Hans von Luck
HansUlrich Freiherr von Luck und Witten , usually shortened to Hans von Luck, was a Colonel in the German Armored Forces during World War II. Luck served with the 7th Panzer Division and 21st Panzer Division, seeing action in Poland, France, North Africa, Italy, Normandy, and the Soviet Union. In several of the World War II campaigns, he served under Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel. Luck is author of the book Panzer Commander.
Luck was born in Flensburg, Province of SchleswigHolstein, into a Prussian family with old military roots. Lucks father, Otto von Luck, served in the Kaiserliche Marine or the Imperial German Navy. He fought in First World War and died in July 1918 from the great flu pandemic. Following his fathers death, his family was destitute, until his mother remarried. Lucks stepfather was a naval chaplain and an instructor at a cadet school. He learned several languages, including French, English and Russian. During the war, he was able to communicate with French and British soldiers and later use Russian during his captivity in the Soviet Union.
Source: Wikipedia