on the German-Polish border and preparing for an attack on Poland. Here, one tank division and one motorized division were allocated from List's army at the disposal of my headquarters, and the XXII Panzer Corps was formed under my command. With this corps I took part in the war against Poland on the southern flank of List's army. By mid-September 1939, my corps reached the area north of Tarnopl, met Russian troops there, and ended its further advance.

Then, in September 1939, my XXII Corps headquarters was recalled to Germany, where until March 1940, in the Lower Rhine region, he led the preparation of German troops for war against the French and British.

In March 1940, I received an order from the OKH to advance with my corps headquarters to the city. Koblenz was at the disposal of the headquarters of Field Marshal Rundstedt, who was located there.

In Koblenz, I was given three tank corps, which, under the name of the Kleist Group, were to take part in the war against France.

On May 10, 1940, my group launched an offensive against the French and on May 20, having passed the Ardennes, the Meuse River and the Maginot Line, it reached the English Channel coast, capturing the mountains. Abbeville.

After this, the group turned north, captured the city of Boulogne, Calais and flanked the British troops retreating to Dunkirk. At the end of May 1940, my group defeated the British at Dunkirk and drove them out of the European continent.

After the occupation of Dunkirk, my group was divided into three tank groups: the group of Infantry General Hoth, the “Group Kleist” and the group of Panzer General Guderian, which moved into the interior of France.

The Kleist Group, under my command, moved southeast, passing to the left of Paris, turned southwest, and at the end of June 1940 reached the Franco-Spanish border, occupying the city of Biarritz.

By this time, the war with France was over, and I and my headquarters, which again received its former name, that is, XXII Corps Headquarters, left for the mountains. Soissy near Paris, where he awaited a new assignment until November 1940.

Question: What assignment did you receive?

Answer: In November 1940, my headquarters was recalled to the city. Dresden, where it was renamed the headquarters of the 1st group, and was given the task of inspecting all newly created motorized divisions located in Germany.

I was engaged in this work until December 1940, and then received an order to go with the group headquarters to the mountains. Sinaia (Romania), where to staff the group and resist the British in the event of their invasion of Bulgaria through Greece or Thrace. When the group was completed, I was ordered to move with it through Bulgaria to the Greek and Turkish borders.

Having brought the group to the border with Greece and Turkey, I completely completed the task assigned to me, and since there was nothing more to do here, I was seconded by List in March 1941 to the disposal of the OKH.

On the way to Germany, on March 26, 1941, before reaching the mountains. Sofia, was brought back to List, who ordered me to lead a special group, called the Kleist Group, and as soon as the war against Yugoslavia began, move with the group through the mountains. Nis to Belgrade.

On April 6, 1941, Germany attacked Yugoslavia, on April 9 I set out on a campaign, and on April 13 of the same year, the troops of my group entered Belgrade. I remained in Yugoslavia until April 18, 1941, and then with my headquarters I went to Germany, where on April 25, 1941, while in Breslau, I began preparing an armed attack on the Soviet Union.

Question: When did you first become aware of Germany's impending attack on the Soviet Union?

Answer: I first became aware of this in February 1941, when I was in Bulgaria. Then an officer came to me from Paris, from Field Marshal Rundstedt, who was still there, and conveyed Rundstedt’s personal order that in the war against the Soviet Union, which is supposed to begin this year, i.e. 1941, I will operate under the command of Rundstedt.

Question: What was your participation in the preparations for the war against the Soviet Union?

Answer: Having received from Rundstedt a list of units that would be under my command and task, I began to develop issues related to the offensive in such a way as to provide for all the contingencies that might come my way.

The following units were transferred to my subordination: XIV Panzer Corps of Infantry General Wittersheim; tank corps, I don’t remember its number, General of the Panzer Forces Kempff and III Panzer Corps of General of the Cavalry Mackensen.

These three corps formed the 1st Panzer Group, under my command, which, in turn, was part of the Army Group South, commanded by Field Marshal General Rundstedt.

The task was to move directly east into Soviet territory behind the leading troops of the VI Army, under the command of Field Marshal [von] Reichenau, also part of Army Group South.

I completed preparations for the invasion of Soviet territory in mid-June 1941, and at the same time I left with my headquarters for the Tomaszow-Zamosc region, where the corps subordinate to me were already located.

The layout of my troops before the offensive was as follows. Along the German-Polish border on the Tomaszow-Lublin line were troops of the VI Army of Reichenau, and behind them were my corps in the following order: on the left - III, in the middle - Kempff's corps and on the right - XIV.

On June 22, 1941, troops of the Reichenau Army crossed the Western Bug and went on the offensive. Following them, on June 23 or 24, I don’t remember exactly now, my tank group also moved. XIV Corps headed southeast, while Kempff and III Corps headed east.

In mid-August 1941, my corps approached the Dnieper and entered into battle, which broke out in a bend of the Dnieper for the cities of Kherson, Nikopol, and Zaporozhye. During the fighting, the group alternately acted together with the VI Army of Reichenau, the XVII Army of Infantry General Stülpnagel and the XI Army of Colonel General Schubert.

By the end of August 1941, i.e. by the time the battle in the Dnieper bend ended, parts of my 1st Panzer Group were located at the following points: Kempff's corps near the city of Nikolaev. XI Corps near the city of Nikopol. Between them, the German I Mountain Corps of General of the Mountain Troops Kübler and the Romanian Infantry Division were advancing on Kherson. On the Dnieper near the mountains. In Zaporozhye there were parts of the Hungarian motorized corps under the command of General Miklos, the cavalry brigade of this corps stood between the Ingul and Ingulets rivers. To the left of the Hungarians stood the III Corps, individual parts of which crossed the Dnieper and entrenched themselves on the left bank, and to the left of the III Corps stood the Italian infantry corps of General Messe. All these units were by this time part of my 1st Tank Group. To the left of the Italian corps were units of the XVII Army of Infantry General Stülpnagel.

At the end of September, the XIV and Kempff Corps took part, together with Guderian's Panzer Group and Reichenau's VI Army, in the battle east of the city of Kyiv. The III Corps was at that time near the mountains of Dnepropetrovsk and fought for the crossing of the Dnieper. During the fighting east of Kyiv, Kempff's corps was transferred to Guderian's command, and I went with the XIV Corps in the direction of Dnepropetrovsk to assist the III Corps, which was engaged in heavy fighting with the Soviet troops and was unable to advance.

Having freed my III Corps, I went in the direction of the mountains with two corps, III and XIV. Melitopol to provide assistance to the XI Army, which encountered strong resistance there. In the Melitopol area, the XIV Corps entered the battle, and the III Corps turned east and began to advance towards the coast of the Sea of ​​​​Azov.

During this period of time, when I don’t remember exactly, my 1st Panzer Group was renamed the 1st Panzer Army, continuing to remain part of Field Marshal Rundstedt’s Army Group South. At the beginning of October 1941, after the completion of the battles for the Dnieper and the occupation of the Azov coast, the army group “South” moved on a broad front to the east, and only one XI Army was advancing in a southern direction to the Crimea.

On the right flank of the army group “South” my tank army was advancing, which included the III, XIV tank corps, the I Mountain Corps and the Italian infantry corps.

To the left of the 1st Tank Army the XVII Army was advancing, heading towards the mountains. Artemovsk, and to the left of the XVII Army the VI Army was advancing, heading towards the mountains. Kharkiv. The army group “Center” was advancing even further to the left. At the beginning of October, the “South” group reached the Kharkov-Taganrog line and our further advance was stopped. Having gained a foothold at the Kharkov-Taganrog line, the group went on the defensive, which lasted until the end of November 1941.

At the end of November, I was given the order to break through the front of the Soviet troops in the Rostov region with two tank corps, go as deep as possible into the location of the Soviet troops and reconnoiter the enemy forces on the front against the South group. At the same time, I was ordered to destroy the bridges across the Don in order to prevent the accumulation of Soviet troops on this section of the front.

Having broken through the front, I sent the XIV Corps to the northeast to contain the Soviet troops, and the III Corps to Rostov, which was captured by me.

After holding out in Rostov for 2-3 days, under pressure from Soviet troops, I was forced to retreat across the Mius River, losing a large number of tanks and personnel. The assigned task, however, was completed, the bridges were blown up and it was discovered that the Russians had a large number of troops and equipment on this section of the front.

Until February 1942, the South group did not conduct active hostilities. In February 1942, Soviet troops, having broken through the front between the VI and XVII armies in the Barvenkovo-Izyum area, deeply wedged themselves into the location of our troops and created a threat to cut the railway along which supplies were supplied to the entire army group “South”.

The battles to eliminate the Russian breakthrough continued until May-June, after which our troops regrouped for the summer offensive.

Question: What exactly was this regrouping?

Answer: On the outer, southern wing of the Soviet-German front, a new army group “A” was created under the command of Field Marshal List.

It included: the XI Army under the command of Manstein (Schubert was killed), which was advancing on the Crimea, the XVII Army under the command of Colonel General Ruof (Ruof replaced Colonel General Hoth, who, in turn, replaced Stülpnagel), which occupied the area from the mountains . Taganrog to the mountains. Artemovsk and the 1st Tank Army under my command, which occupied the area from the mountains. Artemovsk to the junction with the army group “South”, located north of the army group “A”.

The army grouping "South", which at that time was commanded by Weichs (who replaced Field Marshal Bock in this post, who, in turn, replaced the ill Rundstedt), included: VI Army under the command of Colonel General Paulus (who replaced at the end of November - early December 1941 of the deceased Reichenau), the IV Panzer Army under the command of Hoth, the Hungarian tank corps under the command of Miklos and Italian units.

In July 1942, the summer offensive of German troops began. During the first period of the offensive, my 1st Panzer Army, which included the XIV, III Panzer Corps and I Mountain Corps, reached the mountains. Starobelsk. At this time, the XVII Army, advancing to my right, occupied Rostov, crossed the Don, and began to advance deeper into the Caucasus.

Question: What task was assigned to you?

Answer: The general task assigned to army group “A” was to occupy the Black Sea coast up to and including the city of Batumi, thereby depriving the Russian Black Sea Fleet of its last bases on the Black Sea, then seize the Caucasus and the Baku oil regions.

After the occupation of Starobelsk, I was ordered to transfer the XIV Tank Corps to the command of Army Group “A”, and with the III Tank Corps and the I Mountain Corps move south to the Don, cross the Don east of Rostov and move further to the Caucasus.

After crossing the Don, to facilitate the advance deeper into the Caucasus, I was given the tank corps of Colonel General Guyer and the L Infantry Corps of Infantry General Hoth, which had previously been part of the IV Panzer Army of Hoth and the XVII Army of Ruoff. I, in turn, transferred my I Mountain Corps to the XVII Army.

Having reached the Terek River with heavy fighting, I was forced to stop under the pressure of Soviet troops and, having occupied the front along the Terek, from the Kuban River and almost to the very coast of the Caspian Sea, go on the defensive.

German troops in the Caucasus remained in this situation until January 1943. My patrols went out several times to the coast of the Caspian Sea and destroyed the railway that had been built from the mountains during the war. Makhach-Kala to the mountains. Astrakhan, however, we were unable to achieve more tangible results. Paulus's VI Army, moving north of me in the Elista-Stalingrad area, managed to enter the mountains. Stalingrad, but it was also not possible to capture it completely.

Enraged by the failures that had befallen him, in December 1942, Hitler removed List from command of Army Group A and temporarily entrusted its command to me. At the end of January 1943, Soviet troops launched an attack on Rostov, approached it at a distance of 70 kilometers and, continuing to move further, threatened to cut off all German troops located in the Caucasus.

After heavy fighting, I managed to bring the 1st Tank Army to Rostov, and it came under the command of the army group “South”, whose commander at that time was already Manstein.

Soviet troops soon occupied Rostov, and the XVII Army remained cut off in the Kuban. In February 1943, I was confirmed as commander of army group “A”, at the same time I was awarded the rank of field marshal general.

After the transfer of the 1st Tank Army to Manstein, my group included the XVII Army, cut off in the Kuban, and units of the XI Army located in the Crimea.

Continuing the offensive, Soviet troops completely destroyed the German troops at Stalingrad, greatly battered the VI Army, newly created in the summer of 1943 and thrown into battle for the first time on the Mius River, and drove the army group “South” to the Melitopol-Zaporozhye region.

By August-September 1943, I managed to evacuate the XII Army through the Kerch Strait, after which I led some of its units through the Crimea and threw them near Melitop to help Manstein. At the same time, the remnants of the VI Army came under my command from Manstein.

Around the same time, I raised the question with Hitler about the need to evacuate Crimea, since Soviet troops intended to cut it off from the north. Hitler refused me this. At this time, my army group included the XVII Army and the remaining units of the VI Army, located between the Sea of ​​​​Azov and the bend of the Dnieper. Soviet troops continued their offensive and pushed Manstein's group and parts of my VI Army even further to the west. The exit from Crimea was cut off.

On March 29, 1944, I again turned to Hitler with a proposal to withdraw the VI Army beyond the Dnieper River in the direction of the mountains. Iasi, and Crimea to be evacuated by sea, however, this time too, having allowed the VI Army to be withdrawn to Romania, Hitler did not allow Crimea to be evacuated, citing the fact that if German troops leave Crimea, Turkey will declare war on Germany.

By April 1, 1944, the troops of my army group “A” were in the following points: the XVII Army was cut off in the Crimea, the VI Army on the Southern Bug River, Romanian troops were also located here, as well as the XVIII Army of Infantry General Weller, which was part of the army group “ South", and cut off from it by deeply embedded Soviet troops. Far to the west was the army group “South” itself, retreating under the onslaught of Russian troops.

On April 1, 1944, an order was issued to remove me from the post of commander of army group “A” and send me to the disposal of the OKH. Instead of me, Colonel General Schörner was appointed to the post of commander of this group. At the same time, Manstein was also dismissed, and Colonel General Model was appointed to the post of commander of the army group “South”.

Question: Where were you sent after you were recalled from the post of commander of army group “A”?

Answer: I was enlisted in the OKH reserve, retaining my rank and pay. They didn’t give me any work, and I left for my estate.

Question: What kind of estate is this?

Answer: As I already showed above, my estate was located in Lower Silesia, seven kilometers from the mountains. Breslau. Now this territory has passed to Poland. The estate consisted of 200 hectares of land, 50 dairy cows, six horses and over 50 heads of other livestock. About 20 hired workers worked there. I remained on my estate until January 27, 1945, when an order came from the local authorities to evacuate everything that was possible to Saxony.

Having evacuated people and horses to the town of Lomach on the Elbe River, in April 1945 my wife and I went by car to Bavaria to visit our youngest son, who was at that time in the village. Mitelfels. There I was detained by American troops on April 25, 1945.

Question: Where were you sent by the Americans after your arrest?

Answer: At first, I was sent to the headquarters of some American division, where I was interrogated about my biography and service in the German army, and then, on April 26 of the same year, I was placed in a prisoner of war camp near the city of Augsburg.

Question: Were your wife and son also with you?

Answer: No, the Americans released their wife and son, and I don’t know where they went.

Answer: At the beginning of May 1945, I was transferred from the Augsburg camp to the city. Wiesbaden, where the headquarters of the Bradley army group was located, and was placed in a villa together with 20 senior German officers and generals. Here I was interrogated about my biography and military service.

In mid-May I was sent to the mountains. Kissingen on the Main River, where the headquarters of the American Air Force was located, and from there a few days later, together with several other German generals, they were transported by plane to the mountains. London. On my arrival in London I was placed in the general's camp at Trench Park, near London, where I remained for eight days.

During this time, I was interrogated twice regarding my conduct of tank battles on the Soviet-German front. However, I refused to answer these questions. From the camp in Trench Park I was sent by train to the mountains. Windamere on the border of Scotland, where about 150 people were placed in the Kreis Dahl camp, in which only German generals were kept. I stayed in this camp until January 1946, and during that time I was never interrogated. In January 1946 he was transferred to Bridge End camp in southwest England. It was a large camp that once housed the American Expeditionary Forces intended to land on the continent. During my stay in this camp I was never interrogated.

In June 1946, together with Field Marshal Rundstedt, I traveled to Nuremberg, where I gave written testimony at the trial of a group of OKW and German General Staff employees. After 4-6 weeks in Nuremberg, he returned again to Bridge End, and at the end of August 1946 he was transported to London and placed in a small camp located in London itself and owned by Secret Service. The next day, I was sent from this camp by plane, accompanied by an English captain, to the mountains. Vienna.

Question: For what purpose?

Answer: The British handed me over to the Yugoslav authorities there. From Vienna by car, accompanied by a Yugoslav colonel, I was taken on September 1, 1946 to the city. Belgrade and imprisoned by the secret police.

I was in this prison in solitary confinement until the beginning of December 1946. During this time, I was once interrogated by the so-called historical commission, which was interested in my actions in the war against Yugoslavia.

In December 1946, he was transferred to a military prison, where at first he was also kept in solitary confinement, and then in a cell whose composition was constantly changing, but did not exceed 18-20 people. While in this prison, I was interrogated for the first time on March 15, 1947, and the second time on August 4 of the same year, both times about the atrocities committed on Yugoslav territory by the troops subordinate to me.

On August 4, 1948, a closed trial took place, at which I was found guilty of the atrocities committed by my soldiers and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. After the verdict was passed, I filed a cassation appeal, and after that I waited for an answer for seven months, continuing to be held in the same prison.

On March 4, 1949, they announced to me that my complaint was rejected and the sentence was confirmed. On the same day I was taken to the mountains. Subbotitsa on the Hungarian border and on March 5, 1949 handed over to the general of the Soviet Army.

Question: What awards did you have for serving in the German army?

Answer: I have the Iron Crosses II and I First Class for my participation in the First World War. For my participation in the Second World War, I was awarded buckles for the Iron Crosses II and I first class, the Knight's Cross, oak leaves and swords for the Knight's Cross.

The interrogation ended at 5 p.m. .

The protocol from my words was recorded correctly and was read to me in a translation into German.

VON KLEIST EWALD

Interrogated: Head of the Investigative Unit for Special Cases of the USSR Ministry of State Security, Lieutenant Colonel KUZMISHIN

Central Asia of the FSB of Russia. D. N-21135. In 3 vols. T. 1. L. 15-46. Script. Typescript.

Notes:

Tippelskirch K. History of the Second World War. M., 1956; Erich v. Manstein. Verlorene Siege. Bonn, 1955 (Russian translation: Manshpgein E. Lost victories. M., 1957); Mellentin F. Tank battles 1939-1945. M., 1957; The fatal decisions. Ed. by Seymour Freidin and William Richardson. Translated from the German by Constantine Fitzgib-bon. New-York, 1956 (Russian translation: Westphal Z., Kreipe V., Blumentritt G., Bayerlein F., Zeitzler K., Zimmermann B., Manteuffel X. Fatal decisions. M., 1958), etc.

Muller K-D. German prisoners of war: Current state of research and future prospects // Soviet and German prisoners of war during the Second World War. pp. 293-294.

Konasov V.B. The fate of German prisoners of war in the USSR; diplomatic, legal and political aspects of the problem. Essays and documents. Vologda, 1996. P. 257; Bezborodova I.V. Prisoners of war of the Second World War: Wehrmacht generals in captivity. M., 1998. P. 14.

Konasov V.B., Kuzminykh A.L. German prisoners of war in the USSR... P. 25.

Russian Archive: The Great Patriotic War: Foreign prisoners of war of the Second World War in the USSR. T.24 (13). P. 529.

Each sheet of the interrogation protocol is certified by the personal signature of E. von Kleist.

Now Wroclaw (Republic of Poland).

The Brest-Litovsk Treaty is a separate peace treaty between Russia, on the one hand, and Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, on the other, concluded in Brest-Litovsk (now Brest) on March 3, 1918.

The Eighth Army Corps (German VIII. Armeekorps) is a combined arms formation of the German army. Formed in October 1934 as a military unit of the Breslau ground forces (Heeresdienstelle Breslau), in 1935 it was reorganized into the main command of the VIII Army Corps. From May 1941, he was part of the 9th Army of Army Group Center (Bialystok, Smolensk); since November at the disposal of Army Group D (Paris). Since March 1942 at the disposal of Army Group “South”, since April as part of Army Group “South” (Kharkov, Don); from August as part of the 6th Army of Army Group B (Stalingrad). From December 1942 to January 1943 as part of the 6th Army of Army Group Don (Stalingrad). Corps of the 2nd formation (1943): since April as part of the 16th Army of Army Group North. In 1944: from January in the 16th Army of Army Group North; from April - as part of the 2nd Army of Army Group Center (Brest-Litovsk); from July - in the 4th Tank Army of Army Group “Northern Ukraine” (Bug, Vistula); from August - in the 9th Army of Army Group Center (Warsaw); from December - in the 9th Army of Army Group A (Warsaw). In 1945: from January in the 9th Army of Army Group A (Warsaw); from February - in the 17th Army of Army Group Center (Silesia).

Field Marshal Werner von Blomberg and Colonel General Werner von Fritsch, like a number of other high-ranking Wehrmacht generals and officers, were dismissed as a result of the so-called. Blomberg-Fritsch crisis (January 24 - February 5, 1938), initiated by Hitler in order to achieve complete control over the armed forces.

The Twenty-Second Motorized (Mountain Rifle) Corps (German: XXII. Armeekorps) is a combined arms unit of the German army. Formed in August 1939 in the X Military District as the XXII Motorized Corps (German: XXII. Armeekorps). In March 1940, the corps located on the Western Front was deployed to the Kleist tank group (German: Panzergruppe von Kleist). After the end of the French campaign, the corps was restored, and in November the 1st Tank Group was formed on the basis of its headquarters. Re-formed in August 1943 in the VII Military District as the XXII Mountain Corps (German: XXII. Gebirgs-Armeekorps).

We are talking about the Dunkirk operation of 1940 (conventional name - "Dynamo") - the evacuation of allied (British and part of the French and Belgian) troops from the area of ​​​​the French city of Dunkirk to England on May 26 - June 4, 1940. As a result of the breakthrough of German tank formations On May 20, 1940, towards Abbeville, the troops of the 1st Allied Army Group (10 British, 18 French and 12 Belgian divisions) found themselves cut off and pressed to the sea in the area of ​​Gravelines, Arras, Bruges. Army Group A troops attacked them from the west and southwest, and Army Group B attacked from the east and southeast. The British command decided on May 20 to evacuate its troops without notifying the allies.

We are talking about Infantry General Hermann Hoth.

We are talking about the British expeditionary force (62 thousand people), which was landed at the end of February 1941 in the Greek port of Thessaloniki after an agreement between the British Foreign Minister A. Eden and the Chief of the Imperial General Staff D. Dill with the Greek government. The corps, together with the Greek Army of Eastern Macedonia, was supposed to resist a group of German troops (6 divisions, including the 1st tank, united in the 18th and 30th army corps). The 2nd German Tank Division captured Soloniki on April 9, 1941. 225 thousand Greek soldiers and officers were captured. The British lost about 12 thousand people killed, wounded and captured. 50 thousand people the English Expeditionary Force was evacuated by sea.

The Fourteenth Army (motorized, tank) corps (German: XIV. Armeekorps) is a combined arms unit of the German army. Formed in April 1938 in Magdeburg as the XIV Motorized Corps (German: XIV. Armeekorps). In June 1942 it was also called the Wietersheim group (German: Gruppe von Wietersheim). In June 1942 it was transformed into the XIV Panzer Corps (German: XIV. Panzerkorps). In January 1943 it was destroyed at Stalingrad and in March of the same year it was re-formed in the occupied territory of France.

We are talking about the XLVIII Army (Tank) Corps. On June 22, 1941, at 10-00, von Kleist brought the XLVIII Panzer Corps of the 1st Panzer Group into the breakthrough, German tanks rushed in the direction of Radzekhov and Berestechko.

The Forty-eighth Army (Tank) Corps (German XLVIII. Armeekorps) is a combined arms unit of the German army. Formed in June 1940 as the XLVIII Army Corps, but disbanded the following month. It was re-formed in January 1941 and renamed the XLVIII Panzer Corps (German: XLVIII. Panzerkorps) on June 21 of the same year.

The Third Army (motorized, tank) corps, (German III. Armeekorps) is a combined arms formation of the German army. Formed in October 1934 as the III Army Corps on the basis of the 2nd Reichswehr Division (Berlin). In March 1941, transformed into the III Motorized Corps (III. Armeekorps). In February-April and June 1942 it was also called the Mackensen group. In June 1942, it was reorganized into the III Tank Corps (III. Panzerkorps).

General of the Mountain Troops L. Kübler commanded the XLIX Army (Mountain) Corps from October 1940 to December 1941, and there was no I Mountain Corps in the German army. The text refers to the XLIX Army (Mountain) Corps.

In June 1941, fascist Italy, together with Nazi Germany, entered the war against the USSR and sent an expeditionary force (about 62 thousand people - 2900 officers and 59 thousand ordinary soldiers) to the front. General Giovanni Messe was appointed commander of the corps. The corps included two mechanized divisions "Pasubio", "Torino" and the "Celere" division. The corps was also assigned an aviation group consisting of transport aircraft and a squadron of fighters. In the first days of its stay in Russia, the Italian corps acted as part of the 11th German Army, and then was transferred to the 1st Panzer Group of E. von Kleist, which was advancing to the crossings across the Dnieper between Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk. For more details, see: Filatov G.S. The collapse of Italian fascism. M., 1973. S. 194-244.

On August 21, stubborn fighting took place in the Dnepropetrovsk area. The 11th German Army crossed the Southern Bug. The 1st Tank Group (1st TGr) continued fighting in the Dnieper bend. On August 28, Halder wrote in his diary: “(68th day of the war)... Units of the 1st Panzer Group lost an average of 50% of their tanks...” On August 30-31, the 11th Army crossed the Dnieper. The 1st TGr continued fighting for the Dnepropetrovsk bridgehead, the 17th Army was preparing for crossing and crossing the Dnieper in the Kremenchug area.

The First Tank Army (German: 1. Panzer-Armee) is an operational formation of the German army. Formed as the command of the 1st Panzer Group (German 1. Panzergruppe) in November 1940 on the basis of the command of the XXII Corps. From December 1940 it was subordinate to Army Group C in Germany, from January - as part of the 12th Army in Romania, from April - in Yugoslavia. From May 1941 - as part of the 2nd Army in Germany, then transferred to Army Group South on the Soviet-German front. In May-July 1941 it was called the Kleist tank group, and from June - the Oberbaugruppe "South". On October 6, the regrouping of Army Group South was completed. On October 25, 1941, the 1st TGr was renamed the 1st Tank Army (TA). From August 1942 it was part of Army Group A (East), from February 1943 - Army Group Don, from March 1943 - Army Group South. Since April 1944, it has been included in Army Group “Southern Ukraine”, since October - Army Group “A” (East), since February 1945 - Army Group “Center”.

We are talking about the IX Army Corps, which was commanded by General of Infantry Hermann Geyer from October 25, 1939 to December 31, 1941. At the time of the events described by von Kleist, the corps was commanded by Infantry General Hans Schmidt.

The Ninth Army Corps (German: IX. Armeekorps) is a combined arms unit of the German army. Formed in October 1934 as a military unit of the Kassel ground forces, in 1935 it was reorganized into the IX Army Corps. From January 1942 he was part of the 4th Tank Army, and from May - into the 3rd Tank Army of Army Group Center.

Probably a translator's error, we are talking about the V Army Corps, since the 4th Tank Army from April 5 to September 2, 1942 included: V, VII, IX, XX Corps. L Corps in 1942 was part of the 18th Army of Army Group North.

The Fiftieth Army Corps (German: L. Armeekorps) is a combined arms unit of the German army. Formed in October 1940. In April-July 1944 it was also called the Wegener group (German: Gruppe Wegener).

So in the document, we are talking about General Otto Wöhler. Perhaps, speaking of the XVIII Army, von Kleist had in mind the XVII Army Corps, which in August 1947 became part of the Army Group South under the command of General Wöhler.

On January 28, 1944, units of the Red Army near Cherkasy surrounded the 100,000-strong group of the 8th Army of General O. Weller and the 1st Tank Army of General G. Hube.

We are talking about the 12th Army Group of the US Army, commanded by General Omar Bradley.

We are talking about the Nuremberg trials of the US Military Tribunal. The US Military Tribunal trials at Nuremberg were held after the end of World War II; a total of 12 trials took place: No. 1 - the trial of the Nazi doctors; No. 2 - in the case of Field Marshal Erhard Milch; No. 3 - Lawyers' process; No. 4 - in the case of the Main Administrative and Economic Directorate of the SS; No. 5 - Flicka process; No. 6 - “Farbenindastry” process; No. 7 - on the matter of command in the Balkans; No. 8 - in the case of racial departments; No. 9 - in the case of SD operational groups; No. 10 - Krupp process; No. 11 - Wilhelmstrasse process; No. 12 - in the case of the Wehrmacht High Command (OKW).

The Iron Cross is a military order, one of the most popular awards in Germany. Established by the Prussian king Frederick William III on March 10, 1813 in three degrees. On September 1, 1939, it was restored in Nazi Germany with a change in its statute: the Knight's Cross of various denominations was added to the previously existing degrees. At the same time, its awarding for civil merits was abolished, thus it became a purely military order. In total, about 450 thousand people were awarded the order during the Second World War.

We are probably talking about the Buckle (spang) of the honor list of the ground forces - a military award introduced as a badge of honor on January 1, 1944. In fact, the spang was received by military personnel - holders of the Iron Cross 1st class, when their merits were not enough to receive the Knight's Cross or the German Cross, but they fulfilled the “norm” for the second Iron Cross, 1st class. The shpanga was a round gilded oak wreath, into which a straight swastika was inscribed. The spang was attached to the ribbon of the Iron Cross, Class II, worn in the buttonhole. For more details, see: Pia D. Orders and medals of the Third Reich. M., 2003; Orders and medals of the SS troops / With comments by Theodor Gladkov. M., 2003; Kurylev O.P. Military awards of the Third Reich: An illustrated encyclopedia. M., 2006.

We are talking about one of the degrees of the Order of the Iron Cross - the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Branches and Swords, introduced on June 21, 1941. A total of 160 people were awarded this award during the Second World War, of which 98 represented the Luftwaffe.

Kleist Paul Ewald Ludwig von (1881-1954) - Field Marshal General of the German Army.

The von Kleist came from Pomerania. The clan was quite numerous and by the beginning of the 17th century it was divided into several branches, which laid the foundation for new lines of nobles in Poland, Russia and Prussia.

One of the four Prussian von Kleist lines was later elevated to the rank of count. Representatives of the male line of the family often chose a military career for themselves, and more than 30 of them were awarded the military order “Pour le Merite” (“For Merit”) of the highest military rank - field marshal - three of the von Kleitovs achieved. The first on this list was Friedrich-Heinrich-Ferdinand-Emil, Count Nollendorf. He was born in 1762 and at the age of 12 became a page of Prince Henry. From the age of 15 he took part in hostilities, and after graduating from military school he began to serve at the headquarters of the commander-in-chief, Prince Hohenlohe. By 1803, Friedrich von Kleist had reached the rank of adjutant general and was in good standing with the emperor. After a difficult defeat for Prussia at Auerstadt in 1806, von Kleist was sent to Napoleon to negotiate peace, and then, after Tilsit, he retired.

Returning to military service, von Kleist took part in the campaign against Russia in 1812 as part of Napoleon's troops and was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor by the French Emperor for his services. In the campaigns of 1813-1814 he distinguished himself in the battles of Bautzen and Dresden. But service for the good of France was morally difficult for von Kleist, like many other Prussian officers. And at the first opportunity, and this was given to him in the summer of 1813, he left the ranks of the French army. And he didn’t just leave. During the battle of Kulm, he led his unit to the rear of the troops of the French commander Vandam, which ensured victory in the battle for the Allied troops. Then there was the battle of Leipzig and the siege of Erfurt. The apogee of von Kleist's military glory was the Battle of Laon (1814), in which he inflicted a crushing defeat on Marshal Marmont and captured 36 guns.

His military services were recognized with the title of Count of Nollendorf, and his name was given to a Prussian Grenadier Regiment.

The last person to hold the rank of field marshal in the von Kleist family was Paul Ewald von Kleist, one of Adolf Hitler's most talented commanders. He was the model of the Prussian officer of the old German army, for whom the oath was an inviolable lifelong obligation. He never compromised with the Nazis, but he also did not join the conspiracy against the Fuhrer, although he never had good feelings for von Kleist and did not hide it.

Paul Ewald von Kleist was born on August 8, 1881 in the town of Braunfels in the very center of Germany. His father was Christop Albrecht August Hugo von Kleist, a doctor of philosophy who taught mathematics at a private school. The son, following the traditions of the family, chose a military career for himself and entered a military school, after which he was enlisted in the artillery troops. But a quiet life in the artillery did not suit his temperament, and in 1912 the young officer transferred to the cavalry. By the beginning of the First World War, Kleist had graduated from the Military Academy and received a position in the German General Staff

In 1919, Kleist was enlisted in the Reichswehr. Two years later he received the rank of major, and in 1932 he was already a major general. Unlike other officers, Kleist greeted 1933 with rather restraint. Despite the fact that Hitler almost immediately awarded him the rank of lieutenant general, the aristocrat Paul Ewald von Kleist was contemptuous of the Nazis and their social demagoguery, which immediately affected his career. Although he became a cavalry general in 1936, Hitler, purging the army after the Fritsch Affair, dismissed Kleist from the army.

But the general did not remain outside military service for long. War was approaching, and Paul Ewald von Kleist returned to duty. The Fuhrer appointed him commander of a tank group, which, together with von List's 12th Army, was to break through Luxembourg into Southern Belgium, then cross the Meuse near Sedan and go behind the French units at the Maginot Line.

To speed up the defeat of the French army, the German command united the tank groups of Kleist and Guderian. Kleist's tanks were pulled to the southeast and wedged into the torn French front, turning its tip to the south. His tank group broke through the Ardennes Front and directed a “tank corridor” through the Allied defensive lines to the sea. The superiority of the German army was so great that the enemy at the Maginot Line was quickly surrounded and defeated. During the war in France, von Kleist received the Knight's Cross. The disgrace is over.

On December 3, 1940, Hitler signed the directive for the occupation of Greece. The capture was supposed to be carried out by troops passed through the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. In March, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia joined the Tripartite Pact. But five days after the signing of the treaty, a coup d’etat took place in Belgrade, and a government oriented towards the Western allies and Moscow came to power. On March 27, Hitler urgently convened a meeting, and the fate of Yugoslavia was decided.

On the night of April 6, 1941, Yugoslavia signed a treaty of friendship and mutual assistance with the USSR, and on the morning of the same day German bombers appeared over Belgrade. When the first fires broke out in the city, Kleist's tank group, stationed in Bulgaria as part of the 12th Army, crossed the Yugoslav border. Already on the first day, the enemy’s defenses were broken through. Having thrown back the 5th Yugoslav Army, Kleist headed north. On April 11, his tanks entered the suburbs of Belgrade, destroyed by German aircraft. Six days later Yugoslavia capitulated.

On May 6, troops of the 12th Army in two wedges, from Bulgaria and conquered Yugoslavia, invaded Greek territory. Already on May 27, the German flag was flying over the Acropolis, and von Kleist’s tank group was in Athens.

On June 22, 1941, German troops invaded the territory of the Soviet Union. Army Group South of von Rundstedt, consisting of three armies and one tank group, delivered the main blow in the direction of Kyiv. The task of Army Group South included the destruction of enemy units in Galicia and Western Ukraine, the capture of crossings across the Dnieper in the Kyiv area and a further offensive after crossing the Dnieper deep into the territory of the USSR. Von Kleist was appointed commander of the 1st Panzer Army, which was to become the main striking force of the Wehrmacht in the southern direction.

The main forces of the Red Army were concentrated in Ukraine. Unlike von Kluge's units, Kleist's tank group encountered fierce resistance from the very first days. The front commander, Marshal Budyonny, brought up fresh tank units, which counterattacked the Germans and held back their advance. Stubborn fighting continued until July 3. Soviet troops retreated very slowly, often only after fierce counterattacks from von Kleist's tank groups that had rushed forward.

On July 4, the 1st Panzer Group reached the area west of the Sluch River, but both armies of the South group lagged behind, pursuing the slowly retreating Red Army units. As a result, after 12 days of fighting, Rundstedt’s army group failed to break into operational space. Its armies pushed back the Soviet troops with a frontal attack, who, having gathered all their forces, again counterattacked the German units and avoided wide coverage. The Red Army, suffering heavy losses, was able to withdraw the main units beyond the Sluch, Western Bug, Dniester rivers and to the area south of Mogilev. The command and troops of the Red Army rose to the occasion of the demands placed on them by a much more difficult theater of military operations than all previous ones. Kleist was amazed at the number of Russian tanks participating in the counterattacks.

On July 5, Kleist launched an attack on the "Stalin Line" - defensive structures on the old Soviet border. Having broken through fortified defensive positions, German tanks reached Berdichev and Zhitomir a few days later. Rundstedt gave Kleist the order to capture Uman, but heavy rains made the roads impassable for several days. Taking advantage of this, the Russians attacked the extended flanks of the 1st Panzer Group. More than a week passed before Kleist, with the help of the 6th Army, was able to advance to Bila Tserkva. When after this he wanted to deploy his tanks to the southeast, the approaching units of the Red Army unexpectedly struck the left flank, and Kleist had to use part of his forces for defense. Only by the beginning of August did the troops of Army Group South, constantly fighting off counterattacks, manage to encircle the Uman group of the Red Army. The 6th and 12th armies found themselves in the cauldron.

Now Kleist’s tank group was quickly moving towards Kremenchug, but the command of the Red Army withdrew its units from Bessarabia. By August 24, the Dnieper, right up to its mouth, was in German hands.

The 6th Army of Field Marshal von Reichenau was unable to take Kyiv on the move, encountering a powerful group of Soviet troops. On August 22, Hitler gave the order to destroy the Kyiv enemy group. The 2nd Tank Group, transferred from Belarus, began an offensive to the south. Two weeks later, von Kleist's tanks, together with the 17th Army, rushed from the Kremenchug area to join Guderian. On September 19, Kyiv was bypassed and taken, and the Russians, who were in the Kyiv-Cherkassy-Lokhvitsa triangle, were squeezed on all sides. In fierce battles, tank groups repulsed all enemy attempts to release their troops from the east and dismembered the surrounded armies inside the cauldron. By September 26, the battle was over. The report of the German High Command reported the capture of 665 thousand people, the capture of 3,718 guns and 884 tanks.

After the end of the battle for Kyiv, Kleist's tank group was concentrated on the eastern bank of the Dnieper and on September 24 launched an offensive in a southeastern direction. She broke through to Zaporozhye and, together with the 11th Army of Colonel General Ritter von Schobert, captured more than 100 thousand people during the “Battle of the Sea of ​​Azov”. While the renamed 1st Tank Group moved further east, the 1st Army captured Crimea and surrounded Sevastopol.

On October 20, von Kleist's army approached Taganrog. There she was caught by the autumn thaw, which completely paralyzed the supply of troops. Tanks literally sank on washed-out roads. As a result, Kleist approached Rostov-on-Don only in mid-November. The rains gave way to frost, and cars began to freeze in the mud. With great difficulty, tanks were literally cut out of the frozen soil. When Kleist was finally ready to continue the offensive, his right flank was attacked by three armies of the Red Army, pulled up from the Caucasus. By order of Rundstedt, despite the order of Hitler, who demanded that he stand until the last soldier, Kleist left Rostov and retreated back to Taganrog on the right bank of the Mius River. The stubborn defense of Sevastopol by units of the Red Army prevented the Wehrmacht command from throwing the 11th Army through the Kerch Strait and thereby strengthening the 1st Tank Army, which suffered heavy losses. The first attempt to break through to the Caucasus to the coveted sources of oil failed.

Before the start of the summer offensive, the German command wanted to eliminate the ledge that had formed during the winter counteroffensive of the Red Army in the area of ​​​​the city of Izyum, southeast of Kharkov. At the same time, the commander of the Soviet units, Timoshenko, on the orders of Stalin, was preparing to recapture Kharkov.

Tymoshenko was a week ahead of the Germans. For the first time using tank wedge tactics, the Red Army troops went on the offensive. The first few days were successful for the Soviet troops, but then Kleist launched a counteroffensive. His tank group surrounded the 6th and 57th Soviet armies within five days. According to German official data, about 240 thousand people were captured.

At the end of June 1942, there were five Wehrmacht armies on the front from Taganrog to Kursk. Army Group South was divided into two parts: the southern group "A" under the command of Field Marshal von List and the northern group "B" under the command of Field Marshal von Bock. On June 28, in accordance with the operational plan, almost a million Wehrmacht soldiers went on the offensive in the southern direction. Kleist's tanks crossed the Seversky Donets. Since the Soviet command was awaiting an offensive in the Moscow direction, and the bulk of the forces in the south were destroyed during Timoshenko’s last unsuccessful operation, Kleist encountered virtually no resistance. A significant superiority in manpower and a lack of tanks did not allow the Red Army to carry out even local counterattacks.

Having crossed the Don, Kleist's tanks split into two columns. One moved towards Krasnodar, and the second - towards Stavropol. On August 8, German tanks entered Maykop - the first oil region, which, however, was completely destroyed by the retreating units of the Red Army. Subsequently, the Germans were never able to establish oil production here. At the same time, two tank corps, advancing north of the middle reaches of the Kuban, turned towards Grozny. But gradually the isolation of von Kleist’s advanced units from supply bases began to take its toll. Communications became so long that convoys delivering fuel wasted most of their cargo along the way. Fuel had to be delivered by plane. On August 9, Kleist’s tanks occupied Pyatigorsk, but they had to wait several weeks for fuel. On the 25th, the offensive continued, but soon finally stalled in Mozdok and south of Nalchik.

In November 1942, von Kleist was appointed commander of the newly created Army Group A.

The Soviet command planned to encircle the 1st Tank Army with counter strikes from the Southern Front and the Black Sea Group of Forces, breaking through the enemy defenses on the Tikhoretsk-Rostov-on-Don line. In January 1943, the Red Army launched an offensive and without much effort broke through the defenses of Germany's allies along the fascist "axis". The situation became catastrophic. Kleist bombarded headquarters with demands to allow the withdrawal of troops. Finally, literally at the last moment, Hitler allowed the withdrawal of Wehrmacht units from the Caucasus. On February 1, 1943, at the height of the battle, Kleist was awarded the rank of Field Marshal.

Developing the offensive after the victory at the Kursk Bulge, the 3rd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts crossed the Dnieper. On November 1, the Russians reached Perekop and landed troops in Kerch. After heavy fighting, the landing force managed to gain a foothold, but both the Perekop Isthmus and the Kerch Peninsula were successfully defended by the 17th Army. However, in April 1944, German troops had to be evacuated.

A week before the start of the Crimean operation of the 4th Ukrainian Front - March 3, 1944 - Hitler dismissed Kleist. To soften the blow, the Fuhrer awarded the field marshal with swords for the Knight's Cross.

At the end of the war, Ewald von Kleist was captured by the Americans. At the request of Stalin, he was expelled in 1946 and convicted in Yugoslavia as a war criminal, after which he was sent to Siberia.

In October 1954, von Kleist died in the Vladimirovka prisoner of war camp.

Coming from an aristocratic Prussian family. Received a military education. He began his service as a cavalry lieutenant during the First World War. He took part in the battle of Tannenberg. After the war he continued to serve in the cavalry. From 1932 to 1935 he commanded a Wehrmacht cavalry division. In February 1938 he was dismissed due to disagreements with the Nazi leadership. He was called up again for service in August 1939.

During the invasion of Poland he commanded the XXII Panzer Corps.

During the French campaign he commanded the Kleist Panzer Group, which included five of Germany's ten tank divisions. Thus, Kleist became the commander of the first tank army in history.

In accordance with Manstein's plan, Kleist's group broke through the front on the river. Meuse and pressed the Anglo-French troops to the sea near the city of Dunkirk. Only Hitler's order to suspend the offensive prevented complete defeat and allowed the British to evacuate their units across the English Channel. In total, about 200 thousand British and 100 thousand French soldiers and officers were evacuated.

In April 1941, Kleist's group was sent to Yugoslavia and Greece. During the initial period of the invasion of the USSR, the 1st Tank Group was included in Army Group South.

In the first weeks of the invasion of the USSR, Kleist's tank group advanced north of Lvov in the direction of Rovno. On July 10, Zhitomir, located 150 km from Kyiv, fell. Turning south, Kleist united with units of the 17th Army, encircling a large group of troops of the Southern and Southwestern Fronts of the Red Army in the Uman region (See “Battle of Uman”).

In mid-August 1941, Kleist's group occupied the crossing of the Dnieper in the Dnepropetrovsk region, creating a threat to Donbass. At the same time, units of the 17th Army crossed the Dnieper near Kremenchug. On September 10, Kleist took command of the Kremechug bridgehead. The next morning, Wehrmacht tank units, starting an offensive from a bridgehead, broke through the defenses of the Soviet 38th Army and launched an offensive north towards the city of Romny. This sudden breakthrough took the Soviet command by surprise. In the first 12 hours, Kleist’s tanks covered 70 km, and near the city of Romny, 200 km east of Kyiv, they linked up with units of the 2nd Panzer Group under the command of Guderian. Thus, Kleist and Guderian carried out the largest encirclement of the entire war: 5 Soviet armies ended up in the cauldron near Kiev. On September 26, the battle ended. More than 600 thousand soldiers and officers of the Red Army were captured. (See Battle of Kyiv).

After the capture of Kyiv, Kleist's group (from this point on it became known as the 1st Panzer Army) moved towards Rostov, the main goal of its campaign in 1941. Having forced Soviet units on the Dnieper to retreat to Zaporozhye, Kleist's army advanced east and then south, entering to the rear of the Soviet troops, who were delaying Manstein's 11th Army at Melitopol. On October 5, Kleist’s units reached the Sea of ​​Azov near Berdyansk, thus encircling near c. Chernigovka 18th Army of the Southern Front. As a result of the battle, which ended on October 10, units of the Red Army suffered heavy losses. About 100 thousand people were captured. The commander of the 18th Army, Lieutenant General A.K. Smirnov, died.

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Kleist's army continued moving east along the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov: on October 17, Taganrog was taken, and on October 28, the Germans reached the river. Mius, the last water barrier before Rostov. The onset of the autumn thaw and the depletion of fuel reserves forced Kleist to delay his advance.

August-December 1941The commander of the South group, Gerd von Rundstedt, believed that the offensive should not be continued on the eve of the Russian winter, but Hitler insisted, and on November 17, Kleist’s tanks moved towards Rostov. After a week of fighting, the defenses were broken, and on the night of November 20, the 1st SS Division entered the city.

Rostov was not just a large city with a population of half a million, it opened the way to the Kuban, to the oil fields of the Caucasus and further to Transcaucasia and Iran. Therefore, one could expect attempts by the Red Army to retake the city. The left flank of Kleist's army was dangerously exposed, but there was no help from the command. . In addition, due to early frosts, ice appeared on the Don earlier than usual, and on November 25, Soviet troops under the command of Timoshenko struck from the south, advancing on the ice of the frozen river. After a stubborn and bloody battle on November 28, German troops left the city.

Rundstedt requested Hitler's permission to withdraw troops for the winter to a natural line of defense on the river. Mius, but did not receive permission. However, Rundstedt gave the order to withdraw. On the same day, Hitler removed him from command of Group South and appointed Walter von Reichenau as the new commander. However, upon arriving at the scene, Reichenau confirmed the order to retreat. Rostov remained Soviet until July 1942.

In May 1942, the 1st Tank Army took part in repelling the Soviet offensive near Kharkov (Operation Frederickus).

After the fall of Kharkov, the 1st Tank Army was included in the newly formed Army Group A (commander - Field Marshal List). Kleist's army covered the flank of the 17th Army from the north during the latter's attack on Rostov. The city was taken on July 24. Group “A” crossed the Don and launched an attack on the Caucasus. (See Battle for the Caucasus)

In an effort to speed up the advance in the Transcaucasus, on September 9, Hitler removed List and took command of Group A. However, without achieving success, on November 21 he transferred command to Kleist. At the same time, command of the 1st Panzer passed to General Mackensen. Thus, under the command of Kleist were the 1st Panzer Army and the 17th Army.

At the end of November 1942, Soviet troops completed the encirclement of the 6th Army at Stalingrad, which put the Kleist group in a difficult situation. The main forces of Group A were located in the foothills of the North Caucasus. Thus, the Red Army units located in the Stalingrad area were much closer to Rostov-on-Don, through which the group’s only connection with the rest of the Eastern Front passed. It was necessary to quickly leave the Caucasus, but Hitler did not give the order to retreat until December 27.

To imagine the complexity of the task, you need to remember that at the moment the retreat began, the advanced units of the 1st Tank Army were on the Terek, 600 km from Rostov. On January 20, 1943, units of the Red Army approached Rostov from the south at a distance of less than 50 km (see the position of the front - map winter 1942-43), but were stopped by the reserve of Manstein's 4th Tank Army. Stubborn fighting on the outskirts of Rostov continued for three weeks. Manstein's units still managed to hold back the onslaught of the Red Army, as a result of which the 1st Panzer crossed the Don and avoided encirclement.

The 17th Army left its strongholds in the Caucasus and, under constant pressure from the forces of the Red Army (74th, 56th, 18th, 37th, 9th, 58th and 44th Soviet armies) occupied the defensive line on the Taman Peninsula (“Kuban Line”). The defense of the Kuban Line continued until the end of August 1943, when the general offensive of the Red Army in Ukraine created a threat to the Crimean isthmus. It was impossible to delay the retreat further, and on September 3, 1943, Hitler gave the order for troops to leave the Kuban. The evacuation continued until October 9. Despite all the efforts of the Red Army to prevent this, 260 thousand soldiers, 70 thousand horses, all equipment, artillery and food supplies were transported through the Kerch Strait to Crimea. Only fodder for the horses had to be left. The troops withdrawn from Taman were sent to defend the Perekop isthmuses.

After the assassination attempt on Hitler on July 20. 1944 was arrested by the Gestapo. Kleist was accused of knowing about the existence of the conspiracy and not reporting it. However, he was later released. 25.04. 1945 arrested by American troops and taken to London, brought as a witness to the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. In September 1946 he was transferred to Yugoslavia and in August 1948 he was sentenced by the Yugoslav People's Court to 15 years of hard labor. In March 1949 it was transferred to the USSR. He was held in the internal prison of the MGB, Butyrskaya and Lefortovo prisons, and then in the Vladimir prison. 02/21/1952 The Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment in camps. According to the official version, he died in the camp from mitral valve insufficiency.