Heinrich Eberbach was a noted General der Panzertruppen (Tanks) in the German Army of World War II.

He was born in 1895 in Stuttgart, Germany.

World War I

During late 1914 he fought in France as a corporal, but by February 1915 he was promoted to Lieutenant. During 1915 he was wounded twice in France, lost his nose due to a French bullet (a rubber replacement was made), and was captured by the French.In December 1916 he was exchanged for a French prisoner, and by 1918 he was posted to Palestine. As he spoke the Turkish language, he served on the staff of the Turkish Eighth Army .

Between the Wars

During the 1920s he was an officer in the civilian police in Wurttemberg, and in 1935 joined the German army (Wehrmacht). In 1937 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and in 1938 be became commander of the 35th Panzer Regiment , in the 4th Panzer Division , in Bamberg.

World War II

Eberbach participated in the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 by leading his 35th Panzer Regiment into battles near Lodz and into Warsaw.

During the 1940 German invasion of eastern France, Col. Eberbach supported General Manteuffel's offensive across the Meuse River in Flanders, then on into Lyons.

In June 1941, as commander of the 5th Panzer Brigade in General Guderian's 24th Panzer Corps , he participated in the German invasion of the Soviet Union . By March 1942 he had been promoted to Major General, and made commander of the 4th Panzer Division in Tula, Russia. Later he became commander of the 48th Panzer Corps operating near Kiev.

In late November 1942 he was wounded near Stalingrad and hospitalized until February. Shortly thereafter he became Inspector of the Armored Troops in the Home Army, awarded the Knight's Cross, and promoted to Lieutenant General.

In November 1943 he became commander of the Army Group Nikopol, and fought in battles around Zhitomir in Russia. In December he incurred a kidney illness, and later made Inspector of Panzer Troops.

In early 1945 he was promoted to the rank of General der Panzertruppen (tanks). During the June 6 Normandy invasion, he fought against the British landings along the Juno and Sword beaches. In July he took command of "Panzer Group West" in the Cain area, and after a reorganization his unit was redesignated as the Fifth Panzer Army. In August he formed the "Panzer Group Eberbach" in the Seventh Army during his failed attempt to recapture Avranches, and later became commander of the Seventh Army itself.

In late August 1944 he was urging the immediate retreat of the German forces to escape eastward through the Falaise Gap before Allied forces could entrap them. However, German Gen. Walter Warlimont rejected his withdrawal. On August 31, while out on a reconnaissance patrol, Eberbach was captured by the British at Amiens.

Post WWII

Eberbach was held in a prisoner-of-war camp until 1948, and shortly thereafter he became the director of a Protestant charity.

References

• Battle of the Falaise Gap, G. Florenton, Hawthron Books, 1967.
• Battle Group! German Kampfgruppen Action of WWII, James Lucas , Arms & Armour Press, 1993.
• Bravery in Battle, D. Eshel, ppg. 47-48.
• Hitler's Commanders, James Lucas , 2000.
• Panzer: A Revolution In Warfare, Roger Edwards.