Rudolf Sieckenius

Rudolf Alexander Karl Wilhelm Sieckenius (18 August 1896 – 29 April 1945) was a German Generalmajor during World War II who commanded the 16 Panzer Division during Operation Avalanche (Salerno Landings) in September 1943. Despite his widely acknowledged success, which almost resulted in the Allies being pushed back into the sea, Sieckenius was made a scapegoat and sidelined until his death during the Battle of Berlin, when he commanded the 391st Wehrmacht security division.

Early life and World War I
Sieckenius was born in Ludwigsthal, Silesia in 1896 as the second of nine siblings. His parents were Alexander Sieckenius, a businessman, and Luise Rittner, daughter of dairy director Otto Heinrich Rittner. Through their maternal lineage, he was a cousin to his future regimental commander Heirnrich von Prittwitz und Gaffron, whose grandmother, Maria Camilla Rittner, was a sibling of Sieckenius's grandfather.

At the outbreak of World War I, Sieckenius was in the 11th grade(Obersekunda) at Gymnasium in Bunzlau. He and his elder brother Otto-Heinrich joined up immediately on 22 August 1914 as Kriegsfreiwilliger, both enlisting in the Feldartillerie Regiment Nr.5, with which he served in the Russian front. Between 1915 and 1918, he was employed as a platoon and company commander and as an battalion adjutant in the 154th Infantry Regiment. He was discharged from the Army on 20 October 1919 with the rank of Leutnant der Reserve.

Between the Wars
On 29 April 1920, Sieckenius joined the police where he served for fourteen years in Elberfeld and Wuppertal. According to his sister, during the difficult years between the wars, their father went bankrupt, and Sieckenius became the main support for the family. His sense of responsibility towards his parents may have been the reason he never married.

There is not much information about this period of his life; only a few details can be gleaned from newspapers and archives. A keen sportsman, Sieckenius became the chairman of“Elberfeld-Barmen Police Sports Club”in 1923, attended physical fitness and riding training schools, and often appeared in local newspapers on equestrian events. In 1926 police Oberleutnant Sieckenius came under criticism by the Social Democratic Party for singing "We don't need a Jewish republic!" in the street. This line comes from the infamous Ehrhardt-Lied sung wherever people wanted to demonstrate a nationalistic and anti-republican stance. However, Sieckenius did not join any political party according to his 1933 questionnaire.

In 1934 Sieckenius transferred back to the army as a cavalry captain. On creation of the Panzer regiments in late 1935, he transferred into the Panzer branch and was appointed a company commander in Panzer-Regiment 2 (which he was later to command at Stalingrad). After a further year as Major beim Regiments-Stab (major in the regimental headquarter), he was appointed to command the first battalion of the newly-formed 15th Panzer Regiment at Sagen. In November 1938 Sieckenius was transferred to command of the 66th Panzer Battalion (2nd Light Division) based in Eisenach.

World War II
At the outset of the war Sieckenius served in the 2nd Light Division as commander of a Panzer battalion. Following the campaign in October 1939, the 2nd Light Division became the 7th Panzer Division. The new division was under the command of General Erwin Rommel. Oberstleutnant Sieckenius remained in command of a Panzer battalion, and took part in the Battle of France.He received wound on the right leg on 18 May 1940 after days of intensive fighting without proper food and sleep, which was vividly accounted in his own combat report. He returned to his battalion in August 1940 and remained in France until February 1941, when it was placed in reserve and returned to Germany. From May 1941 he commanded Panzer-Regiment 2 of 16th Panzer Division under Generalmajor Hube, with which he took part in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, during which Sieckenius was awarded the Knight's Cross for the capture of Nikolayev.

On 17 December 1941 Sieckenius was promoted to Oberst, with seniority to date back from 1 February 1941. On 12 April 1942, he received the following assessment from General of the Infantry Gustav von Wietersheim, commander of the XIV Panzer Corps: "Particularly valuable personality as a man and soldier. Exemplary tank commander."

Stalingrad pocket
By November 1942, most of the 16th Panzer Division units were trapped in Stalingrad. In anticipation of Operation Donnerschlag, Oberst Sieckenius was given command of all the operational armored vehicles remaining in the pocket (around 100) to form the breakout spearhead. Hitler and the High Command of the Armed Forces, however, had forbidden the breakout attempt. Operation Donnerschlag was called off.

On 20 January 1943 General Hube, former commander of 16th Panzer Division, requested the following officers to be flown out and assist him to coordinate the Stalingrad Airlift:

Rudolf Sieckenius (Kommandeur Panzer Regiment 2), Bernd von Pezold (Ia 14. Panzer Division), Heinrich Seidel (Ib 14. Panzer Division), Erich Domaschk (Kompanieführer Panzer Regiment 103), Erwin Engelbrecht (o1 14. Panzer Division) and Wolfgang Ledig (IIa 14. Panzer Division).

Only Sieckenius, Seidel and Domaschk managed to fly out.

He suffered greatly from the terrible sacrifices his men had to make in Stalingrad. When he saw one of his surviving officer, Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven, for the first time after flying out of the pocket, tears came to his eyes.

Salerno to Termoli
On 5 March 1943, Sieckenius was appointed commander of the 16th Panzer Division, which was reorganized in France after its destruction in Stalingrad. He was promoted to Generalmajor on 1 June 1943 and led his division to Italy in the same month.

The 16th Panzer Division performed adequately in Italy for six months between June and November 1943, seeing action at Salerno, Naples and Termoli before being sent back to the Eastern Front. The defeat at Termoli was the main reason for Sieckenius's dismissal, despite him bearing the least responsibility.

According to Major Udo von Alvensleben, the divisional Intelligence Officer, it was their corps commanding general Traugott Herr who made Sieckenius a scapegoat for Salerno and Termoli. General Sieckenius had a leadership style that sometimes clashed with that of his opportunist superiors. On 13 September 1943, for no good reason, 10th Army Group Commander von Vietinghoff came to believe that the invaders were about to re-embark and sent this misinformation to Berlin. General Herr promptly ordered Sieckenius to launch a counterattack. Only Sieckenius remained doubtful; he and his staff did not believe in the enemy's retreat. He argued that a full-scale counterattack would only lead to meaningless loss of life and ammunition, and they formally protested against Herr's directive. Nevertheless, Herr ordered the 16th Panzer Division to advance towards the coast. Initially successful, the advance was soon halted by devastating enemy naval fire.

At the beginning of October 1943, 16th Panzer Division was already moving to the Adriatic coast sector as a result of Allied pressure when an amphibious enemy landing was made at Termoli, over 120 km away. General Heinrich von Vietinghoff objected to deploying the 16th Panzer Division to Termoli and put off Kesselring's order for one day. Additionally, due to inadequate petrol supplies caused by a shortsighted quartermaster, the exhausted division arrived at Termoli 24 hours later, subsequently failing to repel the enemy landing.

On 7 November 1943, Sieckenius left his division to enter the "Reserve of Higher Commanders". He was also forced to take a training course for division commanders, which was an insult to a general who had already commanded a division in combat. In the very same month he lost his parents one after another.

Clash with Schörner
Sieckenius did not receive another formal command until 21 May 1944, when he was assigned commander of the 263rd Infantry Division under Army Group North. In the summer of 1944, the division was badly mauled and suffered massive casualties during the heavy soviet offensive in Latvia.

On 9 August 1944, the tenth day of almost non-stop intense fighting, Ferdinand Schörner, the commander of Army Group North known for his brutality and harsh disciplinary measures against his own troops, showed up at the 263rd Division HQ. He harshly demanded that Sieckenius push his exhausted soldiers to hold their positions for once.

Out of duty, Sieckenius pointed out that the division had always done its duty, yet the soldiers's strength was waning. He emphasized the urgent need of soldiers for an hour's rest, stating that simply cheering them up was no longer effective. Schörner, unmoved by this protest, immediately relieved him of his command.

In September 1944, Generalmajor Sieckenius was reassigned as commander of the rear-area 391.Sicherungs-Division, which was then engaged in constructing defences near Warsaw. It marked a considerable demotion for a former Panzer-Division commander.

Final Days
From December 1944 to January 1945 the 391st division under Sieckenius was on security duty in the Lowicz area and built up the Bzura-Rawka position. This was followed by repelling the Russian offensive from the Baranow bridgehead and retreating via Kolo, Wreschen and Posen to Lissa and from there to the Oder Front. In the last weeks of the war, the Division HQ was situated on an estate near Frankfurt an der Oder, most likely Gut Bomsdorf, owned by the von Kunow family. General Sieckenius left a lasting impression on his hosts. Even 4 years after the war, in 1949, they advertised in Welt am Sonntag searching for his whereabouts. His landlady wrote to his sister Annemarie:

With several conversations, I came to appreciate your brother. He was an honest, reliable, and fair man with a remarkably gentle chivalry—a pleasant surprise after hosting the SS for six months. He borrowed books from my bookshelf, and through his reading, I learned more about him. My children and I developed a genuine fondness for this very reserved man."

Generalmajor Sieckenius was eventually killed in action when leading a breakout attempt near Teupitz within the  Halbe Pocket. On April 29, 1945, when Army Group Commander General Theodor Busse had already fled with heavy Panzers to save his own skin, Sieckenius stayed with his men and organized the remaining armoured cars and troops for a break out. They successfully broke through Halbe and advanced into the forests south of Lake Teupitz, where they encountered an ambush by Soviet tanks and Pak.

One of his officers recounted the events in a post-war letter:

"Towards the evening of a Sunday (29 April 1945 was Sunday), I can no longer recall the exact date, General Sikenius(sic) and General von Roden organized all the units in and around Halbe to a breakout attempt...After marching for about two hours, the spearhead was attacked by some Russian tanks which fiercely resisted. In the midst of fighting, General Sikenius left his SPW and personally attack the enemy tank with a Panzerfaust in the forest."

He then suffered a severe abdominal wound and, as one of his staff officers witnessed, chose to shot himself. This occurred in the early hours of April 30. "On the morning of 29 April 1945, our division was completely shattered. It was then your brother(General Sieckenius) once again showed himself to everyone as the exemplary, brave commander. [...] More insane enemy fire. I was wounded again and rolled away. Suddenly I heard your brother calling my name. I crawled towards him. Still a few steps away, I saw him shoot himself in the head with his pistol. He had a serious stomach injury.[...] He had always said, 'If I get wounded, I will shoot myself.' He left the question of falling into captivity without injury unanswered."

"May I also tell you that I feel he foresaw his end? He did not want to start over; he said so himself in his final days. He knew he was already at his peak."

It was also witnessed that people tied the body of General Sieckenius to an SPW in the hope of taking him further. Later, while in a POW camp, this staff officer heard that local villagers had buried a general, who must be Sieckenius. He was laid to rest in a mass grave at today's Kriegsgräberstätte Teupitz.

Personal Life
Sieckenius never married and was survived by two brothers and four sisters. Brazilian computer scientist Clarisse Sieckenius de Souza is his grand-niece.

He was called 'Lothar' by his family.

He once owned a mini dachshund, a tiny female, yet he called her 'Löwe (Lion).'

During the occupation of France in 1940/41, Sieckenius and his staff were quartered at a castle near Paris, where he often went horseback riding with the owners of the residence. After he had left, a filly was born, and the French named her 'Siecki' out of friendship for him.

Awards

 * Eastern Medal
 * Wound Badge in Silver
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 17 September 1941 as Oberstleutnant and commander of Panzer-Regiment 2