Karl Mauss

Dr. med. dent. Karl Mauss
Dr. Karl Mauss
Born	(1898-05-17)17 May 1898 Ploen, Province of Schleswig-Holstein, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	Hamburg, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1922) Nazi Germany
Years of service	1914–22, 1934–45
Rank	General der Panzertruppe
Unit	10th Panzer Division 7th Panzer Division
Commands held	Panzergrenadier-Regiment 33 7th Panzer Division
Battles/wars	World War I Battle of the Somme Italian front Silesian Uprisings Battle of Annaberg World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Operation Barbarossa Battle of Moscow Battle of Kursk
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
Other work	Dentist

Dr. med. dent. Karl Mauss (17 May 1898 – 9 February 1959) was one of the most distinguished tank commanders of the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a lieutenant general and commander of the 7th Panzer Division, and one of only 27 ever to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade the Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Early career

Karl Mauss was born on 17 May 1898 in Plön in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. He was the first child of Karl Mauss and his wife Minna, née Lohoff. He had a younger sister Anneliese and brother Wilhelm. He went to school at the Realgymnasium—a secondary school built on the mid-level Realschule to achieve the Abitur (university entry qualification)—in Lübeck. In 1914 when World War I broke out, Mauss was sixteen at the time and volunteered for military. Thanks to his obstinacy and the support of his father, he was accepted and joined Jägerregiment 162, serving during the war at Arras, La Bassee, Flanders, Somme and Isonzo. In 1915, barely seventeen as the youngest man in the division, he was awarded the Iron Cross, 2nd class for distinguishing himself as the best scout in the region during the Battle of the Somme. The following year, he was promoted to 2nd lieutenant (becoming one of the youngest commissioned officers of the entire army) and, a short time later after the transfer of his division to the East into the Carpathians, received the Iron Cross, 1st class.

Following World War I Mauss joined the Freikorps Oberland and Marinebrigade Ehrhardt and fought in the Silesian Uprisings. He stayed in military service until 1922. He then moved to Hamburg to study dentistry at the University of Hamburg, and attained his doctorate on 1 March 1929. He then opened a dental surgery in Lübeck. While at university he was an active member of the Burschenschaft Germania in Hamburg. Apparently, civilian life did not suit him, so he re-enlisted as a captain in 1934, serving with Infanterieregiments 69 in Hamburg. He was promoted to major on 1 April 1938.

World War II

At the start of the war, Mauss served with the 20th Motorized Infantry Division, with which he participated in the 1939 Invasion of Poland. In May 1940 his 10th Panzer Division traveled west to take part in the Battle of France together with Heinz Guderian's XIX Army Corps. In the second phase of the French campaign, Mauss participated in the battles against the French 7th Army.

Mauss, now a lieutenant colonel (promoted on 1 April 1941), also fought in the Soviet campaign, Operation Barbarossa, from its outset in June 1941. In November 1941, Mauss was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

In the year 1942 Mauss was promoted to colonel; he was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross in November, 1943. In January 1944 he took command of the 7th Panzer Division. In April the same year, he was promoted to major general. On 23 October 1944 he received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords before he was seriously injured by artillery shell fragments in February 1945 in Gotenhafen and had a leg amputated. He was promoted to lieutenant general in April, and received as the last commander of the 7th Panzer division the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds on 15 April 1945.

Following the surrender to British troops, Mauss learned that his wife, mother of his three children Gisella, Karl, and Hansjuergen, had died. A request to go to Lübeck for the funeral was denied. In 1949 he remarried and a year later his son Dietrich was born.

Post-war

After the war Mauss worked as a dentist in his own practice. His request for re-enlistment was rejected by the Bundeswehr for health reasons. Karl Mauss died of a heart attack following a lengthy illness on 9 February 1959 in Hamburg, at the age of 60.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (16 September 1915)
  • 1st Class (21 October 1916)
• Wound Badge in Gold
• Panzer Badge in Silver (3rd Class)
• Close Combat Clasp in Bronze (August 1943)
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (28 September 1939)
  • 1st Class (25 May 1940)
• German Cross in Gold on 11 March 1943 as Oberst in the Panzergrenadier-Regiment 33
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
  • Knight's Cross on 26 November 1941 as Oberstleutnant and commander of the II./Schützen-Regiment 69
  • 335th Oak Leaves on 24 November 1943 as Oberst and commander of the Panzergrenadier-Regiment 33
  • 101st Swords on 23 October 1944 as Generalmajor and commander of the 7. Panzer-Division
  • 26th Diamonds on 15 April 1945 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 7. Panzer-Division
• Mentioned three times in the Wehrmachtbericht on 13 March 1944, 15 August 1944 and 20 February 1945

Wehrmachtbericht references

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
13 March 1944	In den schweren Abwehrkämpfen der letzten Tage haben sich im Raum östlich von Tarnopol die 1. SS-Panzerdivision "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" unter der stellvertretenden Führung des Obersturmbannführers Lehmann und die thüringische 7. Panzerdivision unter Oberst Dr. Mauß hervorragend bewährt.	During the heavy defensive battles of the past few days in the area east of Tarnopol, the first SS-Panzer-Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" under the deputy leadership of Obersturmbannführer Lehmann and the Thuringian 7th Panzer-Division under Colonel Dr. Mauss have proved themselves to be excellent.
15 August 1944 (addendum)	Durch den heldenhaften Widerstand der Truppen dieses Korps wurde unter entscheidender Beteiligung der 7. Panzerdivision unter Generalmajor Mauß der angestrebte Durchbruch in den Raum nördlich Tilsit verhindert und die Voraussetzung für eine weitere erfolgreiche Verteidigung der ostpreußischen Grenze geschaffen.	Due to the heroic resistance of the troops of this corps, with decisive participation of the 7th Panzer-Division under Major General Mauß, was the intended breakthrough in the area north of Tilsit prevented, and thus laid the foundation for a further successful defense of the East Prussian border.
20 February 1945 (addendum)	Bei den schweren Kämpfen um Elbing hat sich der mit den Schwertern zum Eichenlaub des Ritterkreuzes ausgezeichnete Kommandeur der 7. Panzerdivision, Generalleutnant Mauß, durch hohe persönliche Tapferkeit und Entschlußkraft besonders hervorgetan. Bei einem Vorstoß aus Elbing nach Westen feuerte er, an der Spitze seiner Division selbst mit dem Maschinengewehr kämpfend, seine Soldaten durch Vorbild zu hervorragenden Taten an.	In the heavy combat around Elbing, has with the Swords to the Oak Leaves of the Knight's Cross awarded commander of the 7th Panzer-Division, Lieutenant General Mauss, excelled through high personal bravery and determination. During an advance from Elbing to the west, he encouraged at the head of his division, himself fighting with the machine gun, by example his troops to great deeds.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by Oberst Wolfgang Gläsemer	Commander of 7th Panzer Division 30 January 1944 – 2 May 1944	Succeeded by Generalmajor Gerhard Schmidhuber
Preceded by Generalmajor Gerhard Schmidhuber	Commander of 7th Panzer Division 9 September 1944 – 31 October 1944	Succeeded by Generalmajor Hellmuth Mäder
Preceded by Generalmajor Hellmuth Mäder	Commander of 7th Panzer Division 30 November 1944 – 5 January 1945	Succeeded by Generalmajor Max Lemke
Preceded by Generalmajor Max Lemke	Commander of 7th Panzer Division 23 January 1945 – 23 March 1945	Succeeded by Oberst Hans Christern