Career
He was then retained in the Reichswehr in which he reached the rank of Oberstleutnant by 1937. He led a reconnaissance regiment during the Invasion of Poland in 1939 and was promoted to Oberst in October that year and appointed as the head of the Army Personnel Department the following month and remained in this post until January 1943, having been promoted to Generalmajor in 1942. When he was moved to the leadership reserve until 8 May 1943 when he was appointed as the commander of the 20th Panzer Division.
In December 1944, he was appointed commander of the VII Panzer Corps in East Prussia.
On 1 March 1945, he was promoted to General der Panzertruppe and continued to command the panzer corps until he was captured. Bibliography.