HASSO VON MANTEUFFEL
(1897-1978) Commander of the 5th Panzer Army which spearheaded the ill-fated Ardennes offensive of January 1945. After vainly requesting more help from a vacillating Hitler, he spoke despairingly of "a corporal's war". Later served as a delegate to the Bundestag (1953-7). Fine content T.L.S. on his personal letterhead, 1p. legal folio, May 27, 1971 to a Mr. Mastrigt, in German. Manteuffel goes into great detail citing regulations as to which Waffen-SS ranks would be superior to those in the Heer.He shows his impatience with those claiming equality between similar ranks, stating that some SS ranks were purely political appointments. He continues: "...after almost 30 years of service, I was named Commander in Chief...Sepp Dietrich advanced through the officer ranks to...a position he was never able to fill properly - solely on the basis of having been Hitler's chauffeur...He was a butcher by trade...a good deal more education and training is certainly required of an officer corps...". With full translation and a photo. Some slight show-through, else very good.