Editing Hermann Hoth (section)

==Early life==
===Early career===
Born on 14 April 1885 in [[Neuruppin]],{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=634}} Hoth grew up in [[Demmin]] which like Neuruppin was located in [[Prussia]].{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=36}} His parents were Hermann Hoth, a Prussian [[Oberstabsarzt|staff officer surgeon]], and Margarethe Hoth ([[née]] Hübener).{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=634}} He attended the ''[[Gymnasium (Germany)|Gymnasium]]'' in Demmin from 1894 to 1896,{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=634}} followed by the [[Cadet Corps]] at [[Potsdam]], and the {{lang|de|[[Preußische Hauptkadettenanstalt]]}} (Royal Prussian Military Academy) from 1900 to 1904.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|pp=41, 44}}{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=634}} During his preparation and training to become an officer, Hoth developed what he later recognised was a strong [[authority bias]], something that he did never entirely discard even after the conclusion of his education.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|pp=45–46}} The educators at the Cadet Corps also instilled [[monarchism]] and the rejection of [[social democracy]] in Hoth.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=66}} He was [[officer (armed forces)|commissioned]] as a {{lang|de|[[Leutnant]]}} in the [[Prussian Army]] in 1903, but his rise in the ranks was slow.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|pp=53, 634}} He attended the [[Prussian Staff College]] from 1910 to 1913,{{sfn|Hürter|2007|pp=53, 56}} where he learned [[Russian language|Russian]],{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=57}} and was appointed {{lang|de|[[Oberleutnant]]}} in 1912 and {{lang|de|[[Hauptmann]]}} in 1914.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=53}} At this point, he was working at the [[German General Staff]].{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=58}} His first son, Hans Joachim, was born in 1913.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=634}}

Hoth spent almost all of [[World War I]] as a staff officer on higher headquarters and only four weeks on the front line.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=73}} As a result of his skill in Russian, he was assigned to the [[8th Army (German Empire)|8th Army]] on the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]]{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=81}} in August 1914.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=634}} In this role, he witnessed the [[Russian invasion of East Prussia (1914)|1914 Russian invasion of East Prussia]]. This campaign left a deep impact on Hoth,{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=81}} as he saw the Russians waging war with what he regarded as "bestial cruelty".{{sfn|Stahel|2009|p=45}} He served under {{lang|de|[[Generalfeldmarschall]]}} [[Paul von Hindenburg]] during this period, including during the [[Battle of Tannenberg]],{{sfn|Showalter|2004|p=291}} and came to greatly admire his superior.{{sfn|von der Goltz|2009|p=61}} In June 1916, he was moved to the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]].{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=635}} During the war, Hoth held positions at the German General Staff, various armies, and units, including the {{lang|de|[[Luftstreitkräfte]]}} (air arm of the Imperial German Army).{{sfn|Hürter|2007|pp=634–635}}{{sfn|LeMO|2016}} He was awarded both classes of the [[Iron Cross]] during the war.{{sfn|Heiber|2004|p=938}}

When [[History of Germany during World War I#Defeat and revolt|Germany surrendered in 1918 amid growing internal turmoil]], Hoth felt more loyalty to Hindenburg than the newly formed democratic government in [[Berlin]].{{sfn|von der Goltz|2009|p=61}} In the [[German Revolution of 1918–1919]], Hoth served as a {{lang|de|[[Reichswehr]]}} officer and helped to put down left-wing uprisings at [[Halle (Westfalen)|Halle]].{{sfn|Hürter|2007|pp=89, 635}} This period hardened his hatred for any form of [[Communism]].{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=94}} Hoth also believed that the failure of the right-wing [[Kapp Putsch]] proved that the military had to prevent its misuse in politics.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=93}} He also married Lola Schubering in 1918. Hoth's second son, Hermann, was born in 1923.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=634}}

He remained in the {{lang|de|Reichswehr}} (the armed forces of the [[Weimar Republic]]) in the interwar period,{{sfn|Heiber|2004|p=938}} serving at the organization department of the General Staff.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=104}} He was promoted to ''[[Major (rank)|Major]]'' in 1924.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=635}} Three years later, Hoth was sent to the [[Soviet Union]] as part of [[Germany–Soviet Union relations, 1918–1941#Treaty of Rapallo 1922 and secret military cooperation|secret military cooperation missions]].{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=105}} In 1929, he was promoted to {{lang|de|[[Oberstleutnant]]}}.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=635}}

===Initial service under the Nazi regime===
In the 1920s, Hoth had little interest in the [[Nazi Party]], and even regarded its activities as disruptive for the ''Reichswehr''. His views changed with the [[1930 German federal election]] when the Nazi Party became the second-strongest political force. Hoth started to view Hitler's nationalist ambitions with approval, and admired the Nazis' attention to workers which he viewed as unusual for a right-wing party.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=124–125}} He was among the officers who were most favorably disposed toward [[Adolf Hitler's rise to power#Seizure of control (1931–1933)|Hitler's seizure of control]], regarding it as a chance to improve the military. Like several other Reichswehr officers such as [[Heinz Guderian]] and [[Georg-Hans Reinhardt]], Hoth hoped that a Nazi-led government would allow him to push through his ideas in regards to greater motorization and [[armoured warfare]].{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=129}} In the aftermath of the takeover, however, Hoth (by then promoted to ''[[Oberst]]'') clashed with Nazi Party officials when he criticised the murder of [[Communist Party of Germany|Communists]] and [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democrats]] in [[Braunschweig]], resulting in his transfer to [[Lübeck]].{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=133}}

According to his own account, Hoth studied the [[ideology of the Nazi Party]] in some depth over the next years; historian [[Johannes Hürter]] regarded this as quite unusual for higher-ranking German officers, most of whom believed that they could remain apolitical.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=135}} Hoth generally approved of the aims and achievements of the Nazi Party, although he expressed some disquiet about the elimination of [[German Jews]]. In the end, however, he believed the fate of Jews to be less important than the elimination of Communism in Germany and the restoration of what he saw as Germany's status as an equal in world affairs.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=141}} In October 1932, he was appointed head of the 17th Infantry Regiment, and transferred to command the 6th Infantry Regiment in August 1933.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=635}} He was promoted to ''[[Generalmajor]]'' in 1934.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=635}} Following the reorganization of the German military into the [[Wehrmacht]] in 1935, Hoth was appointed to command the [[18th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|18th Infantry Division]].{{sfn|Heiber|2004|p=938}} He was regarded as one of the most modern Wehrmacht officers at the time, advocating motorization and other modernization.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=145}} He was promoted to ''[[Generalleutnant]]'' in 1936, followed by ''[[General der Infanterie]]'' two years later.{{sfn|Hürter|2007|p=635}} In 1938, he led the 18th Infantry Division during the [[Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945)#First Vienna Award|occupation of]] [[Sudetenland]].{{sfn|NMT|1950|p=580}}